I don’t mean hamster like a furry critter…I mean ham radio users… This Sunday morning, around 10:30 AM EDT, I heard the tail end of a conversation on 146.835 MHz, where a few guys were talking about trains before leaving. From the sounds of it, they are common users, though I haven’t heard anything else on that frequency since then, and I don’t know how often they’re on, or when. I am interested in getting in touch with them, but I don’t know how to do so, or how to find them. One guy had a screenname that had CSX in it, if it’s of any help. The broadcast was heard at Shelocta, Indiana County, PA. Any ideas how I can find them? Thanks.
If they are truly hams, they’ll be using their callsigns. Make note of them. A Google of same might help.
See if you can find the local ham club - they’re usually pretty low profile, but they are pretty common. Once you introduce yourself to a member and tell them what you’re about, they might help hook you up with the ham railfans.
Like Larry said, hams don’t use screen names or handles, but real names and FCC issued callsigns. Specific callsigns can be had for a fee, so perhaps one you heard has a railroad related callsign.
There are 3 two meter repeaters in Pennsylvania operating on an output frequency of 146.835. They are:
Eagleville c/o Glenn Beard, N3ACL, Red Hill, Pa
Scranton c/o Elk Mountain Radio Society, Robert Chimel, Clarks Summit, Pa
Seven Springs c/o Allegheny Highlands Repeater Assoc, Kevin K Custer, Friedens, Pa
These are the only ones listed for 146.835 in the national repeater directory for Pennsylvania.
As a ham with 45 years experience, I welcome your interest in Ham Radio.
I just noticed your signature, Tom. Hilarious! Sorry to hijack the thread.
I might add that I think there are some 2 meter Ham frequencies more or less designated for railfan Hams. They might vary around the country, though.
Not that I know of, Larry, I haven’t heard of it if there are.
http://www.webring.com/hub?ring=hamrails
http://pghrailfan.blogspot.com/ Scroll about half way down the page.
They may not be on specific frequencies, but the nets are definitely there.
I misunderstood what you meant. Railfan friendly… There are different repeaters where people with specific interests congregate, but not dedicated for that purpose. Interestingly, one of your links was to W2UHF in NYC. It has an output of 146.835. It would be a stretch, but if it is wide coverage, maybe that is the one our friend heard