Hi all,
I keep putting off purchasing a scanner for a combination of my lack of knowledge and cost involved. Please, could anyone help me decipher these product descriptions, give input on different scanner’s perfomances, and perhaps recommendation on affordable listening options?
Thanks so much for any assistance you can lend.
Two words, my friend: Radio Shack. All you need to spend, all you care to listen to.
Hey Carl! [:)]
Something like this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3704415#tabsetBasic
?
It has to be digital, right? And does it matter how many channels?
Lorie, if you were using it only for railroad transmissions, 100 channels would be enough. I’m not sure what the future’s going to bring, so maybe you’ll need 200 channels, if they put new ones in the intervals between the old ones.
What I have done with my own scanner is program the frequencies of the AAR channels into the corresponding scanner channels. Thus Channel 52 on my scanner corresponds to AAR Channel 52, which is the old CNW Channel 1, still used as the primary road channel by me.
The one in your ad isn’t a bad price to pay. I’d certainly get an a.c. adaptor if you plan on listening from your pad (domicile), and I’d also get an adaptor that would allow you to plug it into your truck’s lighter receptacle. Just be mindful of which states prohibit the use of scanners like this in your car.
I hope you get other opinions on this here–I’m not a true Scanner Geek, but mine (similar to this, but an older model) has served me well for six or seven years. Somebody might be able to tell you of other satisfactory products, or of something better for the price.
Yeah, stupid digital and narrowband…I hate to spend money just to find out I’ve got to reinvest in a few years. Excellent point on ac and car adapters, thanks! My apartment is…what?..half a block from the CP tracks (I guess that’s probably still called ‘Milwaukee Road’.) and what could be more awesome than listening to railroad radio??? I might actually figure out how to run down there before the trains pass by!
http://www.boscovs.com/StoreFrontWeb/Product.bos?type=Product&itemNumber=30098
This one’s $60 (I can find it elsewhere for $80-90) and there’s free shipping. Meh???
| Uniden Bearcat Portable Scanner #BC92XLT |
|---|
| 200 Channels. 10 banks. Compact design. Close call RF capture technology - instantly tunes to signals from nearby transmit. Covers 25-54, 108-174, 406-512 and 806-956 bands. Six preprogrammed service searches - public safety, railroad (by channel), air, marina, CB, GMRS/FRS, weather, news media, ham radio. Backlit display. Attenuator - cuts down on interference from strong, nearby signal sources. Delay - helps prevent missed replies during 2-way conversations. |
Should be OK. Bearcat was one of the early names in scanners. The preprogrammed railroad channel search sounds neat, but don’t know if I’d pay extra for it.
Please, someone else say something! I’d hate to lead this poor gal astray!
I have four scanners…long story that I wont get into.
The RS units have been pretty good, but quite a bit is dependent on the antenna. I have a hand held that is always in my car (tucked under the seat due to legal regulations) and two very old RS units strategically located in the house. The best scanner in my group is RS Pro-433 a digital unit here in my office at home.
I am constantly trying to get better reception by adjusting the antenna (that seem to be the key component).
Are you going to use the scanner in your apartment and then outside? If so, the hand held is what you want. However, I would purchase an auxiliary antenna for use in your apartment. Otherwise you will be looking at about 5 miles reception. With a good stationary antenna (RS sells them for about $30), you can place that in your apartment, easily hook up the scanner and probably extend you reception to 10-15 miles.
Currently, I am listening in to quite a bit of activity on the CSX and NS here in NW Indiana. I have been listening for 15 minutes and have heard communication or signal callouts for 6 trains. I am still not satisfied with the reception, primarily due to the antenna. There was a thread a couple of weeks ago which outlined by concerns and considerable good advise.
Good luck and enjoy the chatter. Cant tell you how much enjoyment and info the scanner provides.
Ed
Since you obviously already have a computer and Internet access, you can listen to railroad scanners free from various locations throughout the U.S. until such time as you purchase a separate scanner.
One of the biggest debates you’ll hear about the present state of railroad radio monitoring is whether to purchase a scanner or two-way radio. I’ll speak of them in broad terms here; there are countless comments you can find on this at other more technically-inclined forums. Scanners start out in the lower price range and in most cases will serve you well. Two-way VHF radios will bump you up slightly in price, but they usually out-perform scanners when it comes to range and sensitivity. (And some two-ways actually have a scan function.) To legally use a two-way you will need an operator’s license, and to own one that’s capable of being programmed for railroad frequencies opens up a whole other list of issues I won’t go into here.
Another consideration is battery type. One of my hand-held scanners uses a recharchable battery pack, with a second pack always charged and at the ready. Continuous run time on a rechargable battery pack, depending on how many channels are being scanned and how many transmissions are received and output on the speaker, averages about 14 hours for one of my packs. I’m talking a 20-year old product that’s had its two battery packs upgraded a few years ago with new, higher-capacity cells. Two-ways and newer scanners may have longer-life rechargable batteries.
My other hand-held scanner uses four AA batteries, and I find this to be a far superior set-up for those trips where I’m out in the desert or mountains for several days, hiking far from my vehicle (which has its own mobile scanner) and having no AC outlet for overnight recharging. Continuous run time on the AA scanner is several hours better than the rechargable scanner. Carry along enough spare AAs and you can scan to you heart’s content for days on end. Then again, a solar powered battery charger could be your answer, if you don’t mind adding the size and weight of that plus your scanner’s AC adaptor to your backpack.
