Help from above – Satellites help racers navigate
and communicate

Lowrance GlobalMap 1600 alongside a VHF FM radio in a cool carbon Fiber dash

By now nearly every serious race team uses GPS to find their way before and during desert races.  GPS is used when pre-running for programming the course.  Areas of interest like hazard areas and checkpoints, are saved as waypoints.  An electronic bread-crumb trial is saved in the GPS’s memory known as a track log.  During the race, the track log is followed to help ensure race cars are on track.

Staying on the right dirt road can be trickier than you might think.  Driving in daylight on a well-marked course is one thing.  The problem is it’s not always that simple.  The night before the Vegas to Reno race, vandals moved the course markers sending the leaders off-course.  Before racers realized they were going the wrong direction, valuable time was lost that can easily make the difference between winning and losing.  Course markers routinely get stolen or ran over which can provide an element of doubt to drivers who want to be sure they are speeding in the right direction.  There are also the issues of blinding dust and driving at night.  Racing in the dark is always challenging due to the limited visibility of what can be seen in the light beams.  With the rest of the desert landscape blacked out, it can be easy for blurry-eyed drivers to miss a turn.

David Churchill of Race Management, the grandfather of GPS’s use in desert racing.

Any team with the time needed to pre-run the course and a GPS receiver, can get this information for themselves.  Others are lucky enough to have it done for them.  Organizations such as Ford and BF Goodrich Tires make the track logs available to racers using their products.

Dave Churchill is a pioneer at programming GPS for racing.  He’s been at it since the beginning of recreational GPS use, and now works as a consultant for Ford Motorsports.  Participants racing Ford trucks have the benefit of his service.  Dave has the race course in great detail programmed into his laptop.  With the use of Lowrance GPS and Ozi Explorer software, the course is saved to the tenth of a mile consisting of two track logs with a total of 5400 points.  Qualified racers turn over their GPS receivers for an upload of the course’s track log via Dave’s laptop computer.

Dave Churchill’s map showing start to finish with a aid of Ozi Explorer software.

Calling all cars…

More of these strange looking phones are seen that have a large protruding antenna.  Unlike cellular phones that are limited to a series of land based cell towers, Satellite phones work virtually anywhere in the world.  Now it’s possible to communicate from the middle of nowhere, which just happens to be where most adventures out racing or traveling tend to be.  Like cellular phones, customers are charged by the month and by usage.  For those of us traveling outside of cellular range, this form of communication can be invaluable. 

Gary Arnold calls in race results at the finish line of Vegas to Reno

Gary Arnold of McMillin Racing says it’s definitely worth carrying a satellite phone for security of always being able to communicate with your team.  We have been able to call our mechanic to make repairs in areas where our radios were out of range.  “Without the satellite phone, the communication would simply not be possible.” 

Satellite phones work similar to GPS where all that is needed is a clear view of the sky, allowing to phone’s antenna to be exposed to the satellite signals above.  These phones, like cell phones, are becoming more affordable and accessible as their popularity increases.

Satellite tracking

McMillian Racing Tech, Bob Currie, is the team’s navigation and communication expert.  He was been working on a satellite tracking system that allows the race car to be monitored by computer from their office.  An antenna in the rear of their car sends bursts of coordinate information every ten minutes for real-time tracking.  Vehicle functions can also be monitored that might include if the ignition or lights are on.  A vehicle icon appears moving across a map on a computer screen.  Despite looking like a video game, this technology provides serious information, especially when trying to locate a broken down car in miles of desert.

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Look for our article on Satellite tracking at the Baja 1000

For more information on Satellite phones, check out our sponsor Advanced Wireless, Inc. at:  http://www.awionline.net

For more information on vehicle tracking, check out Rally Track at: http://www.RallyTrack.com

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