ok, so I have taken many amtrak trips over the years, and on every trip I run into someone with a scanner!! Well, I have been itching to get one. Now, since I may have an upcoming amtrak trip coming up soon, I think it is the time for me to finally get one.
I know that RR’s use the frequencies in the 160 range… so what are some good scanners for around $100 or less?? I have seen the pro 82 scanner… but am not sure how good it is.
Any suggesions??
How is the pro 84?.. comes with headphones for $99…
Depending on the price of the car power adapter, you might consider getting a power ‘inverter’. These take 12V in and produce 120V 60Cycle AC out. Then you use the AC power line adapter that you would use in the house to run the scanner.
As a bonus, you then also have 120V AC available to run “other” (low power) things that you might like to have in the car that run on AC… like your laptop computer or your cell phone charger or any battery charger for other battery powered things you might have.
For my laptop PC the “Car kit” was more expensive than the Inverter I got and all it would power was the laptop. I spent less and have more capability! I have so many little things that I want to power in the car (2 scanners, cell phone, laptop PC, GPS rcvr, shaver, mini-TV, etc.)
Each is using just a few milliamps (except for the laptop PC) but I had to get a power strip to get them all plugged in! I have to be careful to turn it off if I park too long without the engine running… it CAN eventually run the battery down, and I have to be sure the current TO the inverter is not excessive. Since it is stepping the voltage up it has to draw more current in. i.e.: 120 Volts out at 1 Amp (120 Watts) requires at least 10 Amps at 12 Volts (120 Watts) in (not counting the losses in the inverter). So I have to be sure the current draw out is kept low. Battery chargers for penlites and such do not draw much current.
I can’t run a refrigerator or microwave with it, but it is great for lots of little things and I don’t have to have separate car adapters for everything as long as I have a house power adapter.
dont be cheep on the antenna, I used to have a hand held scanner from Radio shack. I got a trunk lip mount with a nice antenna from Antenex, they also have magnet mount and all sorts of other mounts that require holes in your car but the trunk lip mounts work good IMO as they just clip onto your trunk lid and are held in place by 2 small screws on the inside of the trunk lid that you just tighten down a little, if you install it right it shouldnt mess up your paint. just make sure you get grounding straps for your trunk lid [xx(]
But yeah I could just screw off the stubby antenna that it came with and attach the line to my car antenna whenever I was driving around it was great. [:D]
Thanks for the suggestions, but as i said… im not going to use it in my car… just on the train… when we have stopped in the middle of nowhere… and i want to know WHY?! Plus… its quite fun… [:)]
just a handheld with a stubby antenna would work fine for that then, the one I used to have also had a belt clip and a headphone jack so you can keep your hands free and not bug other people [;)]
I have a Pro 64 400 channel scanner and it does the job just fine for listening it came very handy. Two summers ago when the Milwaukee Road 261 was in town. Also it comes in handy to listen for police and fire calls sometimes it can be real interesting other days it can be real slow. I guess it all depends on where you live and how close you live to railroad tracks and grade crossings. Like where I live i have 5 or 6 grade crossings with two major railroads right by my house on set of grade crossings is for the UP and the other set of grade crossings is for the Cp. Also I live about 10 minutes from the very busy Water ford ave. Crossing where Amtrak’s and Freight trains cross.
Besides using a scanner , I like to listen to http://www.railroadradio.net/. Other rail fans in metro areas broadcast their scanner over the internet for all to listen. Thank you scanner hosts of railroad radio net!!!
I have been listening to police and SFO on my scanner at home but today was the first day I took it out. I took it when i rode on caltrain. The frequency listed online was 160.815, but I got nothing… in the stations, on the train, and in the general vicinity of the tracks (a shopping ctr is located right on the tracks.)
Is this the right frequency?? I checked on a different web site and it also said the same thing?
Does anyone here know the actual caltrain frequency??
The AAR frequency of Caltrans is 160.815, but unfortunately most of the commuter lines have shifted to trunking systems where frequencies are in the 900 mhz range and hop all over the place. You probably won’t hear anything unless the trunking system goes down.
The limited coverage area of a transit system might mean hard-wired detectors, especially if they are running their own tracks. The same applies to a trunked system. While they are sometimes set up for wider areas, the frequencies used dictate closer spacing of towers.
If you are serious about listening to trunked systems, there are scanners available. Set-up takes a little longer, but the listening is similar. I would suspect that a transit system, however, might not have a lot of radio traffic, aside from maintenance and the like.
Amtrak, on the other hand, is at the mercy of the host roads, and their operations are somewhat more variable. Hence more radio traffic.
Radio shack PRO-37 has the 900 frequency. I have been using it for several years with good luck. There is a scan option so that you can search for frequencies if you dont know what is in your area or what rr frequency you need.