[BTCC] BTCC 2021

[redshoes]

"Bintcliffe's done it again, the cars ****ed"
"just park it, just park it"
etc

[mark_l]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

I think there are legal reasons to do with radio transmissions that means scanners that are common in USA racing are not legal in UK. Although no doubt the teams listen to each other!

Radio scanners are legal in the UK, however with the move to digital frequencies the old radio scanners are obselete.

The teams have to inform TOCA of the radio frequencies used for pit to car radios, the teams must have a radio tuned to the TOCA frequency during the following hours:

Fridays 11.00 – 17.00 (Optional during Scrutineering should Team Managers wish to contact
TOCA Technical)
Saturdays 08.00 – 18.00
Sundays 08.00 – 18.00 (or until 30 minutes after the final track activity finishes)

section 1.8 2021 BTCC Sporting Regulations

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by mark_l

Radio scanners are legal in the UK, however with the move to digital frequencies the old radio scanners are obselete.

The teams have to inform TOCA of the radio frequencies used for pit to car radios, the teams must have a radio tuned to the TOCA frequency during the following hours:

Fridays 11.00 – 17.00 (Optional during Scrutineering should Team Managers wish to contact
TOCA Technical)
Saturdays 08.00 – 18.00
Sundays 08.00 – 18.00 (or until 30 minutes after the final track activity finishes)

section 1.8 2021 BTCC Sporting Regulations

Legal to buy scanners but not legal to listen to private transmissions!

[S griffin]

Plenty of F1 journalists used to use scanners back in the 80s to hear in on radios

[auroan]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

I think there are legal reasons to do with radio transmissions that means scanners that are common in USA racing are not legal in UK. Although no doubt the teams listen to each other!

Not quite the case. The comms kits are digital and the channels are encrypted. So a scanner is useless without the decryption keys. All you'd hear is a mixture of static,beeps and weird noises.

[auroan]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Legal to buy scanners but not legal to listen to private transmissions!

It's perfectly legal, just technically not possible as mentioned previously.

I think you are refering to transmission on certain frequency not being legal without a specific license.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by auroan

All you'd hear is a mixture of static,beeps and weird noises.

Otherwise known as Radio 1!

[Greem]

It is actually an offence under the Communications Act (previously the Radio Communications Act) to listen in - to "intercept" - radio messages which are not intended for you as a listener; in the same way it's illegal to tap a phone or tamper with the Royal Mail, in essence.

That said, you're only likely to be prosecuted if the interception itself is part of a wider criminal act, and listening in to e.g. air traffic control is widely accepted.

Speaking as someone who's on the transmitting end of a radio many times a year, there are still quite a lot of analogue sets out there in motorsport land. They are, slowly but surely, being replaced with digital sets which can put many more separate channels into the same frequency space (by using different tone codes on top of the encrypted channel, exactly as the analogue ones do to a smaller effect). There are quite a number of scanners that have the capability to listen in to those transmissions but they cost an arm and a leg and have to be reprogrammed regularly.

Motorsport teams like the digital sets because they can have one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many channels in the same handsets/base units.

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

That would, I would think, depend on the relationship between the broadcasters and TOCA, as well as whether TOCA have the authority to monitor radio communications made by the individual teams.

Picking up on an older point and ignoring the somewhat irrelevant discussion over the legality of owning/using a scanner, regs specifically state that TOCA and ITV can monitor radio comms and that comms traffic may be used.

"1.8.6 It is a requirement for the BTCC organisers and the host TV broadcaster to be able to monitor pit to car communications in clear speech and talk to the driver where appropriate."

"6.6.3 The TOCA nominated TV Production Company shall have free and unrestricted access to radio communications between the teams and the drivers and any video footage produced by the Teams or their associates and may incorporate any such material in its coverage of the Championship."


I suspect part of the reason that ITV don't is that monitoring comms and picking out the good bits in real time requires extra manpower and there would be little of interest to make it worth the effort/expense.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by redshoes

I suspect part of the reason that ITV don't is that monitoring comms and picking out the good bits in real time requires extra manpower and there would be little of interest to make it worth the effort/expense.

This I think is the main reason.

We have seen the commentators talk to drivers, and then occasionally the driver has cut back to the team. The conversations they have are usually fairly boring and of no interest to the majority of viewers.

When you have a longer race (such as F1), during the two hour stint you have tactical conversations and such-like with the engineers - these sometimes add an interest. BTCC races are generally not long enough to lead to many interactions that would appeal to viewers - particularly with the lack of pit-stops.

[medius]

Most drivers of the grid would speak such obscene language that it'd have to be censored before broadcast, difficult to do quickly and accurately and loses the impact hearing 2-3 laps after the thing they are talking about.

I.E. Lots of effort for virtually nothing added to the final product.

[Alfisti]

Somewhere in my tired brain Fernando Alonso and Andy Neate have come together as one in a radio transmission...

"GP2 BRAKES! GP2 BRAKES!"

[auroan]

Originally Posted by Greem

It is actually an offence under the Communications Act (previously the Radio Communications Act) to listen in - to "intercept" - radio messages which are not intended for you as a listener; in the same way it's illegal to tap a phone or tamper with the Royal Mail, in essence.

Again, not quite and not in the context of openly transmitted "clear" radio comms. Legal context is the key. But it's going off in a tangent for this thread. We covered quite a bit on it training I did back in the day as a Rad Op in the military.

If the transmission is coded, intercepting in law is unlawfully decoding it.. if it's transmitted in the clear.... Then no issue.

[Millvi]

Norman Burgess just popped a picture up on Facebook of 3 Ciceley 330i BMWs all lined up.

TBL from BTC?

Proctor?

[antnee]

Thats what my money would be on.

But has a 6th shell being in the plan all along from WSR (as a spare)?

[S griffin]

Interesting spot. Let’s keep an ear out for any announcements that might be due

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Millvi

TBL from BTC?

Previous comments on this thread said that mid-season TBL transfers are not allowed, so who knows.

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Previous comments on this thread said that mid-season TBL transfers are not allowed, so who knows.

Maybe they’ve been given the 30th TBL from when Simpson quit?

[CroftPilgrim]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Maybe they’ve been given the 30th TBL from when Simpson quit?

Unlikely as that's the one Dynamics were refused

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by Millvi

Norman Burgess just popped a picture up on Facebook of 3 Ciceley 330i BMWs all lined up.

TBL from BTC?

Proctor?

Or its just a subframe with bodywork on it? Look where the photo has been cropped, you can't see if there's any a pillars.

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Or its just a subframe with bodywork on it? Look where the photo has been cropped, you can't see if there's any a pillars.

Or they’ve put the 1 Series into team colours

[Pickles]

If that is another 3 Series, it didn't just appear overnight. Must've been planned since before Thruxton surely?

[Pringles]

3 cars by the looks of it. But doesn't mean it's a full car as only shows the front end in it. Probably just a teaser shot.

[crmalcolm]

The brakes on the front two cars look different. My guess would be that one of them is a road car with NGTC bodykit.

[medius]

Not sure if that makes things clearer or murkier.