How close do you have to be to a rail line to hear?

[Jondrew55]

I have a SDS100 and it's hooked up to Proscan so I can search and log hits. I loaded all the Florida rail frequencies after doing a search on RR (CSX, Amtrak, Brightline etc). I know there are rail yards in Sanford Fl and in the south end of Orlando. I'm located pretty much in between those two areas geographically. The closest active tracks I know of are probably 5 miles or so away.

So far, all I've picked up was a long signal that I had to hit temporary avoid on. Maybe a carrier or something (I'm new at this) at 160.000 listed as CSX Auburndale Fl, which is about 50 miles from me. I also got a weak, short transmission from Sunrail at 160.725. Other than that, it's pretty dead.

Is this normal? Would I need to be closer to active rail lines? I've been poking around the RR Wiki without much success.

 

[Brales60]

I can get CSX in Tampa and Lakeland, and I'm probably 70-80 miles away.

 

[mc48]

Pay around with different filters, this can really help with reception.

 

[Jondrew55]

Pay around with different filters, this can really help with reception.

Newbie here. What filters are you referring to? Just an update, I left the scanner on all night and logged about 20 hits. Have not figured out how to record the hits yet (either on the SDS 100 or with Proscan), but the few I did hear come in were pretty weak. I assume this is because I've only got a Diamond RH77CA antenna right now. I did purchase a discone antenna (see other post I have in the antenna forum about putting my antenna in the attic because I can't mount it outdoors). Maybe I'll be able to pull more in then. But if there's some setting or filter I can use to optimize the reception, that would be good to know. Right now, I'm only getting weak, one ended conversations. Again, it just may be I'm not really close enough to pull more than that in with my current set up.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Newbie here. What filters are you referring to?

https://wiki.radioreference.com/images/3/31/SDS100_SDS200_Filter_Settings.pdf

 

[Jondrew55]

For what it's worth, here is the log I've grabbed. Based on the RSSI, all of these are pretty weak. Maybe the new antenna will help

 

[Jondrew55]

https://wiki.radioreference.com/images/3/31/SDS100_SDS200_Filter_Settings.pdf

 

[N5TWB]

For what it's worth, here is the log I've grabbed. Based on the RSSI, all of these are pretty weak. Maybe the new antenna will help
View attachment 178896

If you’re depending on the OEM on-set antenna, I’d say you’ve found the problem. Outside antenna, good coaxial cable, good height - all will make a difference for reception. Even when going mobile for a chase or basic stationary rail fanning trackside, a good mobile antenna on a proper mount will improve the signal.

 

[Jondrew55]

If you’re depending on the OEM on-set antenna, I’d say you’ve found the problem. Outside antenna, good coaxial cable, good height - all will make a difference for reception. Even when going mobile for a chase or basic stationary rail fanning trackside, a good mobile antenna on a proper mount will improve the signal.

I have a decent antenna, but I can only set it up inside the house. It's an improvement, but I would imagine nothing like if it were outdoors over my roof.

 

[MidwestLoopRailServices]

Hi! What you’re experiencing is completely normal. Radio signals from railroads can vary a lot depending on a few factors:

First, distance from the tracks - Most rail radio signals are strongest within 1–2 miles of active lines. At 5 miles away, you may only catch the strongest transmissions, and weaker ones might not reach you.

2) Terrain & obstacles - Buildings, trees, hills, and other structures can block or weaken the signal. Even small changes in elevation can make a difference.

3) Power of the transmitter – Some railroad radios, especially for yard operations, are low-power and only meant to cover the immediate area. Mainline frequencies will carry farther, but still fade with distance.

4) Type of radio & antenna – Your SDS100 is good, but using a higher-gain antenna or positioning it near a window facing the tracks can improve reception.

Since you are roughly in between Sanford and southern Orlando, it’s normal to only pick up occasional carriers or very weak transmissions. To consistently monitor rail traffic, you’d need to be closer to active lines or near a yard.

For logging and scanning, keep an eye on mainline frequencies like CSX and Amtrak-they travel farther than yard channels. Also, some users find that scanning during the day, when trains are active, gives more hits than at night.

 

[merlin]

I am a bit over 1/2 mile from a UPRR maintenance yard, I get all sorts of stuff from there. The is a little NXDN out of there but have to use DSD plus to hear that, some police and yard chatter, not worth it.
I get some engines out to near 40 miles.

