Olympic bob sled radios?

[ai8o]

I been watching the Olympic MONOBOB event.

Many bobsleds have antennae mounted on the front hoods.
From the size of the antennae, I am guessing they are 800 Mhz and/or 400 Mhz
To me the antennae mounts look like NMO, but I could be wrong.
I really didn't see a close up of them.

I watched one woman from the USA during her run.
As she got out of her bobsled at the end of her run, I saw her pull up the helmet visor, reach inside the helmet above the chin guard with two fingers, push, and then start talking.
It was obvious that she wasn't talking to anyone near her in the exit area at the end of the run.

I didnt see any headset cord.
I am guessing there is some sort of blue tooth or something equivalent on/in her helmet that wirelessly connects to a two-way radio mounted in hood of the bobsled.

Does anybody have any information on what kind of equipment is in use here, or how it is configured?
Frequencies?
How do you get a ground for an antenna mounted on a plastic hood?
Is there a Blue Tooth xmtr in the helmet?
Is a PTT switch mounted in the chin guard of her helmet?
What brand of equipment?

Dan
AI8O

 

[RaleighGuy]

Here are a couple of older articles about the radios

Using Two-Way Radios to Search for Olympic Gold

The United States Olympic Bobsled team came to Discount Two-Way Radio to help them find the right two-way radio solution that could help them win a gold medal.

discounttwo-wayradio.com

USA Bobsled and Skeleton announce radio equipment partnership

Team USA Bobsled & Skeleton (USABS) has announced a partnership with Discount Two-Way Radio [http://www.discounttwo-wayradio.com/], which will provide...

www.insidethegames.biz

 

[marksmith]

I suspect that the antennas on all of the monobobs and bobsleds are more for tracking the sled itself and not for verbal communication. I can't imagine a useful conversation with someone screaming down an ice chute at 70+ mph and all the associated racket. They would have to be screaming. In particular the monobobs are all identical made by one outfit. I suspect they communicate with trackside clocking mechanisms.

 

[SteveC0625]

Re. Antenna on plastic sled body.

There are a number of threads here on RR already about creating ground plane on non-conductive vehicle bodies. Bobsleds are no different. It’s as simple as fastening a piece of conductive material to the underside of the skin.

 

[kf8yk]

Here's an article about bobsled sensors from the Sochi Olympics: Omega Sensors

The antennas on the current sleds most likely are a refinement of this telemetry link for the gyro, accelerometer and speed sensors.

IBSF Bobsled rules appear to disallow use of electronic equipment by bobsled athletes, so it's unlikely any type of voice link.

 

[Randyk4661]

Here's an article about bobsled sensors from the Sochi Olympics: Omega Sensors

The antennas on the current sleds most likely are a refinement of this telemetry link for the gyro, accelerometer and speed sensors.

IBSF Bobsled rules appear to disallow use of electronic equipment by bobsled athletes, so it's unlikely any type of voice link.

I googled pictures of the bob sleding events, you can see the same antenna on different countries sleds. I would think this is telemetry data as well.

 

[spacellamaman]

I suspect that the antennas on all of the monobobs and bobsleds are more for tracking the sled itself and not for verbal communication. I can't imagine a useful conversation with someone screaming down an ice chute at 70+ mph and all the associated racket. They would have to be screaming. In particular the monobobs are all identical made by one outfit. I suspect they communicate with trackside clocking mechanisms.

i was thinking the same thing

"AHHHHHH!!! OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod! SLOWWWWDOWN!ggaaarhhhrrrrr!!!!!

the tracking makes more sense, so they can find where the greasy spots are when something gives out and atomizes the sled and all occupants.

 

[CanesFan95]

Did they drill the damn hole?

 

[KK4JUG]

Did they drill the damn hole?

No but the regulations probably mandate certain specifics for everyone.

 

[wd9cms]

The antennas are for transmitting video from the cameras that are mounted on the sleds.

 

[es93546]

With the detailed way the bobsleds are constructed to minimize air drag, I'm surprised that the teams allow an antenna on their sleds. I don't recall seeing any video from a sled or seeing any cameras mounted, but every sled's position was tracked on the split screen showing a drawing of the course. I would conclude that all the teams agreed to living with the air drag the antennas create in the interest of tracking the sleds very well. If someone flips a sled an updated location is essential for rescue. I understand that flipping a sled and then being dragged backwards is quite dangerous.

 

[SteveC0625]

It’s the same as the camera pucks on the roofs of all the NASCAR Cup Series Cars. They all have them so no one has an advantage over the others.

 

[es93546]

It’s the same as the camera pucks on the roofs of all the NASCAR Cup Series Cars. They all have them so no one has an advantage over the others.

Since there is only one bobsled on the course at one time, no one is cutting off another sled, so I don't see the point for a camera on a sled. There is no advantage or unfairness experienced on the sled runs. If the antenna is hooked up to cameras why is the footage not included in the coverage of the event? Where then is the antenna for the tracking system that is included in the TV coverage of the races, a position that is rather precise.

 

[SteveC0625]

Since there is only one bobsled on the course at one time, no one is cutting off another sled, so I don't see the point for a camera on a sled. There is no advantage or unfairness experienced on the sled runs. If the antenna is hooked up to cameras why is the footage not included in the coverage of the event? Where then is the antenna for the tracking system that is included in the TV coverage of the races, a position that is rather precise.

I did not mean to imply there is a camera in the sleds. My point drew a parallel between the camera pucks on all the Cup cars and the antennas on the sleds. One of the posts suggested that the presence of an antenna might create an aerodynamic disadvantage. But, like race cars and camera pucks, all the sleds have identical antennas which eliminates any advantage or disadvantage.