Railscanning in Texas

[ArkTex]

I've been wanting to get into listening to the trains nearest to me for some time now, and I have a BC125AT designated for that purpose. Only issue is that I'm not hearing anything.


I live in Frisco, TX. There are tracks less than five miles from my house, and I know BNSF has the madill subdivision running through there. I also want to listen to UP and the other carriers running through my town.

Would putting in all the AAR frequencies help or does further digging have to be used?

 

[Haley]

I can give you a little help. Easiest thing to do with the 125 is to

1. Press the orange function button , bottom right of the keypad
2. Press the search/service button third button in left hand row on keypad
3. Press number 5 off or on. Should be on. It will say RailRoad. All the AAR frequencies are in this search, by AAR channel number.


And if the other search numbers are on just press them again to turn them off, if you don’t want to search anything but RR.

Not sure what antenna you have , but a Diamond 77 with a bnc connector will help. Or you can get something like a Smiley antenna made for 160-161 range. They are both very reasonable in price. Hope this helps good luck!

 

[ArkTex]

I can give you a little help. Easiest thing to do with the 125 is to

1. Press the orange function button , bottom right of the keypad
2. Press the search/service button third button in left hand row on keypad
3. Press number 5 off or on. Should be on. It will say RailRoad. All the AAR frequencies are in this search, by AAR channel number.


And if the other search numbers are on just press them again to turn them off, if you don’t want to search anything but RR.

Not sure what antenna you have , but a Diamond 77 with a bnc connector will help. Or you can get something like a Smiley antenna made for 160-161 range. They are both very reasonable in price. Hope this helps good luck!

I have an Diamond SRH77CA. Will this work better on the 125 for rail scanning?

 

[Haley]

Since you already have it I would try it for sure. I use a couple of them one for RR and Mil-Air. I would try it out and just let the 125 search the RR service search. Your bound to hear something being that close.

 

[JoshuaHufford]

If you really want to hear rail traffic I would suggest a base antenna installed outdoors as high as you can get it.

You may get a dispatcher from time to time if you have a tower close enough, but crews will be a challenge with an antenna on your scanner inside.

 

[hiegtx]

I have an Diamond SRH77CA. Will this work better on the 125 for rail scanning?

If you have an RH77CA, that would work, since it has a BNC connector. The SRH77CA has an SMA connector, which is not what you need to connect to your 125AT.

 

[ArkTex]

If you have an RH77CA, that would work, since it has a BNC connector. The SRH77CA has an SMA connector, which is not what you need to connect to your 125AT.

My bad, I have a RH77CA. Got them mixed up.

 

[ArkTex]

If you really want to hear rail traffic I would suggest a base antenna installed outdoors as high as you can get it.

You may get a dispatcher from time to time if you have a tower close enough, but crews will be a challenge with an antenna on your scanner inside.

As I've said on other parts of the forum, I'm unable to put something outside due to space restrictions, so indoors is the only way to even get an antenna up there.

 

[KenFL9]

I've been wanting to get into listening to the trains nearest to me for some time now, and I have a BC125AT designated for that purpose. Only issue is that I'm not hearing anything.


I live in Frisco, TX. There are tracks less than five miles from my house, and I know BNSF has the madill subdivision running through there. I also want to listen to UP and the other carriers running through my town.

Would putting in all the AAR frequencies help or does further digging have to be used?

The only railroad actually running through Frisco is indeed the BNSF Madill Sub and the only frequency used is 161.160 (AAR 070) as the road channel. The Madill Sub at present is dispatched by Track Warrant Control (TWC) so you should hear a fair amount of traffic.

You should be near enough to pick up the KCS in Wylie where 160.260 (AAR 010) is used as the road channel and with 160.350 (AAR 016) in duplex mode when communicating with the dispatcher in Kansas City. Union Pacific uses 161.145 (AAR 069) as the road channel in the Dallas area.

First see if you are receiving anything on those specific frequencies. You may also try the railroad search mode preprogrammed in your scanner.

For more detail you may consult the frequency lists on my website at www.FL9.com