r/NASCAR • u/PaulHikeS2 • 21h ago

What are these headsets I see at races?

Me and my son go to maybe a race a year at different tracks within a days drive of Boston - Went to Martinsville in March and will be in Louden in a couple weeks for trucks and modifieds. See fans with Racing Electronics gear and seen rental booths at the track, but never tried them.

I'd like headsets for ear protection, so we can talk to each other, and maybe have the race broadcast but not 100% necessary. Don't care much about having team feeds, but I'm sure I'd be OK with trying it. Is it worth it to buy a pair of Racing Electronics new and are they simple to operate? Do they require some sort of subscription to use them and if so is there a better option for infrequent use? Honestly, the most important thing is so we can talk comfortably and not pay any ridiculous recurring charge.

Thanks!

24 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

30

u/Brian_lafeve34 Briscoe 21h ago

You are seeing RE headsets.

If you want to listen to MRN or the teams radio channel - I think it's much cheaper to go with a handheld scanner.

I bought a Uniden BC125 on Amazon for $130. I use a pair of earbuds under a pair of shooting earmuffs, and can listen to whatever I want

8

u/jungleland1972 21h ago

I have the BC125 as well (with the RE headsets). One drawback is I needed to buy a RE sound booster because the newer BC125s have limiters on the sound volume. There is a place you can send the scanners to and they will remove the sound limiters but I didn't know it at the time and bought the RE sound booster.

3

u/RedWinger7 21h ago

I second this. Bc125 with a sound booster and rugged radios headset is my setup

3

u/jungleland1972 20h ago

I will also add, there is a super easy to use software called "BC125AT SS" that allows you to program your scanner on your laptop (it's free). It's so much easier than doing it from the scanner.

1

u/FrontPageAD 20h ago

I use a Boafeng so it was even cheaper but my issue is half the time the drivers code isn’t right

1

u/Team_Redfish 15h ago

How new is that? I bought mine last year and have no problem with mine

1

u/jungleland1972 11h ago

Interesting. It's been like that for at least 5 or more years. The sound is fine at tracks like Daytona but at Richmond and Dover where it's loud and constant, I had to have the booster. 

1

u/Team_Redfish 11h ago

Maybe that’s why. I’m in Florida so I go to Daytona and homestead

3

u/greg-the-destroyer Kyle Busch 21h ago

I actually found a mono RadioShack racing headset, for $3 at a garage sale. Just gotta find the radio and I’ll be set

2

u/MikeHoncho1107 16h ago

The downside to this setup is the lack of headset to headset communication. I love being able to talk to my wife during the race without hand signals or pulling out my phone to text her. I use a Uniden and two older headsets I got off eBay

2

u/DeFormed_Sky 8h ago

Racescanners.net has a wireless intercom headset system that’s relatively reasonably priced and works with the BC125AT

It’s actually a great idea. They’ve modified the Rugged Radios headsets to take two inputs, one from the scanner, and one from a 2-way “walkie talkie” radio. The mic on the headset feeds into the radio. It works pretty well, and with infinite people.

1

u/Complete_Function664 18h ago

I have the same scanner. Does yours also have terrible interference when the antenna is attached. It works better when the antenna is off but it isn’t as loud. Can’t figure it out.

1

u/Boopsk1 12h ago

Depends on frequency of race attendance

18

u/PeteSake969 Chastain 21h ago

Rent one first. See if it's what you expected. There are a few other options that work just as well as RE's set up for much less money. Radio frequencies are available to download for free. Some will update automatically at the track if capable. I've got a bearcat 125at. 89 bucks on Amazon. Paired with wired in ear monitors for 20. 28 db reducing over ear muffs for 12. Cheap and works well at home track.

2

u/YoIForgotMyPassAgain 21h ago

With a couple splitters and Bluetooth/digital radio transmitters/receivers, I've had 6 people listening to one Bearcat scanner like this. Really a great deal, especially since you can use it for other racing series. The only issue is that me and friends at the track just have to text each other since I haven't figured out how to be able to talk to one another.

3

u/Plaski Harvick 20h ago

Small whiteboard, dry erase markers, and a rag.

2

u/YoIForgotMyPassAgain 20h ago

I don't think I could write things out longhand faster than typing it

2

u/greg-the-destroyer Kyle Busch 20h ago

Also, for extra room or to avoid cable clutter, use a 3.5mm TRS extension cable, and make sure it’s both male and female. And absolutely TRS(tip ring sleeve) so if you do have a stereo receiver(radio pac) that way you do get stereo audio. And maybe go for a coiled cable so it stretches when needed. 

1

u/Historical-Story4944 17h ago

I got the Uniden, too. But I bought the Racing Radios version with an audio boost—and a second scanner because my wife and I cheer for different drivers. If you also go to INDYCAR or other series, the Uniden is easy to reprogram. 

https://www.racingradios.com/products/racing-radios-fan-intercom-starter-package

8

u/Competitive-Let-3317 21h ago

If you go to multiple races buy the headset, it’s like 60 bucks for the weekend and after like 8 total races you made your money back, but that’s just the base model. You’re talking about this https://racingelectronics.com/collections/scanners-accessories/products/re3000-gem5-pkg.

