AMTRAK RADIO

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

APA218

Guest
WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM SOMEONE THAT HAS USED A SCANNER ON AN AMTRAK TRAIN .
 
Like Battalion said, many of us have used radios onboard. So if you have specific questions, you'll have to post them.

However if all you wanted were the frequencies, like you mentioned in the title, then you can find a rather comprehensive list at On Track On Line. They cover every Amtrak route and where to change channels along the way.
 
I HAVE THE FREQS. I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW WELL THIS WORKS, AND WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES TO EXPECT TO HEAR. I GUESS I WANT A SORT OVERALL OF THE KINDS OF THINGS ONE HEARS ONBOARD. WHAT KIND OF RECEPTION? THE WHOLE ENCHILADA.

THANKS IN ADVANCE APA218
 
APA218, well the range you'll get will dpend on your radio, some pick up real well (my HT750 picks stuff up 5-7 miles away), some don't. As for what you'll hear depends on what part of the country you're in. Down here in the south we call signals, respond to DD's, spot the train up at stations, and talk to other trains. Meanwhile, other parts of the country barely use their radio, and it's only usually to respond to DD's and to spot up the train at a station.
 
battalion51 said:
APA218, well the range you'll get will dpend on your radio, some pick up real well (my HT750 picks stuff up 5-7 miles away), some don't. As for what you'll hear depends on what part of the country you're in. Down here in the south we call signals, respond to DD's, spot the train up at stations, and talk to other trains. Meanwhile, other parts of the country barely use their radio, and it's only usually to respond to DD's and to spot up the train at a station.
Click to expand...
I have Uniden with 100 channels. It will only pick up transmissions baisicly within a couple miles of my location. Like Sean said, in some areas you will hear more chatter than others. On the NEC the only communication is giving the go head to depart a station. Signals aren't called and trains are rarely spotted.
 
battalion51 said:
APA218, well the range you'll get will dpend on your radio, some pick up real well (my HT750 picks stuff up 5-7 miles away), some don't. As for what you'll hear depends on what part of the country you're in. Down here in the south we call signals, respond to DD's, spot the train up at stations, and talk to other trains. Meanwhile, other parts of the country barely use their radio, and it's only usually to respond to DD's and to spot up the train at a station.
Click to expand...
I wish we called out signals but BNSF says it's not a good idea because you could cheat on your next signal if your following a train ahead of you. :p
 
You'll find that the NEC has very little to hear, that's why I really didn't use my scanner in the beginning of my recent trip. Once you get South of Washington, as Sean said, you will hear Defect Detectors, Signals Called, Engine Changes/Adding/Removing Cars, and even just crews talking (for example, once I had a conductor offering to bring the engineer a cup of coffee at either DLD or PKA). If (in the likely event), you encounter delays, you'll have a fairly good idea on whats causing them, as generally the crews don't inform Passengers through the PA System.

I use a Radio Shack 150 Channel Scanner, but I don't know how much of a range it gives me, though I'd swear I could hear frequencies from NY (from Essex County, NJ) on occasion at home, if/when I use it there.
 
The only thing I wish they would do down here that they do elsewhere in the country is use MDC Encoding. MDC Encoding is the little chirp you hear at the end of a transmission up on the NEC (I think BNSF uses it as well). MDC Encoding transmits the radio ID to other units picking up the transmission, and also allows you to be able to clearly hear the end of a transmission.
 
battalion51 said:
The only thing I wish they would do down here that they do elsewhere in the country is use MDC Encoding. MDC Encoding is the little chirp you hear at the end of a transmission up on the NEC (I think BNSF uses it as well). MDC Encoding transmits the radio ID to other units picking up the transmission, and also allows you to be able to clearly hear the end of a transmission.
Click to expand...
I think I've heard that chirp a couple of times, but I don't know if it's constant. I'll listen for that down to New York.
 
Some radios have the feature turned on some don't. It seems like the portable radios have it on for the most part, while the road power doesn't. It's also not a constant hum, just at the end of a trainsmission.
 
battalion51 said:
Some radios have the feature turned on some don't. It seems like the portable radios have it on for the most part, while the road power doesn't. It's also not a constant hum, just at the end of a trainsmission.
Click to expand...
Ah yes that anoying chirp i hate it it drives me nuts. :)
 
battalion51 said:
Some radios have the feature turned on some don't. It seems like the portable radios have it on for the most part, while the road power doesn't. It's also not a constant hum, just at the end of a trainsmission.
Click to expand...
Right, and it only comes out on certain radios if the conductor has the chirp on? So you wouldn't hear it at the end of a transmission on your scanner?
 
No you still hear it on your scanner, it's just like EOT telemetry. It can be toggeled on/off, but it's really hard to figure out from what my friend tells me.
 
:unsure: Thanks for all the responce to my amtrak radio questions. I got what I needed. I also got my hand slapped for using CAPS. Hay be gentel this my first time :D :D :D
 
You hear the chirp on public saftey radios as well, generally there though the chirp is heaard at the beginning of the transmission so the dispatcher knows the id of the transmitting unit.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top