A short one today:
My friend "Frank" (name changed to protect the sort-of innocent) is a retired local cop and railfan. We talk several times a day, almost every day. “Frank” lives in suburban Chicago near the BNSF railroad’s Chicago Sub. There is a defect detector on the BNSF a few miles west of him. He can hear it when he gets in the car outside his neighborhood but not from his home scanners, either with an ST-2 on the roof (~25’ AGL) or a GP-3 mounted in his back yard about 10 feet off the ground.
He is sort of obsessed with hearing this detector from home! He even has it as the ringtone on his cellphone when I call him. When he gets closer to it and hears it, he calls me in excitement! He drove out there to try and find it but could not get close enough to see it. According to Google Earth it is near a park but is inaccessible without serious trespassing issues, he tried! We then found a friend with a drone who flew over it and got some great pictures. We later (half-jokingly) considered replacing the antenna at the detector with a higher elevation or gain antenna. Could you imagine the conversation with the BNSF police:
He does have a better and higher VHF antenna on his house (about 35’AGL) but cannot get to the cable right now, he needs some help moving his radio cabinets to get to it. He hopes that antenna will allow him to hear it.
Has anyone else considered extreme measures to improve the ability to hear a specific target?
My friend "Frank" (name changed to protect the sort-of innocent) is a retired local cop and railfan. We talk several times a day, almost every day. “Frank” lives in suburban Chicago near the BNSF railroad’s Chicago Sub. There is a defect detector on the BNSF a few miles west of him. He can hear it when he gets in the car outside his neighborhood but not from his home scanners, either with an ST-2 on the roof (~25’ AGL) or a GP-3 mounted in his back yard about 10 feet off the ground.
He is sort of obsessed with hearing this detector from home! He even has it as the ringtone on his cellphone when I call him. When he gets closer to it and hears it, he calls me in excitement! He drove out there to try and find it but could not get close enough to see it. According to Google Earth it is near a park but is inaccessible without serious trespassing issues, he tried! We then found a friend with a drone who flew over it and got some great pictures. We later (half-jokingly) considered replacing the antenna at the detector with a higher elevation or gain antenna. Could you imagine the conversation with the BNSF police:
- BNSF PD: What are you doing?
- WS: I am replacing the antenna on this detector.
- BNSF PD: Why?
- WS: So I can hear it from my house.
- BNSF PD: Why?
- WS: Because I want to.
- BNSF PD: But you don't work for the railroad.
- WS: I know, but I just want to hear the darn detector!
- BNSF PD: What do you want to post for bond? (as the handcuffs click)
He does have a better and higher VHF antenna on his house (about 35’AGL) but cannot get to the cable right now, he needs some help moving his radio cabinets to get to it. He hopes that antenna will allow him to hear it.
Has anyone else considered extreme measures to improve the ability to hear a specific target?
