What is this sound on RR freqs.

[Dreamflight767]

Hello. I have these Amtrak Portland freqs. in my scanner:

Frequency License Type Tone Alpha Tag Description Mode Tag
161.04000 WPWB988 BM AMTK62 Yard Portland Yard FMN Railroad
160.35000 WPTV877 BM AMTK16 Stati Portland Station FMN Railroad

But I don't hear voices I only get these odd sounds/tones. I have a recording of the sounds but cannot upload them here.

Any help please?

Thanks!

 

[burner50]

Hello. I have these Amtrak Portland freqs. in my scanner:

Frequency License Type Tone Alpha Tag Description Mode Tag
161.04000 WPWB988 BM AMTK62 Yard Portland Yard FMN Railroad
160.35000 WPTV877 BM AMTK16 Stati Portland Station FMN Railroad

But I don't hear voices I only get these odd sounds/tones. I have a recording of the sounds but cannot upload them here.

Any help please?

Thanks!

You might have better luck in the Oregon forum. I can move your thread there if you like.

 

[Dreamflight767]

LOL...I thought about it and figured it would get moved here. Could I please trouble you to move it over there?

Thank you.

 

[riccom]

does it sound like buzzing or a quiet garble sound

 

[burner50]

LOL...I thought about it and figured it would get moved here. Could I please trouble you to move it over there?

Thank you.

Without being able to hear it, it would be up to local listeners to figure it out.


Anyway, It's in the Oregon forum.

 

[PMJ2kx]

IIRC, 161.040 is onboard comms for the Cascades trainsets between Portland and Seattle. No repeaters or base stations - just mobile / portable only.

160.350 is licensed for UP Albina Yard operations as well as Union Station. Pretty sure they use this to communicate when they wye the Portland leg of the Empire Builder as they have to go across the Steel Bridge into Albina Yard, so chances are you're not going to hear this unless you're near the yard.

You could try uploading the sample to SoundCloud and sharing it that way.

 

[ecps92]

Could be NXDN migration as the license indicates that emission
Emission Designator - The RadioReference Wiki

Hello. I have these Amtrak Portland freqs. in my scanner:

Frequency License Type Tone Alpha Tag Description Mode Tag
161.04000 WPWB988 BM AMTK62 Yard Portland Yard FMN Railroad
160.35000 WPTV877 BM AMTK16 Stati Portland Station FMN Railroad

But I don't hear voices I only get these odd sounds/tones. I have a recording of the sounds but cannot upload them here.

Any help please?

Thanks!

 

[Dreamflight767]

Thanks for the feedback all. The sound is a constant tone. Almost like when you get a dial tone on a landline. Just a constant noise with some a little static.

 

[Dreamflight767]

https://soundcloud.com/user-608363437/rr-tone

I hope this works! Thanks for the idea!

 

[rosecitytransit]

Are you listening close to the station? I've heard analog voice on the frequencies the Amtrak yard and station had been assigned to in the past, but it was my understanding that they were low power and didn't go far.

 

[Dreamflight767]

Hi. I show 2.6NM if the "yard" is Union Station downtown Portland.

 

[rosecitytransit]

That's a little ways, especially in an urban environment. It could be something else you're hearing. I don't live close to the station any more and the station and yard channels aren't that active so can't say. One would have to be near the station at train time to confirm. It does appear that the frequencies are licensed for NXDN, but the sound you posted doesn't really match what's on Next Generation Digital Narrowband (NXDN) - Signal Identification Wiki

 

[PMJ2kx]

https://soundcloud.com/user-608363437/rr-tone

I hope this works! Thanks for the idea!

Kinda sounds like local interference, honestly. Definitely not NXDN.

See here for examples (click on NXDN)
W2SJW - Radio Sounds

Also should point out, it doesn't sound like it has a data structure, so I'd rule out ATCS and the like.

(examples of ATCS audio)
http://www.atcsmon.com/samples.html

 

[Dreamflight767]

Interesting. Not the simplest to fix but oh well. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

 

[riccom]

Here is a thought, when i worked with cn, the yards had radio controlled locomotives. Always had a consitant carrier.

Sent from my LGMS345 using Tapatalk

 

[PMJ2kx]

Here is a thought, when i worked with cn, the yards had radio controlled locomotives. Always had a consitant carrier.

Sent from my LGMS345 using Tapatalk

Unless I'm mistaken, RCL data is transmitted in the 450Mhz range, with voice broadcast on normal AAR channels.

 

[mikegilbert]

That sounds like it could be an image frequency from some other device.

 

[radioman2001]

That is a stuck carrier on the channel with a rotary generator noise in the background, Heard it many times on various radio telephone tie line used by NYCTA and MNRR as well as regular POTS telephones. The rotary generator makes DC voltage from AC, and it gets into everything usually from poor grounding. Just as some AM radio stations induce into telephone lines the rotary generator does too.

 

[Dreamflight767]

Wow...thank you for the specific information. I take it there is nothing I can really do at my end to "fix" this issue.

Take it easy.