Two questions regarding scanners.

[Mprosser81996]

Hey everyone! I'm a railfanner, I use my scanner to monitor rail traffic and occasionally listen in to the police.

I have two questions. One about a comparison of specs between two scanners and another on a purchase I'm probably going to make if confirmed by users on the forum.

I have a uniden bc75xlt. and people told me to get the 125at. To me the only difference is 200 extra channels. both scanners come with a "rubber duck" which I assume is a 800mhz range antenna. I'm a bit green in terms of understanding radio reception range.

But if anyone has a detailed specs of the two Scanners, that would be great!

On to the other question. As a railfan, I want to hear about a train as soon as it gets within range of reception, going inside with the scanner is not an option since the signal will be cut drastically. I found an external speaker on Amazon called the Vectorcom TRD550 it has a 3.5mm jack just like the scanners do, and I'm curious to know is a speaker like that compatible with the 75lxt? I can just leave the scanner outside, crank up the volume to where I can hear it from inside the property.

Hopefully I get great answers, and thanks.

 

[bob550]

Neither scanner model you cite cover 800 MHz frequencies. Here are the specs on both: BC75XLT and the BC125AT. Both cover up to 512 MHz but the 125AT also provides coverage for 225 to 380 MHz, which includes Military air frequencies. As for reception, your best bet is to consider an external antenna mounted as high as possible outside your house. For rail comms, an antenna that specifically covers the VHF-Hi band would be a good choice. Or, also consider an all-band antenna such as a discone. Here's a link to the Scanner Master site which offers many alternatives: Scanner Master Antennas. I'd also suggest doing some reading of the antenna-specific RR forum found here: Antennas and Associated Hardware. Lastly, and again regarding antennas, many folks choose to mount an external base antenna in an attic space rather than on the peak of a roof. Cable runs to your scanner can be shorter while the antenna and connections are protected against weather. Hope this helps get you going, and welcome to the forum.

 

[Mprosser81996]

Neither scanner model you cite cover 800 MHz frequencies. Here are the specs on both: BC75XLT and the BC125AT. Both cover up to 512 MHz but the 125AT also provides coverage for 225 to 380 MHz, which includes Military air frequencies. As for reception, your best bet is to consider an external antenna mounted as high as possible outside your house. For rail comms, an antenna that specifically covers the VHF-Hi band would be a good choice. Or, also consider an all-band antenna such as a discone. Here's a link to the Scanner Master site which offers many alternatives: Scanner Master Antennas. I'd also suggest doing some reading of the antenna-specific RR forum found here: Antennas and Associated Hardware. Lastly, and again regarding antennas, many folks choose to mount an external base antenna in an attic space rather than on the peak of a roof. Cable runs to your scanner can be shorter while the antenna and connections are protected against weather. Hope this helps get you going, and welcome to the forum.

Well thank you for the introduction, I had no clue where I picked up the 800mhz part from, most likely from a radio collector, he had an antenna similar to the rubber duck but it said 800mhz range. But I don't need that much for trains. Train radios are somewhat weak, they run on 160mhz and their road channels are different depending on the railroad and subdivisions you're on.

What's the best antenna you can get that is compatible with the uniden scanners? As of now, I have the Diamond 77, 15" But I'm curious if there's something better.

Thanks again.

 

[hiegtx]

The Diamond RH77CA wold be a good choice for Vhf, which includes your rail frequencies. However, I prefer the RH789, which is a telescoping antenna. It has markings on the antenna to suggest how far to extend the antenna for specific bands. Collapsed, it's not as long as the RH77CA, and the antenna has a pivot, so that you can angle it if desired. (Such as, if your scanner is lying flat, not upright, on a table or desk, you can still swivel the antenna itself to vertical.) If getting a different antenna for either of your two scanners, be sure and get the correct version. The RH789 has both a BNC connector version as well as the same antenna w, bu with an SMA connector. Your BC125AT uses the BNC antenna connection. (Many of the recent Uniden handheld digital scanners use SMA.)

I'll let someone else suggest models of antennas from other sources.

