nattybohhoe
Member
ok like i says, im ready to buy a cheap handheld radio. and i was told that a vertex was good for RR bands. so whats a good one? just for RR freqs? thanks.
Dorpmuller said:Get a VX-150, hands down! Also get the Pryme PR-97 antenna with the SMA connector. (Ham Radio Outlet- www.hamradio.com )
I am a railfan photographer, have had every radio in the book over the years... that VX-150 is a pretty unbelievable receiver. It hears trains when it is clipped to the truck window that a scanner with an outside 1/4 wave whip won't even break squelch on.
I have picked up detectors 20 mi. away and heard trains calling signals over 25 mi. away, all of this in the mountains of central Pa.
Rich
ATF1224 said:As far as sensitivity is concerned, the Motorola GP68 and MT2000's have blown all the other portables out of the water.
nattybohhoe said:thanks man... think im going to the vx150
stateboy said:A properly aligned commercial radio will blow the doors off the average hammy radio, mobile or portable.
For the non-ham railroad listener, there is nothing wrong with a radio like the VX-170 as long as it's used responsibly...ie not using the ham freqs as a chit-chat channels. quote]
The hottest radio I ever had for the RR was a Motorola MX with the preamp. The VX-150 comes very close to that. For a ham-oriented portable, the audio seems fine to me and I hear it well enough (hand held, not clipped to belt) as trains are passing after I've shot my photo. VX-170 is not as sensitive and software controlled squelch sucks. Nice audio and commercial build quality though.
I love Sabers but the state police have those... don't want the hassle. Let's just say I choose to avoid any Imperial entanglements...
As far as using ham simplex freqs on rubber ducks in the boondocks, who's gonna hear you and who cares anyway? No flames from the radio cops please. JMO.
Anyway, all of us out in these parts give each other heads-ups on cellphones. No railfans I knew in 25 yrs. experience ever used two-way anything, and fans in my area never knew about the VX-150 before they saw mine.
I get a real kick out of it when my VX hears trains 20 mi. away and their toy scanners don't even break squelch.
Rich
Dorpmuller said:Get a VX-150, hands down! Also get the Pryme PR-97 antenna with the SMA connector. (Ham Radio Outlet- www.hamradio.com )
I am a railfan photographer, have had every radio in the book over the years... that VX-150 is a pretty unbelievable receiver. It hears trains when it is clipped to the truck window that a scanner with an outside 1/4 wave whip won't even break squelch on.
I have picked up detectors 20 mi. away and heard trains calling signals over 25 mi. away, all of this in the mountains of central Pa.
Rich