Clubs are finding that having bought an AMBrc Decoder and Rechargeable Transponders, many of their drivers are not using them, preferring to use AMBrc Personal Transponders instead.  A rack full of Transponders costs nearly £1600, a considerable investment that could have been used for something more useful, like a Scoreboard for instance.  Often when a Club upgrades from AMB20 to AMBrc, the thinking is "we have 20 handout transponders so we had better get 20 replacements".  I would suggest that few clubs will need more than 10 in the long run.  In fact with some imagination, you can work well without any at all.  Here are the benefits of not having rechargeable transponders.

The benefits of not having Rechargeable Transponders

• No need to charge them up and no danger of forgetting to.
• No need to control the handing out and return of transponders. 
• No danger of someone going home with one in their car. 
• No danger of someone damaging the transponder, spur gears can do a lot of damage! 
• No need to buy a charger rack, costing nearly £300.
• Less time needed between races, therefore, you can have more Drivers racing at a meeting or run more rounds.
• You are not limited to 10 cars in a race.  Instead of running a 2 or 3 car final you can add them to the next final.

Let them use PTs

If you cannot get all your Drivers to buy a Personal Transponder you could consider the short or long term loan or rental of Personal Transponders.  At the request of our customers we have added features into bbkRC to identify Personal Transponders owned by the Club and keep track of their use.  To make the handing out of Club PTs at meetings easier, you can refer to them using a Nickname of your choice, such as ClubPT1, ClubPT2 etc.  When the driver books in you can quickly assign the available Club PT to their car by the nickname rather than the 7 digit number.

If you loan them out on a longer term bbkRC keeps track of when a Transponder was last used, so you can see if any of the Club PTs are not getting used.

If you cannot run without Rechargeable Transponders, encourage Drivers to provide their own Transponder by charging a higher entry fee for Drivers who use a Rechargeable Transponder.

To further encourage Drivers to run with PTs bbkRC has an Open Practice mode than can be running while booking in is taking place. Practice lap Time information can be announced over the PA so drivers (and Race Control) know what lap times are being recorded.  This helps you set the correct minimum lap time for the evening's racing.  It is also proving so popular that Timekeepers have problems getting the drivers to stop practicing and start racing!

The advantages of using a Personal Transponder

• You cannot put the wrong transponder in your car
• You don't have to wait for a transponder, you can get on the track and warm up straight away
• No rush to return the transponder at the end of the race
• Practice time feedback
• No hole in your bodyshell
• No worries about loosing the Transponder Clip just before your race

Here are some comparisons of the cost of AMBrc Systems:

• AMBrc Decoder & Loop: £1466
• AMBrc Decoder, 20 Rechargeable Transponders, Rack & Loop: £3134
• AMBrc Decoder, Loop and 30 PTs  £2975 that's £159 cheaper than buying 20 RTs!
• In quantities of 10 to 29, PTs cost £53.50 each
• In quantities of 30 or more, PTs cost £50.35 each
• If you are trading in an AMB20 System we will give you PTs.  Your AMB20 Decoder + 20 Transponders is worth 7 PTs.  If you trade in the Charger Rack as well we will add another 3 PTs. 

Not convinced?

If you are planning to run the occasional "open" meeting and need Rechargeable Transponders, we can rent you a set of 10 or 20 with a charger rack.  

If you MUST have Rechargeable Transponders don't buy anymore than you have to.  If you only run 6 cars in a race, don't buy a set of 1-10, just buy 1-6.  The extra 4 Transponders will cost you over £250!  If you are thinking about buying 2 sets, just buy 1 to start with, more can be added at any time if you find they are needed.  Most Clubs find that more and more Drivers buy PTs so within a few months, half the drivers in each race are using PTs.  bbkRC has a "Smart Renumber" facility that lets you spread the use of 1 set of Rechargeable Transponders across 2 heats, so Number 3 Transponder is used in alternate races.

If you have any questions, call bbk on 01638 669069 (8.30am to 9.00pm) .

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