Caring for and storing your equipment
KartComms gear is built for wet, loud, dusty race days. Five minutes of care after each session is what keeps it working on the tenth one.
After every session
Five minutes at the end of the day.
Do this before the kit goes in the van, not when you unpack it at home. Damp gear left sealed in a case overnight is the fastest way to ruin it.
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Power everything down
Press and hold the helmet + KC-PRO button for 3 seconds on each module until the LED goes out. A module left switched on will be flat by morning.
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Wipe it down
A dry or barely damp cloth over the module body, the headset cups and the boom mic. No solvents, no alcohol wipes, nothing abrasive.
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Check the clip and the port
Look over the helmet mount for grit and the USB-C port for dust or water. Blow the port clear before you charge.
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Charge, then case it
Put the modules on charge while you pack up, and return everything to the case once they are done.
Battery
Look after the 6 hours you have.
A KC-PRO module runs 6 hours active and up to 48 on standby, and charges fully in about an hour. Treated well, that stays true for years.
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Charge at 5 V
Use a quality 5 V USB source rated at least 2 A. The LED holds solid red while charging and turns solid blue when it is full.
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Charge at room temperature
Between 10 and 30 °C. Not in direct sun on the pit wall, not in a freezing van, and never while the kit is still wet.
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Never store it flat
If the kit is going away for weeks, charge it first. A battery left empty for a month is a battery you will end up replacing.
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Top up before the weekend, not during it
Charge the night before a race day so every module starts on a full stint.
LED reference
Only use a 5 V USB power source. Higher-voltage chargers — laptop bricks and fast-phone chargers that negotiate 9 V or 12 V — may damage the unit and will void the warranty.
Wet sessions
Rain is fine. Sealing it away wet is not.
The modules and headset are sealed for spray and wet running — race in the rain without a second thought. The damage comes afterwards, from packing the kit away damp.
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Shake off standing water
Get the worst of it off before you do anything else, especially around the USB-C port and the mount.
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Dry the port before charging
Never plug into a wet port. Leave it open to the air until it is dry to the touch.
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Air it, do not heat it
Room temperature and moving air. No hairdryers, no heaters, never on a radiator — heat does more damage than the water did.
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Case it dry
Only once everything is properly dry. A sealed case holds moisture against the electronics all week.
The modules and headset are sealed against rain and spray. They are not rated for submersion — do not run them under a tap or leave them standing in water.
Helmet side
The parts that live inside the helmet.
Speakers, mic and mount take the most abuse — sweat, dust and repeated fitting. They are also the cheapest things to look after.
Let the helmet dry first
Sweat is harder on the speakers than rain is. Air the helmet out with the liner exposed after every session.
Do not tug the cable
Remove the module by its clip, never by pulling the lead. Cables fail at the joint.
Keep the mic clear
A mic pushed against the chin bar picks up wind instead of your voice. Check its position each time you fit the helmet.
Clean the mount
Grit in the clip is what makes a module feel loose. Wipe the mount whenever you wipe the helmet.
Reference
A care schedule you will actually keep.
Nothing here takes long. The point is that it happens on a rhythm, instead of when something has already gone wrong.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Every session | Power down, wipe the module and headset, dry the port, charge, and case it. |
| After rain | Shake off water and air-dry fully at room temperature before charging or casing. |
| Monthly | Check the helmet mount, the cable joint and the mic boom for wear. Clean grit out of the clip. |
| Before a race weekend | Charge every module to full, run a pairing and mic check, and confirm the spares are charged too. |
| Off-season storage | Charge before storing, keep the case somewhere dry at room temperature, and top up every couple of months. |
Something not right with your kit?
If a module has taken a knock or stopped holding charge, tell us what happened — warranty cover runs for two years.