Here's my suggestion: why not have the starter and card sorter use FRS
radios to communicate with each other?
I worked as starter for the 8th run group, and my radio died halfway
through the first runs. There was too much radio chatter anyway from the
course workers calling in cones, so even when the radio was working, it
was hard to call in who was at the line.
If we used FRS radios, we wont have to bug the pylon counter who's probably
already trying to keep tabs of 3+ cars on course, let alone able to relay a
message to the card sorter that such and such is at the line.
-Elbert
----------
> From: Kelly, Katie <kkelly@spss.com>
> To: 'dcolicch@ix.netcom.com'; ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: Trailer crew in 3rd heat
> Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2001 7:35 PM
>
> Here's what happened:
>
> Because of our late start (due to the late arrival of the motorhome), the
> grid and motorhome were set up too quickly and logistically poorly. It
was
> hard enough seeing cars at the line. Karts were impossible.
>
> There were terrible communication problems. Someone was announcing by
radio
> who it was at the line, but it was never correct. Since we couldn't see
who
> it was, we had to trust the person on the radio. We were completely blind
in
> there. The scorer was trying desperately to see the numbers on the karts
as
> they went by on course, but it was impossibly frustrating.
>
> This wasn't just a problem for the third group, but for all the remaining
> groups. Sometimes, the card sorter couldn't see who was there, so s/he'd
> just guess. Or s/he would just neglect to even find the card. Sometimes
> s/he'd go strictly by the radio, which was always wrong. That's the part
I
> don't get, but I SUSPECT it's because who ever was radioing in the car
> numbers was going by who was being SENT to the line, versus who was AT
the
> line. Meaning there were three or four cars in front of the number
presently
> being radioed in. I say this, because finally, in group six, I was
watching
> Vernon card sort. He was going by what was on the radio, and it NEVER
> matched who was at the line. I saw this with my very own eyes. So, we
turned
> off the radio, and did it solely by our own eyes, and suddenly everything
> was all better.
>
> This is a serious problem and if something isn't done to fix it, we're
going
> to have nightmares like this forever. That motorhome is really comfy and
> convenient, but when you can't see who's at the line and who's finishing,
> and who's out on course, it defeats the whole purpose. We were better off
> with the old trailer.
>
> My suggestion for now is that since we probably do need to use radios at
> least for the start, PLEASE let it be the starter who has the radio. Say
> simply, "At the line, car number 123, CSP, White Honda Prelude, followed
by
> 46, ESP, Blue Mustang." That's ALL. We were sometimes getting these long
> lists, like, "Okay, it's 47, then 34, then 99, then 128, did you get
that?"
> Uh....
>
> There was a problem with the coordination of the karts with cars, and
that's
> my fault. I had told the grid person that the karts go at once, but I
> neglected, due to my own assumptions, to explain that the karts would get
> one run each, and then the cars would go, and they'd rotate. I assumed
that
> this was all known, and it wasn't.
>
> At any rate, yes, you are absolutely correct. The times are incorrect. It
> looks like they're wrong for the junior karts as well. I know that for
> regular cars, there were mistakes made all day. I don't know what the
rules
> are about changing times, but since it's so obvious that there were so
many
> mistakes made, I think we should fix these times. Charlie? Magical
Results
> Lady?
>
> Katie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dcolicch@ix.netcom.com [mailto:dcolicch@ix.netcom.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2001 7:04 PM
> To: ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: Trailer crew in 3rd heat
>
>
> Can anyone explain what happend in the trailer when the karts were
running.
> Almost everyone in f125, and I suspect jr kart has incorrect times.
> -Tony
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