Kangaroo TV questions

[Steve99]

I'm thinking about renting the Kangaroo TV setup for the Road America weekend. Has anyone every used it at Road America? Do you get reception around the entire track?

Their website seems to be lacking information. It looks like you can get a 10% discount if you order online. Do you then just pick up the unit at the race?

[turn1]

I have seen their equipment in the TV compound in Cleveland & they had a very tall crane for their signal units, so I imagine they will be fine for you. They are really cool units that add a lot of enjoyment when you are on track.

[Opposite Lock]

I emailed them last Friday to make sure they were going to be at RA and to see if there was a way to reserve the equipment. Unfortunately, I got this back:

"Unfortunately no, we’re busy that weekend. I know that RA would be an excellent venue to use Kangaroo.

Thanks for your request. Enjoy the race!

Best

Alain Charette, VP Corporate Development
W.A.V.E.S. Inc.
17510 Chemin Charles, suite 500
Mirabel (Quebec)
J7J 1X9
Phone (514) 990-0807 ext 104
Fax (450) 974-7599
Cell (450) 560-1815"

:cry:

[datachicane]

They were a last-minute MIA at Portland this year- I wonder if it's a case of:
A. Trouble w/Kangaroo
B. The subsidy was dropped for those two events (Assuming the service is subsidized by ChampCar). Things that make you go hmmm...

[Steve99]

Well, that sucks. :thumdown:

They have Road America listed on their web page (http://www.kangaroo.tv/interface.htm) under Venues (can't direct link). But it is not available to select from the rental page. :flame:

Does Road America broadcast on a radio frequency?

[KLang]

Does Road America broadcast on a radio frequency?

From the RA website FAQ:


Tune to 88.3 FM to get the action on your radio. Get lap-by-lap coverage from the RA track announcers.

[goldpanracing]

kangaroo at vancouver only had four races programmed in and ra was not one of them

[Steve99]

Seems to me that Road America is one of the better venues for this technology. Given the length of the track, you need help to see most of the race. :shakehead

I'm still looking forward to the race. I'm not going to be a :gomer: and complain about not being able to see the entire track from my seat.

[Dougrun]

Seems to me that Road America is one of the better venues for this technology. Given the length of the track, you need help to see most of the race. :shakehead

I'm still looking forward to the race. I'm not going to be a :gomer: and complain about not being able to see the entire track from my seat.

But that would also kill it very easily. We tried it at long beach and it had so many places you could not get a signal, we returned it before the race started. RA is very hilly. I imagine canada corner would not get a signal, as well as the turn 6 complex and possibly turn 3 area. RA is just too big.

[Steve99]

But that would also kill it very easily. We tried it at long beach and it had so many places you could not get a signal, we returned it before the race started. RA is very hilly. I imagine canada corner would not get a signal, as well as the turn 6 complex and possibly turn 3 area. RA is just too big.

Apples and oranges. Cities are terrible for wireless signals.

[TravelGal]

Apples and oranges. Cities are terrible for wireless signals.

I don't know about the fruit part but I tried it at Miami last year and couldn't hear Jack. Returned it and they were not very nice about it. Rather sit by a Jumbotron, concentrate on the track, and look up when no one's going by to see what else is happening. Oh yeah, and use my trusty scanner. Get it? Scanner. You get to scan all the drivers, not pick one.

Seems to me that CCWS is trying to stamp out the scanners in favor of Kangaroo. Didn't I read last summer that one of the three Amigos is invested in the Kangaroo company?

End of rant. I know I'm in the minority but they won't get my money again and won't be sorry if their finances are going bananas.

[nrc]

Seems to me that CCWS is trying to stamp out the scanners in favor of Kangaroo.


How so? They made a rule this year that all team communications had to be unscrambled. That's probably intended to assist their own Race Director effort, but it benefits everyone. What have they done that seems intended to discourage scanner use?

[RobC71]

I rented a Kangaroo receiver last year at Mid Ohio on a whim. Having that experience, I highly recommend it. The commentary from the radio was good. I didnt hear to much in the way of driver radio traffic. But what I loved was the live timing and scoring which showed the intervals between all of the drivers and their last lap time...so it was easy to see who was fast and who was catching who. The replays were also handy....I saw Jimmy's spin on reply when I didnt see him come around again....I knew what had happened to him while everyone esle at turn 2 was saying "where's Jimmy".

