Do you carry a scanner to listen to Amtrak radio chit chat?

[railiner]

As a active ham I allwas carry a HT . mine do just fine picking up the RR freqs.

I love work stations while" amtrack mobile "

Just curious about your HT....even though it can receive the RR frequencies, does it allow you to transmit on them as well? Or is there some electronic 'governor' of some sort, that only lets you transmit on the ham 2 meter band?

Modern HT radios definitely have a software lock to prevent transmitting out of the ham bands and on the RR frequencies (which is illegal of course), though most you can "unlock" to transmit out of band. Simply unlocking is not inherently illegal, but transmitting on one of these out-of-band frequencies most probably is. I have never seen the need to unlock mine, though it does open up more frequencies for receive. I don't know about older ones, however.

I assumed this was the case, but wasn't sure.....

As for legalities....supposen a train crew member also happened to be a Ham.....could he legally use an 'unlocked' personal HT for work purposes, as well? I suppose even if he could legally, it would be strictly against his own Company rules....

It depends on the radio service. Some services like CB and FRS (FRS being those little two-way radios you buy in the bubble packs at any retail store) the FCC requires the equipment to be certified by them in order to transmit on those frequencies. So even though CB is unlicensed now, a Ham still can't legally unlock his radio and begin talking to truckers from the same radio he uses to talk around the world with. I don't know if railroad and business frequencies are the same, but it's quite likely they are. Though I can't think of any practical reason to do what you're saying except in an extreme emergency, something like Big Bayou Canot (i.e. the crewmember has lost their issued radio and every second counts).

Oh, I wasn't aware of that further certification of device use, requirement.....

As for a scenario for using a personal 'unlocked' HT....I was imagining it would be an OBS member of the crew, who is not issued a Company radio, to my knowledge, but if used for communication with an operating crew member, for business purposes, it could be useful at times....

I suppose the short answer is, if Amtrak wanted OBS crewmembers to use them, they would issue them.....

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Motorola police style radios are essentially indestructible. I used them on the job when I was an arcade tech and eventually manager for the arcade concessionaire to communicate with park management. I remember dropping mine when I was climbing to adjust a remote control water blaster. It worked fine after a 6 foot drop on to concrete.

 

[gmushial]

Any thoughts on bc75xlt vs bc92xlt vs bc95xlt in terms of onboard scanner usage?

 

[railiner]

Motorola police style radios are essentially indestructible. I used them on the job when I was an arcade tech and eventually manager for the arcade concessionaire to communicate with park management. I remember dropping mine when I was climbing to adjust a remote control water blaster. It worked fine after a 6 foot drop on to concrete.

I agree....they can be used as a 'baton', in a pinch, so-to-speak....just like the Mag-Lites....

 

[TinCan782]

If ALL you are interested in is railroad monitoring (160 MHz) any scanner will do. The so-called "NASCAR" scanners are fine. You'll also hear about railroads using digital (NXDN). Right now, its only seeing limited use, mainly in yards, etc. Converting all mainlines, while maintaining compatibility among railroads, more-or-less simultaneously is a ways off. At the moment, typical consumer-type digital scanners can't receive NXDN anyways. I'll also add, "narrowband" is not necessarily digital. Narrowband, or wideband for that matter, can be either analog or digital.

If you are also interested 800 MHz, trunking, digital, etc. there is a lot of research to do when shopping for a scanner. Radioreference dot com can provide a lot of information to help or, further confuse the issue!

 

[Silver Star rider]

As a active ham I allwas carry a HT . mine do just fine picking up the RR freqs.

I love work stations while" amtrack mobile "

Just curious about your HT....even though it can receive the RR frequencies, does it allow you to transmit on them as well? Or is there some electronic 'governor' of some sort, that only lets you transmit on the ham 2 meter band?

Modern HT radios definitely have a software lock to prevent transmitting out of the ham bands and on the RR frequencies (which is illegal of course), though most you can "unlock" to transmit out of band. Simply unlocking is not inherently illegal, but transmitting on one of these out-of-band frequencies most probably is. I have never seen the need to unlock mine, though it does open up more frequencies for receive. I don't know about older ones, however.

