The move to the new house put me in prime listening area to the CSX. I took advantage of a friend who knew a little something about radio waves, etc and he configured a antenna, which seems to work better (not much). A couple of questions:
Should the length of the antenna be around 17" or 34" based on the formula (based on the wavelength)? He used an old antenna (from a TV) with a middle post. After scratching our heads, we extended it to 17" on each side of the center, for a total of 34".
CSX crews call out signals in a very former manner. “CSX engine 1234, west track 1, MP 222.2, approach limited, train Q113-17”. That is quite a bit of information but what I am finding is that about half way thru the transmission the quality of the broadcast completely falls off. As Neil Young once said in introducing a song “It starts out strong and then peters out all together.”
Quality of the transmissions vary greatly based on the time of day. During darkness it seems much stronger. For instance, there is a HBD about 4 miles away. During the day I dont receive many broadcasts, but at night I do. My house is not parallel to the railroad but perpendicular.
The scanner can pickup transmissions from Wellsboro, which is 15 miles due east, but not the scanner which is 4 miles away. The line in question kind of loops around where I live, then heads directly east around Westville (US421). At that point the railroad line is more or less in a straight tangent with my house.
So…what can I do to improve reception? Are the inconsistancies something that can be addressed or more geographically an issue? There is a pretty good sized morraine (for Indiana) between my house and the HBD and the “loop” area of the track.
If you have the antenna elements going horizontally, you may be hurting yourself with polarization loss and directional nulls. I’d orient the antenna element(s) vertically. The HBD typically has a lower transmitter output power, as it only needs to be heard by the train crew that is passing by it.
Here’s a good site that has links to home-made scanner antennas for railfans-
Quarter-wave for VHF-High Band (where railroad radio resides in the spectrum is around 17".
Trains are moving targets. It’s possible that you’re hearing transmissions from the trains that occur at about the same geographical point each time, and there is something (distance, buildings/terrain) affecting the signal you receive. Sometimes people do that, too (trail off, that is, when they’re talking).
Yep. Nature of the beast.
Part of my answer for 2 applies here (although it’s not moving). Part of the problem might be your antenna, which sounds to be at least somewhat directional. And the geography is a factor as well. I’ve noted directional antennae on things like HBD’s, too. If it’s not pointed at your house, you won’t get as good a signal as you would if it was, or was an onmi antenna.
The ultimate answer is a tuned antenna mounted as high as you can get it. Just make sure you take all the appropriate precautions regarding antenna safety, and put a good lightning arrester in the line (if it’s outside, especially if it’s taller than the house,etc). Indiana is prime lightning country.
There are plenty of do-it-yourself and commercial solutions to your antenna needs. Depends on your level of expertise and bank balance…
The antenna is off of some old radio or TV, with telescoping ends from a center mount. I had it 17" on both ends, now I have reduced it … will let you know. I will also figure out a method of vertically mounting it.
I think it is probably time to bite the bullet and find a good indoor or possible outdoor system. It is just too much fun listening in. This is actually better than railfanning with a camera. I can work, or do other tasks in my office.
A really simple (and inexpensive) indoor solution is simply a length of coax, with a couple of mods. How long it needs to be depends on how you will put it up. That will become more obvious as you read through this.
One end has to have the proper connector for the antenna connection on the scanner, either directly or through an adapter (although adapters can introduce losses).
On the other end, measure 17.5" from the end (about center of the RR frequency range) and carefully remove the outer insulation. Avoid nicking the braid if at all possible.
Once the outer insulation is gone, carefully work the braid back over the remaining insulation, exposing the insulated center conductor. When you’re done, you should have about 17.5" of exposed center conductor, and a nearly equal length of the braid running down the coax.
You might want to shrink-wrap the braid, or carefully cover it with electrical tape.
A crimp terminal on the end of the center conductor will give you a way to hang it up. Other solutions are acceptable.
Hang it as high on the wall as possible. Just secure the end of the center conductor and let it hang.
If you’re going for an outside antenna, note my previous caveats, as well as considering an “all band” antenna. That way if you decide to check out why the fire department is across the street, and if they aren’t on VHF-High, you’ll be able to tune them in that much better.
Hi Ed, In addition to what Larry said… I would advise you get your ant. outside and elevated, either up in a tree or at least up on your roof. 17" is 1/4 wave for 160Mhz. Upping that to 34" would be 1/2 wave and you should get 3dB more gain. I would just adjust what you have to 17" on each side,(make sure you use a 300 to 75 ohm matching transformer to hook up the coax) tape it verticaly to a wooden pole that would get you higher then your roof. if you still have problems getting what you are after you can get a decent pre-amp from radio shack for under $40.
Actually, most communications systems use 50 ohm impedance as a standard. The 75 ohm stuff will work, but going with a designed 50 ohm antenna system (even if it’s home-made) will provide better performance.
