The scanner mega-thread

[HairyDJ]

Originally Posted by NewYankee01

that's if you can get race control! many a time using my radio ive punched in the correct frequency and no matter what i try i never pick anything up, and mine works to a very very wide band...

Hmm, brings up another point about scanners which I heard a while ago & thoroughly agree with :- "By all means have a scanner, but if you keep fiddling with it during racing either it goes back in your kit box, or you leave my post"

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by Woolley

...unless you're flagging a long distance race where the commentary can be of invaluable assistance.

My worry is the start of this where the poster felt 'left out' without one. If people are using them they should be passing on information to those who aren't. A scanner can be useful as a source of additional information but it shouldn't be interfering with communication between the marshals. If it is, then I have a problem with them.

Reminds me of a situation I saw in a pub recently - 3 girls having a night out, each of them on their mobile and not talking. The one on the left sent a text to the one on the right who showed it to the one in the middle...

you are vastly more experienced than me but isnt this a case of watch and follow my lead, do as i do, you dont need to worry what race control says rather than leaving him out delibrately? we'll have to ask but if he's a trainee like ive recently just come from, he may have either been informed anyway and not had a radio. it could be a case of not wanting to be the odd one out than feeling more in the loop... i dont need mine on circuits because everythings quite easy to work out, come rallies though, boy do i need it... i never know the next time i get spectator problems and the like and be the only guy "in charge" of the bigger events at a junction/mtc or the very dodgy dangerous parts and be a mile or so away from the only guy who can help properly... im not a gadget guy but i had that feeling once upon a time, i turned up to my second circuit marshalling day a bloke called dave had a scanner, the patches, the fire retardent underwear the bags and the utility belt, i had to just slowly accumulate that stuff over that following week! makes me sound like a bit of a marshalling "tart" but id rather have got the stuff sooner rather than later, after all, 99% of us soon pass the phase of "do i want to carry on with marshalling" after the first day...

[Terrible-Tones]

Originally Posted by Woolley

3 girls having a night out, each of them on their mobile and not talking. The one on the left sent a text to the one on the right who showed it to the one in the middle...

And you text'd all three asking for their numbers...

Scanners - a very personal opinion!

Yes I have a scanner! Often I am asked by an I/O or PC if I do and if so it has a bearing on the way a post is split as below.

Sometimes it is useful, sometimes it is not, I don't think there is a hard and fast rule.

1) When I have been on my own on post it is unvaluable, makes you feel part of the event and is useful for last car numbers etc, or if someone has chequered twice, and why we are standing about under reds for 1/2 an hour, and other such useful tidbits.

2) If I am asked to "run" a split post away from PC or IO then it is useful for that for all the reasons we already know. It provides a way for the I/O to communicate his wishes to you via messages to Race Control, and keeps you abreast with such things as listed in point 1 above - and also if someone has won the raffle LOL.

3) When I am on post in a team with an I/O or PC then I do not think it is needed. In fact I can find it a bloody distraction, earpiece falling out, the thing bouncing around in your pocket on the run, fiddling with volume etc. In this case I do expect other team members, particularly I/O or PC to keep us abreast of info as it comes in. Yes, I do want to know there is car off at Maggots, and I do want to know the number. I also want to know what the joke on the radio is and why you are laughing. I do like to to marshal without a scanner most of the time.

4) Very occassionaly I have used a scanner in the situation in 3 above. It can depend on my mood and whether someone else has one. I don't really know why! If someone else has a scanner have I almost certainly won't bother as they can pass on the info if the I/O does not. If we have an incident and I am wearing a scanner I will simply drop the earpiece out of my ear and concentrate on matters at hand.

5) A scanner is an almost essential bit of kit on startline. It is invaluable to know when the cars are released, who is missing, countdowns etc, especially during a red flag. The issue is that you can be standing in the middle of the track, 1/4 mile away from the Chief, with no one else in earshot.