I assumed this was the case, but wasn't sure.....

As for legalities....supposen a train crew member also happened to be a Ham.....could he legally use an 'unlocked' personal HT for work purposes, as well? I suppose even if he could legally, it would be strictly against his own Company rules....

I would think the issue would be doing something illegal with the HT, not that he is authorized to use those channels to chat on.

Bruce-SSR

 

[Silver Star rider]

Yes... Amateur Radio Operators are usually self governed not to do illegal things. I have heard people try and justify to get HT's to work on government frequencies, but there is never a good excuse to illegally transmit on police, fire, transit frequencies. I think I have one of the first dual bander HT's produced,a a Icom 32 AT. The rechargeable batteries are dead, but my license is still active.

While I never did it, my interest was the opposite, get a police type Motorola and convert it to ham bands.

Bruce-SSR

I imagine the police Motorola is a much costlier and durable radio then the typical Amateur HT......?

Yes, that was the reputation of it being almost indestructible, can drop it and not break it.

Bruce-SSR

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

If ALL you are interested in is railroad monitoring (160 MHz) any scanner will do. The so-called "NASCAR" scanners are fine. You'll also hear about railroads using digital (NXDN). Right now, its only seeing limited use, mainly in yards, etc. Converting all mainlines, while maintaining compatibility among railroads, more-or-less simultaneously is a ways off. At the moment, typical consumer-type digital scanners can't receive NXDN anyways. I'll also add, "narrowband" is not necessarily digital. Narrowband, or wideband for that matter, can be either analog or digital.

If you are also interested 800 MHz, trunking, digital, etc. there is a lot of research to do when shopping for a scanner. Radioreference dot com can provide a lot of information to help or, further confuse the issue!

This is about all I use my Scanner for and the Uniden NASCAR rig with an aftermarket Duckie is PERFECT! I took time to enter the 100 or so AAR Radio Frequencies and assigned their numbers to coincide with the Channel Number on the Scanner Memory; so if the Conductor or Engineer says Let's go to 30 I just key in 30 on the pad and am right there.

 

[NW cannonball]

I've got a 20+ year old scanner that can hear the railroad 160.xx channels.

I don't always take it with me anymore.

The "... detector mile post xxx .. 28 axles - no defects .. " gets old real quick.

A few times, heard some interesting and educational stuff - like the conductor and engineer reporting the details after an "unrequested emergency application" out west in the middle of nowhere. They had to report speed, notch, power (amps) etc. when the incident happened. Conductor had to walk the train, fix the separated brake line connector, do brake test and such before we got moving again.

Mostly, now, I don't bother listening. Hear all I need to off the conductor's radio when the conductor is walking by.

But it was good, long ago, to learn what the operating crew was aware of and how they communicate. Now, I don't worry it, knowing they know their jobs, and knowing that they deal with lots of stuff I don't understand.

 

[MattW]

If ALL you are interested in is railroad monitoring (160 MHz) any scanner will do. The so-called "NASCAR" scanners are fine. You'll also hear about railroads using digital (NXDN). Right now, its only seeing limited use, mainly in yards, etc. Converting all mainlines, while maintaining compatibility among railroads, more-or-less simultaneously is a ways off. At the moment, typical consumer-type digital scanners can't receive NXDN anyways. I'll also add, "narrowband" is not necessarily digital. Narrowband, or wideband for that matter, can be either analog or digital.

If you are also interested 800 MHz, trunking, digital, etc. there is a lot of research to do when shopping for a scanner. Radioreference dot com can provide a lot of information to help or, further confuse the issue!

Actually, as far as I'm aware, the only thing railroads use for digital is either data communications such as end of train devices and signaling, or some back-end stuff, like I think Metro North has some administrative functions on digital, but that's it. Even the yards are not on digital yet.

 

[William W.]

I problems I could see with the railroads switching to digital right now are many. Unlike analog, if a digital radio gets even slightly out of range, it cuts out completely. An analog radio will fade out, but it can still be heard for much of that time, until it goes out of range completely. There are also issues with background noise. A digital radio has to, using its codecs and software, decide which noise is the person's voice, and which is background. In very noisy situations (as railroads can be), the digital radio can't distinguish between the two, and the signal is unintelligible. Analog radios transmit everything, and a person's voice is still likely to be heard. In addition, since digital radios rely on software, they can experience bugs and problems, just like any software driven device can. A bug popping up at the wrong time can be deadly on a railroad. There is also the expense involved with getting hundreds of new base stations, and thousands of new mounted and handheld transceivers.

Simply put, analog radios just work, have been proven, and are reliable. There simply isn't any good reason right now for the railroads to switch.

 

[gmushial]

If ALL you are interested in is railroad monitoring (160 MHz) any scanner will do. The so-called "NASCAR" scanners are fine. You'll also hear about railroads using digital (NXDN). Right now, its only seeing limited use, mainly in yards, etc. Converting all mainlines, while maintaining compatibility among railroads, more-or-less simultaneously is a ways off. At the moment, typical consumer-type digital scanners can't receive NXDN anyways. I'll also add, "narrowband" is not necessarily digital. Narrowband, or wideband for that matter, can be either analog or digital.

If you are also interested 800 MHz, trunking, digital, etc. there is a lot of research to do when shopping for a scanner. Radioreference dot com can provide a lot of information to help or, further confuse the issue!

Actually, as far as I'm aware, the only thing railroads use for digital is either data communications such as end of train devices and signaling, or some back-end stuff, like I think Metro North has some administrative functions on digital, but that's it. Even the yards are not on digital yet.

I assume PTC will all be pure (ie, no audio retranslation) digital?

 

[Alice]

Any thoughts on bc75xlt vs bc92xlt vs bc95xlt in terms of onboard scanner usage?

I have the bc125at. It was worth the extra to have the railroad band already programmed so I could just pick it instead of programming it before a trip. I don't remember which one I had before, one of the others you mentioned.

Things to consider:

Get an inexpensive one to start to see if you like it.

Size and weight matter.

Programmable from a PC is very nice.

Being able to give alpha names to channels is over-rated.

I like replaceable batteries for when I don't want to carry a charger. Battery life matters.

Check cost and availability of AC cable even if you don't get it right off.

Read the manual cover-to-cover before making final decision.

You may be able to get just what you want used.

 

[gmushial]

At home I have an old RS 404 or 405 (the base station version)... and have to agree w/re plugging in all the ARR frequencies (and then it turns out that I end up only using one: chnl 76)... but at least get to listen to UP move its trains up and down the coast and through the Sac River Canyon. ... I'll take a look at the 125 and see what it has in terms of features. thanks.

 

[Silver Star rider]

For those who may want to see if there is interest or not listening to these stations, there is this. If you have a smart phone (I have a android, not sure if available for Apple or not) there is a free app called Scanner Radio. Under genres, there is rail. You then pick the state, then county to see what is available. What happens is this. Someone local to lets say WAS has a scanner tuned to the correct frequency. The person then streams the audio out to the internet for people with the app so they can listen to things. There is a station for WAS, but as I am typing this, is offline. I could not find anything for NYP.

I am sure because you do locomotive switching at WAS, it would be interesting listening as they call out locomotive switching and track assignments.

Right now I am listening to Philly area rail, which I assume includes 30th st station, not that there is activity to listen to there.

The problem with trying to find where to listen, they are divided by county. For example, if I wanted to listen New Jersey Penn Station, I don't know the county it is in.

Bruce-SSR

 

[TinCan782]

I too have the Scanner Radio app. The locations where scanner feeds are provided is very limited. You may find a feed that suits your area but, a scanner app is not very suitable (in my opinion) for use while traveling. Also, you will encounter a delay or lag of several seconds from when the actual transmission occurs and when it appears via the app. I discovered that while listening to the frequency via the app and a scanner at the same time.

