How connected are you when you travel long distance?

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Chi_Train_Fan

Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 22, 2005
Messages
174
Location
Chicago, IL
How connected are you when you travel Amtrak on long distance trains? What communication tools do you bring and use? What gadgets do you use? If you're on the other end of the spectrum, trying to disconnect from the grid... how do you do it?

My usual communication and gadgetry:

1. iPhone with voice, texting, and email and internet (to check Amtrak Unlimited of course!)

2. iPhone loaded with music

3. Garmin GPS for location and trip computer

4. Digital camera for taking way too many pictures

My next trip is coming up on January 13 (Chicago to Portland via Seattle). I'd considering going off the grid... No communication while traveling. Final question: If you're a geek like me using lots of gadgets, have you tried traveling unplugged? Was it an effective communication detox?

I look forward to our discussion!

David

Chicago, IL
 
CHI_Amtrak_Fan said:
My usual communication and gadgetry:1. iPhone with voice, texting, and email and internet (to check Amtrak Unlimited of course!)

2. iPhone loaded with music

3. Garmin GPS for location and trip computer

4. Digital camera for taking way too many pictures
Click to expand...
On my trip in October (which included CHI-PDX and PDX-SEA-CHI), I had all the above - except #2 (iPhone but no music). My iPhone had reception most of the way. My Garmin i5 got reception at times, so I did not use it all the time. (HINT: you may need to have a south facing window.) I took a lot of pictures. (I only put under 10% in my report!(

My next trip, I plan to add a scanner to the mix! :D
 
GPS receiver hooked up to a laptop - no internet access.

Digital camera (700+photos!)

Video cam.

Cell phone.

Uniden scanner.

Monocular 10X40, for spotting those elusive mountain goats.

I found these to be plenty of entertainment for a 3 1/2 day x-country trip a few months ago. I may replace the GPS/laptop with a portable GPS, my laptop adds a lot to the carry-on load.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
CHI_Amtrak_Fan said:
My usual communication and gadgetry:1. iPhone with voice, texting, and email and internet (to check Amtrak Unlimited of course!)

2. iPhone loaded with music

3. Garmin GPS for location and trip computer

4. Digital camera for taking way too many pictures
Click to expand...
I take my Touch Pro phone, which gives me...

1. Voice, texting, email, web browsing.

2. Music to listen to, and full movies to watch

3. GPS

4. Built-in 3.2M camera.

And it fits in my pocket. :D
 
I always go with:

1) Laptop. If there's a crisis at work I can remotely connect, plus I enjoy writing on trains.

2) Blackberry. Likely to soon be an iPhone now that AT&T starts service in VT next week...

3) Camera

4) (Sometimes) Scanner. Depends if I can find it and its AC adaptor before the trip.
 
Great gadget lists so far! From those who have responded so far: Have you considered going unplugged while travelling Amtrak? Do you think you would enjoy that?

David
 
I usually carry my Zune (sorry, not big on Apple) for music and videos after dark, and have the cellphone with me as well (even though it's not too effective in the mountains of places like Western PA), but otherwise mostly just watch the scenery go by when I can. I do carry the camera, but find I don't get a lot of pics - I don't like draining the battery leaving it on, but can't seem to get most things photographed in time when I see something of interest (like an old station or trestle that is only visible for about 2 seconds).
 
CHI_Amtrak_Fan said:
Great gadget lists so far! From those who have responded so far: Have you considered going unplugged while travelling Amtrak? Do you think you would enjoy that?
David
Click to expand...
I could easily go without the scanner, many times I do. I think in the summer it would be easier to go without the laptop, but any time when it gets dark relatively early, I need to find something else to do. Yes, I do indeed enjoy socializing with others on the train, but I also enjoy other activities like writing, so the laptop becomes more of a necessity (I really can't stand writing out long amounts by hand). Also, I enjoy being connected to what's going on in the world via the Blackberry. It's not a necessity, but its something I enjoy. This is less of an issue if I'm in a sleeper and am getting a newspaper everyday, but I'm not always in a sleeper.

