TYPHOON

If your battery has not been charged then a DQ is in order. But a bad antenna because it was placed out side my canopy threw my hatch and rubbed raw is something I didnt think would happen. Does that make me a ignorant racer? Has anyone said its ok to keep your antenna inside your canopy and it will work? NO. Just some scenarios of what HAS happened.
MD

2 Trick Rick

I know only limited number of racers seeing was my first year but I do know a few people this year that had GPS Problems and all were "self inflicted" .

Also I have noticed that you’re very quick to point out problems and never solutions, I'm starting to get the idea that some of your post has different agenda than what is originally asked in the questions.

TYPHOON

Rick, reread my post then slower. I suggested solutions.
MD

TYPHOON

I only want whats best for the teams that race hard at a race. There are many hard core racers that give there all to win a race and deserve to be on the podium for there efforts. If losing is because of a GPS not functioning thats pretty bad in my book. Some say its part of the game I dont!! Its offshore racing not a electronics game. There should be some backup plan.
MD

TYPHOON

As for agendas I have none in OPA. I am the same as the next guy. I do race in OSS were the spec style racing is very tight and not very forgiving if you dont follow the rule book.
MD

louietherigger

The 1st time we raced with our GPS it read for a lap or 2 then went dead. I don't think the other boats read either. Since then we hard wired the unit into our 12 volt electrical system on the boat, put a grommet on the penetration through the canopy.And mounted every component as if it was a prop or an oil filter, and we check it prior to every race, as we do our engine oil, mounts, headers ,.......... you get the message. It has never failed since. It is an integrel part of bracket racing and should be treated as such, one of the most impressive things, and one of the things that I am most proud of is how all our OPA racers will jump through hoops to help one and other, be it props or drives or batteries or even boats that wind up with the props pointing to the sky, we all help each other. Now back to the GPS units, from what I've seen most of the problems are caused by lending them out from boat to boat and they get beat up. The Batteries that come with them are junk as is the short wire. Solution? not easy for a bunch of guys who lend out there helmuts and lifeline jackets. I think every boat should have it's own GPS hard wired in properly, and make sure it works, period. As far as a new team entering mid season? We can stock a couple of units and they can buy one at the site. Allen has lent one out a few times and gets handed back a broken unit or units missing components, he has other things to do. As far as printing and posting the course speeds and paths for each boat? Sounds like a lot of work, but it makes sense, is it do able? I don't know. Thats up to the Brass. 2007 was a good year, none of us were hurt, the races were well attended, new sites popped up and new teams have joined us. It's hard to believe this year is going to be ten times better!! Louie

Wazzup Racing

Randy is just beating around the bush. What he wants to know is why do we read the units behind closed doors. Good question. The reason is simply this. A few years ago OPA, under the control of the previous Pres Kurt Burger. Decided to use GPS tracking on the boats. For no lack of the efforts of OPA, the units were junk and created all kinds of drama, and almost fist fights after the results of the GPS were posted. My biggest fear in using the system we have now was that we would experience the same result. For this reason, we kept the results private to try and have some sort of damage control in the event of another disasterous system. After a solid season of reading these units, we now know their stong and weak points. The units are extremely accurate. With the teams now educated on how to use the units, and OPA confident in their abilty to record the speeds properly, I have no problem this season with showing the teams all the race results in 2008. The history of this sport shows how fragile it is. Anything that upsets the teams, eventually blossums into disaster. We are very protective of the organization we have grown. Fair play, an even playing field, and respect for the racers will keep us strong. I hope this helps you understand the reasoning behind the reading of these units. Smitty

FunHome

I know of teams that run two of the OPA GPS units, heck I was thinking I needed to do the same..... For extra insurance in case one had a problem. I didn't know it was illegal....

Brad

fastedy

We were a team that ran 2 GPS and asked for permission and it was granted, with our intension of only turning the registered unit in and the 2nd as a back up. I see no problem with this, we spend a lot of money just to get to a race I would hate to loose do to a faulty unit or an improper connection, what the odds of screwing 2 units up or having to antennaes coming disconnected. We never had a problem so we have never had the 2nd unit read but I assume it reads same as the 1st unit. With that being said I do belive that when a unit or units do not read your DQed, final.
Just my .02

louietherigger

Hey Fastedy,
2 units is a good safety plan, back up never hurts. As far as break outs though, I don't think you get DQ'd for it you just get put back in position and points, and thats only if your boat is tested and runs over it's bracketed speed. The one thing that I think would smooth out that process is that when a boat has a failed unit it is automatically tested for top speed, eliminating the need for a protest from another team. A question I have is what is the allowable speed over the bracket speed? I would figure everyone has there boat set up to run there top speed on the 1st lap so as you burn off fuel and come to the end of the race you have to be faster, unless you are on the limiter.
Louie