Try it, you'll like it.

Rob C

[Sean O'Gorman]

Last year at Mid-Ohio the guy sitting next to me let me share his Kangaroo and I thought it was awesome.

Napoleon had it at Cleveland this year too, T&S seemed a bit choppy but otherwise I thought it worked fine.

[Amanda B.'s Mom]

I would like to see the Champ Car Series use the iCard system. It is a great way for fans and others at the track to get real time scoreing and timing info. iCArd receivers are available for rent at selected RA events,

Yes, radio feed is available at 88.3 from most locations around the track, depending on how good of a reception your radio has.

[RaceChic]

Unfortunately no, we’re busy that weekend. I know that RA would be an excellent venue to use Kangaroo.

This is too bad. I have never got one of these before. I was planning on RA to try one.
It would have been ideal.

I would venture a guess that with Kangaroo TV being a Canadian based company (out of Montreal, I believe), they may be going to ALMS at Mosport that weekend.

[Steve99]

Their website doesn't show them going anywhere that weekend. :(

The finally updated their Venues page to remove most of the races. It still doesn't match the online ordering page though. :shakehead

[TravelGal]

How so? They made a rule this year that all team communications had to be unscrambled. That's probably intended to assist their own Race Director effort, but it benefits everyone. What have they done that seems intended to discourage scanner use?

Regarding Champ Car trying to stamp out scanners.... At each race last year, it got more and more difficult to find the scanner frequency list and rental booth. By Long Beach this year, there were no longer any scanner rental booths--at least not that I could find.

I realize I'm in the minority here. I like looking out at the track, hearing TK and cohorts (not the track announcer even though he is very good), and scanning the various drivers. Just about everyone else likes that timing and scoring option, replays, extra track shots, etc., that Kangaroo offers.

[Wolfeman]

I got KangarooTV at Cleveland and wasn't overly impressed with it. The picture is too small to really see anything clearly. It was good as a scanner and for timing and scoring, but for $70 a pop, it might be more cost effective to buy a scanner and dial up the live timing and scoring on your PDA.

[nrc]

Regarding Champ Car trying to stamp out scanners.... At each race last year, it got more and more difficult to find the scanner frequency list and rental booth.
I suspect that they've gone missing for the same reason as some of the other venders - less business. I guess I hadn't noticed what you're talking about because I always get the frequency list from the web ahead of time.

[TravelGal]

I suspect that they've gone missing for the same reason as some of the other venders - less business. I guess I hadn't noticed what you're talking about because I always get the frequency list from the web ahead of time.

:) Ah yes, that magical ability to plan ahead. You *know* that travel agents never plan their OWN trips properly!! Who has time? I am happy to report, however, that I finally got my wheels wound enough to get my hotel reservation in Monterey today.

As to the first part of the sentence, though, I'm sure business was down because last year was, ah, unusual. But I think it was also because of the Kangaroo stuff. Perhaps I was being too harsh thinking there was a conspiracy on the part of CART/OWRS. It's just that I am certain that I read that one of the Big Three (PG, I think) has some sort of investment in it so the mind went into overdrive.

[FRANKY]

Regarding Champ Car trying to stamp out scanners.... At each race last year, it got more and more difficult to find the scanner frequency list and rental booth. By Long Beach this year, there were no longer any scanner rental booths--at least not that I could find.

I realize I'm in the minority here. I like looking out at the track, hearing TK and cohorts (not the track announcer even though he is very good), and scanning the various drivers. Just about everyone else likes that timing and scoring option, replays, extra track shots, etc., that Kangaroo offers.

I think there is only one way to get it done, and that is to go look up the TV people and get the broadcast freqs from them. Long Beach was poor as hell this year, $5 for a sheet that was worthless, it's not like anybody there listens to scanners anyways. But my buddy was stuborn and he lost out across the board.

Just remember that they have designated areas for Kangaroo Jack. It doesn't work everywhere.

[FRANKY]

http://64.78.46.17/downloads/

[BZSetshot]

I rented a PRO at Cleveland and it was ok as a backup to see replays and keep track of T&S. I agrre with the screen size. I also found the headphones to be too isolating. I like hearing the cars and what's happening around. I would rent them again but with the normal earphones.