Radio monitoring, worth it? What type?

[AmtrakPDX]

Assuming that you understand what's being said, do many readers/riders enjoy monitoring the frequency being used by the crew while they travel? Is there much conversation even being conducted? What type of radio would be a good investment? Any make/model recommendations?

TIA for your help/suggestions.

 

[the_traveler]

I find it interesting and informative! Especially when you're stopped out in the middle of nowhere for hours! You may know more of what's going on than the OBS!

I personally have a Uniden BC95XLT, which I got from Radio Shack. (And they just happen to be on Points For Shopping - which means more AGR points for the purchase! )

 

[jmbgeg]

I find it interesting and informative! Especially when you're stopped out in the middle of nowhere for hours! You may know more of what's going on than the OBS!
I personally have a Uniden BC95XLT, which I got from Radio Shack. (And they just happen to be on Points For Shopping - which means more AGR points for the purchase! )

I have to admit that listening to the Amtrak chatter during delays would be useful, but carryng another gadget on board (Blackberry, IPOD, Kindle and sometimes laptop)??? I'd need a carry on just for toys.

 

[AlanB]

I can almost always understand what's being said, and I find it very nice having a scanner along with me. I like knowing what's going on and there are times that the engineer will tell the conductors about something coming up, that I might otherwise have missed if I hadn't heard the chatter.

There are times where you'll hear nothing for a while, and other times that there is quite a bit of chatter.

I've got a Radio Shack scanner.

 

[Alice]

I have a Radio Shack PRO-135. I listen to it all the time when traveling by myself but not at all when with others unless the train stops unexpectedly or something like that. Besides listening to the crew talking with each other, you can often catch them talking to other trains (advance warning for photo ops!) and dispatch. In addition, I sometimes take note of approximate location for photos, and getting mile markers from the track detectors is a lot easier than getting them from the side of the tracks. Some track detectors also give temperature and speed.

 

[zephyr17]

I have an older Uniden and take it with me on all Amtrak trips for the reasons described above. Note, though, it can be annoying to other passengers, so if I am listening in a public area (outside my room), I use my ear piece. On a couple of trips when we'd be stopped somewhere, the attendant would come by to ask me what was going because he knew I had a scanner :lol:

And I Amtrak trips, one carry on is a backpack that is just for toys- scanner, Zune, chargers (phone, scanner, zune), powerstrip for chargers, books, camera gear, Altamont Press timetables. And duct tape.

 

[AmtrakPDX]

In addition, I sometimes take note of approximate location for photos, and getting mile markers from the track detectors is a lot easier than getting them from the side of the tracks. Some track detectors also give temperature and speed.

What's a detector? What info comes from them? Does the same scanner pick them up? How often do you come across them?

Thanks!

 

[gswager]

Detectors are located next to the track, monitoring the temperature of wheel bearings, others that dragged on the trackbed such as air hose, number of wheels, and others. It's a safety device.

Yes, the detector will broadcast to your scanner.

 

[dan72]

I find it interesting and informative! Especially when you're stopped out in the middle of nowhere for hours! You may know more of what's going on than the OBS!

When I went to Boston last July, we were under slow orders for some time out of Albany. Mark, my attendant had spotted my scanner and kept dropping by my room asking what was going on.

I, too, have become a bit of gadget pack-rat. I have a backpack for my camera which can hold my scanner, iPod, and GPS along with my camera stuff. I'm just glad Amtrak has such as nice carry-on policy!

Dan

 

[transit54]

I'll take my scanner along on long distance trips (it's a Radioshack something or other, I can't remember off the top of my head). I've taken it once or twice on the Vermonter for a day trip, but don't normally do it. I mostly pull it out if the train comes to a stop somewhere to find out what's going on.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

For those who have "ham" licenses (FCC Amateur Radio Licenses), like both my wife and I do, virtually all 2 meter and 440 MHz hand-helds "HT's" include wide-frequency-coverage receivers that will cover the RR freqs and have plenty of memories, and a scan function. We always carry at least one of these with us, both for monitoring the RR stuff and for ham radio comms.

The Equipment Defect Detectors mentioned above do look for "hotboxes", which are overheating axles, dragging equipment, cargo which may be hanging out of a car, and so forth. As we live only a couple of miles from the main line through the Orlando area, And I have a ham radio vhf/uhf base-station antenna up on a mast, I can hear at least one, and sometimes as many as three, defect detectors from the house. I have heard at least one transmission from one telling the engineer to STOP YOUR TRAIN! STOP YOUR TRAIN! and then announce a defect, which as I remember was dragging equipment, with an axle number, and which side of the train it was on. Defect detectors are typically (at least in Florida) spaced at roughly twenty mile intervals along the route. The number of axles count is usually accurate, but the "length of train" is only approximate, varying from detector to detector. Some detectors even announce a train speed.

 

[rrdude]

Yikes! My Uniden scanner got stolen about 10-12 years ago, while parked on the street, outside the B & O Museum in Baltimore, MD.