Most of my trips on Amtrak are up and back 8 hour runs on the Vermonter between Burlington and Bridgeport, CT, so they're not really long distance, but they're definitely lengthy. I usually spend a little time doing everything, from sleeping, to writing, to checking my e-mail and surfing the web and staring out the window. Since I'm on the train probably a dozen times a year, I know the scenery pretty well on that route, so I spend a lot less time window-watching than if I was justing taking an LD train for pleasure.
 
While I enjoy traveling with my scanner, GPS and even phone, it makes you wonder how people got along on trains before we had all these gadgets :mellow: I can see where you'd look forward to getting a newspaper at a morning station stop, and if you were traveling high on the hog, you may be able to enjoy on board radio or even Western Union.
 
CHI_Amtrak_Fan said:
Great gadget lists so far! From those who have responded so far: Have you considered going unplugged while travelling Amtrak? Do you think you would enjoy that?
Click to expand...
The only real time I carry ALL those things are when I travel on a train! :lol: OK, the iPhone I always carry and the scanner - which I'll get next week - will be kept in the car (for necessary use - like railfanning :lol: ) - but not usually the others.
 
Just got off the Auto Train this morning :)

I carried:

Garmin GPS (need to buy the AC charger for it so I can leave it on, as I couldn't get it to charge off of USB and function at the same time).

iPhone (jailbroken with PDAnet, so I can tether it to my Powerbook G4) - I only used this while we were sitting outside the station in Sanford on the trip down, since we arrived 90 minutes early and the yard crew wasn't in yet)

PowerBook G4 - when not used for the web, I use it to play music (at a reasonable volume in the bedroom without headphones was nice) or watch DVDs.

Handheld scanner: If I was traveling "unplugged", this would be the one device that I'd still bring with me, since it just lets me know what's going on with the train, not the "outside world" (that's probably cheating the "unplugged" part of things, but I'm OK with that)

For the trip North today, I never even took the laptop out of the bag or used the phone (other than to check the time) - I used the scanner and GPS to keep tabs on the train, then just listened to the piped in XM radio (I wasn't expecting that!) and read a book and watched the scenery.
 
CHI_Amtrak_Fan said:
Great gadget lists so far! From those who have responded so far: Have you considered going unplugged while travelling Amtrak? Do you think you would enjoy that?
David
Click to expand...
I might downsize my list;

GPS receiver hooked up to a laptop hand held GPS

Digital camera

Video cam.

Cell phone.

Uniden scanner.

Monocular 10X40, for spotting those elusive mountain goats.

Losing the laptop and the video cam would reduce the weight about 75% I guess. All the remaining stuff would fit in my guide vest

safarivest.jpg


with the camera slung around my neck.

But I would not be willing to unplug.
 
PetalumaLoco said:
Digital camera (700+photos!)Video cam.
Click to expand...
A lot of modern digital cameras have some ability to emulate video cameras. Frequently that capability is limited to short (maybe 30 second) clips, but it may still be adequate depending on what you're really trying to do.

One advantage of the laptop with GPS setup if there's a cable between them may be that you may be able to put the GPS reciever right by the window, and have the laptop somewhere easier to work with; on the other hand, I think some GPS recievers can also use external antennas.
 
The Metropolitan said:
I do carry the camera, but find I don't get a lot of pics - I don't like draining the battery leaving it on, but can't seem to get most things photographed in time when I see something of interest (like an old station or trestle that is only visible for about 2 seconds).
Click to expand...
I'm curious how old that camera is. I have a 6-7 year old digital camera that I haven't used since I got a newer one about 18 months ago; the newer one is much, much better in terms of the delay between when I ask it to take a picture and when it actually takes a picture. My newer camera seems to be able to take 100-200 pictures on a pair of AA batteries with me making little effort to conserve power, though I tend to not use the flash much.

Even with a camera that doesn't have significant shutter lag, photography from a moving train is still a challenge. If you realize that a second ago the picture was perfectly framed, it's too late. If you have a camera where you can make mistakes without them costing any significant amount of money, I do think some practice helps. Professional photographers tend to publish great photos not because every photo they take is perfect, but because they're willing to throw out their lesser work.

Another thing to keep in mind is that objects that are farther away from the train stay in view longer and seem to move more slowly.
 
