Getting a Scanner?What Kind? How many useing one?

[Anonymous]

I too, say any scanner will be nice to have. I have a Radio Shack Pro-94 that goes almost every where with me. I can listen to almost anything, day or night, and because it is handheld, I also carry a portable speaker with me. I usually go out with another rail buff, and we listen to all the talk on either the IHB or the CSX. Sometimes we also listen to the CSS&SB, and the "J" which are all located within a 50 mile radius of Hammond, In!

ralph zimmer [e-mail]

[chad thomas]

Hi John,

How did the trip go? See anything good? Go to any new places?

[Anonymous]

RudyrockvilleMD,You are correct. The Maxrad RR Scanner Antenna is very good Antenna in deed. I already have two. I keep one on the roof of my Truck.
The Maxrad is a very Powerfull Antenna.
BNSFrailfan.

[canazar]

One word... WOW...


Well, guess I got my needed info. I was thinking about the scanners this weekend when i went out with the kid for a railfan trip. Would have been nice. Again, thanks for all the comments and tips. Great info! Maybe a hint well be dropped for fathers day gift hehe

john k

[RudyRockvilleMD]

I can't add much original to what has already been said already.By now you may have even been convinced to go out and buy one.

As others have said if you intend to do any railfanning at all you need a scanner especially in this day and age of centralized dispatching, closed towers, and closed stations or agencies.

A scanner is very useful because it lets you know if a train is approaching. For example, and depending on the terrain and your antenna, if a transmission from a train is loud and clear you know a train is only a few miles away. As you know trains now use rear end devices on the last car to transmit signals with the brake pressure to the locomotive in this day of cabooseless operation. With the exception of the Norfolk Southern - which uses the 161.115 MHz carrier
frequency for its rear end device - most railroads use the 452.9375 MHz carrier frequency for their rear end device.Monitoring the rear end device doesn't help that much because it transmission which is sort of a chirp, is low power so it doesn't carry that far under normal circumstances; usually when you hear that chirp the train is either passing, or it is going away.

As others have pointed out, when track or signal maintainers ask for track time to shut the line down to make repairs, the dispatcher might tell them first what's coming, or if nothing is due for several hours, it's ok to close the track. The dispatcher will issue an order giving the control of the line to the person(s) doing the work, or the foreman of a gang that's doing the work. the dispatcher will tell them how long they can control that track. What that tells you if the line is single track, and it's closed, don't look for any trains on that line for quite a while until the work order expires. I have had this experience any number of time when I have been out railfanning.

To answetr your last question. I have two portable scanners. The older one is a Uniden Bearcat BC 100XL which I use in the car. The newer scanner is a Radio Shack Pro 83 which i use when I am away from my car. The Radio Shack Pro 83 uses either two alkaline or two NiMH batteries, the latter are rechargeable. The NiMH batteries are better than NiCad's because they can be recharged at any time, and they don't have the memory effect that Ni Cad batteries do. I paid about $120 for the Radio Shack Pro 83, and it has several advanced features.

I have had a bad experience with Scanner World in Albany, NY in that they have a draconian return policy so I wouldn't buy from them. Several years ago when I ordered a second NiCad battery pack for my Bearcat scanner, it was defective, and Scanner World wouldn't replace it. I eventually got a replacement NiCad battery pack for free from Uniden.

I also have a max rad antenna which has a magnetic base which I mount on the roof of my car. This antenna greatly enhances the performance of my scanner

[Anonymous]

It's called a Microvolt. (uv). The lower the Microvolt the more your Scanner will be able to pick up weaker Radio signals.
BNSFrailfan.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by K. P. Harrier

Everything is irrelevant except for sensitivity.

0.03 is very good. Some old Regency units had a whopping 0.015.

1.0 is an embarrassment for a fan, and was most often associated with Radio Shack units.

I had a Bearcat once (0.04) and another fan had a Regency unit (0.015). Side by side, mine said nothing, his was constantly rattling off rail communications.

I don't get it? You say that your Scanner has a S/N Ratio of .04 and his .015?
I thought that a .04 would pick better than a S/N of .015. Mabe I was wrong.
BNSFrailfan.

[techguy57]

I have a Bearcat 200 which I also use at NASCAR races and find it very much worth the investment. Easy to scan, program and extremely easy to use. I have had very little problems with being unable to pick up a certain frequency and have been amazed by its long battery life. Since I purchased it I find that I listen for other things I wouldn't have guessed to enjoy such as commercial airline frequencies and fire and police channels. I would recommend the unit to anyone.

Mike

[Anonymous]

If you are sitting on a main line like the PRR Middle Divisin a scanner is not really necessary but it is nice to have. You know something is going to be coming along. If you are trying to get a certain train or are railfanning a line with sporadic traffic a scanner is a must have. That being said, I have a Radio Shack Pro-66 and Pro-24 and they both work fine.

