First DMR Railroad?

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INDY72

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OK guys here is a tidbit to chew on:
New License-
WQVB541
M & B RAILROAD LLC
[COMMON CARRIER RAILROAD]
Based in Meridian, MS
Has transmitters in multiple AL locations, as wells as MS...
All freqs are liced for FMN, and DMR, not NXDN!

Including an repeater in Meridian, MS.

Fixed/Bases in Selma, Pennington, and Thomaston, AL, and Meridian, MS.

On an side note, all of CN's IC freqs are now finally fully liced for NXDN.
 

RRR

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They sure aren't the first. G&W has several Mototrbo IP site connect radio systems on several of their properties already, has had on some for at least 3 or 4 years now. They are not too widely used at the moment, but they are going to be connected to the main dispatcher in Jacksonville in the not too far future.
 

slapshot0017

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Looking into trbo I see that its a very useful service in the railroad, but if they ever want to inter-operate or lease any equipment they're going to either have to conform to the digital standard or use analog. They'll probably just end up using it on their lines only.
 

radioman2001

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There a quite a few short lines with Turbo, my friend from Tenn (Rail Comm) has put a lot of them in, even as far North as New Jersey. Short lines aren't required to go NXDN since no other RR usually operate on their ROW.

Come to think of it AAR dropped the NXDN requirement last year some time after the Class 1 RRs said they wern't going to go to it anytime soon.
 

RRR

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Interchange virtually everywhere in the US is done on analog VHF, so it doesn't really matter if they go back to their roads and use open sky or tetra.

G&W uses the digital on their operations to communicate with dispatch. It is not intended for compliance with AAR interchange standards.

NXDN offers about the same thing, and that would have been a more in-line choice with what other Railroads are doing, but RailCom (not to be confused with "RailComm") convinced G&W otherwise.

Now Mototrbo is really nice. When the system works, it works great......
 

Kitn1mcc

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DMR is a great system and is used in more places than NXDN around the globe. also nice thing about the 2 time slots is great. Train can talk to Dispacher on one slot and the MOW guys can do stuff on the other side.

also all the DMR radios can do analog. and that clean cab radio Railcomm built is slick the xpr5500 is a great radio even in analog it outperforms the CDM series

i just picked up a sl300 nice small and will make a nice analog/DMR railfan radio.
 

slapshot0017

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Its a shame that I like dmr cause I really wanted the railroads to stick with the other guys cause I love Kenwood, but whatever works best is what people are going to want... I just hope they stay analog for a while... cause if some places go nxdn and others dmr I'm going to go insane..
 

Kitn1mcc

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take an XPR and put it next to a Kenwood the XPR is a better built radio. NXDN is gonna be the oddman out in a few years it does not have a CAI like DMR or astro and only 2 people make it.
 

Eng3ineer

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Interchange virtually everywhere in the US is done on analog VHF, so it doesn't really matter if they go back to their roads and use open sky or tetra.

G&W uses the digital on their operations to communicate with dispatch. It is not intended for compliance with AAR interchange standards.

NXDN offers about the same thing, and that would have been a more in-line choice with what other Railroads are doing, but RailCom (not to be confused with "RailComm") convinced G&W otherwise.

Now Mototrbo is really nice. When the system works, it works great......

Sounds like whats going around me. Since the G&W buy out of Rail America. I've noticed that two of the three local short lines. I can no longer pick up during their daily operations, but hear them fine when they're heading into local yards to do inter-change with the KCS & UP.
 

ki4gyw

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G&W

G&W GSRR, GCRR are both on MotoTRBO linked into Jacksonville Dispatch with GPS. I built the server and IPSC systems for both. Railcom is in the final stages of releasing the Trainmaster XD Clean Cab Analog/DMR Radio. DMR is the way to go. I had made a demo GPS application with loco positions (using the Motorola's LRRP), Railroad assets into a GIS portal with situational awareness with NEXRAD and warnings overlay, It could even alert the trains via text that were in the warned area. I'm just not getting back into radio again but I'm already working on a standalone IP dispatch solution for the radios. D you can go on johnny boys facebook and see some of the inter workings of it if you have facebook.
 

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slapshot0017

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I unfortunately love the idea of DMR and when I say unfortunately its because I have invested in NXDN. If only Kenwood would make a comparable U.S. DMR model I'd buy that in a heartbeat or atleast upgrade my nx 200 and 700. Don't get me wrong I like Motorola I've just become fond of Kenwood. I haven't given up yet though on the NXDN movement just wish I could get a definite answer on whats going on because I hate all the speculation...
 

INDY72

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Yeah, considering that all the big Class I's have spent money and time on NXDN, and the changing of their FCC licenses to now be NXDN capable, it makes it pretty much a going to happen with them, at least in yardage. They all even have been doing testing in select locations. DMR would give them much more freedom, as it is now pretty much the go to digital standard. Not to mention the multiple vendors that have DMR solutions, including Motorola. I think that even iCOM is offering an DMR solution now, or in the very near future? They all rushed to get to the second phase of narrowbanding, which at the time only NXDN/iDAS offered. Now with the mandates all gone, it makes for confusion all around. We will all just have to keep our ears and eyes open for what the future brings.
 

com501

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The clue will be when you see someone plunk down a DMR railroad capable radio at the next show.....
 

slapshot0017

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Yea that the other thing too. No DMR radios have the railroad firmware, which Kenwood and ICOM do. I just hate all the speculation like I said.
 

slapshot0017

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I don't really know how to explain it, but the old Motorola Clean Cab had it. Its kind of like a VFO for the railroad channels is all. It has all 97 or 182 whichever your channel config is and you can just punch in the AAR channel number and it utilizes that frequency. Hopefully someone can come and help explain it more.
 

RRR

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The Railroads I am familiar with that use DMR (Mototrbo) have the standard AAR analog channels most used programmed in the radio, the only DMR stuff programmed is the IP site connect system used through their home railroads, and a simplex digital talkaround channel, (that is never used.)
 

AK9R

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As I understand the "Clean Cab" radios and those that followed that standard, the radio operator could select any of the 97 AAR channels for receive and any of the 97 AAR channels for transmit. The "window" or display would show "46 46" or something like that if the operator had selected channel 46 for both receive and transmit (I may have Rx and Tx reversed). It wasn't a VFO. It was memories that were identified using AAR channel numbers. The operator did not see the frequency or a local channel name, i.e. "Road 1" or "Yard 2". Just AAR channel numbers.
 
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