Hey all,
My employer requires me to finalize vacation plans in January for the full following calendar year. For the past few years, I've made it my habit to make it a "racing vacation" where i go to a racing series weekend someplace. For 2010 I've pretty much got my heart set on going to Mount Panorama in October, with a little bit of personal vacation time for a few weeks in September prior to that.
I see the question on whether or not scanners are allowed in AU/NSW has already been answered, and I presume most of what I would want to hear (mainly Fire/EMS, outside of the racing itself) is on the GRN network. Are there any other things worth listening to for someone like me, with a fire/ambulance/rescue background? Are forestry fire crews, for example, active that time of the year, and are they on some other system or group of frequencies?
I see the Bathurst section of the DB, conventionally speaking, is empty. Is that just a lack of anyone submitting data or is literally everything worth monitoring on the GRN?
As for the race weekend, are there frequency lists for the V8s and any other support series on the weekend? Are they monitorable with a scanner (i.e. no non-standard digital or scrambling)? Are there lists sold at the track or should I get my programming done before I get there?
I do have a couple non-radio questions too. Does anyone know if my mobile phone will work in your country? I have a blackberry with a voice/data plan with a major Canadian phone company (Rogers Wireless). When I visit the USA, the phone automatically signs on to one or more US phone companies with whom I presume Rogers has an agreement with. Any idea if the same is true in AU? If not, does the concept of a "pay as you go" mobile that you just buy at a corner store and prepay for x number of minutes exist?
What about the proliferation of free or pay public wifi? Are there places I can stop and get on the net for an hour or two?
Thanks in advance
My employer requires me to finalize vacation plans in January for the full following calendar year. For the past few years, I've made it my habit to make it a "racing vacation" where i go to a racing series weekend someplace. For 2010 I've pretty much got my heart set on going to Mount Panorama in October, with a little bit of personal vacation time for a few weeks in September prior to that.
I see the question on whether or not scanners are allowed in AU/NSW has already been answered, and I presume most of what I would want to hear (mainly Fire/EMS, outside of the racing itself) is on the GRN network. Are there any other things worth listening to for someone like me, with a fire/ambulance/rescue background? Are forestry fire crews, for example, active that time of the year, and are they on some other system or group of frequencies?
I see the Bathurst section of the DB, conventionally speaking, is empty. Is that just a lack of anyone submitting data or is literally everything worth monitoring on the GRN?
As for the race weekend, are there frequency lists for the V8s and any other support series on the weekend? Are they monitorable with a scanner (i.e. no non-standard digital or scrambling)? Are there lists sold at the track or should I get my programming done before I get there?
I do have a couple non-radio questions too. Does anyone know if my mobile phone will work in your country? I have a blackberry with a voice/data plan with a major Canadian phone company (Rogers Wireless). When I visit the USA, the phone automatically signs on to one or more US phone companies with whom I presume Rogers has an agreement with. Any idea if the same is true in AU? If not, does the concept of a "pay as you go" mobile that you just buy at a corner store and prepay for x number of minutes exist?
What about the proliferation of free or pay public wifi? Are there places I can stop and get on the net for an hour or two?
Thanks in advance