Scanners for Railfanning


U

UP2CSX

Fleeing from Al
I haven't seen this talked about too much here so I was wondering how many of you modelers who were also railfans use a radio scanner when you're out chasing trains? I've used one since back in the days of crystal scanners and I've had some catches I wouldn't have had if I didn't have the radio with me. Of course, being an old cop, I'm used to constant radio chatter, which might drive some people nuts (including my wife :))

I have a Radio Shack Pro-97 combined witha Valor PM3B mag mount antenna for the car. The Pro-97 has great sensitivity in the railroad band. A big advantage is that ability to text tag each frequency so you know what you're listening to when it stops on a transmission. It's on sale now in stores for $150. The newer version is the Pro-164, which has some extra bells and whistles and goes for $220 but goes on sale regularly for $200. It's also been very useful to have a scanner with weather alert for those times you're out in the midlle of nowhere and wonder what's in that big black cloud approaching. :) I was just wondering how many people have scanners and use them regualarly for listening to the railroads.
 
i have a radio shack scanner that my fiance gave me 3 years ago. its a triple trunking one which i have no idea what it does. I have like 20 frequencies plugged in and use maybe 4. I can't even put it on scan after i cleaned out all the garbage frequencies. says all channels locked out.

i also bought a magnet antena for the truck. But this thing is a p.o.s. It wont screw to the base, constanty falls of if something taps it. I bought a window mount antenna that is longer and atleast wont fall over if it gets hit. I have yet to even install it.
 
Steve, if you're getting the "All channels locked out" message, it means you have no frequencies programmed in the scanner. Just enter one frequency, like 160.74, and then it should scan although you'll only have one frequency programmed. You can then program in the correct railroad frequencies for your area. There's a lot of good information at www.radioreference.com.
 
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Jim, when I went railfanning recently with GrandeMan and his son, LGM was using a scanner to listen to all the CSX chatter. We saw a few trains that way, other times we were too far from the track and couldn't reach it in time to see the train. I was amused at the droning of the defect detectors as some trains passed.

My house is less than a mile from a grade crossing on the B&O [now CSX] Old Main Line, which still gets a fair amount of traffic. I'll bet a scanner would come in handy for letting me know when a train is still a few miles away - I could simply hop into the car and catch the train as it goes past!:cool:
 
Ken, spunds like you're in a perfect place to use a scanner. I don't know howmuch they use defect detectors up there but, only you learn the mileposts locations, you'll know a train is coming, sometimes as far as 10 miles away. Once your ear gets tuned to the chatter, you'll be able to pick out the really interesting tings, like derailments and break-aparts. If you just need to listen to 10 or 15 channels and can get by without things like text tags, you can pick up a decent scanner at Radio Shack for less than $100.
 
I got a scanner last year, a pretty basic radio shack model. It doesn't have text tags which would be nice, but otherwise fits my purposes just fine. I also have a Motorola Railscan Gain Antenna which is tuned to 160-161mhz and does a really incredible job of picking up railroad signals.

Having the scanner has come in handy. I've caught a number of trains that I never would have been able to find otherwise. Where I'm situated I'm surrounded by the New England Central, Pan Am and CSX and can generally pick up signals from each while I'm at home, having the radio saves me the frustration of driving to a location only to find it's dead. Now I can just listen to the scanner before I leave, find out where the action is, and plan my day accordingly.

It's also interesting to be able to find out what's going on when the fire dept. goes racing by.

- Chris
 
Jim, I'd suggest that you go with a Vertex VX150. We had a scanner. Ours must have had a problem because it was useless. The VX150 is actually a 2 meter HAM radio, but easily recieves out of band. We have all the AAR freqs programmed into ours. That's nice for the times the dispatcher tells a crew to meet him on channel XX. You don't have to know the actual AAR freq, just pull up that channel. A rooftop antenna will greatly increase your reception. We use one at times and a whip antenna we got at an amateur radio swap meet. The radio is water resistant and well made (aluminum).

