Hey I'm new

[traingeek087]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and just wanted to say what's up? I live in the York, Nebraska area, or around 45 miles west of Lincoln, NE. I have a Uniden BCT7 that i've recently acquired and was thinking about putting in my truck, but it appears that i can only put 50 of the 96 AAR channels in it. im very disappointed! Anyways, I was wondering if i could possibly get the frequencies for BNSF and UP in Nebraska-if possible. I'm hoping that it's less than 50 channels so I dont have to get a new scanner! Thanks and nice being here.

 

[WisconsinRailfan]

Welcome to the forum, check out this site http://www.railfanswelcome.com/ just click on your state at the bottom of the page.

 

[Nasby]

50 channels is plenty. Just look up the active frequencies for your area and program them in. Even the busiest railroad areas only have about 10-20 busy frequencies.

 

[traingeek087]

Sweet. That site is awesome! Thanks for the help.

Also, I should ask you guys about antennas while i'm at it. I have a CB in my pickup with 2 5' antennas. I was planning on using one of those for my scanner and the other one for my CB. Do you think that's an adequate antenna or is there another one you guys prefer?

 

[burner50]

Sweet. That site is awesome! Thanks for the help.

Also, I should ask you guys about antennas while i'm at it. I have a CB in my pickup with 2 5' antennas. I was planning on using one of those for my scanner and the other one for my CB. Do you think that's an adequate antenna or is there another one you guys prefer?

CB Antennas are tuned to the wrong frequencies... Dont get me wrong it will probably work, but not as well as a different antenna that is properly tuned.

 

[W4KRR]

burner50 is correct, a CB antenna is made for the 27MHz band, railroads use frequencies at 160 to 161MHz. You need a quarter wave whip cut to around 17 inches or so long.

You could just buy a two meter ham radio antenna, and use it as it is, and it would work adequately for the railroad band. If you wanted to fine tune it, many such antennas come with a cutting chart to allow you to tune the antenna from the two meter band up to around 173 MHz or so. But using it as it is would probably be adequate for railroad band listening, and you might not notice any difference even if you did fine tune it for the railroad channels. But it would certainly be better than using a CB antenna for railroad listening.

 

[Nasby]

I have the radio shack mag mount scanner antenna on my car. It does a good job on the railroad band. Also, get yourself a Diamond RH77CA antenna to replace the rubber duckie antenna on your scanner. You will be amazed at how many signals on the VHF-Hi band / railroad band the RH77CA will pull in!

 

[KG4ZPD]

Don't use a CB antenna for a scanner. Buy a scanner antenna. You can pick one up from Radio Shack or buy one online.

 

[traingeek087]

i'm gonna by the RH77CA to put on my truck and still run the 2 CB antennas seperate.

 

[W4KRR]

i'm gonna by the RH77CA to put on my truck and still run the 2 CB antennas seperate.

The RH77CA is a "rubber duck" type antenna designed to mount directly on top of your hand held scanner. It isn't an antenna that's designed to be mounted on a vehicle. Just some food for thought before you buy anything.

 

[traingeek087]

Well I need something that will mount on my truck but nothing seems to really be what I want. Can anyone give me a specific mobile antenna that they use and works out well?....and i dont want a magnetic antenna....

Would you recommend any of these two?

Larson NMO-150-B http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-150-B.html
Larson NMO-150-450-800 http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-150-450-800.html

 

[icom1020]

Well I need something that will mount on my truck but nothing seems to really be what I want. Can anyone give me a specific mobile antenna that they use and works out well?....and i dont want a magnetic antenna....

Would you recommend any of these two?

Larson NMO-150-B http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-150-B.html
Larson NMO-150-450-800 http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-150-450-800.html

I use both, well at least one of them is made by Larsen, the triband model. I use the 150B equivalent by Maxrad for RR hooked up to a commercial radio and the tri-bander to a pro-2055. If it is performance in one area like railroad, then go with the 150-B

 

[W4KRR]

Well I need something that will mount on my truck but nothing seems to really be what I want. Can anyone give me a specific mobile antenna that they use and works out well?....and i dont want a magnetic antenna....

Would you recommend any of these two?

Larson NMO-150-B http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-150-B.html
Larson NMO-150-450-800 http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-150-450-800.html

I have both of those antennas. Yes, I would recommend them. The NMO-150 is good if all you need is VHF high band. The other is the Larsen tri-band scanner antenna.

 

[Allan_Love_Jr]

I the York area,Monitor 160.695Mhz for the BNSF.

 

[traingeek087]

I was planning on monitoring a few other things like police frequencies and such, which i believe (correct me if i'm wrong) are in the 450mhz range. Would you recommend me getting the tri-band if i'm going to do this, or is there a way to run both antennas on the same scanner? Sorry for asking so many questions, i'm rather new to this.

 

[W4KRR]

I was planning on monitoring a few other things like police frequencies and such, which i believe (correct me if i'm wrong) are in the 450mhz range. Would you recommend me getting the tri-band if i'm going to do this, or is there a way to run both antennas on the same scanner? Sorry for asking so many questions, i'm rather new to this.

The NMO-150B is really only good for VHF high band frequencies, although it would certainly receive somewhat in other bands as well. If you are going to be monitoring other bands, then I would go with the Larsen NMO150/450/800 (that's the model number).

 

[traingeek087]

Sweetness. That's what I'll do then. Thanks.

I also assume that the antenna does not havea cable or any mounting hardware with it. What other things will i need to install the antenna, such as cable, mount, etc?

I do have another CB cable. Could I use that and then convert the fitting to a BNC connector?

 

[traingeek087]

help

can anyone help me on how to order the larsen nmo150/450/800 antenna? i've gone to the site and you cannot buy directly. And you must have a login to buy it from one of their dealers. Where can i get this antenna!? Is there any website?

 

[W4KRR]

can anyone help me on how to order the larsen nmo150/450/800 antenna? i've gone to the site and you cannot buy directly. And you must have a login to buy it from one of their dealers. Where can i get this antenna!? Is there any website?

Amateur Electronic Supply, www.aesham.com

Or most any ham radio dealer. Or do a Google search for Larsen amateur radio antennas.

 

[W0JJK]

You may be able to get one ordered by Platte Valley Communications in York or Grand Island. There link below.

http://www.plattevalleycomm.com/contactus.html

In Lincoln, there is D&D Communications.

D&D Communications
3511 N 40TH
LINCOLN, NE 68504
402-466-8188