Anyone know much abou renting scanners?

N

N2racin44

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I will be at Kansas for the weekend and I am wanting a scanner for the track. I've heard that they can be rented and that it typically runs $40. Is that for the weekend? I can not seem to find anyone to barrow one from.
 
when you rent a scanner you normally have to pay a deposit, leave $100.00 check or something. They will program it for you off of their computer. If I am not mistaken you can rent it for a weekend. Just return it at the end of the race weekend, in good condition, and get a full refund on your deposit.
 
Yes, that would be for the weekend. They do require a deposit, which is usually the 'replacement cost' of the equipment. If you use a credit card, they will keep it 'open' until their equipment is returned to them. You can then pay the rental fee in cash or have it put on your credit card. Hope this helps.

Oh, and I suggest you get to the scanner place as early as possible. They do have tendencies to run out of them. ;)
 
Honestly, I think its too much trouble to rent one. If you ever plan on going back to a race, go to Radio Shack and buy a cheap one. I went with some guys who rented some scanners and headsets one time. We found out that you have to go back to the exact trailor you got them from, and after the race, we didn't really feel like wading through all the people again.

But it does have its avantages...already programmed and you don't have to worry about forgetting the batteries... B)

But that's just my opinion....
 
All good advice. Also know that if you do intend to purchase one at the track that your rental fee can be used towards the purchase price.
 
Make sure ya bring some extra batteries or get them from the rental trailer. It sucks when the scanner dies during a race.. LOL.
 
Originally posted by slick-nick@Oct 7 2004, 11:53 AM
Make sure ya bring some extra batteries or get them from the rental trailer. It sucks when the scanner dies during a race.. LOL.
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Tell me about it! :) A couple of years ago, we went to the night race at Richmond. I made sure I charged the batteries in the scanner the night before, but when we finally got settled down for some racing action, the scanner went beep beep beep, meaning the batteries were low and then the scanner turned off. My wife gave me that terrible look of "You SOB!" :) I tried to find new batteries, but because our scanner takes special batteries, the only way was to go outside the gate and to one of the scanner haulers. I didn't want to fight the crowd again. After the race, I did stop and purchased another battery packet. The lady asked me why I wanted this now since the race was over. I told her the story and that I never wanted that to happen again. BTW, it did, just last week only this time, I just forgot to recharge. Also, I did recharge the batteries at Richmond, but it turned out that they had just gone bad. Now I'm back to on set again. If I had this to do over again, I'd make sure that the scanner only used AA batteries and that I'd have a bunch on hand for the races.
 
Fortunately, my scanners use AA batteries. I NEVER go to the track without at least 2 dozen batteries. It takes eight for two scanners, and then four for my digital camera. I will never depend only on my rechargable batteries for that very reason, buck! :)

Speaking of, I need to get me some for next weekend! We will be camping out in the infield for the Truck/IRL races!

edited for my bad speeling!
 
I've been think about getting a couple of those really small scanners that use AAA batteries. That way the wife could have her's and listen to who she wants and I could listen to who I want. Who...Whom? I don't know. :)
 
Originally posted by buckaroo@Oct 7 2004, 01:05 PM
I've been think about getting a couple of those really small scanners that use AAA batteries.  That way the wife could have her's and listen to who she wants and I could listen to who I want.  Who...Whom?  I don't know.  :)
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I had friends that used the raceceiver (page sized) scanner at Las Vegas. I bought one myself based on thier review.

I'll be using it this weekend at Charlotte and let you know how it goes. They are relatively inexpensive ($100 for the basic package - $120 for the for two package.)

Now, if it just works good, I'll be set...

:djspin:
 
Tony, I'm interested to know if you can pick and choose the frequencies. I don't want to be scanning everything all the time. :)
 
If you could get the nice scanner like at Radio shack, you can program the frequencies you want. Then just the push of a button during the races and you can listen to whomever you choose. You can get the list of frequencies for the BGN and Cup races by purchasing the program, or go to one of the scanner haulers and pay $5 and buy a list for the weekend. That's what we did at Fontana.
 
I've got a great scanner now, but it's not one of the tiny ones they are selling now. They have something like 1600 frequencies already programed in them. If they can't be controlled as to what to scan, then I'm not really interested in it. Also, we've pretty much stopped going to the Cup races because one, we can see them all on TV and two, the costs have gone through the roof. Been there and have seen them many times. We use our scanner for the local races and love it.
 
A friend of mine picked up the Raceceiver last year. He's used it a couple of times so far. It does work, but the only problem is the lack of programability. You can set 2 channels to flip between, otherwise you have to scan around to find the driver/channel you want to listen too. You can't just punch in the number like you can on a full size scanner.

I prefer the ability of my full size scanner to program by car number (with up to 3 frequencies per driver). If the raceceivers were more programmable I'd pick one up.
 
Thanks for steering me to that site. Doesn't look like something that I want to purchase, though I can see where it would work for many people. I want to be able to scan more than one driver at a time and pick and choose quickly those drivers. Thanks again.
 
You are welcome. That was the same thought that I had. I like to scan for conversations, but I also like to be able to listen to more than just the one or two that the Raceceiver offers.
 
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