Pre-event SpeedWeek 2013

[Tman]

At the 2012 world finals the BNI decided not to announce the times on the CB. They used a FM station you had to listen to and the two guys talked about a lot of non racing crap. This coming year would have been my 30 th year in the timing venue but they decided they didn't need me at the world finals. I still don't understand the reasoning behind the not using the CB so the racers and crews know what is going on. I can only hope they wake up and bring it back.

Yes, it sucks having to have radio AND CB on to try and hear everything when you are in the chase truck. With all the technology we have at our disposal this is like going backwards a few decades?!?!

[Buickguy3]

  Glen,
 Could we racers just pay you a stipend to announce on the CB on say, channel 13 or something? A lot better than what I heard [or didn't hear] last year. 10-4 Good Buddy!
   Doug 

[Seldom Seen Slim]

A drawback to that, Doug, is that the only way to get current information on who's on the course and speeds and all of that -- is from the official computers (well, and some of it is on the official FM radios).  Many's the time I wished that there was a better way to tell folks what's going on (than listening only to what the parcel out).  Ah, such is life.  Has anyone received a good answer as to why the change was initiated?  I do remember that last year at WF we were told that the two announcer format was a trial - an experiment, so to speak.  Ron Christensen was there to help the new guy figure out what to do -- and the two of them got a tad too "chatty" so we didn't hear what we wanted to hear.  Maybe this year. . .

Speaking of nothing -- I've just clicked and sent the SpeedWeek registration form.  I've never used the Adobe "EchoSign" thing - never heard of it, for that matter.  Did any of you use it?  Does it work?  I printed a copy of the completed form just in case, and will probably send JoAnn a note asking her to confirm that it got there.  I spent about half an hour looking for where to click "done signing", though.  Ah, the fun of technology.  See you on the salt - in about three months.

[hotrod]

 

Glen,
 Could we racers just pay you a stipend to announce on the CB on say, channel 13 or something? A lot better than what I heard [or didn't hear] last year. 10-4 Good Buddy!

The first couple years I was out there, the radio announcer was right at the starting line broadcast booth. They were close enough you could hear the engines fire, and we could hear the cars pushing off even if the announcer was busy with something else.

For the photographers like me, the most important info we need was who is staging to run next, and a brief comment that the course is on hold or they are leaving the line, or the run was aborted with an early turn out.

If I know a car is pushing off, I can predict when they will be to my location to with in just a few seconds. That gives me the time I need to get the camera in position and pick them up as they come over my local horizon in time to start tracking them. I suspect the same info would be very helpful to folks in the pits and crews waiting for the car down course.

With out that info you are forced to watch the horizon like a hawk all day and it is exhausting to try to keep continuously alert when things sometimes shut down for an hour then out of the blue Blowfish screams by with no notice before you even know a car is on the course. If the wind is wrong you may not even hear the car on the course until he is right on top of you.

Someone stationed between the starting line and the 1/4 who could reliably call out cars leaving the line would be very valuable, they could also tell of starting line spins etc. which often leave folks down course hanging for 15+ minutes trying to figure out why no car is on the course.

If they don't choose to have a formal announcer that covers that basic info if we could perhaps get a pool of 6 - 8 people who could rotate shifts doing that on CB, folks would at least know who was on course, if not their exact speeds and times.

Larry

[Phil Bennett]

Arrive Sat night 6pm u want to head directly to the casinos for the hotrod show. Then be on the Salt for dawn for the record runs!!!

Is it just Saturday night for the hot rod shows or are these every night of Speed Week?  I'll need to make sure we are able to pitch up the RV somewhere while it's still light.  Otherwise I could find myself parked in a bog or blocking some access road come dawn.  I also need to make sure I don't have to do any reversing as the RV is slightly bigger than what I'm used to......well much bigger.  Sunday dawn is an absolute cert!!!!

[Tman]

Arrive Sat night 6pm u want to head directly to the casinos for the hotrod show. Then be on the Salt for dawn for the record runs!!!

Is it just Saturday night for the hot rod shows or are these every night of Speed Week?  I'll need to make sure we are able to pitch up the RV somewhere while it's still light.  Otherwise I could find myself parked in a bog or blocking some access road come dawn.  I also need to make sure I don't have to do any reversing as the RV is slightly bigger than what I'm used to......well much bigger.  Sunday dawn is an absolute cert!!!!

The "shows" are just an impromptu gathering of cars. Biggest on the first Friday and Saturday since a lot of the West coast folks drive their hotrods to Wendover. The hotrods start to thin out at the beginning of the week.

[azgearhed]

There are hot rods and customs parked at the Nugget every night from thursday on, Phil. Also smaller gatherings at other hotels and gas station lots. Regarding your anticipation about going to Bonneville, I'm sure it will be everything you imagined and once you've been there, you'll never get the hook out. If you have not already seen one, Mark Brazeau has excellent videos of past Speedweek events for sale.  LandSpeedRacingVideo.com

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Larry:

In years gone past Ron Christensen was stationed in his radio trailer between the long and short course (now called #1 and #2 course(s)).  That's why you could hear the engines, etc, at the vehicle left the line.  Many's the time that I'd be in the announce booth with Ron and he'd put down the mike and plug his ears with fingers -- that's how loud it can get in that trailer.  Especially when a racer running a big load fires up the engine.

As for stationing someone at the line to do some announcing -- that'd be great, and I'm all for it.  One issue that'd make it not so good as Ron did is that he got copies of the registration sheets for each and every vehicle (save those that entered late and a few others), and he'd go through them before the event, put them in tabbed numerical order in a big three-ring notebook, and then quickly look up the data on the vehicle that's just been announced as next.

Who's next, and how do you find out?  You listen on the official FM radio channel and hear the starter calling in with the vehicle number and name of rider/driver - - so the information can be entered into the timing computer.  Short that FM radio -- there's no easy way.  More so because as you know, scads of times the vehicle that "should" go next by virtue of its place in line -- chooses to sit idle for a minute or two and let the racer in the other lane go first.  Back to needing the FM radio, and I assume (safely, I'm sure) that SCTA doesn't care to lend anyone a radio set. 

If you're interested in further discussion -- feel free to contact me by regular ol' email.  I'd like to chat with you.

Jon a/k/a SSS

[hotrod]

Yes fully aware of all of that. The noise problem is easily solved, (for the long course) place the observer on the mountain side a couple hundred yards from the line. Even with out an "official radio" simple observation and a pair of binoculars would tell you who is likely next up. (at least for the cars and bikes that have large enough readable numbers that contrast with paint color.)

As you say often you have two cars staged side by side and one of the other goes sooner than the other, but to folks down course all they need to know is that car xx and car yyyy are next up, then announce which ever pushes off.

All the observer would need to get other info like course holds is a scanner tuned to the "official" FM freq. no need for SCTA to tie up a transceiver for a one way information path.

The  registration sheets would be nice, but the official program would do as a substitute for 85%-90% of the cars on the long course. The complication comes with the recent 4 course structure where the second long/short course could be running "long course cars". A proper observation position a couple hundred yards from the line would make those cars visible by binoculars as they push off, although staging cars might be hidden until the pull out.

I just think that perhaps folks are looking for a high tech solution to a low tech problem. Although the background chatter is/was nice during quiet times it also was very distracting and there is a tendency to tune it out mentally until you realize they are running again as a car whizzes by.
Personally I would like a "data only" channel for the cars staged and cars leaving the line. Leave the color commentary to the low power broadcast AM/FM.

For those who have a primary interest in specific car a terse data only channel to listen too just like in HAM radio emergency nets would be the easiest to monitor mentally. As a fellow ham I know you understand how you can focus your mind to monitor a call frequency if it only has meaningful info on it.

The one problem that would need to be addressed for such an effective staging/car on the course CB data channel would be sufficient signal strength at the 6-7+ mile points on the course to be reliable down there. Best solution to that would be a short mast and a small beam antenna pointed down course. The folks on the line could hear off the back or side of the beam with no problem while still reaching down course well enough to bury any QRM from the highway.

Larry

[Stan Back]

Some of that might work.  But only for one course out of four. 

And finding something in the program, where the entries are sorted by category and class and numeric order in the class, is very time-consuming even if you know the order they're presented in.

There's a 3-inch minimum for numbers (often less for class) and some are located on horizontal panels and behind components but are still easily read by the starter -- that's who they're for.  And trying to read those numbers, through officials, crew members and spectators, would be difficult.

As to cars running on or about the starting line -- that means nothing.  Some warm a vehicle starting two back.  Some start when the starter points at them.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Back to time I've spent in the announcing trailer.  Ron Christensen uses binoculars to get the vehicle number when he doesn't have it on the radio, and there are many times when the number isn't visible.  Sometimes it's hidden by bystanders or crew, and sometimes by another vehicle, and sometimes by sheer bad luck.  But it does happen frequently.

The new announcing regime has the trailer at the Impound area, so there's no way for the announcer to see who's on course 'til the vehicle is about (maybe) the 2 1/2 or so.  They're at the mercy of the information sent out by the tower.  And to make it very muddled -- remember that the tower is working on multiple courses, and therefore it is not unusual at all for some of the information to be dropped or simply not announced.

So the best way would be to listen to the starter's radio channel while stationed at or near the line.  But boyoboy don't think of transmitting on that frequency.  It's a safety thing first and foremost.

[hotrod]

No worries, interfering with someone else's channel is a big no-no, even if you had a type accepted radio, especially for someone who holds an FCC license.

Yes the car numbers are often unreadable even under the best or circumstances, I have pictures or a couple of cars that it took me over a year to figure out what the car number was because I could not even find where the number was on the car body even in full screen blowups of the car.

Larry

[Glen]

As most of you know I announced from the CB radio in the tower and annoucing 4 courses during the whole week, The problem now is they really have no one that can keep up with it. With 4 courses and 4 fm radios passing on the info to the tower and that data entered into the computers its difficult to do the job with current tower operation. The experience isnt there. I worked up each time they added courses and had a Dodge good handle on it plus knowing most of the cars, crews and history. It's a tough job and requires a lot of attention and concentration for hours. I loved doing it and being in the timing venue for 29 1/2 years. I just hope the SCTA/BNI wake up at put the CB back so the racers know what is going on, plus it's a safety factor for all concerned.One other thing is course 1 & 2 should do the annoucing as should 3 & 4 to cut down on the air traffic on a single CB channel. I ask them to do this when the 4th course was added, They said no.

Anyway thanks for all that supported me all these years and felt I was screwed by being not needed anymore by EMAIL.

[salt]

Glen, Dean, Wes, Ron, etc. - the recent "wave of early retirements" among the timing/starting volunteers is quite alarming.  What gives? One day, we will NEED those experienced people to run the show . . .

Willi

[DallasV]

My dad went out to the salt yesterday to check it out. Drove course 1 and 2, said the salt is dry (even at lands end) and hard hard. I saw his truck and the only way I could tell he was even at the salt was traces of salt on the mud flaps, hardly even dusted the wheel wells. He said the thing he liked the most is ther was no "fluffy stuff" on the top layer of the salt. That is a good thing