The BNSF uses radio frequency 161.100 for the mainline “racetrack” into and out of Chicago and so this is one of the most used frequencies on my scanner, but I have noticed for the last week or so the transmissions are weak and garbled at times, not the other frequencies but typically only 161.100…anybody else notice this?
Rain, snow, sleet,hail, sunspots. Any number of things can have a bad effect on thing.
Most railroads have multiple towers - they might have temporarily lost the one nearest to you, so you’d be hearing the next nearer tower instead. Given directional antennas on their tower and a purpose-built antenna on the locomotives, they’d do fine. You’re reception is suffering.
If applicable, check your antenna setup - broken wires and corrosion do happen.
Would a RR use an encrypted radio to be more secure? Or would it be too much trouble/expense?
Encryption would be a logistical nightmare for a Class 1, not to mention the cost of acquiring the equipment that would be capable.
The change to narrow-band notwithstanding, methinks that the next major change in railroad communications will be the digital workstations mentioned in the latest Trains. It would be much easier to add encryption to this new roll-out. Even without encryption, it’s possible to add digital signing to ensure that all communications are legitimate.
No, the railroads are not using encrypted radios…yet. That would be impractical, as you would have to change everything on the railroad, from the coax, to the antennas, to the radios, to a new digitally encrypted system. It would cost over a million dollars to switch over. What would be their purpose? Even on a police department that uses encrypted transmissions, there is no real reason for them to use them (besides the “feel good” sense you have), unless they are trying to hide something; illigeal or not.
The list is endless when it comes to radios. It could be a problem on their end - bad radios, water in the coax on one of the hundreds of repeaters, damaged antenna. Or, it could be a problem on your end. If you are using an external antenna, you could have gotten water into the coax, which would mean a total replacement of the coax. Your connectors should be filled with a product called “stuff”, which is water resistant to corrosion, and wrapped with coax seal or some sorts. Or, if using a handheld transceiver or scanner, your antenna connection to the circuit board could have been broken, which means that the solder would have to be reflown. NEVER EVER hold the handheld radio by it’s antenna. It’s the stupidest thing you could do.
Phil
weather has been pretty crappy the last week, might have somthing to do with it [%-)]