reconrider8
Member
OK I know they are many different radios out there but with no scanner being able to scan nxdn as if now what would be the best option for rail fans to go for nxdn? As far as price antenna upgrades ect?
railroad capable radio?
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svfd17
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Are you looking for a portable or mobile/ base?
Are you looking for a portable or mobile/ base?
reconrider8
Member
Portable right now so I can move from car to car
reconrider8
Member
well thats what i was figuring BUT who knows when it will be implemented
TelcomJunkie
Member
It's already being deployed in some areas, if you want to listen at this time you'll have to spring for a NXDN transceiver, like the Icom F3161 or the Kenwood NX210.
I know the railroads around here still use analog radios. Speak NXDN, I wonder AOR scanner that came sometime ago will decode NXDN / IDAS. I know it will decode DMR and OPEN SKY systems, as well as P-25 phase I & II. I can still listen SEPTA Regional Rail and Amtrak on analog channels. The New Hope & Ivyland Railroad still uses analog.
reconrider8
Member
I like my ICOM 3161 but if you really wanna go cheap look into a good laptop with a sdr with dsd and you can buy a short jumper to change from mcx to what ever your external antenna connector is.
you're better off taking the 2 minutes it takes to solder in a pigtail and appropriately secure it to the USB dongle, so that awful little connector isn't the point of failure / loosest thing going. One less connection, that much less loss.
What AOR scanner are you referring to that can decode OPEN SKY? There is no scanner that will decode OPEN SKY that I know of. Thanks.
In mainline use not for many, many years.
I agree. You're likely to find NXDN or other digital modes in use in yards and similar limited-use situations, but it will be quite a while before digital comes into full use on the railroads. Think of all of the analog radios that are currently used in mainline service, and ALL of them would need to be fully digital-capable before digital could be used on the mainlines.
The FCC recently required most commercial radio users to switch from wide-band (25 kHz) to narrow-band (12.5 kHz) channels. That transition took many years. The next logical step would be to 6.25kHz (which will require digital) and I expect that the railroads are trying to future-proof their radio systems by purchasing digital-capable radios long before they will actually be necessary.
I suppose that full digital will happen eventually, but not any time soon.
John
TelcomJunkie
Member
You're greatly under estimating how many radios the class 1 railroads have swapped out in the past few years. The digital capable portables/mobiles/loco radios now outnumber the analog only ones.
Pretty much any radio issued in the past three years is digital capable unless someone was using up old stock.
Pretty much any radio issued in the past three years is digital capable unless someone was using up old stock.
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The issue is that most large railroads do not operate with repeaters in mainline service, and with the longer train lengths - analog radio and digital portable radios do not reach the other end of the train.
Also what comes up is the method needed to call the dispatcher (presently DTMF sequences in most cases) and a digital calling method would need to be placed in service. Not impossible, but for operational needs - overly complicated to implement.
As Telcom stated, most railroads (larger ones) have switched over the Kenwood NX series portables and ICOM versions of the same. Use is generally limited to some larger yards. There is already a three sets of AAR channels out there - narrowband analog (001-097) - Spliter analog (100 series - very limited use) and NXDN (300-400 series) which combines the analog narrow and splinter channels.
But as stated, widespread use is a long ways off, and railroads in general haven't been pushing it for some time now.
Also what comes up is the method needed to call the dispatcher (presently DTMF sequences in most cases) and a digital calling method would need to be placed in service. Not impossible, but for operational needs - overly complicated to implement.
As Telcom stated, most railroads (larger ones) have switched over the Kenwood NX series portables and ICOM versions of the same. Use is generally limited to some larger yards. There is already a three sets of AAR channels out there - narrowband analog (001-097) - Spliter analog (100 series - very limited use) and NXDN (300-400 series) which combines the analog narrow and splinter channels.
But as stated, widespread use is a long ways off, and railroads in general haven't been pushing it for some time now.
K4APR
Member
I haven't done a great job with keeping up with these changes, so this might be a stupid question...
If/when they migrate to NXDN will the frequency channel plan stay the same, but just move to 12.5/6.25 bandwidth?
If/when they migrate to NXDN will the frequency channel plan stay the same, but just move to 12.5/6.25 bandwidth?
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