Finall
Bruce:
THe Maxrad 5/8 might be what I am looking for. I Googled it and there are some issues:
What is the desired length of the antenna? I see it comes as a 51" unit. Does it need to be cut down? During my search, it seemed that 43" is the desired length. That varies from the 17.5" that I read and am using.
Would it work well on a series of side by side metal file cabinets? What is the purpose of the “ground”. I am looking to use it in my office.
Any other suggestions?
Ed
I bought a Radio Shack 200-channel scanner in 1985. It has been on 24/7/365, with rare exceptions, ever since. I listen to the local BNSF channels, and fire/police, etc… I don’t know why, but it never disturbs my sleep, unless something BIG is happening. Instant alert! I do travel with it, and have beaten it up pretty badly. It has six re-chargable AA batteries and lasts a long time on a charge. I do recommend you get some cheap, lightweight headphones, in case you want to use it on Amtrak trains. Better than getting dumped off in Stanley, ND!
Hays
Ed, the 5/8 wave antennas I use are sold as the “Railscan Mobile Gain Antenna” from Railcom (railcom.net), a regular advertiser in Trains and other magazines. I’ve seen where some guys have saved themselves a couple of dollars buying this elsewhere and tuning (trimming) it themselves. Railcom will custom tune your antenna to optimum length for the railroad band before shipping, and they have always given me exellent service.
This antenna is about 45" tall from bottom of the magnetic mount to the tip. Comes standard with a BNC connector (other connector options available if you specify) and enough cable to run carefully through a doorway weather seal and then under your seats or dashboard/console to wherever you want your scanner to ride.
On top of a metal file cabinet will work pretty good, though you’ll get better reception in the center of larger horizontal metal surface, like the roof of a vehicle. Ground plane doesn’t mean that it’s electrically grounded for safety, but rather that the flat surface beneath the antenna, be it land, the roof of a building, or a metal appliance or vehicle, completes a structural circuit that maximizes the antenna’s ability to absorb incoming radio signals. That’s my layman’s take on it, anyway.
I will spend the extra bucks for a product which will work for me.
I have 44" from my file cabinet to the ceiling. Not much I can do on that. I really appreciate your recommendation and will look into purchasing one soon.
Ed
Good advice from all.
The antenna is paramount. As noted, a good antenna will bring stuff in far better than any stock scanner antenna. More on that later.
As MP173 asked - how do you plan to use the scanner? If it’s never leaving your apartment, maybe you should consider a base unit instead of a “pocket” scanner. No battery expense that way.
Another question you need to think about is what else you may want to listen to. If public safety interests you (what are all of those fire trucks/police cars rushing down the street for?), you’ll need to ensure that your scanner will also receive those frequencies. For example, the first model you linked won’t work for me where I live because many fire deparments use a band that that scanner doesn’t cover.
What you want for railroad listening needs to be capable of receiving 160-161 Mhz.
If you plan on travelling a lot and listening to a lot of different railroads, go big or go home - something portable and capable of all 200 of the eventual railroad channels (once narrowband kicks in) programmed as Carl suggests. If you’re staying in one area you may only need to listen to a half dozen channels, possibly including public safety. My home scanner is a 16 channel Bearcat.
On Bearcat and RS - some of their models have a remarkable resemblance - because they’re actually the same radio, rebranded…
On antennas - at home, go as high as you can get
Thanks so much everybody! I really appreciate you help.
After checking out that railroad radio Web page, and listening all day, I know I need something I can listen to all the time in the apartment AND take out railfanning.
(It’d be fun, too, I suppose, to listen to police, etc., if I can get them in, but this is for railroad.
So it sounds like I need a handheld scanner with a good antennae. I didn’t know I could have a two-way radio programmed and use that. I’ll definitely check that out too, cos I’ve barely got out of the city in the last five years.
I wish my brain had a good antennae tonight, though. I’ve got to stop working weekends.
I’ll sit down tomorrow night and make notes on what everyone’s said and get some research in.
(Just now, I can hear a CP’s whistle…ahhh, it won’t be long now.)
Thanks again! Y’all are AWESOME!!!
You have probably already purchased a product by now, but I might as well weigh in with a bit more in case there’s anything here of interest. I have a RadioShack Pro 82 (200 channels), which I bought over a year ago. Although its intended purpose was railroad-only, it can do standard police/fire, ham radio, weather, and various VHF and UHF ranges. Out where I am, only a few channels are able to be used for railroading since there’s not much of anything out here. Channel 1 is B&P, Channels 2 & 3 are NS, 4 & 5 are FRED. This setup has been quite simple and useful, and it has served me quite well.
Although I do not require it for much else, I have found listening to ham radio quite pleasant, especially given the quality of many discussions. It’s also nice when there’s nothign else to listen to, which, around here, is often. And the ability to tune in to local emergency operations has been useful as well, especially during bad weather, or a break in bad weather (when criminals come out, and you hear police very busy going after all of them). And the weather feature alone has been extremely helpful, though as you may have plenty of other ways to access forecasts, it might not matter that much to you.
I also bought a $20 telescoping antenna with it. Out where I am, this thing would be almost nothing without it. Since you are in a city, and the railroad you are listening to is also nearby, you might not need such an antenna, though you still might find it beneficial if you expect broadcasts from outside your local area (especially if you’re mobile and chasing a train). A common rule of ANY RADIO AT ALL-
“A radio is only as good as the antenna attached to it.”
Also, as you are in a city, the model I suggested would not likely be useful to you, as most cities operate on digital, trunking, 800 bands, etc. (only matters if you pl