It's not so much the lower cost alternative as the "universal" standard. AMB/MyLaps has become the standard in the RC world. In the greater scope of things, while transponders are expensive for what they really are, the cost of them is fairly low considering how long they last. I have some 18 yo transponders that still work as new. For a competing system to emerge, there would need to be an industry standard for communications. Then, competing companies would be able to enter the market. That will never happen, our community is way too small. There is no point in having a different brand of transponder if it only works in a few places... They (MyLaps) are in a monopolistic position, for sure, but I definitely wouldn't go back to the time of house transponders, or worse, hand counting!

Martin Paradis