I went to buy a new one today (you all are bad for my budget!) thru one of AGR's partners, OverStock.com but couldn't see anywhere to enter my AGR membership number. I used OverStock.com's LIVE CHAT, and this is what they told me:

Chat InformationWelcome to Overstock.com Live Chat, you will be connected with a chat representative as quickly as possible.

Chat InformationWelcome to Overstock.com, you are now chatting with Ryan.

Ryan: Thank you for visiting Overstock.com. My name is Ryan. How may I help you?

you: I came thru to OVerStock.com via the Amtrak Guest Rewards site, trying to earn points for Amtrak's Guest Rewards, by buying from you guys.........

you: However, I am at the final pay screen,

Ryan: Ok.

you: and see no where to enter my AGR membership number

you: how would I get credit for the purchase?

Ryan: It would be credited through AGR.

you: I understand that, but how do they KNOW I made the purchase if there is no wher to enter my AGR number?

Ryan: You would save a copy of your invoice and present that to them.

you: Really? It's not done electronically then?

Ryan: If there is not an area to enter you membership number then a copy of the invoice must be sent.

you: OK, that's new to me, is that standard Op procedure with other partners that OverStock.com has?

Ryan: Yes that would be the procedure in this case.

you: OK, thanks for the info. I'll keep my fingers crossed.........

Now, my question to THIS GROUP is, has anyone had trouble with getting points from this specific vendor credited to AGR?

(OverStock.com was giving 2 points per dollar vs. Radio Shack's 1 point per dollar)

 

[Long Train Runnin']

In addition, I sometimes take note of approximate location for photos, and getting mile markers from the track detectors is a lot easier than getting them from the side of the tracks. Some track detectors also give temperature and speed.

What's a detector? What info comes from them? Does the same scanner pick them up? How often do you come across them?

Thanks!

Defect detectors are quite cool.

is a youtube video of a detector there are quite a few varieties. Each railroad has a different voice, so on a long trip you will hear a lot of different detectors.

 

[Ispolkom]

Now, my question to THIS GROUP is, has anyone had trouble with getting points from this specific vendor credited to AGR?
(OverStock.com was giving 2 points per dollar vs. Radio Shack's 1 point per dollar)

I bought a DVD boxed set from them last fall and never got the AGR points. It was a small amount, and I didn't follow up very hard.

On the other hand the product I ordered arrived very quickly and other than the uncredited AGR points I was very pleased with the order.

 

[zephyr17]

Detectors are located next to the track, monitoring the temperature of wheel bearings, others that dragged on the trackbed such as air hose, number of wheels, and others. It's a safety device.
Yes, the detector will broadcast to your scanner.

Many detectors have been switched to "talk on defect only" to reduce radio traffic on the road channel. There are still a lot of normal ones out there though.

 

[jis]

Many detectors have been switched to "talk on defect only" to reduce radio traffic on the road channel. There are still a lot of normal ones out there though.

How does one distinguish between absence of defect and failure of detector?

 

[DET63]

Interesting information about defect detectors:

While the use of talking detectors has contributed to the demise of a cherished element of railroading - the caboose - they've been a boon to train-watchers with radio scanners. From detector reports, one can learn of approaching trains before they're in sight, and acknowledgements can tell the listener what kind of train to expect.
Steam engines on excursions routinely set off detectors. Waivers are issued allowing them to proceed, providing the reported "defects" are near the cylinders or firebox.

Link (scroll to end of article)

 

[AlanB]

Many detectors have been switched to "talk on defect only" to reduce radio traffic on the road channel. There are still a lot of normal ones out there though.

How does one distinguish between absence of defect and failure of detector?

I haven't heard that the RR's are setting them to talk only on defect, and frankly I'm not sure that's a wise thing to do. If the detector doesn't talk at all, then one doesn't know that it's actually working.

Now, I do know that many RR's have been shortening the broadcast by the detectors. Many detectors used to give you all sorts of neat info, like speed, axels, temp, and train length. Now many just say, "no defects" and give the MP number. Additionally many detectors orginally would broadcast an initial message when the engine passed over it to let you know that it was working, and then would broadcast a second time after the train had fully passed to give the report. Most RR's are working to eliminate that pre-broadcast, as the both engineer and the conductor should know when to expect a detector.

 

[alanh]

Re: the shopping question, when you link through from the AGR shopping site, you'll see "Affiliate Landing Page" in the browser window name and a bunch of numbers in the URL. One of them (SID=xxxxxxxxxx) is your AGR number and this is how they know.

 

[rrdude]

Dang, we do that for our dealers at work!

Why in the tarnation din't I think of that?

Thanks Alanh, but I'm still gonna save my page likes, cause i think AGR is gonna miss it............... (Oh we of little faith)

 

[MrEd]

I use the Uniden TrunkTracker III, purchased from uniden.com.

http://uniden.com/products/productdetail.c...er=TrunkTracker

I set it to scan all railroad and close calls, so I can pick up all conversations in the area as I travel on the train.

If I am traveling with someone I only listen in one ear.