6) A scanner is also useful to teach you radio etiquette. By listening in I have learnt so much about comms and incidents. Therefore I hold no fear if I am asked to use a radio, which happens sometimes. This confidence has come about due to scanner use. Indeed I think this is really important, and I have been known to give a new person my own scanner (with permission) so they can listen for an hour or so, and therefore start to gain an understanding of what goes on. I will stand with them to explain the calls and to subtly make sure they are staying safe. The caveat is that if we have something on post they simply drop the earpiece out of their ear.


The other caveat to all the above is that if I want to use a scanner I do not think it is my given right. I always ask both the I/O and PC for their permission, if they so "no" then that is totally their choice and I absolutely abide by their rules.

Practical matters - my scanner is Maycom 108 - fairly robust, light and easy to use. Also ubiquitous, so if you have trouble someone on post will probably know which menu to look at or button to press. Got mine for less than £20 on Ebay. Batteries seem to last about 6 or 8 full days.

Frequencies - Silverstone has it's own ES frequency, most (not all) circuits use the MSA standard one. However sometimes you go to a meeting and when you dial in the standard one or two frequencies you get nothing. Some clubs use their own radios and therefore the frequencies are different. This explains why one week the scanner is fine, but the next week you turn up at the same circuit and you are greeted with a frustrating radio silence. It is worth researching which clubs use what and sticking them in the machines memory. Also sometimes there are different frequencies for differing roles, such as Pits/Paddock and Startline, Flags, and perhaps PC's.

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Terrible-Tones

Practical matters - my scanner is Maycom 108 - fairly robust, light and easy to use. Also ubiquitous, so if you have trouble someone on post will probably know which menu to look at or button to press.

If you can't follow the operating instructions, don't panic, there's a better version here:

http://web.onetel.com/~davebrand/Maycomsetup.doc

[Woolley]

To clarify, I don't have a problem with scanners or radios following the commentary. They are tools which can be useful if used properly. They can also be a distraction and a barrier to communications on post. It depends entirely on who has them and how they're used.

[Terrible-Tones]

Originally Posted by Woolley

To clarify, I don't have a problem with scanners or radios following the commentary. They are tools which can be useful if used properly. They can also be a distraction and a barrier to communications on post. It depends entirely on who has them and how they're used.

[LandieLad]

I very occasionally use a Yaesu VX8 fitted with bluetooth / APRS so the device, although it is water resistant, stays in my sac. All frequencies are locked in as are the controls so no fiddling.

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by HairyDJ

Hmm, brings up another point about scanners which I heard a while ago & thoroughly agree with :- "By all means have a scanner, but if you keep fiddling with it during racing either it goes back in your kit box, or you leave my post"

thats if you have enough patience! i tried for a couples of minutes before the racing, if i tried harder i might have got something, or maybe no one was transmitting! if some pc did say that to me id be a bit on the annoyed side, as much as i love my marshalling, i try to have the utmost proffesionalism in the job but as ive said before, i dont need more hassle from this ive got my job for that...

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by Woolley

To clarify, I don't have a problem with scanners or radios following the commentary. They are tools which can be useful if used properly. They can also be a distraction and a barrier to communications on post. It depends entirely on who has them and how they're used.

well said

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by LandieLad

I very occasionally use a Yaesu VX8 fitted with bluetooth / APRS so the device, although it is water resistant, stays in my sac. All frequencies are locked in as are the controls so no fiddling.

i hope you didnt pay full price! wow, i was toying with getting a £400 radio but if id have had to spend that much id have waited a couple of years to save up!

[LandieLad]

Originally Posted by NewYankee01

i hope you didnt pay full price! wow, i was toying with getting a £400 radio but if id have had to spend that much id have waited a couple of years to save up!

Did not purchase in the UK (rip off prices). Purchased at home for about 1/3 cheaper than UK equivilent prices at the time and has far greater Tx coverage as our band plans have a greater allocation. The bluetooth board and the headset came free. The headset can be used with the TM350 also.

