BNRR bad transmitter

[obijohn]

Has anyone in the Cass/Sarpy-Mills area been hearing BNRR dispatch on Cass Fire 154.385?

Not being a railfan, it took me a while to figure out that the offending radio is on 161.415.
It only seems to be a problem on the last few hot afternoons. I would guess that the closest base/dispatch radio controlled by Omaha is located at Pacific Junction?

RealGeo...Are you into BN or just UP stuff? I would like to call their radio shop, but I feel
it would be helpful to have more info before calling. Besides, I don't have access to direction-finding equipment.

Like I said earlier-I am not a rail fan, and as I tuned around 160 to 162 MHz I was shocked at how much traffic there is! I logged over 30 channels of activity in just 10 minutes of casual tuning.

Well...Any reception reports will be appreciated, and like I said, it only seems to be doing it on hot days.

 

[SDOG]

Bnrr

I live on the north end of Plattsmouth on top of hill. I have been getting blasted by the RR traffic on 154.385 There is a transmitter site along the main line that runs on the east side ofPlattsmouth.

 

[Allan_Love_Jr]

Now that is strange just why the BNSF is being heard on this frequency. It could be bleed over.

 

[obijohn]

Now that is strange just why the BNSF is being heard on this frequency. It could be bleed over.

I talked with their people today and they told me they were already at the offending site.

It seems they had a bad 100 watt transmitter power amplifier, and it has been replaced.

I suspect that this wasn't the only frequency that was being interfered with.

The transmitter is located on the north side of Glenwood, and all the fire departments in the Mills County area use 154 MHz channels too.

 

[realgeo]

Howdy, ObiJohn and all!

Sorry to get in on the tail-end of this thread!

Sounds like the BNSF got their transmitter fixed! That amp had probably become a "wide-band transmitter", affecting nearly everything within its range.

Just FYI - BNSF uses 161.415 (AAR 87) on the line that runs between Red Oak and Lincoln. This would include towns like Glenwood, PJ, Plattsmouth, Collum, Louisville, South Bend, Ashland, Greenwood, and Waverly, just to name a few.

The other BNSF channel in-use in this area would be 161.385 (AAR 85), which is primarily used on the north-south "Napier Sub", which parallels I29 between PJ and Napier, MO. You can also hear the "Sioux City Sub" on this channel, which runs between Ashland, NE and Sioux City, IA.

BNSF is one of the only railroads still using DTMF for transmitter control. "*" keys the transmitter, while "#" drops it. I've heard several occasions where the "#" failed to de-key the transmitter, leaving it on the air with no audio.

Each of the transmitters is tied into what amounts to an "intercom" system, allowing the Dispatcher to select the tower they're going to talk on.

As far as I know, the UPRR is using standard tone remote control.

73's

 

[obijohn]

BNSF is one of the only railroads still using DTMF for transmitter control. "*" keys the transmitter, while "#" drops it. I've heard several occasions where the "#" failed to de-key the transmitter, leaving it on the air with no audio.

And for that reason, I can understand why they have problems with their Power amp's.

Motorola's TRC with the LLGT to keep the TX keyed is foolproof. It is superior to DRC in my opinion over radio control links. I have heard DRC fail to drop the transmitter until it timed out.