NASCAR Scanners
I’ve been scanning at the race tracks for almost 10 years. Long before the modern day hand-held scanner, you used to see people carrying around old Bearcat 200 mobile scanners along with a really heavy 12 volt batteries. The full thing had to have weighed 12 pounds and had to be lug it all around in a huge camera bag! I remember seeing a guy in the stands at The Milwaukee Mile listening to those USAC stock cars go round and round in 1980 with the old heavy setups.
Products have improved quite a bit since that time. Estimates are that there could be greater than 10% of fans at a typical NASCAR event are usually “scanner outfitted”. Race track scanning is becoming so exciting, it has expanded well beyond the NASCAR tracks to the local dirt tracks, drag strips such as New England Dragway in Epping, NH, and even at local short tracks.
I’ve compiled a selection of tips and hints that may help you gain the most enjoyment from your race scanning experience. If you have any others to provide, make sure you email them along to me so we can pass them with others. Enjoy!
Why bring in a scanner to the races?
What exactly can I pick up? Once you have experienced a race with a scanner, you’ll be hooked on it for as long as you continue to go to races. Scanning at the races provides that extra “aspect” or layer to the experience. You can actually focus on conversations between the driver, his / her crew, as well as spotters. You can expect to pick up the race officials along with safety crews. You are going to also be in a position to listen to the “behind-the-scenes” action of the Television and radio broadcast crews.
IMPORTANT! One thing you may want to be conscious of regarding listening in to race communications, it’s not necessarily for children! Emotions can easily run high in the course of racing action and pretty frequently, the language can get a tad “colorful” to put it mildly. You may want to consider this if you are easily offended by harsh words.
So what type of equipment do I need at the races?
The 2 major aspects of a race scanning set up are the scanner itself as well as a noise-eliminating head set.
First- The actual scanner.
What kind of scanner will you need? It really depends on your needs or your budget. Nearly every hand-held scanner made are doing fine at the races. They’ve been out there with as few as Eight or as many as FIVE THOUSAND channels! Price wise, expect to spend anywhere from as little as $75 to over $400. One of the most common frequency ranges tend to be 150 – 174 Megahertz and 450 – 470 Megahertz. There is some, but not much racing activity within the 800 Megahertz band. Popular “racing” scanners are the Uniden Sportcat 200 and 230, Racing Electronics RE-2000, and the Radio Shack Pro 99. Some capabilities that are really great to have are alpha-displays, that permit you to program the driver identify rather than the frequency, together with CTCSS or tone function, which in turn lets you program the specific tone code on the channel to aid reduce interference.
Second you’ll need is really a good quality, noise lessening headset.
Auto racing is definitely LOUD! Not only will the headset help protect your hearing, but it really will help you to be able to listen to your scanner a lot more clearly. They are available in many types to match your personal preference. You can also get hold of the compact, foam, in-ear type equipment just like what the drivers put on. Other sorts of add-ons you can consider are a “racing” or stub antenna, that will help reduce nearby interference, a lower-leg strap to help keep the scanner comfortable when watching the race, and a headset splitter or a “Boostaroo” unit which will allow you to bring an additional headset for your friend to listen in too.
Do remember additional batteries! Absolutely nothing uglier than not having enough “juice” midway through the race.
Where can I get hold of race scanning setup?
You can buy a entire set up as nearby as any nearby Radio Shack store. There are specialized suppliers that provide race scanning products online, including Amazon. I’ve always found Amazon to provide quality products at very, very competitive prices.
If you are unclear if you are ready to obtain a setup yet, most of the online suppliers supply rentals also. These suppliers have trailers featuring gear at a lot of the larger races.
OK, I’ve got my scanner as well as a head set, now exactly where do I find the frequencies?
Even though you’ll find some frequency info 100 % free via the internet, almost all of it’s outdated, incomplete, or just plain inaccurate. I highly advocate purchasing up to date info from one of many online scanner suppliers. It really is worthwhile the few dollars it costs. They’ve information relating to the national series such as NASCAR, IRL, in addition to Champ Car. The majority of the new scanners tend to be computer programmable. You may also deliver those to the dealer trailer at the track and get the most recent frequencies loaded right into your radio while you wait.
The new Uniden SC230 scanner incorporates the frequencies for Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series, the Camping World Truck Series, Champ Car, and IRL already programmed inside it! Regarding regional series, your selections are more limited.