 

[Crescent ATN & TCL]

Many detectors have been switched to "talk on defect only" to reduce radio traffic on the road channel. There are still a lot of normal ones out there though.

How does one distinguish between absence of defect and failure of detector?

I haven't heard that the RR's are setting them to talk only on defect, and frankly I'm not sure that's a wise thing to do. If the detector doesn't talk at all, then one doesn't know that it's actually working.

Now, I do know that many RR's have been shortening the broadcast by the detectors. Many detectors used to give you all sorts of neat info, like speed, axels, temp, and train length. Now many just say, "no defects" and give the MP number. Additionally many detectors orginally would broadcast an initial message when the engine passed over it to let you know that it was working, and then would broadcast a second time after the train had fully passed to give the report. Most RR's are working to eliminate that pre-broadcast, as the both engineer and the conductor should know when to expect a detector.

NS's dectors say "Detector alarm, dector sensor failure" when the detector goes out, and the message will repeat until a signal crew comes and re-sets the detector.

 

[zephyr17]

Many detectors have been switched to "talk on defect only" to reduce radio traffic on the road channel. There are still a lot of normal ones out there though.

How does one distinguish between absence of defect and failure of detector?

I haven't heard that the RR's are setting them to talk only on defect, and frankly I'm not sure that's a wise thing to do. If the detector doesn't talk at all, then one doesn't know that it's actually working.

Now, I do know that many RR's have been shortening the broadcast by the detectors. Many detectors used to give you all sorts of neat info, like speed, axels, temp, and train length. Now many just say, "no defects" and give the MP number. Additionally many detectors orginally would broadcast an initial message when the engine passed over it to let you know that it was working, and then would broadcast a second time after the train had fully passed to give the report. Most RR's are working to eliminate that pre-broadcast, as the both engineer and the conductor should know when to expect a detector.

They aren't converting ALL of them, there are still standard detectors at least every 20 miles or so, even on lines where the have talk on defect only detectors, too. When I get home, I'll send some examples. UP converted quite a few on former SP, I understand.

 

[zephyr17]

Many detectors have been switched to "talk on defect only" to reduce radio traffic on the road channel. There are still a lot of normal ones out there though.

How does one distinguish between absence of defect and failure of detector?

I haven't heard that the RR's are setting them to talk only on defect, and frankly I'm not sure that's a wise thing to do. If the detector doesn't talk at all, then one doesn't know that it's actually working.

Now, I do know that many RR's have been shortening the broadcast by the detectors. Many detectors used to give you all sorts of neat info, like speed, axels, temp, and train length. Now many just say, "no defects" and give the MP number. Additionally many detectors orginally would broadcast an initial message when the engine passed over it to let you know that it was working, and then would broadcast a second time after the train had fully passed to give the report. Most RR's are working to eliminate that pre-broadcast, as the both engineer and the conductor should know when to expect a detector.

They aren't converting ALL of them, there are still standard detectors at least every 20 miles or so, even on lines where the have talk on defect only detectors, too. When I get home, I'll send some examples. UP converted quite a few on former SP, I understand.

Okay, an example from the UP Cascade Subdivision over Willamette Pass south of Eugene, OR (route of the Coast Starlight):

Regular detector between Mowich and Cresent Lake at MP 519.7

Talk-on-defect only detector between Crescent Lake and Cascade Summit at MP 526.4

Talk-on-defect only detector between Crescent Lake and Cascade Summit at MP 532.2

Talk-on-defect only detector between Cascade Summit and Abernathy at MP 537.6

Talk-on-defect only detector between Cascade Summit and Abernathy at MP 538.7

Regular detector Abernathy and Cruzatte at MP 541.8

So in the roughly 20 miles between regular detectors, there are 4 talk on defect only. The Cascade Sub has a lot of detectors, more than most areas, probably because of terrain, with multiple curves, bridges and tunnels. Some of those talk-on-defect only appear to be close to tunnels.

Info source is the lastest Northwest Region (railfan) Timetable from Altamont Press. One of the happy members of my "toy bag" carryon

 

[anir dendroica]

I have an old Radio Shack PRO-75, and I would never ride Amtrak without it. I always wear headphones to avoid re-broadcasting the conductor's voice right back into his ears when he is walking the train (and to avoid annoying the passengers). I admit, though, that I can become a bit attached to the scanner (not wanting to miss something when I have it turned off), and that my preoccupation with knowing what is going on can sometimes get in the way of relaxing and enjoying the trip...

When there are long delays and the PA system is lacking in information, I can usually figure out the problem from the scanner. The question is then how much to share with other passengers. (Once they figure out that you have information, they will start asking.) I believe it is technically illegal to disseminate information heard via scanner (correct me if I am wrong), but in practice I try to use my judgment. If the problem is innocuous (waiting for a freight, signal failure, etc.) I usually share it, whereas if the problem could sound alarming to those who don't understand trains (e.g dynamic brake failure) I usually keep it to myself.

If you need to know what frequencies to program in, a comprehensive listing by Amtrak route is here: http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml