JESSERABBIT
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Does anyone have any idea how many watts the transmitter in a locomotive puts out?
Transmitter Power
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Depends on the model, 40-45 watts is normal Canada is limited to 40. Most of the clean cab Spectras are getting old(discontinued) and being replaced with ??? XTL 5000 ? No doubt something that can do the 12.5 narrowband.
But you have to remember one thing about locmotive radios...their antennas are closer to the ground so you have to be relatively close or have an antenna up high to hear them.
?trainman111 said:
I can usually hear them from up to 30-40 miles away on a LMR , scanner should still work fine.
Let's not forget the 1/4 wave 'firecracker' or "ice skate" style antenna is on one hell of a ground plane.
You can hear the locomotives from 30-40 miles away? You're pretty lucky. When I lived in NY I did pretty good. I usually got 25 miles or so on a good day. When I came down here to Richmond, it's practically impossible to hear anything 10-15 miles away. I guess it all depends on what's between you and the train. In my case it's lots of trees and buildings.
I can pick up a detector that's about 15-20 miles away and can pick up the locomotives about 40-50 miles away. And that's with the rubber duck. I have a scantenna but nowhere to put it. But it's true, you have to have some good elevation. I live on a 3rd floor apt. that's on one of the highest hills around. The scanner reception was one of my deciding factors and the rent is cheap!!!!!
JESSERABBIT
Member
Thanks all for the information. I was thinking they were in the 50 to 100 watt range, but did not know for sure. I have heard them from about 30-40 miles away in my vehicle with a 5/8 wave 146 Mhz ham antenna on the roof. I believe they might have been on a mountain. I did not recognize the mileposts they were calling.
JESSERABBIT
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Are those bases strictly for the dispatcher to train coms?
JESSERABBIT said:
For a halfway realiable signal, for them. There can still be dead spots but most rr's dont want to put up antennas other than on their own property for economic reasons. The exception would be canyons and gorges. PBX or MRAS repeaters for MOW is different. Some still employ radio or 'control links' which can be monitored in the 160 or 452 mhz but these are few and far between so not really worth mentioning.
KC0YNL
Member
icom1020 said:
I know around Iowa on the UP, most towers are not on the right of way. Most are 10-15 miles away from the tracks, positioned on or near the highest point in the area they serve. The base voice communication towers also serve as microwave towers for switch and signal communications.
Up here on the former MILW/Soo Line trackage that CP Rail operates, most (if not all) towers on the RR property. I have not observed any radio towers on UP property, so they must be using leased space somewhere else. I do know that the UP dispatcher sounds better in more places than the CP or CN dispatchers.
gcgrotz
Member
KC0YNL said:
Same here in central VA. Most are on mountaintops, or at least hills. Many NS towers rent space to others, I know of several that have cell sites on them.
As to the original thread, I usually hear 10-15 miles with some "hot spots" in the 25 mile range with gaps in coverage. Line of sight rules prevail.
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