Hi,
I am looking into getting a scanner, preferably a hand held walkie talkie style. My main uses would be for trying to estimate where UP’s steam excursions are at when in my neck of the woods (Pacific Northwest, Portland,OR specifically). I would also use it driving to listen to police/fire frequencies. Any suggestions on what to get/ where to get it? What frequencies would UP use in the PNW?
Thanks in Advance,
Doug
Doug: To answer your questions about scanners, scanners are available from Radio Shack or you might try Uniden’s web site, www.uniden.com to see what they manufacture and where to buy them.
The most important item is an antenna because it is key to your scanner’s reception. The “rubber duckie” antennas that are standard with scanners do not give the best reception especially in a valley. If you want to use your scanner while driving you can buy a magnetic base antenna manufactured by Max-Rad, and sold by an electronic equipment store in Germantown, TN. (Unfortunately I don’t have the name or the phone number for that store, but you can find its advertisements in Trains or Railfan and Railroad) I use a Max-Rad scanner and depending on the terrain and the strength of the signal I have found it pulls in signals from 20 miles away.
The sensitivity of the scanner also reflects its reception, but it is not always easy to find out what a scanner’s sensitivity is when you are trying to buy one. Other factors that affect scanner reception are the terrain, the power output of the transmitters, he proximity of the railroads’ repeaters, and the distance of the source of the signals.
I do not think it is necessary to buy a scanner with more than 200 channels if you plan to use the scanner for looking for trains. Other feature to look for are the ability to lock-out unwanted channels, and aprogrammable search function where you can set the frquency limits and the scanner will search for transmissions within those limits.
The railroads presently use channels in the 160.230 MHz to 161.565 MHz frequency range. Some railroads use the 452.9375 frequency to transmit information from the end-of-the-train device to the cab of the locomotive; that signal is not helpful in chasing trains because it is weak. In general the signal from the dispatcher will come in more cl
Hi Rudy,
Thank You for all the EXCELLENT info, now I at least have something to work with for a starting point. Before I knew exactly ZIP, NADDA, NOTHING, as far as what to look for.
Thank You Again,
Doug.
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The Head-of-Train (HOT) unit transmits on 457.9375 MHz with a bit more power and a higher antenna than the End-of-Train (EOT) unit, otherwise known informally as a Flashing Rear End Device (FRED). I can usually hear an HOT a bit farther away than an EOT. I have both frequencies set in my scanner.
I set in all the Association of American Railroads (AAR) frequencies in one or two banks so I can search when I go into a new area. As I learn which AAR channels are in use locally, I put those into another bank for dedicated listening. But I can always scan the whole set if I think maybe I’m missing something.
Check your state and local laws for restrictions on scanners. Washington, DC, for example, prohibits scanner use while driving a vehicle.
I have a Radio Shack PRO-84 that I bought as a backup when it went on sale for $69.95. It is surprisingly good for such an inexpensive radio. I also use a Radio Shack PRO-95 as my main scanner, which I think they have now replaced with the PRO-97.
A lot of police and emergency services use trunking systems. The PRO-95 and PRO-97 have Motorola and EDACS trunking; the PRO-84 does not.
Many police and emergency services are moving to the APCO-25 digitally encoded system. Scanners that receive this cost three or four times as much.
Uniden has roughly equivalent models, and many people think they are higher quality.
If you buy a Radio Shack scanner, be prepared to have a lot of patience with the user manual. All the information is there, but it takes bit to figure it out.
I use Radio Shack’s magnetic rooftop car antenna. It works pretty well. People say you can make a very good antenna tuned to the railroad 160-MHz band by cutting a 17 1/2 inch wire and putting it into the Radio Shack magnetic base in place of the multi-band antenna. I haven’t felt the need to try that yet.
At home
The best place to go is a GOOD C.B. shop. Their experts (well, most of them) in Anolog Comm. Radio Shack is a waste! Google it for any in your area. They sell great signal Amps. They got an Ary of antanea. beleive or not, most C.B. entenae will pick up R.R. freq. quite well. DON’T GO TO WALMART! There Amps. really ssuuuccckk!!! Their made for H.D.T.V. on antenae. Radio Shack has gone COMPLETELY USELESS. Find one in or near a truck stop. A good signal amp. will work wonders. Hanging out at Eola in Aurora all I got from Retarded Dumb"[censored]ss" was West Chicago. Went to a trucker’s CB shop west of elgin, bought a $10.00 “CB” antanae and was getting Elgin, BRC, IHB, and Savanna/Galesburg on any given day.
I also am looking at scanners. Thanks for the excellent information.
JWM
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I forgot to mention that I also hear data signals on 452.90, 452.925, 452.95, 457.90, 457.925, and 457.95 MHz. They are detectable at longer range, probably due to higher power.
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Sensitivity is the name of the game!
A sensitivity of 0.3 is very good. An old Regency was 0.15, which was super!!!
In Cajon Pass, a Uniden with a 0.4 rating (which was good) was completely silent.
But someone’s 0.15 rated Regency was squawking up a storm.
Need I say more?
