scanner question

[dedhd]

I would like to have a low cost scanner to listen to "train chatter", on my next trip- LS, and CZ. Can I get one at Radio shack, and what do I need to know about using it> Thanks

 

[AlanB]

You may not be able to just walk into a Radio Shack and pick one up, but they are available from their website. As for using one, I'd start with this info from OTOL.

 

[MrEd]

I just purchased a scanner for my last trip. It was not low cost though, but I could recommend it to anyone that wants to have more features etc.

BC246T TrunkTracker III 2500 Channel Compact Scanner. Includes 2500 dynamically allocated channels (1600 typical) for no wasted memory, preloaded with the top 25 counties in the US by population, also has Motorola, EDACS and LTR analog trunking. Close Call RF capture technology, pager screen, 10 service search, CTCSS / DCS, repeater reverse, alpha tagging, data skip, weather search, same WX Alert, CTCSS / DCS search, search auto store, close call auto store, priority scanning, backlit display, PC programming and control, (software not included). Includes belt clip, AC adapter / charger, PC data cable and 2xAA NiMH batteries.

http://www.unidendirect.com/itemdetail.cfm?item=B%2DBC246T

It has a builtin program to scan for railroad chatter.

radio shack would be a good choice for low cost models.

 

[BobWeaver]

I would like to have a low cost scanner to listen to "train chatter", on my next trip- LS, and CZ. Can I get one at Radio shack, and what do I need to know about using it> Thanks

I have the RadioShack PRO-82 scanner and it does a great job for train listening. I bought it for $99. If that's too much to pay for a new unit, eBay almost always has good used scanners for less.

 

[GregL]

I bought one on EBay a couple of years ago, I'm sure it was less than 100.00 including shipping. It worked great on both trips I was on. If you're interested I'll look up the model number.

GregL

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I just bought a bearcat scanner that does the job for like $70 on ebay.

 

[sechs]

I've been using a Uniden Bearcat BC72XLT. Cost ~$70 from Amazon.

It was fine on the train, and it's great near the tracks. Handheld, runs on battery or the plug.

 

[dedhd]

I would like to have a low cost scanner to listen to "train chatter", on my next trip- LS, and CZ. Can I get one at Radio shack, and what do I need to know about using it> Thanks

I have the RadioShack PRO-82 scanner and it does a great job for train listening. I bought it for $99. If that's too much to pay for a new unit, eBay almost always has good used scanners for less.

That is the model I was interested in, does it come ready to go right out of the box or do you need to program it in any way?

 

[BobWeaver]

I would like to have a low cost scanner to listen to "train chatter", on my next trip- LS, and CZ. Can I get one at Radio shack, and what do I need to know about using it> Thanks

I have the RadioShack PRO-82 scanner and it does a great job for train listening. I bought it for $99. If that's too much to pay for a new unit, eBay almost always has good used scanners for less.

That is the model I was interested in, does it come ready to go right out of the box or do you need to program it in any way?

It's pretty much good to go right out of the box, as it just needs 4 AA batteries for operation. Programming the frequencies to be scanned is necessary, but it's a no-brainer.

 

[dedhd]

I would like to have a low cost scanner to listen to "train chatter", on my next trip- LS, and CZ. Can I get one at Radio shack, and what do I need to know about using it> Thanks

I have the RadioShack PRO-82 scanner and it does a great job for train listening. I bought it for $99. If that's too much to pay for a new unit, eBay almost always has good used scanners for less.

That is the model I was interested in, does it come ready to go right out of the box or do you need to program it in any way?

It's pretty much good to go right out of the box, as it just needs 4 AA batteries for operation. Programming the frequencies to be scanned is necessary, but it's a no-brainer.

Bob, thanks for the info, maybe I have no brains but frequencies do I need to Program? (if you know)

 

[AlanB]

I would like to have a low cost scanner to listen to "train chatter", on my next trip- LS, and CZ. Can I get one at Radio shack, and what do I need to know about using it> Thanks

I have the RadioShack PRO-82 scanner and it does a great job for train listening. I bought it for $99. If that's too much to pay for a new unit, eBay almost always has good used scanners for less.

That is the model I was interested in, does it come ready to go right out of the box or do you need to program it in any way?

It's pretty much good to go right out of the box, as it just needs 4 AA batteries for operation. Programming the frequencies to be scanned is necessary, but it's a no-brainer.

Bob, thanks for the info, maybe I have no brains but frequencies do I need to Program? (if you know)

If you go to the OTOL link that I provided above, you'll find one page that lists all the RR frequencies in use that you can program into your scanner. You'll also find a page that lists every Amtrak run, and then links to pages containing the specific frequencies used by each train, and the points where one should change from one channel to the next.

 

[BobWeaver]

I would like to have a low cost scanner to listen to "train chatter", on my next trip- LS, and CZ. Can I get one at Radio shack, and what do I need to know about using it> Thanks

I have the RadioShack PRO-82 scanner and it does a great job for train listening. I bought it for $99. If that's too much to pay for a new unit, eBay almost always has good used scanners for less.

That is the model I was interested in, does it come ready to go right out of the box or do you need to program it in any way?

It's pretty much good to go right out of the box, as it just needs 4 AA batteries for operation. Programming the frequencies to be scanned is necessary, but it's a no-brainer.

Bob, thanks for the info, maybe I have no brains but frequencies do I need to Program? (if you know)

If you go to the OTOL link that I provided above, you'll find one page that lists all the RR frequencies in use that you can program into your scanner. You'll also find a page that lists every Amtrak run, and then links to pages containing the specific frequencies used by each train, and the points where one should change from one channel to the next.

While you could sit there and program all of those frequencies, for starters you could just program in the railroad's main road frequency. I'm not sure where you're located, but CSX is 160.590 and NS is 160.950 (as far as I know that's system wide).

 

[AlanB]

While you could sit there and program all of those frequencies, for starters you could just program in the railroad's main road frequency. I'm not sure where you're located, but CSX is 160.590 and NS is 160.950 (as far as I know that's system wide).

It's not systemwide. CSX uses 160.950 for most of the Silver Meteor's run, but uses 160.800, 160.860, and 160.995 for the LSL. And CSX uses 161.100 for part of the Silver Star's run, when it's not on the A line.

NS uses 161.070 on the LSL, 160.800 for the Pennsy's run just to be different.

 

[BobWeaver]

While you could sit there and program all of those frequencies, for starters you could just program in the railroad's main road frequency. I'm not sure where you're located, but CSX is 160.590 and NS is 160.950 (as far as I know that's system wide).

It's not systemwide. CSX uses 160.950 for most of the Silver Meteor's run, but uses 160.800, 160.860, and 160.995 for the LSL. And CSX uses 161.100 for part of the Silver Star's run, when it's not on the A line.

NS uses 161.070 on the LSL, 160.800 for the Pennsy's run just to be different.

I stand corrected. However, I would not recommend putting all of the railroad frequencies into your scanner at once because of the time that it would take for the scanner to go through all of them in "scan" mode. I would look up your route and program in those specific frequencies so that you won't miss any communications when your scanner is searching other frequencies that aren't even used on your route.

 

[sechs]

I think that's short-sighted advice.

Few scanners, if any, appropriate for use listening to railroad frequencies require you to scan all of the possible frequencies. Furthurmore, if you're listening in on an Amtrak trip, you're rarely going to be someplace where you don't know what the appropriate frequencies are.

While it's certainly not necessary to programming in all of the AAR frequencies, unless one gets a fairly crappy scanner, it won't hurt.

 

[AlanB]

I have all 96 AAR frequencies programmed into my scanner, but I never scan all 96 at the same time. I just put the scanner on manual and punch in the current channel number that Amtrak is using for that section of the road.