 

[Mprosser81996]

The Diamond RH77CA wold be a good choice for Vhf, which includes your rail frequencies. However, I prefer the RH789, which is a telescoping antenna. It has markings on the antenna to suggest how far to extend the antenna for specific bands. Collapsed, it's not as long as the RH77CA, and the antenna has a pivot, so that you can angle it if desired. (Such as, if your scanner is lying flat, not upright, on a table or desk, you can still swivel the antenna itself to vertical.) If getting a different antenna for either of your two scanners, be sure and get the correct version. The RH789 has both a BNC connector version as well as the same antenna w, bu with an SMA connector. Your BC125AT uses the BNC antenna connection. (Many of the recent Uniden handheld digital scanners use SMA.)

I'll let someone else suggest models of antennas from other sources.

The 75xlt has a bnc connector. And thx for the suggestion on the RH789. I'll look into it. In the meantime lets see what else flies under the radar

 

[bob550]

While I'm by no means a railfanner, I do occasionally listen to local rail comms. I'm using a discone antenna mounted outside at approximately 25 feet with a local CSX rail yard a mere 2 miles distant from my house. Even with that, there's a variation in signal strength of what I'm receiving, probably due to the use of portable's in the yard. So don't bang your head against the wall expecting perfection because it probably won't happen.

 

[jaspence]

Although not happening at a fast pace, railroads are switching from analog to digital NXDN. Before you put any money into your project, you might want to check out the system(s) you want to hear. Neither of the two scanners can receive anything other than analog AM or FM.

 

[spongella]

Welcome to the hobby. You've gotten some valuable info from the folks so far. I've noticed, at least here, that rail comms are found in the 160 - 162 MHz range and are very sporadic, like aero comms.

I have the BC125AT, it is a very good analog-only scanner and does not cover 800 MHz. A discone antenna, as was suggested is a good antenna for wideband use and is omni-directional. Just use a good quality coax. Here, 75 Ohm RG/6 is used to feed a Diamond 3000N but there are many types and price ranges to choose from. With this setup I can hear many RR comms, which tend to increase during rush hours, but the lingo escapes me .

As far as specifications, sensitivity is one that is important, but since scanners cover a wide range of frequencies you'd want to know the sensitivity on all the bands it covers, then compare it to other models you are interested in. I kinda' don't look at that anymore and rely on feedback from experienced users for their opinion these days.

Variations in signal strength from different rail comms can be due to distance, atmospheric conditions, output power of the transmitting radio, obstructions (especially with trains that are in motion). I don't know if railroads use repeaters, which would definitely have an effect on the received signal, perhaps someone can comment on that.

Enjoy the hobby mprosser.

 

[bob550]

Here's another RR resource: https://forums.radioreference.com/forums/railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum.88/

 

[hardsuit]

Mprossor81996 - the BC75 and BC125 scanners are Analog only,
the Stock Antenna that comes with the Scanners is Garbage, Recommend a Radio Shack telescoping HAM Antenna.
they are Limited in Spectrum, they can Receive below 25 MHz and Cannot Receive above 500 MHz.
Public Safety often uses 700/800 Mhz for their Systems even IF they are Analog.
they are Limited in the Modes they can Demodulate. they cant do CW, SSB, and they can do TRUNKING, P25, DMR, NXDN, TETRA.
the Rail Road is Migrating to A All Digital System NXDN for communications, they will likely keep Analog as a Backup.
I Recommend, in order to keep pace with Technology, to get a Whistler P25 capable Radio and better yet , one with NXDN as well.

 

[SteveSimpkin]

I have a uniden bc75xlt. and people told me to get the 125at. To me the only difference is 200 extra channels.

The other big difference is that the BC125AT can display a name for each channel (up to 16 characters) while the BC75XLT can only display a frequency. This feature alone is worth the upgrade IMO. The

https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/BC125AT
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/BC75XLT

 

[Ubbe]

The stock antenna seems pretty good on 160Mhz compared to a few others that have been measured in a comparison test.
The chart shows performance of third party antennas compared to a stock Uniden and among those the Uniden antenna are a winner at 160MHz. But a telescopic antenna are probably better if its lenght are tuned to best reception from a steady 160MHz signal source.
http://massivelyuninformed.me/measuring-relative-antenna-receive-performance/

/Ubbe