Thanks Dave, some Detective I must have been.  Several of my friends are motor cops in the Sheriff's Office.  I will give one of them a call...

To inquire about missing... lol

vince, i bought mine a couple months ago.  never know, i might actually go to a nascar race someday

Thanks Bob!!  They do have some to rent correct?? Man, I running out of time and money!!

Thanks Bob!!  That's true, probably paid the same amount as what NASCAR would charge to rent!!

They have them available at the track right?

For the "budget conscious" racer:

If you don't want to purchase or rent the "RaceCeiver" unit from IHBA, simply purchase or borrow someone's hand-held, portable scanner (the type used for listening in on police/emergency frequencies and/or NASCAR radio communications).  A trip to Radio Shack can get you what you need for $30 and up for a scanner by itself.  Just make sure the scanner you obtain is PROGRAMMABLE and able to receive UHF frequencies between 400 - 500 mhz. and you are all set.  Then purchase a set of "ear buds" and you are good to go.

Question for you guys.  I finally bought a radio from IHBA and I guess it has the capability to have my crew talk to me.  I was wondering if anyone is familiar with these new radios and what it would take for my crew to talk to me?

Vince,

Just to set the record straight, you did not purchase a "radio" from IHBA.  You purchased a RaceCeiver "scanner" from IHBA.  This unit has the ability to receive signals (listen only),  it cannot broadcast any signals.  In order for your crew to talk to you using this unit, you would have to purchase a UHF radio/walkie-talkie that broadcasts in one of the frequencies available to the RaceCeiver scanner.  Once you purchase this radio, you tune the RaceCeiver to the EXACT frequency that your new radio/walkie-talkie transmits on, only then will you be able to hear what your crew might be saying to you.  NOTE: you will NOT be able to talk back to your crew using only the RaceCeiver scanner.  In order to do this, you will have to  purchase another radio compatible to the one your crew has.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time!!

Thanks for the help Mike, I appreciate it!!  Pretty sad that I don't know anything about these damn things!!  Hell I just installed an air shifter, shows how far behind I am!!

So, the way I'm understanding this is that my crew has to be on the same frequency as IHBA right in order to talk to me (one way of course!)?  I guess I need to read the instructions!!  What's the other input for on the radio?  Mine I guess has the capability to have something else besides ear buds plugged into.  I appologize for my ignorance!!

Thanks Eddie!!  That's a good idea.  I'm assuming one side can be tuned to one frequency and the other side to another. 

What types of radios are you guys using?

Well I have to say I really like the new radios and ear buds. I rented the standard receiver and bought the 25.00 ear buds and could hear fine when the motors not running.  What I liked most was being able to hear the communication between rescue and the starter so were not seating on the rope clueless, why theres delays and so on.  It was also nice being able to hear the starter without looking over...

After 3 races and a short learning curve, I have to say that from our perspective, this was a home run and I can't believe it took us this long to implement it's use. It reminds me of years ago, when I installed my 1st garage door opener. 

1)The starter still has his voice at the end of the day and the benefits to his use in communicating with the drivers on the rope is endless.

2) The racers are always informed on what's going on without having to hear unnecessary chatter. To my knowledge there have been no inadvertent communications causing any problems. 

3) Rescue can talk to the racers if they see something unusual to see if they are OK.

The list of positives is growing with every race as we learn of new ways to utilize them

What do you guys that have already experienced using them think about it?

Scott i must agree not only from a saftey stand point but i feel the whole program moves much faster. Hey almost one-hundred boats and 4 rounds of qualifing on saturday thats very impressive!

it was interesting going to dexter last weekend where radios aren't used.  back to my old paranoia, not being able to clearly hear the starter...  and sparky told me the starter's voice is gone by the end of the weekend...

'course, i didn't miss trying to stay untangled in the radio wires, but i'd trade that anytime to be able to hear...