Railfan Technology > ATCS

can anybody enlighten me about ATCS? any books, DVD's that will give a good understanding of ATCS, how it operates, what kind of equipment is needed, installation, etc.?

thanks,

mike
near Seattle

I have not found any books on the subject. But there are good Web resources.

Here is the "official" ATCS site on Yahoo:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ATCS_Monitor/info

It is a restricted group. This is, as far as I know, the only site to obtain the necessary software, so you must join. The site says that you must submit a request, then answer a questionnaire. I made my request weeks ago, and am still waiting for the questionnaire. This happened previously with no response -- ever -- and I finally just gave up. I have no idea why it takes so long, or why someone who properly requests to join never receives any acknowledgment or response. I understand full well that it is a private and apparently restricted group, but a polite acknowledgment or note of progress in one's application would be appreciated. I am a member of other Yahoo groups, some of them restricted, and none ever took more than a few days to respond to a request to join.

Any TO members who have any insight on this please feel free to share your thoughts.

There are other sites which seem to give good information on installation and use. Since I have not been able to obtain the software from the Yahoo group, I have not yet evaluated whether these sites will in fact prove to be useful. But I do plan to consult them if and when I am able to gain admittance to the Yahoo group and install the software.

This first site is what appears to be a very good and comprehensive wiki site for ATCS monitoring:
http://atcswiki-beta.greatlakesnetworking.net/index.php/Main_Page

This next site is generalized. Going into the process, I appreciated the detailed explanations in non-techie terms (even though I am a techie):
http://morscher.com/atcs/ATCSmonitoring.html

The following site is specific to territory I plan to monitor, so when it surfaced I immediately bookmarked it. It may offer some general insights as well:
http://www.fwarailfan.net/atcs.htm

Do a little searching. You'll find other resources that you may prefer.

Hope this helps you to get started. I'm starting my ATCS Mon journey as well, so perhaps let's stay in touch with our experiences here in this forum, and via PM.

MC
Muskegon, Michigan

Sorry I can't help with joining the group, but at least I can put up a good word. I've mostly monitored Caltrain, the San Jose to San Francisco commuter line, as well as Amtrak. ATCS requires a lot of volunteers who are in locations that oversee radio/tower installations. The volunteers each provide some hardware which is connected to the internet on their site. While the results are fascinating and very helpful while awaiting the arrival of a particular train, this is an application requiring an unusually high number of those volunteers.

NPRY1960 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> can anybody enlighten me about ATCS? any books,
> DVD's that will give a good understanding of ATCS,
> how it operates, what kind of equipment is needed,
> installation, etc.?
>
> thanks,
>
> mike
> near Seattle

I personally do not use ATCS when I railfan alone, but I have foamed with friends who use it.

The most popular method is to connect to the Internet to access a server that hosts an ATCS territory, for example, Roseville Sub (Donner Pass) between Roseville and Sparks. For another territory (Central Valley), you access a different server. Volunteers are needed to host the server, the antenna, and to generate a layout to make it "readable" by a railfan like myself. I'm sure I've only touched the surface. Lots of work goes into a working server/layout.

FYI, the ATCS software is Windows only. There have been discussions here on TO regarding how to view the ATCS screen using non-Windows devices, and I recommend you search for those, if you are interested.

I thought about doing a "field setup" where I'd be driving around with an ATCS-capable scanner, but after much thought, I gave up before I even started, guessing that the data I obtain "on the road" would be far inferior to the data obtained by a server with much better range and more reliable reception.

ATCS is reasonably accurate enough to figure out where the trains are, but I've seen "ghost indications" so you can still be fooled. For various reasons (geography, especially), a territory might have spotty coverage and dead spots. So for now, I'm sticking to old school foaming of looking at signals, listening to the scanner, guessing running patterns, and just plain driving around to look for trains. However, it's still a great tool - I can count at least a dozen times where it would have been useful, for example, in territories where double main tracks are separated enough (Donner) where if you pick the wrong one, you miss the train.

ATCS works with the 'wine' program, which runs
windows 32 programs in linux, MacOS, and BSD.

Check out winehq.org

John.

cchan006 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I thought about doing a "field setup" where I'd be
> driving around with an ATCS-capable scanner, but
> after much thought, I gave up before I even
> started, guessing that the data I obtain "on the
> road" would be far inferior to the data obtained
> by a server with much better range and more
> reliable reception.
>

You are absolutely correct, I use my field set-up for areas not covered by Internet servers. ATCS is almost useless now on CSX since most of the railroad has gone to satellite transmission instead of radio code line.