[Jack_S]

QUOTE: Originally posted by canazar

Ok lots a questiosn about scanners... I figured I would start here and hopefully everyone chimes in with some story or info....

Buncha questions... All kinda tied together..

1) How many use them?

2) How much can they help (mor eor less looking for personal stories here) too see if it worth it to get one.

3) If it is a good one, any type or brand that is good? Maybe a scanner that is popular among railfanners? Places to go to get one,( was thinking Radio Shack etc.) Budget minded is kinda important.

Thanks...

Best Regards
John k[8D]

1) I use a scanner.

2) In some areas they are a big help in getting ready for a train if you are taking photos. If you know enough about the rail layout in your area they can also locate RR activity for you.

3) I have a Radio Shack Pro-83 bought on sale 5 months ago. It has 200 channels in banks of 20. It also has preprogrammed aviation, police, fire, marine, and weather channels. It can get FRS channels. I have all the AAR channels in primary Banks 1 through 5, plus the End of Train and Head of Train frequencies in bank 5.

I live in the LA area, so I have Secondary banks set up for various locations and lines I might watch.

One Secondary bank for BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision and the San Diego line, which is useful when at the Fullerton station.

One for the frequencies likely to be heard when further north in UP territory.

One just for the road channels used by both BNSF and UP going from San Berdoo up thru Cajon Pass.

I think I am going to set up one bank just for Metrolink.

I include the End of Train frequency as the highest channel on all Secondary banks and set it as a Priority channel. Some areas (Barstow) produce so many EOT squeals that the scanner becomes useless and I want to be able to remember which channel to turn off. In other areas (Fullerton station for one) the EOT blips are useful to alert you to approaching trains. A lot of heavy freights come through Fullerton with no radio chatter at all.

The BNSF main line here has relatively little radio chatter. The UP lines further north seem to talk a lot more.

The Altamont Press timetables have a lot of good info on frequencies, but things change, so be flexible in setting up your scanner.

[K. P. Harrier]

Everything is irrelevant except for sensitivity.

0.03 is very good. Some old Regency units had a whopping 0.015.

1.0 is an embarrassment for a fan, and was most often associated with Radio Shack units.

I had a Bearcat once (0.04) and another fan had a Regency unit (0.015). Side by side, mine said nothing, his was constantly rattling off rail communications.

[redflasher1]

Radio Shack currently has the Pro 83 on sale for $79.95(regular price $119.95). This is a handheld scanner .

They also have the Pro 2051 on sale for $149.95(regular price $199.95). This is a mobile/base scanner.

Both have the signal stalker feature which allows you to monitor close in communications without having them programmed.

I have both models and they work just fine.

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DPD1

QUOTE: Originally posted by mac 4884

I use the epson perfection 4870, works like a charm.

I guess the power cord might make a good antenna, but it would be a pain to carry around.
Dave

Hard to get the locomotives on the glass, too...

I always try to have one with me. I know the local "schedule" (the term is applied very loosely here), and waypoints, so I usually know if I can catch a train or not. Or if I just missed it, like I did the other day.

[DPD1]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mac 4884

I use the epson perfection 4870, works like a charm.

I guess the power cord might make a good antenna, but it would be a pain to carry around.

Dave

-DPD Productions - Featuring the TrainTenna RR Radio Monitoring Antennas-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

[Willy2]

I have a Radio Shack Pro-83.
I'd say a scanner is a must-have. Mine really helps me a lot while watching trains and I don't know how I managed without one.

[Anonymous]

I use the epson perfection 4870, works like a charm.

[Anonymous]

If you want to know if there is a Train with in 7 to 10 Miles,monitor the new Digital EOTD on 452.9375MHZ.
BNSFrailfan.

[Anonymous]

There's nothing 'fancy' about the normal railroad frequencies. A lot of the current scanners have features like trunk tracking and can handle digital signals that many police and fire agencies use. With the bells and whistles the price tags range in the $300-$500 range. All those extra features don't apply to the rail channels as they are now. I've found that any scanner that is capable of receiving the VHF hi band, where the rail freqs are, works fine. In my experience the one thing that makes a cheap scanner (I got an old Uniden handheld for $25 at a garage sale) as good or better than a pricey one is a good antenna. The 'rubber ducky' antennas that come with most scanners are designed to receive all frequencies that the scanner can receive, and aren't optimized or tuned to a specfic range. As mentioned above a good, specialized antenna will make a world of diffence. On my old Uniden with it's original antenna I can get about 75% of the dispatcher traffic, but have to be within a mile or so of a train to hear them. With the external gutter mount antenna tuned to approx 160mhz I can hear virutally all dispatcher traffic and trains and detectors 5 to 8 miles away.