Joel N. Weber II said:
The Metropolitan said:
I do carry the camera, but find I don't get a lot of pics - I don't like draining the battery leaving it on, but can't seem to get most things photographed in time when I see something of interest (like an old station or trestle that is only visible for about 2 seconds).
Click to expand...
Even with a camera that doesn't have significant shutter lag, photography from a moving train is still a challenge. If you realize that a second ago the picture was perfectly framed, it's too late. If you have a camera where you can make mistakes without them costing any significant amount of money, I do think some practice helps. Professional photographers tend to publish great photos not because every photo they take is perfect, but because they're willing to throw out their lesser work.
Click to expand...
On my most recent trip, I think I took something like 500-600 pictures. But many came out blurry or not framed right. But being that I used a digital camera, I either deleted them or did not print/publish them. I think my trip report contains less than 50 photos - out of well over 500!
 
sky12065 said:
spot1181 said:
None of the above. When I get away, I want to get away.
Click to expand...
To each his own enjoyment I say! :) With that said I would pretty much agree with you in that I just want to relax and enjoy a good book... that is when I can drag myself from watching all the scenery :rolleyes: or if I'm not too tired after dark to read! :blink:
Click to expand...
I'm glad I'm not the only luddite. I usually have a camera, which I forget about; a cellphone, which is turned off; and MP3 player, that usually needs a charge, but also a notebook, 2 pens, a selection of used paperbacks (to be left at railroad stations), and a deck of cards and a cribbage board. But, of course, to each her own.
 
Before a train journey, I'll often swing by the book store and pick up one or 2 of the latest railroad magazines to read on board. I can't think of a better place to read about trains than ON a train!
 
I take my cell phone and occasionally, I take my laptop computer. Most hotels now offer an internet terminal, so I don't need to take my laptop every time.

I like to relax and enjoy the travel, scenery and people while on the train. I take some reading material and of course some peanuts & candy!!
 
I use the computer a lot at home and at work - but on a recent cross-country tip (LSL/CZ) I went without it, taking only the cellphone, which I also intended to use at my destinations. I was fine without the computer, and did manage to check email now and then while visiting. I also carried a low-tech disposable film camera, for which i was glad when I was going thru the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada.

My other addiction is playing music. I carried the guitar with me in the train (as I did on a LD trip 4 or 5 years ago), and was glad of it!

David
 
My next trip on Amtrak will be a vacation. I'll be travelling unplugged completely, as I do on any vacation or when I'm on leisure time engaged in one of my two regular hobbies, horseback riding and flying planes.
 
I am currently on a cross country Amtrak trip, and I am equipped with:

1) Laptop with GPS and Sprint Air Card

2) Digital Camera

3) Scanner

4) Cell Phone

I usually upload the pics to the laptop before we get to a major city, and while we are there, I upload them to myspace.

If you are travelling on the Empire Builder, cell and internet is pretty much non-existent. And on the Texas Eagle...Arkansas and Texas is hit and miss!

myspace.com/townman for pics, etc.
 
on my one and only Amtrak trip from Emeryville to NY I had a phone, ipod, digital camera and PSP

I could barely get any phone signal at all on the CZ. Not sure why this was as it's a UK phone which means that I should be able to get on to any available network with roaming. Other people on the train had no problem getting a signal with certain networks but I just couldn't pick any up! I also went online a bit with the phone when I could get a signal

Also tried wifi with the PSP but no joy there either. No train station we stopped in seemed to have its own wifi signal, even some of the large ones like Philly which surprised me. Although it was quite entertaining while on route to scan for an available network and come with with the local RV park or casino network, was out of range too quickly though to log on. PSP was great for watching films when the scenery was a bit dull though!
 
julieandrews said:
Not sure why this was as it's a UK phone which means that I should be able to get on to any available network with roaming. Other people on the train had no problem getting a signal with certain networks but I just couldn't pick any up! I also went online a bit with the phone when I could get a signal
Click to expand...
Your UK phone is likely GSM, which is far more rare here in the states (AT&T and T-Mobile are the only two providers). CDMA is far, far more prevalent here.
 

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