Austin Amatuer Radio has great deals on the VX150 and is a great outfit to do business with. http://www.aaradio.com/cartfile/yaesu/vx150.html

Once you have a radio and a knowledge of the local track layout you'll see a lot more trains and have more fun. It's money well spent.
 
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I use a Nascar scanner thats actually a Uniden of some sort I got on clearance at Walmart for $20 a few years ago. The range isn't the best, but then again when your chasing a shortline or smaller local class one branch line it doesn't need to be if theres just one train working. I had seldom used it until the last few time I went, as I didn't think it would help anything with just one train running. But I decided I might as well try it. Wow,what a difference. No more guessing where there going to next or how long its going to take at XX location.
But if I end up closer to a real busy area, I'll definitely get an upgrade and antennae for my vehicle.
 
Alco RS3m said:
I use a Nascar scanner thats actually a Uniden of some sort I got on clearance at Walmart for $20 a few years ago. The range isn't the best, but then again when your chasing a shortline or smaller local class one branch line it doesn't need to be if theres just one train working. I had seldom used it until the last few time I went, as I didn't think it would help anything with just one train running. But I decided I might as well try it. Wow,what a difference. No more guessing where there going to next or how long its going to take at XX location.
But if I end up closer to a real busy area, I'll definitely get an upgrade and antennae for my vehicle.
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Same for me. My Radio Shack race scanner pulls double duty when I'm track side.
 
Andy, that Motorola 5/8 wave gain antenna works great for the railroad band as long as the height of the antenna isn't an issue. As long as your area hasn't gone to trunking or digital, you can also monitor the police, fire department, and other emrgency services.

Eric, I have a Yaesu VX2R, which is the VX150's dual band little brother. I like it because it's dual band and will monitor anything to 500 KHz up to 1000 MHz. It's been replaced by the VX3R, which is basically the same radio with an easier to use keypad. You can often find used the VX2R's on e-bay for less than $100. I like mine because I'm also a ham so the dual bands come in handy and it's also more useful as a scanner since it covers all bands rather than just VHF. The only issue I've had with all Yaesu/Vertex ham radios is that the supplied antenna is terrible outside the ham bands. I replaced mine with a Diamond RH77CA like the one at http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/scanants/2368.html. It's a little tall but really pulls in the signals on the railroad band. It is an excellent alternative to a plain scanner although it's a little too complicated for some people. I switch between my VX2R and my PRO-97 depending if if I'm in area where the emergency services are on trunked systems.

The Uniden "race" scanners are actually nice little all-purpose scanners. I'd replace the antenna with the Diamond I linked to but they are more than adequate for most purposes. Occasionally Walmart will carry the BC95XLT for the regular price of $90 and then put it on sale for around $30. If your walmart happens to carry Uniden scanners, keep an eye out for the sale if you want a cheap way to get into railroad monitoring. The RS race scanners are made by Uniden and you can sometimes find some good deals there as well.
 
Well, you blew my mind. I've always thought a scanner is a scanner, is a scanner...just more or fewer whistles.
I have been thinking of buying one for receiving both rail and police/fire. It would be a plus to have one that would include our airport control tower freq. if possible in same unit.

How much range do you have with a portable and what would you recommend? I know nothing about scanners.
 
my scanner has like 20 frequencies programmed. but if i hit the scan button it says channels locked. i'll have to double check in the am to make sure im saying the right thing.
 
Rex, according to the link at http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=63, Tuscaloosa County and City are still on conventional frequencies with no trunking so that makes things a little easier. There's talk of Tuscaloosa moving to a trunked system so investing in a trunking capable scanner like the Pro-97 is a good idea if you have the money. Unfortunately, Tuscaloosa city fire has already moved to a digital frequency and that means spending around $500 for a digital capable scanner like the RS Pro-96 or the GRE-500 of you want listen to them. The rest of the area will probably go digital in the next year so you won't be able to listen to the fire and PD without a digital scanner. A non-digital scanner will work fine for railroads for at least the next five years although even the railroads will eventually go to digital transmission. By that time, I'm hoping the price of digital scanners will come down.

