Nascar fans question..

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LordJ

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Hey all, I will be making my first Nascar trip in a couple of weeks and I have a couple of questions...I don't have a headset yet and hopefully I will be able to buy one down there, do they sell them readily at the races? I am thinking about the Peltor Racetunes, probably overkill but I like the am/fm PLUS input. Also I am not sure what radio to bring with me, my 92xlt or my 396t? Will the 92xlt suffice? As in my drunken stupor, I don't want to have to worry about the 396t...What other things should I be doing/worrying about? Advice?
 

wirr

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You can buy headsets at the track.
Take the 396 but program it before you go.
 

Stick0413

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Yeah you can buy them at racing electronics and another one (forgot what the name of it is). They have trailers in the same area as all of the other souviner trailers.
 

N4JNW

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If it was me, I'd just bring a basic scanner. I brought my Pro-82 and it worked like a charm. PL tones are nice, but yuo dont need all that fancy stuff at the track.

I went to Bristol.

There are some headphones, they're a cheap brand. I bought two sets for about $20 each. If you plan on attending many races, buy a good set of headphones. I only bought these for Bristol. Your 396T will be a target for scanner-savvy fans. In the large crowds, all one has to do is grab and run.

I will suggest this, go to RadioShack, and buy the small scanner race stub antenna. I think it's like 9.99. It's well worth it. I bought mine, and it came in really handy at the track. It's handy for other things as well. Put it on one of your small scanners, and it will fit into a pocket, without the antenna poking out. Works good for covert scanning too!

I think the headphones I have are "Vanco" brand. They're red, with two seperate volume controls on each ear cup. For light and moderate use, they're very cost effective, and quite comfy. Or they were for me anyway. I'm used to wearing aviation headsets, so these were no problem.

As I said, bring the 92. It has ample memory for each car. The 396, you can program in the driver name as well, but what I did was programmed the frequency into the corresponding car number channel slot. Like Earnhardt Jr, was stored in Memory #8, Jimmie Johnson, in memory #48. That way if I wanted to tune in on a specific driver, all I had to do was hit Manual, 48, and manual again, and the scanner jumped to Jimmie's frequency.

I would just buy the headset at the track. You can order one for a little cheaper, but by the time you SHIP it, you'll be paying about the same money. Buy a quality one though. Like I said, I do like mine, but they're just "basic" headsets. Nothing special.

P.S.- Bring PLENTY of sunblock and drinks to the race as well. $4.00 for a bottle of water is insane... I didn't buy any myself, but I seen the prices and laughed as I walked by with our cooler full of Coke and waters.
 

LordJ

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KG4LJF said:
Your 396T will be a target for scanner-savvy fans. In the large crowds, all one has to do is grab and run.

That's one of my worries for sure...I have the case from scannermaster that has the belt clip you have to turn the radio upside down to slide it out, but I think your probably right, the 92xlt will do the trick, and thanks for the other advice..it will come in handy...
 

N4JNW

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LordJ said:
That's one of my worries for sure...I have the case from scannermaster that has the belt clip you have to turn the radio upside down to slide it out, but I think your probably right, the 92xlt will do the trick, and thanks for the other advice..it will come in handy...

The only thing that's gonna keep someone who WANTS your 396 from getting it would be a .38 revolver. Those aren't allowed in the track. ;)

Be safe. It might not be as feature packed as the 396, but you're there to watch a race, not play with the scanner. Put on your headphones, set your scanner, and enjoy the race.

Like I said, sunscreen! At Bristol, I got so burned, I couldn't walk. My fiancee had to run aloe lotion all over me after we got back to her place. (I did not complain about this..)

Might want to bring your own snacks as well. Go grab you a couple of those small sacks of fritos corn chips, or peanuts to snack on. You're going to get hungry while you're there, and the less money you spend on THEIR food, the more money you can put towards that headset. ;)

Also, if you're a bit wobbly from your beverages, and you need to go to the restroom, DON'T trust the guy behind you to watch your scanner. I'd leave the cooler, but don't let your scanner out of your sight for one second. Taking it to the restroom with you, will ensure you don't miss any action while you're on the throne!
 

wogggieee

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From my experience, I'd suggest NOT buying one at the track. The stuff they have at the track has been from my experience, way overpriced. if you look around on the Internet you can probably find it so that its shipped free or pretty cheap. That's just my advise from my experience. However you might be best to buy a frequency list at the track. that will by far be more accurate and up to date than anything you'd find on the Internet. What I'd do is, if you go to practice/qualifying on Friday, get a list then and then while watching practice or in the hotel that night program the latest frequencies in there. And like everyone else said, guard your scanner with your life, never let it out of your site, be paranoid about it. Always works for me. you could even put your shirt over it and run the cord up the inside of your shirt to conceal it somewhat.
 

LordJ

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Well, I've decided to bring only the 92xlt, I have been looking around for a Peltor Racetune headset around here with no luck..Hopefully I can get one at the track, Anyone know which stores carry these? I am RV'ing on the infield so I'm assuming I'll have lots of Close Call action all weekend. I have a fanny pack that can hold everything I need as well as my scanner, will keep it hidden and my earphone running through my shirt should help as well...I found a couple of sites with freq's that all seem to have similar #'s, so I have already programmed in the radio - Did it by primary ch = car # and Seconday channel = car # in the 100's....Thanks for all the advice/help so far...
 

nitroboie

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Don't forget to search for the track security freq. Can be even more entertaining, the past two weeks (Lowes) I was listening to track security as well as the drivers... was a blast, although I didn't get the chance to actually go to the track, listened from my house.
 

nitroboie

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About 7 or 8 miles straight line I guess? The track is off of 29, I live off of 49, the parallel highway to it. You can google earth it to estimate the distance, I'd screencap my exact location, but that's not really smart to do on the internet heh. To be honest I was suprised myself when I heard the drivers comming through. The only setup I have is a Uniden SC230 with a Diamond RH77CA.
 

b7spectra

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You will need your CTCSS/DPL on the scanner, without it, you will have intermod coming out the ying-yang! Forget the rip-offs of the headsets at the track, cheap and overpriced.