[DPD1]

For some railroads that have low levels of usage, and no real predictable schedule, I would say it's a must. In situations like that, it can be the difference between seeing trains all day, or sitting in your car twiddling your thumbs. As an example... The L.A./Long Beach Harbor is huge. Miles of track winding everywhere. With a radio, you can hear where the crews are working and go watch. Without that, it's like finding a needle in a haystack. The nice thing about RR radio, is that virtually all scanners have that band. Even the less expensive ones. So it's not like you have to have anything fancy. Out in open areas, some people use the trick of putting in the EOD frequency and listening for the packet burst the EOD emits, to give them a clue that a train is near.

Dave

-DPD Productions - Featuring the TrainTenna RR Radio Monitoring Antennas-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

[chad thomas]

Hi John,
I think a scanner is a must have. I also think a region timetabe is a must have companion. Scanners let you hear what's going on. On the road channel you can hear track warrents being issued, and that may tell you There is a train at location X that has authority to travel to location Y. From that info sometimes you can also determine if there is any opposing traffic on the line (Sometimes it's stated in the warrant too). Y ou will also hear warrants being given for "track & time", this is what the locals get when they are switching on the main. When a track & time warrant is issued you will know where the local is working. Of course all of this applies in TWC (track warrant controll)territory but might not in CTC territory(centralized traffic controll). In CTC territory you might not hear any communication as movements are dictated by the signal system.
On the other hand you may hear a lot of talk. Sometimes a crew in the hole will call the dispatcher to find out what they're waiting for and the dispatcher will give them a rundown of what is going on (like I'm holding you for three eastbounds).

Even in CTC territory where there is little talk on the road channel you still have talking defect detectors. These detectors are spread along the line every 10 -40 miles depending on the railroad. Every time a train passes by one it will transmit a computer generated voice. Something like" detector, milepost one one one point one no defects...no defects". When there is a defect the detector will tell the train to stop. These detectors are great for train chasing because they let you know when trains pass them. When I lived on the coast line there was one close by, and when it went off I would drive up to the tracks and within a minuet a train would pass by. That eliminates a lot of standing around waiting.

Then there is the local switchers. These guys need to do a lot of communicating to do there job. For the most part it's a lot of short transmissions like "bring em' back" or "2 to a hook". Not any real heavy info but it tips you off that there is a train working somewhere. And if your there watching it you can get the play by play announcements.

All that takes place on the road channel (mostly). There is also another channel called the PBX. This stands for "private bussines exchange". On this channel the two way radios can dial into the telephone network. You can dial up the dispatcher or call the wife to tell her your going to be late. This channel is the one the maintainance of way guys use the most. They will call the dispatcher for "working time" to do maintainance. Sometimes this channel is quite useless for info, other time it might be a goldmine.

The scanner is great but if you don't have the nessasary info about the track it might be a bunch of worthless data. Altamont Press sells these great railfan timetables that are the perfect companion for the scanner. First off they show the frequencys being used on each line. They also have a wealth of information like locations by milepost, siding locations and length, detector locations, traffic controll info (CTC,ABS,TWC,Yard limits,ect.), speed limits and special instructions that allow you to make sense of what is going on over the scanner. They also have current locomotive rosters, train symbol keys, amtrak scheduals and signal explainations. They are under $20 and are sized to go in your pocket. They can be purchased at:

http://railroadnews.net/

As far as the scanner itself goes. I suggest you get one with 100 channels or more so you can program it with all 90 AAR frequencys and not have to worry about it again. I also recomend a magnetic rooftop antennae tunned for the railroad band. I have had many scanners and they are all performed about the same, spendy or cheap. I myself am hard on equiptment so I buy cheap ones so that it's no big deal if one wears out or gets dropped one time too many. But it's up to you how much you want to spend and what brand you want to spend it on. I would say start out with a cheap radio shack model. They can run as cheap as $80, ready to run.

And one more thing. Get rechargable batteries. Most scanners have built in chargers.


Hope this helps,
Chad

[adrianspeeder]

search this forum for scanner.

Adrianspeeder

[Anonymous]

No.1. I use a Pro 92 (Hand held for the truck) connected to an outside Antenna. Railcom. I also have a Pro 95 for walk around only.
No.2. Yes! A scanner is a must when it comes to Railfanning.
No.3. Any model will do.
BNSFrailfan.

[canazar]

Ok lots a questiosn about scanners... I figured I would start here and hopefully everyone chimes in with some story or info....

Buncha questions... All kinda tied together..

1) How many use them?

2) How much can they help (mor eor less looking for personal stories here) too see if it worth it to get one.

3) If it is a good one, any type or brand that is good? Maybe a scanner that is popular among railfanners? Places to go to get one,( was thinking Radio Shack etc.) Budget minded is kinda important.


Ok, some info about me. I am in the metro Phoenix area. There is major UP line that runs around are side of town. I just about have a 15 mile span pegged out that kiddo and I go and watch. Woudl also use it for BNSF if I ever get over to the otherside of town.

Thanks...

Best Regards
John k[8D]