Any of the scanners I've listed will also be able to listen to the TCL as well. As for range, it really depends on the type of the transmission. Since Tuscaloosa County and City on are on repeaters, you can hear them easily with just the supplied rubber antenna. You'll be able to hear the control tower as long as you're within about five miles of the airport and planes from much further out. Trains are a little trickier. You can hear the NS and CSX dispatchers almost anywhere in the state because they have a mountaintop microwave system that sends their signal to the mountaintop nearest you. The trains themselves are usually limited to a few miles unless you are located above them on higher ground. The Diamond antenna I linked to you earlier will give you the best range for a portable, which still won't be more than five miles on flat and level ground. If you want to listen at home and mount a rooftop base antenna, you can get much better range. I regularly get the CSX yard and trains in Montgomery and can hear the trains as far north as about Alabaster. With radios, the quality of the antenna and height above ground is everything in terms of range.

Steve, check and make sure every bank is enabled. If you have frequencies only in a locked out bank, you get the same error message.
 
Thank you, Jim. Sure glad you started this thread before I went down a deadend. No way will I spend $500 to satisfy curiousity, but maybe a cheapy and get the ATC tower which is not far away. (RATS! They come out with new technology to make things better, yet you pay out your a** for it. Another good example, HDTV = TV, special cable/sat channels, etc.)
 
I haven't purchased a new scanner in probably 12-13 years. When I bought my first scanner I picked one at Radio Shack. One of the regulars at my weekend train watching spot programmed it for me. I sat all afternoon and listed to everybody else's scanners go off, while mine barely blipped. It didn't even sound the NS FRED channel when I was standing 40 feet from the FRED.

Everybody else seemed to be using Uniden Bearcat scanners. I returned the Radio Shack scanner and got a BC200XLT. Much, much better. The 200 got stolen, and I replaced it with a used BC100 that was actually even better. It still works but needs a battery. But the hottest scanner I ever had was the console model Bearcat BC760. I installed one under the dash in my Bronco and put a 1/2 wave antenna on the truck snipped to length optimized for the NS frequency, and normally listened to only the NS channels. I bought another 760 and put it in my layout room and mounted an antenna on the south side of the house outside a second floor window. The aluminum siding blocked signals to the north, but I occasionally picked up signal calls 30 or 40 miles away to the south, as well as a whole bunch of Cincinnati police action on those really cold winter nights when there was nothing else to listen to.

I have no idea how scanner technology has changed and evolved. Some guys swore the Bearcat scanners were way too sensitive and picked up all kinds of extraneous BS. That's somewhat true - but I found if I locked out all but the bands I was really interested in, most of the crossover was eliminated. For a time I would get random pager calls - one afternoon, I heard the same wife admonishing her husband for not answering her call about 60 times, as if it were on a broadcast loop. And the railfan spot in Hamilton OH is in the shadow of a major hospital and frequently picked up junk from there. But it sure beat getting absolutely nothing.

I think the terrain is as important as anything to the decision about sensitivity.

The other thing is - railroads seem to talk less and less on the radio. NS was very reliable about signal calls on their frequency. Listening to CSX was almost a waste of time, because the only trains that called signals were NS run-throughs.

If it was a REALLY slow day at Hamilton, we could tune in to the McDonalds drive through and listen to the crap people were ordering :)

Andy
 
UP, i'll have to check it out and see if the banks are locked out. I re-checked the message and it does say "all channels locked out!"
 
Rex, only the city FD has gone digital so you can still listen to everything else on a non-digital, non-trunking scanner. The state troopers also use conventional VHF and will for at least the next several years. A cheap scanner like a refurbished Uniden BC-92XLT goes for $70 at http://www.unidendirect.com/itemdetail.cfm?item=BC92XLT&tabid=1 and it will cover 800 MHz, which you need for some of the fire departments in your area. It also covers the railroad frequencies and the VHF air band. The UnidenDirect refurbs are a good deal since most have never really been used or had anything wrong with them. It was usually customer error and they just gave up. I've bought several from them and they've always been in new condition. It would be a good cheapy to start with and you can always upgrade later if you find it an interesting hobby. As you say, new technology always comes out but the good thing is that the prices usually drop as they do. Remember what a laptop used to cost? :D
 
Thanks a bunch, Jim. I am going to order the 92XLT at $70 on your recommendation. That is indeed a good way to start. I like the idea of picking up the troopers freq; I will keep tabs on my nephew, Ha-ha! Just be handy when I run into problems. LOL

Cost of a laptop...oh yeah, I remember.
 
Andy, I don't know what kind of scanner you had but there was either something wrong with it or the person who programmed it didn't do it right. Back when you bought that Radio Shack scanner, about 90% of all RS scanners were made by Uniden. Uniden and Radio Shack (now that many of their scanners are made by GRE) have some models that are superior to the other company's but most are pretty comparable. The newer (but more expensive) scanners also have tone detection capability, which eliminates most of the intermod and other junk you picked up on older scanners.

The Uniden 760XLT was a good radio. We had them in our patrol cars for a number of years. Unfortunately, you've really been left behind by technology in the Cincinnati area when it comes to emergency services since almost everything has moved toa digital trunked system, and a pretty crappy one at that. You'd have to spend the big bucks for a digital scanner if you still wanted to listen to CPD. At least the railroads can still be monitored in your area. You're right about terrain playing a big role in what you hear. No scanner can hear something through a hill :)
 
UP2CSX said:
Andy, I don't know what kind of scanner you had but there was either something wrong with it or the person who programmed it didn't do it right. Back when you bought that Radio Shack scanner, about 90% of all RS scanners were made by Uniden.
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At the time, the opinions were about 50-50 but my experience with that RS scanner mirrored other peoples' so I was glad I was able to return it. It was definitely programmed correctly - I mean, I'd stop the thing on the NS FRED channel and be hearing everybody's scanner but mine.

The Uniden 760XLT was a good radio. We had them in our patrol cars for a number of years. Unfortunately, you've really been left behind by technology in the Cincinnati area when it comes to emergency services since almost everything has moved toa digital trunked system, and a pretty crappy one at that. You'd have to spend the big bucks for a digital scanner if you still wanted to listen to CPD.
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I didn't know you could even still buy a scanner that would listen to police & emergency. Last time I turned on the 760 I got a small amount of suburban chit chat. When I first got it, I lived in West Chester (then called Union Township/Butler County) and they had already gone digital, so I could listen to the northern Hamilton County stuff, but not my own immediate area.

I remember one Christmas, I had spent the day at my daughter's place and had a wonderful time. On my way home out of morbid curiosity I turned the scanner on, and it was one domestic violence / drunk / etc. call after another. I had some healthy gratitude for my own family after listening to that for a while!

At least the railroads can still be monitored in your area. You're right about terrain playing a big role in what you hear. No scanner can hear something through a hill :)
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Well I think the railroads can be monitored, if they're saying anything. I used to be able to read tone of voice and signal calls to the point that I could flip the scanner on and catch just piece of a transmission, and know which grade crossing or location I should be heading to. Scanning is its own hobby, but railfanning in Cincinnati is virtually impossible without it, unless you want to just camp at Winton Place or Butler St. in Hamilton and wait all day. Before I had my scanner, I crossed the CSX, NS, and Conrail every day and was lucky to see one train in two weeks. Once I learned the ropes, it was nothing to catch 3-4 trains a day just going about my business. I'd just know to pull over at the Sunoco, or Crescentville, or Shapely's, and wait a couple minutes and I'd see something. But it's been so long, I'd have to learn it all over again. Plus CSX and NS went to directional running on their main lines, so that most all inbound (southbound CSX, eastbound NS) come down the NS New Castle line, and most all outbound run on the CSX Toledo line. This takes all the fun out of it - the needle-threading of multiple meets at Crescentville siding on the NS, and NS trains racing CSX trains to Butler Street are pretty much a thing of the past. Not to mention all those old GP38s getting chopped and bunches of ex-Conrail locos running around in nag's head.

Oh well - it's why I went back to modeling the 70s. I just haven't found a scanner yet that will pick up 1975.

Andy
 
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