Amfleet
Engineer
What is you favorite item to take along when railfanning. In other words what would you not want to leave behind when riding the rails! B)
Favorite Railfanning Item
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My scanner gives me a front row seat. I love sitting in my room with the scanner on and passing a hot box detector. "UP detector mp 232.6, Amtrak 6, 44 axles, no defects, train speed 79 m. p. h., ambient temperature 42 degree F. Out!"
My alltime favorite scanner conversation was after the Sunset Limited came to an emergency stop in the middle of the swamps on the way into New Orleasn. First, I heard the engineer explaing that the train had hit a wild boar. Moment's later, "Are there any alligators out here". Then is souther drawl, "Yep". You can bet they got that airhose fixed in a hurry!
My alltime favorite scanner conversation was after the Sunset Limited came to an emergency stop in the middle of the swamps on the way into New Orleasn. First, I heard the engineer explaing that the train had hit a wild boar. Moment's later, "Are there any alligators out here". Then is souther drawl, "Yep". You can bet they got that airhose fixed in a hurry!
battalion51
Engineer
I wish you would have put all of the above in.
Amfleet
Engineer
I was going to do "All of the Above", but was worried everyone would just vote that. B)battalion51 said:I wish you would have put all of the above in.
The first other would be my vote for what I had on my last trip. I used Adobe Acrobat (not just Acrobat Reader) to download a good portion (1000 pages) of the Amtrak web site and any other site with rosters and photos on to my laptop. I used it to answer question from some other travelers.
That reminds me is there a collection of route guides online? Maybe you'd get into copywrite problems, then again if there not going to print them anymore how upset can the get. Anyway, I'd be willing to scan the Lake Shore and Cap. limited guides I got last week.
That reminds me is there a collection of route guides online? Maybe you'd get into copywrite problems, then again if there not going to print them anymore how upset can the get. Anyway, I'd be willing to scan the Lake Shore and Cap. limited guides I got last week.
Morris&Essex
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
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- 56
I'm a little curious about scanners. Can anyone tell me their size -- whether they are Walkman-like and can fit in a pocket? Or are they too large and bulky to sit with in coach? Will they disturb another passenger in coach? and of course, price and where to get them. Thanks as always.
EL,
Most scanners are larger than a Walkman and therefore would not fit easily into your pocket. A few of the higher priced ones are indeed walkman sized, however you'd still have a problem fitting it into your pocket since the antenna would be sticking out.
All scanners do come with belt clips so you don't have to carry them by hand. I usually travel with my scanner under my shirt, so you can't really tell if I have a scanner or a Walkman. In fact since I use a very small earpiece, you might not even know that I had a scanner. I've never had any trouble sitting on a train with my scanner clipped to my belt, even on the NYC subways.
As for disturbing passengers, since you must wear headphones in coach, you won't be bothering passengers. If you are in a private sleeper then you can remove the headphones assuming that you don't turn the volume up too loud.
You can check out this page from Radio Shack to get a feel for price and size. Scanners are also available from a few other sources including Bearcat.
You might also wish to check out this page from Prodigy's On Track On Line. They cover the basics of how and why a scanner works, additionally they list all the frequencies assigned to RR's. Finally they give you a comprehensive list by route of the frequencies used by Amtrak.
If you have more questions, just let us know.
Most scanners are larger than a Walkman and therefore would not fit easily into your pocket. A few of the higher priced ones are indeed walkman sized, however you'd still have a problem fitting it into your pocket since the antenna would be sticking out.
All scanners do come with belt clips so you don't have to carry them by hand. I usually travel with my scanner under my shirt, so you can't really tell if I have a scanner or a Walkman. In fact since I use a very small earpiece, you might not even know that I had a scanner. I've never had any trouble sitting on a train with my scanner clipped to my belt, even on the NYC subways.
As for disturbing passengers, since you must wear headphones in coach, you won't be bothering passengers. If you are in a private sleeper then you can remove the headphones assuming that you don't turn the volume up too loud.
You can check out this page from Radio Shack to get a feel for price and size. Scanners are also available from a few other sources including Bearcat.
You might also wish to check out this page from Prodigy's On Track On Line. They cover the basics of how and why a scanner works, additionally they list all the frequencies assigned to RR's. Finally they give you a comprehensive list by route of the frequencies used by Amtrak.
If you have more questions, just let us know.
Morris&Essex
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Messages
- 56
Thanks, Alan
Your replies on this and other threads are greatly appreciated.
Your replies on this and other threads are greatly appreciated.
EL,ELNewBranch said:Thanks, Alan
Your replies on this and other threads are greatly appreciated.
No problem. You're quite welcome.
battalion51
Engineer
I personally love my Uniden. It was much cheaper than the Radio Shack brands. I bought my 30 Channel scanner for $69.99 plus the $20 additional extended warranty, both from Best Buy. I am able to store al of my RR channels I need for my Florida Ops, as well as frequencies foe Miami Dade Fire and Orange County Fire.
Amfleet
Engineer
I got a UNIDEN from Radio Shack last June. It has 100 channels and only cost me $99.
Viewliner
Engineer
I got my 150 Channel one from Radio Shack (I think it still is made by uniden) last March, it comes in handy.
I said scanner, but its really a tie between that and my camera.
I said scanner, but its really a tie between that and my camera.
I broke down and bought a PRO-95 from Radio Shack over Christmas when the price came down to under $150. It has 1000 channels and has trunking capability with text tags for the talkgroups. I also downloaded software for it to store my frequencies in it, works well. I have my CA, NY, RR and aviation freques in it with many to spare.
Two weeks is up, last chance to vote!
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