I have no experience with scanners or receivers generally, but I can learn. It sounds quite fun to be able to listen to communication between train professionals on the trip.
Do any of you have current recommendations for a scanner that we might use on the trip? Any brands or models I should avoid? And, how important is an antenna? Something under $150 is the budget. Thanks.
We use a little Uniden SC230 racing scanner that we bought on eBay for only a few dollars. Here are a few features to look for when shopping for a radio that will scan railroad frequencies:
The capacity to receive frequencies of from 160.215 to 161.565 MHz. (This is where most railroads operate their main voice communications networks.)
The optional capacity to receive the 450 to 470 MHz UHF band. (AMTRAK’s On-Board Service personnel sometimes use these frequencies to facilitate family and group activities.)
A sufficient number of programmable channels for storing all of the frequencies you plan to listen to. (Believe it or not, 20 channels will usually be sufficient!)
The capacity to lock out certain channels so that they won’t be scanned.
A “close call” feature that allows searching for nearby active frequencies.
A “hold” feature that stops the radio from scanning and pauses it on a particular frequency.
An external earphone jack. (Wearing earphones is a “must” if you plan use your scanner in an open coach or other public spaces.)
Some might also want to add battery-charging capabilities to this list. I use disposable batteries, but make it a point to pack along my scanner’s AC adapter. Most AMTRAK passenger cars now offer conveniently-located AC power outlets for those passengers who want to use their laptop computers and other electronic devices at their seats. Taking advantage of this amenity can greatly prolong battery life.
When operating your scanner, it is not necessary or even desirable to scan through all 96 AAR frequencies since many of them will be inactive in the area you are traveling through. (A scanner’s “close call” search feature can be useful for finding nearby active frequencies.) We just program in the frequencies that our trains will be using. These can be found at the AMTRAK Radio Frequencies page of the On Track On Line website:
http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml. There, you will find most of the frequencies used by various AMTRAK trains such as the “Southwest Chief,” the “Capitol Limited,” and the “Texas Eagle.” These frequencies should be reasonably current since they are updated on a regular basis using information provided by rail fans.
As your train transits through various geographical areas, the road frequencies can and will change. For example, if you refer to the On Track On Line list of radio frequencies used by the “Pacific Surfliner” during its relatively short passage from San Diego to Los Angeles, you will see that it changes frequencies five times. Knowing where these changes occur will allow you to adjust your scanner accordingly so as not to missing anything.
As has been pointed out, the little “rubber ducky” antennas that come with most scanners should work for you even though they are not optimized for railroad frequencies. If, at some future date, you decide that you want to upgrade your antenna, the preferred antenna for monitoring railroad radio communications is an adjustable whip that can be “tuned” to a specific frequency by altering its length. (I compromise by using a 12-inch all-band antenna.) The output power of the portable radios used by the train crews is in the range of from 5 to 10 watts, providing coverage of no more than a mile or so. Since most onboard communications are only intended for other nearby radios, my all-band antenna is more than adequate for receiving them.
By all means, have a scanner along with you on your trip. (We never leave home without ours.)