Should I rent or buy. And if I was going to buy. What would be a good one that's low priced
Scanner question
- Thread starter Lap3Forever
- Start date
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
I bought a 100 channel programmable Bearcat at Wal-Mart for $85 and I love it.Get the frequency list at the track.I hear more TALK on that than they do on FANVIEW or TRACKPASS.I've had my scanner for a couple years now.
If you watch the Radio Shack sales you can get a race scanner for less than $100. Sometimes they even throw in a pair of head phones. You can dump the frequencies right from the internet to the scanner the night before the race.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2963186
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2963186
W
WNY24Fan
Guest
I got a 100 channel uniden off of ebay and it was brand new. I paid well under $50 for it, which is what it costs to rent one. You can get the channels off the net or they'll sell you a list at the track for $5. Forget any help from the Sprint people. There was another scanner group there, which I wish I could remember, and they were nice enough to read the instructions, enter quite a few for me and show me how to do it. I wish I had bought my $5 list from them and not the Sprint trailer. Actually, had I trusted my list, I wouldn't have needed to even buy one. I think what I took off the internet was pretty darn close to what was on the list.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
Racing Radios????
W
WNY24Fan
Guest
The name of the group? I'm really not sure. That sounds famliar. All I know is neither Sprint nor them were carrying Unidens, but THEY were NICE. I offered them some $$ for entering them for me and they refused.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
Yea the name of the group.I think that's what their name is.They are pretty cool to deal with.I usually put the secondary frequencies in also cause those drivers like to jump around sometimes too.
buckaroo
Here kitty, kitty, kitty
Scan the net for scanners and buy the cheapest. it all depends on what you want. If you want the top of the line, you'll pay for it. You can find those that will allow you to put a name to the frequency and get thousands of channels, but they can be tricky to use even if they don't cost very much. I've got an old 100 channel Bearcat that I use and the wife has a Uniden SC230 that has a gillion channels and all sorts of bells and whistles, but is so complicated that it takes a PHd to learn how to use it. Here's what I would buy if I were buying another one. Look for a 200 channel scanner and that will allow you to input the frequencies of the cars with their numbers, allowing you to add an alternate frequency with the same number +100. Or you can use those numbers above 100 for your local track. Scanners are now cheaper than they've ever been.
MRM
Team Owner
If you go to 2 or more races, definitely buy.
I think the Nextel Fanview is the only way to go. You have all of the car frequencies, repeat playback (in case you missed some audio), in-car camera views, realtime current lap speeds for each car, T.V. video, etc.
buckaroo
Here kitty, kitty, kitty
I might agree on that if you attend more than just a few races a year in the top NASCAR series. Can you program it to the frequencies you want other than those in the Cup, Nationwide and truck series? We use our scanners at the local track each and every Saturday night so we get the most out of them for our money. Also, when I'm watching a race, I don't have much time to watch my scanner.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
I put my scanner up against a fanview here at texas and I got more "real race talk" across it than the fanview did.I think NASCAR censors some of the fanview and trackpass.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
If you intend on going back to the track again and again then you should buy yourself a scanner. If you're only going to do one race a year, I'd rent one then. Personally I've never used the 'Fan Scan' but I have seen many people that do. They seem to spend more time looking at their 'Fan Scan' than watching the race. As far as watching replays and such, they have jumbotrons at the track that allow you to see all of the replays.
I have two scanners, both from Radio Shack. Both are race scanners that are programmed by car number. One is older and the other is the same as they still sell today. You can get a regular scanner for cheaper than a race scanner and it will work just as well. About the only advantage that the race scanner has is the ability to program multiple frequencies under the same car number. Most cars have at least two frequencies. They only use one and it is normally their primary frequency. Sometimes they change their channel if they get interference from an outside source. Make sure and get yourself a good headset. If you're having to turn your scanner the whole way up to hear the drivers over the car noise, get yourself a better headset.
I have two scanners, both from Radio Shack. Both are race scanners that are programmed by car number. One is older and the other is the same as they still sell today. You can get a regular scanner for cheaper than a race scanner and it will work just as well. About the only advantage that the race scanner has is the ability to program multiple frequencies under the same car number. Most cars have at least two frequencies. They only use one and it is normally their primary frequency. Sometimes they change their channel if they get interference from an outside source. Make sure and get yourself a good headset. If you're having to turn your scanner the whole way up to hear the drivers over the car noise, get yourself a better headset.