NXDN

Status
Not open for further replies.

railroadertwo

Member
Joined
May 20, 2010
Messages
52
Location
Toronto, KS
Being a retired railroader, and having read that the railroads are moving to NXDN mode of radio transmission, does anyone know if Uniden now has or plans to have units capable of receiving this mode of radio? I know Whistler has a couple of units that are capable or will soon be. Thanks
 

fxdscon

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7,158
Being a retired railroader, and having read that the railroads are moving to NXDN mode of radio transmission, does anyone know if Uniden now has or plans to have units capable of receiving this mode of radio? I know Whistler has a couple of units that are capable or will soon be. Thanks

There has been a lot of speculation and rumor but Uniden has not made any announcements for NXDN in any of their current scanners - or future plans to do so, and they are the only ones who would be able to answer that.

.
 

railroadertwo

Member
Joined
May 20, 2010
Messages
52
Location
Toronto, KS
There has been a lot of speculation and rumor but Uniden has not made any announcements for NXDN in any of their current scanners - or future plans to do so, and they are the only ones who would be able to answer that.

.

Well, that certainly would be the case, I just thought someone from Uniden might monitor this reflector from time to time and would perhaps comment on the issue.
 

UPMan

In Memoriam
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
13,296
Location
Arlington, TX
I'm on here all the time. But, as a policy we do not discuss anything that may or may not be in development until such time as we are ready to announce.
 

Nasby

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Messages
2,631
Location
Ohio
Mr. Railroader. Don't be too worried about NXDN on the railroads just yet.

It is still years away before the class 1's will be on NXDN (If ever). Since you are a former railroader, you know that they make major changes at a snail's pace.

You may miss some yard switching here and there or some remote shortline activity on NXDN but you will be fine for awhile with a regular analog scanner and a Diamond RH77CA antenna for mailine trackside use.
 

RRR

OFFLINE
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,970
Location
USA
Mr. Railroader. Don't be too worried about NXDN on the railroads just yet.

It is still years away before the class 1's will be on NXDN (If ever). Since you are a former railroader, you know that they make major changes at a snail's pace.

You may miss some yard switching here and there or some remote shortline activity on NXDN but you will be fine for awhile with a regular analog scanner and a Diamond RH77CA antenna for mailine trackside use.

I beg to differ, I know for an absolute fact that Railroads are using NXDN digital, and MotoTrbo also, on AAR channels. There has been extensive testing lately on road freq. repeaters as well. (The Mototrbo has been on regionals, the NCDN is on class 1's)

Analog is still king, but to say "if ever" is a vast understatement. If you don't have a radio or scanner capable of monitoring the AAR freqs on NXDN, you don't know what you are missing.
 

KCoax

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
389
BNSF and UP both use it quite a bit up here in KC. I don't listen much of time. I use a PSR-800 and a HP tablet running DSDPlus. I hope Uniden will display the radio Alias information. That would be cool beans.
 

Nasby

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Messages
2,631
Location
Ohio
Thanks for the reply's, at the present, the whistler brands are just a little too pricey for my budget,

Correct. My point is that you don't need to sink big bucks into NXDN just to hear some shortlines or yard moves. There will be plenty of mainline rail action to hear with your analog unit for a good while to come. Heck it took the RR's five years just to decide what digital protocol to use.
 

bdalton26

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
15
Location
Springfield,Greene County, MO
It really pain's me to have to go to Whistler to get NXDN which has become popular here, and all Uniden can do is act like it's a matter of national security rather than just say "yeah, we're working on an upgrade" or "we are working on an NXDN solution",etc. I might go ahead and buy their product if I had some indication they plan to add support for it. As for their competition---they already have NXDN---and for free-- so I would think it would behoove Uniden to reassure us before we jump ship. Apparently this is to much to ask of them.
 

railroadertwo

Member
Joined
May 20, 2010
Messages
52
Location
Toronto, KS
Well, all that being said, neither of the brands are what I would call cheap, and it appears railroad retirement doesn't pay enough for me to purchase either one, however miracles do happen, and I will wait until they get cheaper.
 

garys

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 13, 2002
Messages
6,069
If all you want to do is listen to railroads, you might check to see what a lower end NXDN two way radio costs. You can possibly have it programmed to receive what you want.

Unless of course you want to listen to other traffic, then you are going to need a multiband scanner.

Well, all that being said, neither of the brands are what I would call cheap, and it appears railroad retirement doesn't pay enough for me to purchase either one, however miracles do happen, and I will wait until they get cheaper.
 

NM9X

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2016
Messages
57
Location
Mt. Zion, IL
Thanks for the reply's, at the present, the whistler brands are just a little too pricey for my budget,

If budget is a major concern,RTL-SDR, as mentioned above, can be a very inexpensive solution (around $25) provided you already have a laptop and patience to set the system up... You can decode not only NXDN but also APCO P25, DMR and Conventional. It's possible to set up trunk monitoring too. Definitely NOT as convenient or as good a solution as in a handheld/mobile scanner but still can be set up in your vehicle for little expenditure. It's fun too if you like computers.
 

n5ofq

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
7
Location
Albuquerque, NM
I used a RTL dongle and my PSR500 (discriminator tapped) with DSD+ and it works well. We have NXDN at a local casino in Albuquerque. We have ProVoice (police) too, which decodes well with Unitrunker/DSD+. I might buy the BCD436 if I knew NXDN was forthcoming. Meanwhile, I have a Gole1 portable PC ordered which may allow easier mobile operation but still not as portable as I'd like.
 

wbloss

Human
Database Admin
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,043
Location
Joplin MO
BNSF and UP both use it quite a bit up here in KC. I don't listen much of time. I use a PSR-800 and a HP tablet running DSDPlus. I hope Uniden will display the radio Alias information. That would be cool beans.

Can you expand a bit of what freqs are using NXDN in KC?
The listing here: Railroads Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference do not show NXDN.

I have programmed NXDN on my TRX2 for the Joplin area but not heard anything yet.

Thanks

W
 

KD6HRI

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
61
Location
Citrus Heights, CA.
It really pain's me to have to go to Whistler to get NXDN which has become popular here, and all Uniden can do is act like it's a matter of national security rather than just say "yeah, we're working on an upgrade" or "we are working on an NXDN solution",etc. I might go ahead and buy their product if I had some indication they plan to add support for it. As for their competition---they already have NXDN---and for free-- so I would think it would behoove Uniden to reassure us before we jump ship. Apparently this is to much to ask of them.

Agreed. I can almost guarantee that Uniden has something in the works whether it will be a costly up grade or another scanner that will incorporate NXDN. I think Upman's response was neutered by Uniden's policies and that's where it will have some potential customers looking to purchase Whistlers. If I were in Upman's shoes I would at the very least say that they are looking into the possibility of adding NXDN (which is not a commitment) and that might be enough information to give the Uniden fans hope.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top