>>150583927
>At IMSA races, I have an additional FM radio plugged into an auxiliary jack. I went a bit nuts and bought two so I can also talk to my freind and we can find each other super easily.
... and currently I have my SDS100 plugged into my active hearing protection ear muffs, they function, but they're meant for shooting, so the mics aren't tuned to filter out crowd and engine noise very well. They play scanner audio just fine.
> If you're a race fan, you really do need a scanner. If you think you don't, it's because you don't know.
>Truth bomb. You don't even need a nice one. Those radios are like $30 and the cheaper headset was $90. There is one on Amazon for as low as $40. It's 300% worth it to just get an FM radio, ear buds and ear muffs if the track has an FM transmitter. Road Atlanta, VIR and Road America all do.
I have a particular brand of autism that drives me to get the best thing I can afford, and 2 years ago that was the SDS100. Almost any handheld FM reciever is better than nothing, you'll get the race broadcast and not be totally in the dark. Ham HT's will function well enough, the freqs in Indycar are mandated to be analog and unencrypted, but if they ever update radio protocols then you'll be shit out of luck with the cheaper ones. Then again, if they use a digital protocol that your exoensive handheld doesn't support, you'll be shit out of luck then, too. They do a serviceable job as scanners, but will be beat in that regard by any of the Uniden's, and I think they're the only ones making handheld scanners, though they're certainly the best.
If you're questioning why you need one when you have a smartphone, you haven't considered that you won't be able to get the in car audio at the track when the cell tower is overloaded with 25k more user then it was designed to handle. That's where having something independent of internet and cellular infrastructure comes in.
2/2