 

[RT48]

I still use my 25-year-old BCD235XLT to listen to rail traffic and I can hear NS Rockport yard which is about 5 miles away.

 

[Coffeemug]

How close do you have to be to a rail line to hear?​

This question, I never really thought about. I know that Class 1 Railroads use simplex for the most part. It's sometimes rare that Class 1 Railroads will use repeaters, but they do use fiberoptics to connect voice remote inputs / outputs at certain portions of their lines. CSX Transportation JAX Dispatcher can communicate with train crews as far north as New York and west as Chicago. y

 

[AK9R]

CSX Transportation JAX Dispatcher can communicate with train crews as far north as New York and west as Chicago.

Because CSX has centralized all of their dispatchers at Jacksonville. The dispatchers are connected to remote bases by fiber or satellite.

 

[mike619]

I pick up rail frequencies on Close Call and I am nowhere near a railroad so I guess it depends on the location kind of hit or miss.

 

[ratboy]

At work, about 5 miles from the NS Chicago Line, MP 297, I can hear the detector on my old RS Pro-106 with a big duck, on 160.800 most of the time. It's not good, but I can hear it. That same antenna hears nothing on rail on my SDS200's. Putting a mag mount on my file cabinet gets broken squelch when the detector keys up, but you can't understand what is being said. The mag mount on the 106 works great, it picks up a lot of traffic on the busy NS/CSX freqs. I'm hoping my SDS150 is worth anything on VHF. The SDS100's I've tried are every bit as deaf as the SDS200's I own. Filter adjusting did very little to help anything. If I want to listen to railband at work, my best handheld is my Yaesu VX-170, which doesn't get the interference my new Radtel RT-950 Pro does on 161.070 from all the LAN cables here. Metal case probably helps.

 

[WestRailServices]

What you are seeing is actually pretty normal. Railroad radio isn’t like police or fire where there’s constant chatter. Most railroads only transmit when there’s a train nearby, crews are switching, or dispatch is giving instructions - so if you’re 5+ miles from the nearest active tracks, reception will naturally be very hit-or-miss.

Railroad VHF is line-of-sight, so distance terrain, and even buildings can weaken the signal fast. Yard chatter is usually low-power too, meaning you often need to be very close to hear it well.

You can pull in the occasional distant carrier like you saw (160.000), but the day-to-day activity around you won’t show up consistently unless you’re closer to SunRail or the CSX main.

If you want more activity, you can try this ;

Using an outdoor or rail-tuned antenna

Scanning while parked near an active line or yard

Checking train schedules (SunRail especially) so you know when traffic is moving

Your scanner is working - railroad traffic is just naturally quiet unless you are right near the action.

 

[Coffeemug]

Because CSX has centralized all of their dispatchers at Jacksonville. The dispatchers are connected to remote bases by fiber or satellite.

That's Right! Even before I passed my Technicians License Exam, I was always curious about how railroads were able extend their communications. I wasn't too sure how PBX worked, but I assumed in some applications, it's like how Ship to Shore Operators are able to patch radios to landlines and vice versa.
Of course, most of time, the train crews and dispatchers are communicating via radio, so it's not exactly using PBX if both the train and dispatcher are using simplex radio to radio.

 

[k6cpo]

I'm a shade over three miles from a BNSF freight yard in San Diego and I can hear them with little difficulty. When weather conditions are right, I can even hear the locomotive horns as they're leaving the yard.

 

[ratboy]

When I lived in my house, I could hear the handheld and belt radios used by people working in the Stanley Yard and Walbridge Yard on my better handhelds with a decent duck on them. By air, it wasn't all that far away, but driving there took 15-30 minutes, depending on the route. I had at one point a CushCraft "Ringo" at 40 feet, and it was fantastic on a decent base/mobile radio for rail. I could hear dectectors in Indiana, and SE Michigan, along with any rail traffic in Lucas, Wood, Fulton, and Monroe, MI counties. On my Pro2004, I had a discone in my attic, and the rail traffic was nonstop. Back then, the CR swing bridge on the Maumee River was an unending source of great listening due to the problems it had, especially in the winter. LOTS of heated arguments, both on the RR freqs and on cell calls, too. Gus liked to listen to the 2004. And he really was listening, he rarely slept on my bed unless the scanner was going at slightly over mumble volume. This is him near the end, at 14+, annoyed that I disturbed him:

Puppy Gus, again annoyed with me for disturbing him: