Am I listening to noise, a weak transmission, some sort of encoding?

[Jondrew55]

Hopefully this is general enough of this forum. I have a Uniden SDS100 and am exploring railroad frequencies. I set up a favorite with all the Florida railroad frequencies loaded thru Proscan from the RR database. I am hearing some conversations even on very weak signals. I'm hoping when I get a better antenna I'll get better signals. However, on a couple of channels, the scan halts and all I hear is noise. It's not a particularly weak signal as far as I can tell with an RSSI of about 84. I can hear conversations on channels with worse RSSIs. One of the channels this happens on is 160.8000 MHz. I've tried different mods and different filters.

Is this just someone leaving the mic "keyed"? Is this like a constant information transmission but the signal is too weak for me to hear the audio? I've poked around the wiki, but of course part of the problem is when you're new, you don't even know what words to use in a search.

See video in hyperlink ------>160.800 MHz

 

[jtwalker]

This could be AAR 046 and/or AAR 385, with 385 being NXDN. I think I read FEC RR has switched to NXDN totally so this may be a possibility.

 

[Jondrew55]

This could be AAR 046 and/or AAR 385, with 385 being NXDN. I think I read FEC RR has switched to NXDN totally so this may be a possibility.

Hmmm. I have the NXDN option enabled on my scanner, but I'm not sure if I need to do something to make activate it for a specific channel. I'll look into it. Thanks.

 

[chief21]

That unidentified signal could also be a "birdie" or an unintentional signal from a nearby device (PC, TV, router, etc.). If it doesn't appear to have any noticeable voice, just lock it out.

 

[wtp]

a good test for a birdie is to take the antenna off.
if you still hear it, it is coming from inside the house, i mean radio...

 

[Jondrew55]

Yea, it's not that. I tried taking the antenna off. It would be coincidental to be showing up exactly at frequencies where there should be train information.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Hmmm. I have the NXDN option enabled on my scanner, but I'm not sure if I need to do something to make activate it for a specific channel. I'll look into it. Thanks.

Said channel needs to be programmed into a favorites list.

Press Menu then scroll to Manage Favorites and press E/yes.
Scroll to the Favorites List and press E/yes.
Scroll to Review/Edit System and press E/yes.
Scroll to the System and press E/yes.
Scroll to Edit Department and press E/yes.
Scroll to the Department and press E/yes.
Scroll to Edit Channel and press E/yes.
Set Audio Type to Digital Only. Next set Digital Code Option to "Search" if you're unsure of the RAN in use or choose Set NEXEDGE RAN if you're sure of it

 

[Jondrew55]

Said channel needs to be programmed into a favorites list.

Press Menu then scroll to Manage Favorites and press E/yes.
Scroll to the Favorites List and press E/yes.
Scroll to Review/Edit System and press E/yes.
Scroll to the System and press E/yes.
Scroll to Edit Department and press E/yes.
Scroll to the Department and press E/yes.
Scroll to Edit Channel and press E/yes.
Set Audio Type to Digital Only. Next set Digital Code Option to "Search" if you're unsure of the RAN in use or choose Set NEXEDGE RAN if you're sure of it

Excellent. I'll give it a shot. Some of the channels I was having trouble with turned out to be encrypted. I finally found the right part of the RR database. They were hospitals, so that is no surprise. But this railroad one should be in the clear.

 

[KB4MSZ]

If the signal is very, very weak and there is a lot of noise embedded in the signal where you can hear a voice of some sort but just can’t quite make it out, then it’s likely my ham station.

 

[Jondrew55]

Said channel needs to be programmed into a favorites list.

Press Menu then scroll to Manage Favorites and press E/yes.
Scroll to the Favorites List and press E/yes.
Scroll to Review/Edit System and press E/yes.
Scroll to the System and press E/yes.
Scroll to Edit Department and press E/yes.
Scroll to the Department and press E/yes.
Scroll to Edit Channel and press E/yes.
Set Audio Type to Digital Only. Next set Digital Code Option to "Search" if you're unsure of the RAN in use or choose Set NEXEDGE RAN if you're sure of it

So far nothing (assuming I followed your instructions correctly). Now there is no sound. Maybe no one is talking? I have no idea what the NEXEDGE RAN number would be, so I set it to search. I assume when I'm scanning if there's a transmission the search feature will figure that out?

I really appreciate your help

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Might not be NXDN then...

 

[Jondrew55]

Might not be NXDN then...

Lots to learn here. I appreciate your help