A Radio Shack rated at 1.0 is perfect for the six feet under clan.
snagle:
So, I simply go to a CB shop and purchase a antanae? How do you hook it up? Is it rather simple? I have 2 RS desk scanners and a portable. The desk scanners work ok. I can get about 10 miles. The portable is either with me in the field or in my office hooked up to a magnetic RS antanae. Again…it is ok. With 3 scanners, I hate to reinvest, but it sure would be good to find an inexpensive way to upgrade.
ed
The key with the antenna is that is is efficient at the bandwidth you want to use, in this case in and around 160-161 Mhz. A regular CB antenna isn’t the best answer as it is tuned to 27 Mhz. If you want to do things “right” go to a true communications shop (the folks that sell two-way radios to municipalities) and get an antenna tuned for the band. They’ll probably even terminate it for you with the correct connector. You may lose a bit of sensitivity in other frequency ranges, but you’ll get great reception for RR traffic. There are places on the web (check the ads in Trains and MR) that will sell yo
Many of the current Rad Shack scanners are made by Uniden. Sometimes RS has a better price on them.
On my scanner, I entered all 97 AAR channels, and the EOT-HOT freqs. For a mile or two away, you should hear the EOT chirp. This helps when nobody is talking. If you get employee timetables, they list channel numbers. If the scanner has all of them in there, you are all set.
Any quarter-wave antenna of approximately 36 inches in height will do just fine. “Tuning” an antenna is critically important only if you are transmitting. General rule of thumb – the more metal you get in the air, the better. The higher your antenna, the better.
And don’t let anyone talk you out of Radio Shack products. Like Nike, they do not manufacture many of their own products and much of what they sell is of decent quality – plus you can always return things. I have a Radio Shack Pro 95 scanner that still works great after four years.
CB antennas will work for receiving if of (close to) the proper length. Reception depends much on local interference and traffic on adjacent channels. I can listen to trains 25 miles away in central Illinois, and maybe 5 mile in the radio-band crowded Chicago metro area.
I just recently got a Uniden from Scanner World in Albany, NY. Check them out on the web at www.scannerworld.com. They have a large selection of scanners and accessories that ship very quickly. While I don’t mean to be an advertisement for them as I am sure there are many other places to shop they did help me out in a pinch by getting my unit to me without extra shipping cost in only 3 days.
LC
Hi LC,
Thank You for the scanner world link. I went to their website and in their closeout section it showed a UNIDEN Bearcat BC92XLT for $84.99 + $11.75/s&h. It looks like about what I am looking for, do you know anything about this particular model, I have had great luck with UNIDEN CBs ( I am a Truck driver) Any thoughts or advice, when it comes to scanners I don’t much about what to look for, but this does seem like a good deal.
Thanks Again,
Doug
It’s news to me that Washington, DC prohibits the mobile use of scanners since I have never had any problems driving in Washington, DC using a scanner nor do I know of any other railfans in the Wshington, DC area who have gotten into trouble driving in Washington, DC while using a scanner. However, Washington, DC prohibits the use of radar detectors.
When it comes to prohibitions on using scanners I don’t think it is an outright ban on using a scanner as much as it is requiring a permit for using a scanner. You are right, there are states that require permits for the use of scanners in cars (mobile use), the use of scanners in public (portable use), or both. What the states actually restrict is the use of any radio that can be tuned to a police/public service frequency. FL, NY, MI, MN require permits for the mobile use of scanners while KY and INrequire permits for both the mobile and the portable use of scanners. While I was visiting Minneapolis several years ago I went into a Radio Shack to buy some batteries, and I asked the clerk if Minnesota restricts the mobile use of scanners, and he told me they do. But, when I asked him how strictly the law is enforced he clammed up.
I have a 200 channel scanner (10 banks of 20 frequencies) , and I also put in all 97 frequencies, but if I want to transfer frequencies to other empty channels for dedicated listening, I can’t do that because the scanner will tell me the frequency I want to isolate is already assigned to one channel.
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Sorry about saying that Washington, DC, has a scanner law. I thought they did. Nevertheless, it’s still a good idea to check the law where you are using a scanner. Some are very restrictive.
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Here ya go…
S****tate Laws on Mobile Scanners
State |
Description |
|---|---|
CALIFORNIA |
Scanner usage illegal in furtherance of a crime. |
FLORIDA |
Scanners illegal when mounted in vehicles unless the individual is a licensed alarm system contractor, a member of the press on assignment, a licensed amateur radio operator, or a citizen with written permission from the chief of police of sheriff. |
INDIANA |
Scanners illegal when mounted in vehicles unless the individual is a licensed alarm system contractor, a member of the press on assignment, a licensed amateur radio operator, or a citizen with written permission from the chief of police or sheriff. |
KENTUCKY |
Scanners are illegal while vehicles are mobile unless the user has a Federal Communications Commission licensure. Law enforcement officers are authorized to seize and destroy scanners. The law exempts the following: 1. retailers and wholesalers selling radios. 1. Commercial, educational, or television stations using them at the place of business. 1. Individuals at their residences. 1. Commercial towing trucks. 1. Newspaper reporters and photographers on duty. 1. Disaster and emergency services personnel with written permission from the state director of emergency services. 1. People holding a valid amateur radio license. 1. Pea |
Should be able to set the priority channel in each bank to the most common channel in use. Around here, I use 31, 52, 69, 79, 94. Each is the Priority channel for the bank. The scanner checks these channels more often.
i have a uniden bear cat sport cat 200
it works well for me i also have police & emergency channels on it. i just need a better antena. i had the chrip noise but i took it off cause i thought it was something else but now ill put it back in,. does the same one work for every railroad or do u need a seperate one for each line?
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Well, I’ve been lucky in Florida, New York, and Michigan.
I think 452.9375 and 457.9375 MHz are common. Norfolk Southern used to use Channel 67 - 161.115 MHz for EOTs, but they may have changed over by now.
I don’t have enough experience with the other 45x frequencies to say anything.
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