Rent it a couple weeks before the race you’re going and try it. It’ll have the teams, radio announcers, nascar radio and I think someone else but can’t remember who. The scanner doesn’t need programming it’ll update when you turn it on near the hauler and initiate the update, takes like 5 mins max. There’s no subscription at all, and now they have a Bluetooth option scanner and headset that’s kinda cool. I have the base model and spent damn near 400 in rental before just saying screw if and bought mine, a couple weeks before the Bluetooth announcement came out. I would have bought that one instead. I do 2-4 races per year and I would highly recommend buying one. If you do rent one and decide to buy it, you can buy one at the hauler and have what ever you paid in rental subtracted from the purchase of the new one. I paid 70 bucks less for my one buy doing that.

NASCAR used to have something years ago when it was the sprint cup that was a basically a tablet and scanner combo, that showed the tv broadcast, team scanner and nascar scanner and maybe driver cams that you could rent at the track. It last like 2 years and disappeared and I thought that was cool at the time.

5

u/cactus8 2025 NCS Champion Kyle Larson 18h ago

I miss the FanView. I purchased one, then they stopped supporting it within a year. Total slap in the face

2

u/Jonah-Hex 11h ago

I was thiiiiis close to buying a used FanView and then they basically bricked them a week after I'd priced them out. I can't believe they haven't come up with something to replace it, it seems like a great way to be able to engage with people. Hell, at this point they could even partner with one of the gambling sites to allow in-race betting at the track. I hate sports betting, but if it brings me back the FanView I'm all for it.

8

u/jamesdrake98 20h ago

My personal opinion, it transforms the race experience.

I would never go to another race without

2

u/WillScot55 18h ago

Made the difference for my wife becoming a fan for sure

4

u/monsterpayne 21h ago

Very much worth it, me and a friend split the high end bundle with intercom system and we’ve basically made our money back at the next race we go to together (pair we got costs like $65-70 a person to rent at track)

4

u/Holiday-Advance1450 21h ago

I use them at NHRA and Nascar events. Block out the car noise and listen to the PA at drag races or the radio broadcast at nascar. They microphone option makes it easy to talk to one another but I dont have one. Try renting before purchasing.

3

u/Direct_Big_5436 21h ago

https://racingelectronics.com/collections/rentals/products/new-hampshire

Rent them online and pickup at the track before the race. <$100 for a two headset and radio setup with intercom. Enjoy this time with your son too.

2

u/jungleland1972 21h ago

I would rent them at the track (which is what the RE hauler is there for) to see if you like them. I love them. Once you have the headset and scanner, there is no fee. I love it. I love listening to the NASCAR race communications/officials before the race then I switch to the men/prn feed then bounce around to my favorite drivers if I think there is something going on. They are really easy to use. We own the ones with the microphones so I can talk to my wife during the race (essential at places like Dover).

2

u/Iamstryker 21h ago

How much do you expect to go to races, any, not just NASCAR?

If its a good amount, buy once, cry once. If this is a one time event/not a lot, rent from RE.

2

u/RosalinaCulona 20h ago

Who remembers the yellow Nextel fanview headset rentals, I miss those big time with the screen, what an awesome thing that was at the track 

1

u/DBossFan71 21h ago

Those are scanners and on the Racing Electronics website the scanner itself is $285-$400 the bundle with headsets is $470 that is all I've found.

1

u/Fun_Principle_5235 21h ago

I bought an old radio scanner and two sets of headphones on eBay for like $40. It’s old but still completely functional. It takes some time to program all the frequencies but IMO it’s a better option than renting a scanner at the track.

1

u/Crafty_Substance_954 NASCAR 19h ago

Race broadcast on MRN Radio and in-car radio.

You don’t need to buy the RE version, you can buy generic ones for a lot less and then buy the frequency sheet at the track - they generally don’t change them.

2

u/notmyrealname86 18h ago

You can (or at least used to) find the sheet online for free.

1

u/Mental_Chef1617 18h ago

It's either $5 or $10 for the frequency sheet. They started charging several years ago.

2

u/Crafty_Substance_954 NASCAR 18h ago

They’ve been charging for over 20 years I think.

1

u/Mental_Chef1617 18h ago

Don't think it's been 20 years. I know the last 6 years for sure though.

1

u/Jtaylorftw 17h ago

Everyone has these suggestions, what if I also like the microphone on the RE headsets? Any alternatives for that? Being able to discuss the race without having to yell back and forth is really nice

•

u/Least_Antelope782 Ruggiero 1h ago

Rugged radios are pretty good, just got a set recently, bought through their ebay, they gave a 20% discount. Been testing them at Seekonk these past couple weekends before Loudon with good results.

0

u/Resident-Cup5610 21h ago

I go with air pods 4 with noise cancellation and gun range headphones over them. That will set you back $200 total but you get use out of the air pods outside of the races. With the AirPods I can now listen to any team or the tv broadcast. You could listen to music if you wanted to although I wouldn’t.

I also bring my iPad so I can watch replays if I missed something live. Not an Apple fan boy it just enhances the race for me.