Scanning at Nascar races?

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N4JNW

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Anyone on here ever done any scanning at a Nascar race? I'm sure there's some speed freeks out there..

Reason asking, is me and my girl will be attending Bristol in March, and I'm bringing my Pro-97 along for the ride. She's a big Gordon freak, so I thought about getting a couple pair of headphones, and a RadioShack Y-cable, and plugging up and tuning in.

I have one of the little RadioShack stubby duck race antenna's I'll use on my Pro-97.. Any tips or tricks I should be aware of?

Thanks!!
 

blinddog50

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Yessss,
You'll really enjoy the race more with your scanner.
The pro-97 will work fine for the race.
However I would recommend one the Uniden radios for Christmas if you can talk her into it.
Being able to prioritize more than one driver plus tone alerts will make a difference.
Being able to hear the drivers cuss one another during the race makes it better during the long inactive periods.
But at Bristol the action should be hot and heavy.
I would consider getting a new girlfriend if I were you(Gordon..UUUGGGHHH).
I hit the the Jackpot with my girl.
She works at the Speed Channel and I get to most of the races free...and she gets paid to be there.
Plus she's a Tony Stewart fan.

GO SMOKE!!!

P.S., I was just kidding about your girl but, try to talk Santa into getting you a br330t for being a good boy this year.
 

N4JNW

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blinddog50 said:
Yessss,

P.S., I was just kidding about your girl but, try to talk Santa into getting you a br330t for being a good boy this year.


But that's it... I've NOT been a good boy... :D.. LOL

Well, I'm not really into racing that much myself, but I've been to Bristol a few times with friends, and she's always wanted to go, and on top of that, I've never had a scanner with me at the race (shame on me)

So I figure this would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone, spend time with my girl, and use my scanner to cater to something she likes. Plus I'll get some good "air-time" in as well. Win-Win situation..
 

edweirdFL

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The list for race scanning that I use is:
Noise cancelling headphones (during the race)
lightweight headphones (before and after)
extra new batteries (start race with fresh batteries)
short antenna
scanner case or holster (harder to knock off than just the belt clip)
waterproof bag in case of rain
written list of programming and pen to make notes

Ed
 

blinddog50

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Also take a cooler full of beer and a bag of food to snack on.
$6 beers and $8 Humpy burgers are ridiculous.
But be careful to only drink beers at a pace that your body can handle.
Otherwise you'll develop kidney stones waiting in line at the pissoir.

If Bristol is her first race she'll become a fan so be prepared to be buying more tickets in the future.
SEE YOU AT THE RACES!!
 

N4JNW

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I actually thought about splurging and getting her 07, Spring and Fall races, and the 08 Spring and Fall race tickets for Christmas...
 

N4JNW

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Thanks... She has two tickets a friend gave her. Since she's my girl, she decided to bring *me* along... LOL
 

blinddog50

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Well in my situation on race day she becomes head boss.
It may seem degrading to be her errand boy on raceday(carry laptop, get credentials for the talent, talent herder) but it does get me to around to 20 to 25 races a year.
After the checkers fall... she can get her own crap.

YEAH RIGHT!!

P.S., She's in Martinsville this weekend...I had to stay at home with a sick cat.
Am I whupped or what ? Oh, hell yeah!
 

scanfan03

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KG4LJF said:
I'm whipped..... I'll admit it... But..

SHE IS WORTH IT!

When I go to Texas, I take along some ear buds, along with some noise cancelling headphones. I take my BC 246T, and my Pro-95 (one I leave on PRN or the officials and the other I leave on the drivers) I stick the noise cancelling earphones over the ear buds so I can hear both. Or I let one of my buddies use my Pro-95 and I use my BC 246T. But deffinatly program in the officials (they are good listening, you can tell everyone what's going to happen minutes before it actually happens, like with the pace car, or debrees on the track). I would also program any local PD and FD stuff for track ops. In Fort Worth, they have a trunked system and everything is run off of that. I would listen to the EMS in the stands to (I think they may run off of one of the official's channels).
 

scanfan03

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Oh yeah, one other thing. Last time I went I took my Pro-95. Someone else (I didn't even know them) had the same scanner and went to the RS booth to get it programmed (while I was there looking at the Pro-99). RS couldn't program it, and I said I could if I could borrow the patch cord from RS I could. I cloned his radio from mine and he gave me $10. So you might want to bring a clone cable along with you because RS can't program any trunked scanners at the track.
 

Chief71

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Scanning at the race is great! When it comes to headphones, I don't bother renting. I bought a pair of Koss earbuds then wear those on under my remington earprotectors. They work better than the expensive headsets.
 

fuzzymoto

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I take the BR330T. I program the drivers using their car numbers as the quick key. That way I can turn on or off any car/team I want. Sometimes if you're tuned into your favorite drive something will happen with some other driver. With the quick keys setup you can quickly tune into that driver and hear what they are saying. I also try to find the MRN broadcast on AM or FM and tune that in on a quick key so I can see what the broadcast media is saying. I also program in the track and race control to see what NASCAR is saying, there are also medical staff/safety staff frequencies and finally if you're down there with enough time you can pick up some of the wireless microphone frequencies they are using fo rthe TV/radio broadcast. These get pretty interesting. If I get really bored before the race I'll tune in the FRS/GMRS stuff to hear people around the track talking. My batteries seem to last just fine if I charge them right before. Yes headphones are neccessary. The only problem I've had is that it is sometimes hard to read the display in the sun to see who is actually talking. By the halfway point in the race you'll recognize voices so the display isn't too important. Also by halfway you'll have turned off all the drivers out of the race. It's a blast...especially Bristol...do be sure to take the headphones OFF at the start of the race and at restarts to feel the thunder as the cars fly by.
 
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