Only occasionally Tx in the UK and then only on 23cms.

[Stephen Green]

Originally Posted by NewYankee01

thats if you have enough patience! i tried for a couples of minutes before the racing, if i tried harder i might have got something, or maybe no one was transmitting! if some pc did say that to me id be a bit on the annoyed side, as much as i love my marshalling, i try to have the utmost proffesionalism in the job but as ive said before, i dont need more hassle from this ive got my job for that...

If you need to 'fiddle' with your scanner then do it when racing or other track action has ceased. As a PC I would insist you did that if I had seen you regularly fiddling with your scanner and not paying attention to the track action, that is part of my responsibility to look after my team and helping to keep them safe.

[exflagman]

Originally Posted by Stephen Green

If you need to 'fiddle' with your scanner then do it when racing or other track action has ceased. As a PC I would insist you did that if I had seen you regularly fiddling with your scanner and not paying attention to the track action, that is part of my responsibility to look after my team and helping to keep them safe.

Its not just the 'fiddling with scanner' that I found a problem, it's the fellow flag marshal with the scanner who suffers from the well recorded male inabilty to multi-task, resulting in the frequent bouts of 'lights on but no-one at home' syndrome while they listen to some irrelavent message on the scanner and then proceed to tell you that 'car nn pulled of at post xx'. If they switched the scanner off and just concentrated on the flagging they might have noticed the car went missing some 4 laps previously!

I must admit that in 25 years of flagging I cannot recall ever meeting a flag marshal whose abilities I felt where enhanced by them having a scanner, and only a few that seemed to be able to cope with a scanner and flagging at the same time.

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by Stephen Green

If you need to 'fiddle' with your scanner then do it when racing or other track action has ceased. As a PC I would insist you did that if I had seen you regularly fiddling with your scanner and not paying attention to the track action, that is part of my responsibility to look after my team and helping to keep them safe.

id agree with that all of my "fiddling" with my scanner is done in the down time but there may be the odd volume change at the start of the day, ive never met a marshal though that does it mid race...

[EvilPumpkin]

Originally Posted by Bodysnatcher

23rd season down in the record books, still no scanner. If I need to know I get given a radio.
Still prefer to see the majority of my incident team without a scanner in their ear, concentrating on their own incidents, not someone else's.

Snap on the no scanner and now into double digits on the marshalling front (where does the time go!).

I spend a lot of time avoiding getting a radio at all - I certainly don't want to listen to it at my own expense!

I figure if I need to know something, I'll be told. Probably...

[Mike Kelly 1]

Marshalled for around 15 years, not got a scanner, never felt the need for one, wont be getting one!

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly 1

Marshalled for around 15 years, not got a scanner, never felt the need for one, wont be getting one!

as said im not as experienced as others but i can see its ok for circuits to not have one, rallies you dont need one, most of the time, but sometimes you really do need one! its definately more a case of life or death, so much can go wrong with a nasty junction with a heap of spectators/nutters... ive narrowly avoided having the death of a child on a stage because his parents wouldnt move him and he couldnt have been standing in a worse place. another one i had a big smash into a tree with what seemed no one else was around for a good half a mile. i am very lucky it worked both times... i dont know how though. i could have gone without one for circuits, i flag and i dont need it for that but now ive got one i might as well use it

[EvilPumpkin]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly 1

Marshalled for around 15 years, not got a scanner, never felt the need for one, wont be getting one!

You don't bloody need one - whatever is going on is always going on where you are!

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by NewYankee01

ive narrowly avoided having the death of a child on a stage because his parents wouldnt move him and he couldnt have been standing in a worse place

Since a scanner is receive only I'm curious how it helped. I presume you threw it at the child...?