As Bruce stated above, this may be a way to see if this is something you are interested in before making a scanner purchase. The website http://on-track-on-line.com/ has a section on scanners including listings, by route, of frequencies that are used along a particular Amtrak route.

 

[Silver Star rider]

I too have the Scanner Radio app. The locations where scanner feeds are provided is very limited. You may find a feed that suits your area but, a scanner app is not very suitable (in my opinion) for use while traveling. Also, you will encounter a delay or lag of several seconds from when the actual transmission occurs and when it appears via the app. I discovered that while listening to the frequency via the app and a scanner at the same time.

As Bruce stated above, this may be a way to see if this is something you are interested in before making a scanner purchase. The website http://on-track-on-line.com/ has a section on scanners including listings, by route, of frequencies that are used along a particular Amtrak route.

Thanks for the link, interesting website.

Bruce-SSR

 

[tommylicious]

So do the crew use trunking radios or not?

 

[Ryan]

No.

 

[andersone]

I have a Uniden Handheld Scanner - Black (BC75XLT) ($85 @ amazon) that i use for CB when there is a delay while driving, weather when it gets yucky and by jove it has railroad too !! Very easy to use and program, and the computer interface works too.

 

[Silver Star rider]

I received a email from Radio Shack promoting their own handheld scanner for $99

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=42283576&stop_mobi=yes&filterValue=RadioShack&utm_content=HMPGB2&retainProdsInSession=1&CID=EMA%3A070714%3AOO&filterName=Brand&utm_source=HMPG&utm_medium=RSCOM#tabsetBasic

If that link works..... Its been a while since I priced a scanner with features. One thing I do like it takes standard batteries. The scanner I had for the longest time takes its own special rechargeable battery pack which means it is married to its charger for it to work. It shows it can connect to a pc for programming, and it seems to cover the appropriate bands.

Figure if this goes on sale, may get it.

Bruce-SSR

 

[dart330]

I received a email from Radio Shack promoting their own handheld scanner for $99

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=42283576&stop_mobi=yes&filterValue=RadioShack&utm_content=HMPGB2&retainProdsInSession=1&CID=EMA%3A070714%3AOO&filterName=Brand&utm_source=HMPG&utm_medium=RSCOM#tabsetBasic

If that link works..... Its been a while since I priced a scanner with features. One thing I do like it takes standard batteries. The scanner I had for the longest time takes its own special rechargeable battery pack which means it is married to its charger for it to work. It shows it can connect to a pc for programming, and it seems to cover the appropriate bands.

Figure if this goes on sale, may get it.

Bruce-SSR

I got that one on sale for $79 around the holidays. I also picked up an AC adaptor for it which ate up most of the savings. Works well for me.

 

[Silver Star rider]

I received a email from Radio Shack promoting their own handheld scanner for $99

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=42283576&stop_mobi=yes&filterValue=RadioShack&utm_content=HMPGB2&retainProdsInSession=1&CID=EMA%3A070714%3AOO&filterName=Brand&utm_source=HMPG&utm_medium=RSCOM#tabsetBasic

If that link works..... Its been a while since I priced a scanner with features. One thing I do like it takes standard batteries. The scanner I had for the longest time takes its own special rechargeable battery pack which means it is married to its charger for it to work. It shows it can connect to a pc for programming, and it seems to cover the appropriate bands.

Figure if this goes on sale, may get it.

Bruce-SSR

I got that one on sale for $79 around the holidays. I also picked up an AC adaptor for it which ate up most of the savings. Works well for me.

How do you like it? dislikes?? I thought in the email it was a new item... maybe for NY it is?? I don't know.

Bruce-SSR

 

[dart330]

How do you like it? dislikes?? I thought in the email it was a new item... maybe for NY it is?? I don't know.

Bruce-SSR

Oh my mistake. I have the previous 200 channel model the PRO-135. That one just looks like a newer version of it.