I go to AMS twice a year and take my Pro-96 along with a set of headphones from the 80's (hey, they still work), the kind that have lots of padding around the ears, and they work great!
 

N4JNW

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b7spectra said:
You will need your CTCSS/DPL on the scanner, without it, you will have intermod coming out the ying-yang!


Not true... I took my Pro-82, and never had any problems with intermod. I picked up on a pager tower twice, and that was it for the rest of the race. The stubby antenna helps with this. I seen SOME fans there using NO antenna at all.

PL tones are helpful, but not required to enjoy the scanner and the race.
 

wogggieee

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I don't remember having a lot of trouble with intermod in Las Vegas either. I do however have troubles at the local track we race at. We have to monitor the track during the race and in the afternoon there is sometimes other people on that freq if you don't have a PL tone in there. Another option for a headset, and a much cheaper one is to use ear buds and then get some ear muffs like you'd use for mowing of other stuff like that and put them over the ear buds. The total setup should cost you under $50. Only thing is sometimes the ear buds don't stay in well with movement, but with saving that much, its something i can deal with.
 

N4JNW

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In all honety, I'd rather deal with the occasional chirp and warble, than to worry about a $500 scanner being ripped off my belt.

Using a higher gain antenna will enhance your intermod. I seen scanner listeners at Bristol using NO ANTENNA at all on their scanners. On a short track, I imagine that would work quite well. But on larger tracks, I'm not sure. You might try unplugging the antenna all together during the race to see what effect it has. You might actually be better off without it.
 

Rice

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I've been scanning several races a year for the last three years, here's my advice.

Get headphones either at the track or from racingradios.com or ebay they're not cheap but they work. Some of Racing radios headsets are made by David Clark. Good stuff.

I have an intercom system from racing electronics that I love(makes communication MUCH easier with the family) it's not cheap though. I'm slightly more fond of the racing radios version but mine is good.

Get frequencies from jayski.com they'll work for most drivers and are updated every few months. they're free. Always put in the race control channel, 461.200 you'll hear when they're looking at debris or when they're mad at a driver.

look around other websites for TV and radio frequencies, radio should be 454.000
They can be good to listen to if you're new to racing or just getting your feet wet scanning.

Make a bank of favorite drivers. five to ten drivers is about right, some will crash out or have a bad day, feel free to lock them out.

you might want to make a few other banks for groups of other drivers, depending if you want to spend a lot of time programming. You probably won't want to spend much time futzing with your scanner.

You might want to make a Bank for Busch race or truck races if you're going for the weekend.

My banks are: 0-tv/radio 1-officials 2-favorites CUP 3-Busch race 4-Truck race 5-cup1 6-cup2 9-topteams

Some drivers that are interesting: Juan Pablo Montoya, Carl Edwards, Dale Jr. Their spotters talk all the time, good if you like them. I'm not a huge Dale Jr. fan but half the stands are listening to only him, that way you know what everyone's laughing about.
Stewart is the funniest but he doesn't talk all that much. He's great when he's pissed.
Jeff Burton is crazy analytical. During practice he'll take up all the airtime, I usually lock him out but turn him on during the race.

OH! Get one of those leg straps, a wide velcro strap you cinch down on your leg like a tourniquet. Attach your scanner to that, I piss with it on. Nobody will take your scanner. Race fans are the nicest group of folks I've ever met. I can talk to anyone at a race and often do.

Have fun!
 

Rice

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One other thing, get a clear backpack to take it all in. I breeze through security every time and have lots of space for free hats, t-shirts, a bottle of shampoo i won, stuff bought at the track, snacks extra batteries, poncho, etc ad nauseum. They can be bought at wal-mart or office depot sometimes.
 

N4JNW

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I just packed my headsets and scanner stuff in an aviation headset bag. I just unzipped both sides, security took a quick glance inside and waved us in. The clear backpack idea is a good idea though, if you plan to attend multiple races. I wouldn't want to buy one just for one race.

I'll second the RacingRadio's headphones. THey are indeed David Clark headsets. I have a David Clark aviation headset, and it is IDENTICAL to some of them I've seen. Mine has a microphone boom however, the others naturally do not.

If you spend the money for a headset, don't get the cheap ones. Buy quality the first time, and enjoy them for many races. Race headphones are also useful for other scanning adventures, not just races. If you visit airshows, they're useful there, as jet engines and the old radial engines are almost as loud as the cars. LOL..

Also useful if you want to scan at home, and your wife objects. Put on your headset, plug into the scanner, and she can enjoy her book or TV show, you can enjoy the scanner, without being landed in the doghouse all night! :)
 

wwhitby

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Do most folks use headphones or intercom systems at races? I'm planning on taking my son up to the Indy 500 in a few years, and I want to get everything I need in the time before then.

Thanks,

Warren
 
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