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by Woolley

Since a scanner is receive only I'm curious how it helped. I presume you threw it at the child...?

hahaha, well observed, i deleted this when writing my previous post but ill put it in this time, im not going into details on anything on this particular matter... after that event i questioned whether to carry on rally marshalling, the single most worst stage ive ever been on so many kids, stubborn tourist, chavs and dogs barking and going wild at the rally cars when they were backfiring, badly setup stage and dangerous entry were i had 2 of about 85 cars (with all the retirements) off and the worst thing i couldnt do anything about it. i almost felt like walking off the stage, so if any rta deaths did happen i wouldnt have been there as a signed on official. i didnt, but the organisers wouldnt have known where i was, i just turn up to stages most times and offer my help. (thats how they work if any one doesnt know all hands on deck literally with rallies, thats why rally grading it doesnt say you have to be assesed you could graded top official if you liked with no trouble) will never do another forest rally again. i just had to let things be. i swear i must have been white faced when it all finished. i may sound like im being overdramatic but even a stage commander would have had his work cut out they were that bad.

[Matt Hunter]

Ok so I've been trawling the threads trying to find some usful info on scanners as we will be using them for the first time next season.
If anyone with frequencies for Silverstone, Castle Combe and Thruxton could check me a PM I would be most grateful.

Not that I wish to stoke the fires anymore but I wll say, while I appreciate people's position on this, I do get the impression that some members think that people are incapable of watching the action in front of them AND listening to their scanner.
Personally I have zero issue with doing two things at once, I'm also capable of putting my own shoes on and doing them up without any help.
I think more issue needs to be raised with marshals chatting away to people behind the fencing or leaning on the armco facing the wrong way with cars passing by at close proximity.
I ask you, what's more dangerous? Listening to the circuit radio on a scanner whilst watching whats going on, or chatting to a mate behind the fence or not even watching the track? What's more likely to get you into trouble? Last time I checked none of us have yet been furnished with eyes in the backs of our heads...

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by Matt Hunter

I do get the impression that some members think that people are incapable of watching the action in front of them AND listening to their scanner.

Some people - a very few - fit that description. Where it starts to become an issue is people who can do both of those but can't interact with the team around them as well, and that's a much harder thing to accomplish.

Scanners can be very useful and I'm quite happy to work with people who use them. It's the suggestion that they're essential that worries me. It sometimes helps to know what's going on around the circuit, especially if it forewarns you of SC periods, red flags or just why we're all standing around twiddling our thumbs but it's never vital that you know - you can do your job just as well without that information and if it starts to affect your teamwork then arguably you're doing your job worse despite the extra knowledge.

To sum up, as with any other equipment, it's not what you're using but how you're using it that matters.

[skeee]

Originally Posted by Dave Brand

That's my worry. Seems to me the real problem here isn't the presence or absence of scanners but the attitude of other marshals towards one of their colleagues.

Wholeheartedly agree!

Got mine for 40 quid (Maplins B Grade) end of last year, used it all season, (almost 50 days) and always relay what's going on from Race Control to the rest of my post.

[Mark Smith]

I've used scanners for the last 9 years and found them very useful. I do rallies and circuits and use the scanner for both. Often on a rally It's a long way to the next radio point so being able to hear what's happening further up the stage is very useful especially if you're on your own. If a stage is stopped for an incident that you can't see it's useful so you know why nothing is happening at your post. I never act on what I hear without checking whats happening. I've been on my own on rallies before now and the scanner is then the only way of knowing whats going on.
On circuits the scanner can still be useful as you can hear when the circuit goes live and if any incidents are happening that you can't see.It doesn't get in the way of whatever duty I'm doing.
I use an old Realistic scanner most of the time. The reception is really good on it even in areas where there are really poor coms.

[jondwyer]

Somebody wants to buy me a scanner for Christmas, to help with my marshalling. I'm now in a position to order one but, never having owned or even used one, I don't know what features I'm looking for. We are talking bottom-end of price-range, possibly Maycom 108 or Uniden: what would other marshal recommend?