The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Transponder question
I did a search and most current answer I could find was from 2012, are the rental transponders still the old style or are they the new style? I was thinking I might need to order a mount or do I just need to show up with a handful of zip ties and a drill. I don't want to take a chance of losing one of those. Thanks
They sell them at the race. I think I paid $15 for it.
Thanks
they rent them for $50. You can buy your own for much more.
He meant the mounts, not the transponder.
While zip ties do work well the mount is actually really nice. They were atleast still the old style last year and I don't think they were looking to spend the money to replace them all anytime soon since I haven't heard any problems with the ones they have currently.
Slightly off topic, but...For our first 7 races we rented ($350). Then we said, "heck, this crapcan racin' is fun. We are probably going to be doing this for awhile, lets buy a transponder." I just added the cost (another $350) to the race expenses...it was painless. Now, 30 races in, we are money ahead by a long shot. We bought the hard wire model and wired it to the main power switch. We don't even think about it anymore.
That is a good idea. Who did you order it through?
We got it from My Laps but some folks find used ones online.
Another vote for the mount they sell at the race. Zip ties work just fine, but the ease of using the mount is well worth the 10 or 15 bucks.
I don't want to take a chance of losing one of those. Thanks
More likely is that in the process of cleaning up and loading up after the race is over, you will forget to pull it off the car and return it.
Then you get a call 1-2 hours later as you are 100 miles down the interstate asking when you are turning the transponder in? And by the way, they are still holding the credit card you left as collateral. Just sayin'
If you get your own wired transponder, make sure you have it wired to the ignition circuit, and always check the wiring (especially the ground side) before each race session. I'd say that 80% of transponder problems we get during a race are the result of hardwired transponders not turned on or not connected (the other 20% are the result of transponders mounted badly).
Also, don't rely on a single zip-tie for mounting. Most teams manage to find their lost transponders in the weeds after the race, but sometimes they've been run over 500 times and aren't much good.
(the other 20% are the result of transponders mounted badly).
Or the transponders from the erm...official supplier...being faulty out of the Pelican case. Thankfully they caught it before we turned racing laps.
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Transponder question