If you’re feeling handy, you might try building a [url=http://www.hamuniverse.com/jpole.html]J-Pole antenna.[/i] Research well - I’ve never built one so I don’t know the vagaries involved. What I’m reading, though, makes it sound like a pretty efficient rig - easily built with a length of copper pipe and a few fittings.
My reception this morning seems better. I have placed the antenna vertically (sticking it in a jar). You gotta realize that I am pretty low tech. But, I have been catching the HBD call outs this morning without breakups.
The Q110 is now on the block for the HBD and the sun has been up an hour and half…lets see what happens.
The UPS man delivered my new Railcom 5/8 antenna today and I am disappointed. Something is obviously not right.
Ok, it is a magnetic mount, primarily to be used for cars and I am using it in my office, on a file cabinet. The reception is a bit better than the homemade unit which is 17.5" long. Here are a couple of questions.
Does it matter where in my office it is located? Due to office furniture placement the antenna is near an inside wall. The homemade unit is near the outer wall. The homemade unit picks up NS about 10 miles north, while the Railcom unit doesnt.
Would it help to have it in the attic? Does it need to be placed on a metal base in the attic? If so, what would you recommend?
Does the fact that the house is alum sided restrict the reception?
Well, you’d be best having it near a window. That’s the #1 thing for me. I’ve also noticed that since they changed the doors to this building (from metal doors to some kind of lighter stuff with think flexiglass windows), the reception by the doors dove horribly. Still, try to have the antenna near a window.
Geography also makes a massive difference, so massive, that as is said in ham radio, “You can hear the repeater that’s 100 miles away, but not the one that’s only 10 miles away.” natural barriers are, indeed, barriers.
One more thing while I’m thinking of it. Since you mentioned it being in an office, keep it away from the computer and other electronics. That stuff usually interferes with reception quite a bit. It doesn’t have to be clear across the room, but keep it at least a couple yards away from that stuff.
I will give you an update on the scanner/antenna situation.
First, thanks for all the advise. What has become obvious is my office is a scanner black hole…not much escapes my scanner. The combination of being inside and computer, printer, fax machine, etc must create quite a fortress. Reception, even with the new antenna is limited to just a few miles.
Last week as the weather warmed, I took two antennas outside along with a couple of scanners. One antenna is the 5/8 wave from Railcom with the mag base. The other is a Radio Shack 32" with a mag base. Placing the 5/8 wave Railcom on my car the reception dramatically improved and improved more with the car out of the garage.
Next, I placed the 5/8 wave on a metal gardening tub about 10" x 20" in size. Reception was good. Then I placed it on the roof of the garage…I hit the mother lode. Reception was very very good.
Experimenting between two scanners and two antennas found the old RS desktop was not as sensitive as the RS handheld. So, I hooked the handheld to the 5/8 and the desktop to the 32" RS and compared. The handheld and 5/8 was much better. What I havent done yet is the digital Radio Shack Pro433 with the 5/8 wave. That will probably be the best.
Here is what I am experiencing:
CSX - I am regularly picking up train communications 15-20 miles out. Previously, it was about 5-7 miles.
NS - On the Fort Wayne line, the trains communications are reaching out 15-20 miles in both directions. Previously it was about 10 miles. The Elkhart line is about the same. Previously I had one small window that I could tap into about 7 miles distance.
CN - Picking up HBD that were never heard before, both about 12 miles away. Train communications out 15 miles.&
For some reason, wives really worry about antenna appearances for some strange reason. Hams know this all too well. Just let her know that it’s nothing, and that you could have otherwise set up major large, fancy setups that would be way more attracting than the current one, and she should go easy on you.
One more tip on the office bit, especially since the weather will start improving outside. If you can open your office window, even just a bit, and have the antenna near it, you may notice a huge jump in reception. This would depend on quite a few factors, and you may need to try a few different angles, though vertical still usually works best.
Also note that if you hear way too much, and it’s on different frequencies, you can lock out certain ones for however long you want to (but be sure to keep the most important ones on, especially dispatch ones). This is especially desirable if crews are otherwise walking on each other, and you’d rather pick a single, dedicated one.
Today will be an open window day. Let you know how it turns out.
Can anyone recommend the size of the ground? One source indicated the size of the ground should be larger (in length) than the length of the whip. If so, a fairly large (42") piece of metal is needed.
The ground plane should be approximately the size of the radiator, for a standard 1/4 wave antenna. For a multi-band antenna or a loaded whip, that’s not necessarily true.
What can make a difference is the orientation of the ground plane. F’rinstance, on a car, the best place to mount the antenna is dead center on the roof. Putting it elsewhere makes the antenna mildly directional - but not so much as you’d notice on a day to day basis.
For your applications, I’d be more concerned with achieving altitude and a clear shot to the desired transmitters (ie, no metal barriers like building frames and metal siding in the way).