can only hear dispatch

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scannernut09

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Ok i got my outdoor antenna up and it works great!!! But i got all of the railroad frequencies put in, but I can only the the marysville dispatch center and i cant hear the train, crews, or anything just the dispatch can anyone help me? I live in Thayer county nebraska.
 

KB7MIB

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1) the trains may be too far away from your location for you to hear. The dispatcher can hear them because the radio tower that is hearing the train has a dedicated landline or microwave link back to the dispatcher, and the tower closest to you doesn't...
 

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...rebroadcast the train crews.
2) They're using 2 different frequencies. The dispatcher is on one, and the train crew is on another. You may have to hit scan to see if the crew replies on another channel. Or remove any delay you have on the channels.
 

KB7MIB

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If it isn't #2, then the first possibility is the probable reason. You're too far away from the train, and the towers don't rebroadcast the train crews reply to the dispatcher.
 

kb2vxa

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I have a feeling you're hearing Harriman Dispatch Center in Omaha that covers several states and a gazillion miles of tracks. While dispatch "lights up" many towers along the line the trains you don't hear could be hundreds of miles away. That's modern railroading for you, gone are the days when you could hear engineers talking with the tower at the interlocking on the "***** box", now interlockings are remote control from the cube farm, each one tucked neatly into it's own little cube. Now if you hear a dispatcher identifying as Marysville he's the guy sitting in Omaha in control of the Marysville sub.
 
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scannernut09

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Kb2vxa what you said is what I am hearing so there is no way that i can hear trains? Now I can hear the crews working on the tracks but thats about it.
 

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...rebroadcast the train crews.
2) They're using 2 different frequencies. The dispatcher is on one, and the train crew is on another. You may have to hit scan to see if the crew replies on another channel. Or remove any delay you have on the channels.

I can guarantee that it is NOT number 2. Call it personal observations...


Large railroads run on 99% Simplex, and only have repeaters near large yards.


The dispatcher may be lighting up several towers and actually talking to a train a hundred miles from you.

You'll only hear a locomotive from maybe 10-15 miles away, and you probably won't hear a conductor on the ground from your location.
 

kb2vxa

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"...so there is no way that i can hear trains? Now I can hear the crews working on the tracks but thats about it."

If you can hear MoW you can hear trains. The catch is they have to be in the right place at the right time and you have to have the radio on when it all comes together. How's that for a 3 ball juggling act?
 

AK9R

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I can guarantee that it is NOT number 2. Call it personal observations...

Large railroads run on 99% Simplex, and only have repeaters near large yards.
For many years, the former Southern Railroad lines that are now part of Norfolk Southern used a "duplex" system where the train and dispatcher were on two different frequencies. The dispatcher talks to the train on frequency A and listens on frequency B while the train talks to the dispatcher on frequency B and listens on frequency A. No repeaters are involved, but the two ends of the conversation are on different frequencies.
 

burner50

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For many years, the former Southern Railroad lines that are now part of Norfolk Southern used a "duplex" system where the train and dispatcher were on two different frequencies. The dispatcher talks to the train on frequency A and listens on frequency B while the train talks to the dispatcher on frequency B and listens on frequency A. No repeaters are involved, but the two ends of the conversation are on different frequencies.

I understand that, but that is certainly not the norm.


In this case, I can say with confidence that is not what is happening in Thayer County Nebraska.
 
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ok well i am only 5 miles from the tracks and its one of the most active UP lines in the state of nebraska

I work next to UP Columbus Sub main line and hardly hear anybody talking over the road channel. Only time I hear anybody is either a Train Crew woke up Omaha Dispatcher 399, MOW giving out Form B instructions, Railcrew Distress vans that got lost and can't find the train or yard (which can actually be comical to listen to) and trains calling out less than clear signals.

Yard channels is where the action is.
 
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OpSec

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ROTFLMAFO @ Burner...good stuff, man :)

UP generally leases tower space at existing high profile commercial tower sites, so any one transmitter may cover many hundred square miles. Also, the UP dispatcher is most likely not lighting up more than one tower at a time. If they tried to simulcast from more than one tower at once, it would be a jumbled mess on the other end unless each of the transmitters had some very expensive GPS-clocked timing equipment...which I've not seen on their equipment at the sites I've been at.

UP's use of high profile radio sites is probably why the OP can hear the dispatcher but not the train...the conversation may be with a crew that is 10, 30 or even more miles away from the OP. In my area, one UP radio site covers the better part of 100-120 end-to-end miles of trackage over many counties on the main line and 2 other subdivisions that are more local in nature. I can always hear Omaha, but not much of the crew side unless I'm within 10-20 miles.

Just my $0.02
 
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AK9R

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Also known as "three step protection" on other roads?

I live about 6 miles from the CSX Avon Yard. The primary yard channel (AAR 58 160.980MHz) can be very busy at times with the Hump Yardmaster and the Tower 2 Yardmaster giving directions to inbound and outbound trains, respectively. Busy enough that the hump and puller crews are on different channels.

It all depends on where you live.
 

burner50

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ROTFLMAFO @ Burner...good stuff, man :)

UP generally leases tower space at existing high profile commercial tower sites

Every place I've been, UP owns the tower, but may lease out some space on their tower for cell phones or something.

Especially in busier places because they have microwave links, Dispatcher radios (Dispatcher usually has access to more than one frequency), yard repeaters, RCO repeaters, etc.

I am fairly certain that they can light up more than one tower at a time, because I could do the same from several different depots where I used to work.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
 

burner50

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Also known as "three step protection" on other roads?

I live about 6 miles from the CSX Avon Yard. The primary yard channel (AAR 58 160.980MHz) can be very busy at times with the Hump Yardmaster and the Tower 2 Yardmaster giving directions to inbound and outbound trains, respectively. Busy enough that the hump and puller crews are on different channels.

It all depends on where you live.

I was being rather simplistic :)


Where I work, we have a dedicated frequency for:
Inbound / Outbound trains
Hump
Bowl
Diesel ramp
Car department
Maintenance in the way
Signal department
Terminal Dispatcher / Road
North Dispatcher
South Dispatcher
West Dispatcher

There is constant chatter on most of those frequencies and it can be rather entertaining at times. And that is just at one yard on one railroad. There is several other yards within radio range.

But you're not going to hear much where the OP is.

I'm not positive what three step is, but I believe it is the same as our "Red Zone", but we have many different meanings for red zone depending on the craft.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
 
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OpSec

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Every place I've been, UP owns the tower, but may lease out some space on their tower for cell phones or something.

Especially in busier places because they have microwave links, Dispatcher radios (Dispatcher usually has access to more than one frequency), yard repeaters, RCO repeaters, etc.

I am fairly certain that they can light up more than one tower at a time, because I could do the same from several different depots where I used to work.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

In my neck of the woods, they are leasing space in several places on commercial towers. They have dedicated backhaul that isn't shared, but the site itself is not theirs. I assume this varies around the system, especially near the larger facilities. I'm in nowheresville as it pertains to UP's operations :)
 
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