I love using ATCS for railfanning. I'm in Central Il and it works well for railfanning. Matter of fact I'm at Tuscola using it now
Joe

I use my laptop in the truck with the program and all the different territories where I railfan. When I'm out railfanning I turn my smartphone on to be a mobile hotspot and then away you go. Pm me if you need more info
Joe

cchan006 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The most popular method is to connect to the
> Internet to access a server that hosts an ATCS
> territory, for example, Roseville Sub (Donner
> Pass) between Roseville and Sparks. For another
> territory (Central Valley), you access a different
> server. Volunteers are needed to host the server,
> the antenna, and to generate a layout to make it
> "readable" by a railfan like myself. I'm sure I've
> only touched the surface. Lots of work goes into a
> working server/layout.
>
> FYI, the ATCS software is Windows only. There have
> been discussions here on TO regarding how to view
> the ATCS screen using non-Windows devices, and I
> recommend you search for those, if you are
> interested.
>
> I thought about doing a "field setup" where I'd be
> driving around with an ATCS-capable scanner, but
> after much thought, I gave up before I even
> started, guessing that the data I obtain "on the
> road" would be far inferior to the data obtained
> by a server with much better range and more
> reliable reception.
>

This resource that I mentioned in my initial post above covers the topics of using server-based resources via Internet connection, as well as a "field-setup" with an ATCS-capable scanner. Again, I have not had the opportunity to test these instructions, but going into the process they seemed pretty comprehensive and helpful. I am planning to access territories via the server-based route initially, as there are no routes near my home that would make a scanner-based setup worthwhile. But I may consider a scanner-based setup later for when I am out trackside. Again, this resource helpfully gives some useful information on that, both in modifying a Radio Shack scanner that is ATCS-capable (with the modification), and use of a retired Motorola model that apparently can be had relatively cheaply online. I liked the way that this article outlined all of the various options, such as others have stated in this thread.

http://morscher.com/atcs/ATCSmonitoring.html

MC
Muskegon, Michigan

Thanks to all for your responses! much appreciated.

ironmtn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is a restricted group. This is, as far as I
> know, the only site to obtain the necessary
> software, so you must join. The site says that you
> must submit a request, then answer a
> questionnaire. I made my request weeks ago, and am
> still waiting for the questionnaire. This happened
> previously with no response -- ever -- and I
> finally just gave up. I have no idea why it takes
> so long, or why someone who properly requests to
> join never receives any acknowledgment or
> response. I understand full well that it is a
> private and apparently restricted group, but a
> polite acknowledgment or note of progress in one's
> application would be appreciated. I am a member of
> other Yahoo groups, some of them restricted, and
> none ever took more than a few days to respond to
> a request to join.
>
> Any TO members who have any insight on this please
> feel free to share your thoughts.

If you are still awaiting acceptance, I would recommend trying again. It is likely not out of malice, but either issues with Yahoo groups (which have been experiencing assorted issues the past few weeks with aspects of the groups infrastructure, such as the inability to access files) preventing your request from making it to the moderator(s), or a simple oversight or lack of time by the moderator(s) to process your request. There are new folks joining regularly, but it can take a little bit of time. It could be that your request was answered, but again, Yahoo issues may have prevented that from getting through.

Cody

Hello,

I submitted an application and received my approval and questionaire within 24 hours.

I did not encounter any problems.

You might want to re-submit same.

Regards

Jim Townsend

erben22 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ironmtn Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It is a restricted group. This is, as far as I
> > know, the only site to obtain the necessary
> > software, so you must join. The site says that you
> > must submit a request, then answer a
> > questionnaire. I made my request weeks ago, and am
> > still waiting for the questionnaire. This happened
> > previously with no response -- ever -- and I
> > finally just gave up. I have no idea why it takes
> > so long, or why someone who properly requests to
> > join never receives any acknowledgment or
> > response. I understand full well that it is a
> > private and apparently restricted group, but a
> > polite acknowledgment or note of progress in one's
> > application would be appreciated. I am a member of
> > other Yahoo groups, some of them restricted, and
> > none ever took more than a few days to respond to
> > a request to join.
> >
> > Any TO members who have any insight on this please
> > feel free to share your thoughts.
>
> If you are still awaiting acceptance, I would
> recommend trying again. It is likely not out of
> malice, but either issues with Yahoo groups (which
> have been experiencing assorted issues the past
> few weeks with aspects of the groups
> infrastructure, such as the inability to access
> files) preventing your request from making it to
> the moderator(s), or a simple oversight or lack of
> time by the moderator(s) to process your request.
> There are new folks joining regularly, but it can
> take a little bit of time. It could be that your
> request was answered, but again, Yahoo issues may
> have prevented that from getting through.
>
> Cody

Thanks to you and to the TO member above for the suggestion to apply again. I did intend to try again, but did not do so until recently, as I saw a post somewhere that said that I must respond to the questionnaire within 24 hours or the process would be aborted. Busy with the holidays and other obligations, and not monitoring non-work e-mail regularly, I held off until a Saturday morning in January for better opportunity to make that quick response if needed.

I received a response with the brief questionnaire very quickly that same morning, and when I returned the questionnaire a short time later the approval was waiting for me when I next logged into Yahoo a few hours later. The timing for applying was apparently good this time. All completely understandable for a volunteer group.

I downloaded and installed the application, downloaded and installed several of the profile kits for route areas I'm interested in, and am now seeking a listing of internet-access servers for the data streams for those areas. I will do the radio-based monitoring for the application data streams, but later. For now, I just want to get my feet wet using server-based streams via the internet for the data, if they are available.

I understand that these server-based resources are by no means universal, and there may not be any available for the areas I'm interested in. They are created and made available by ATCS Monitor users who have set up resources to capture the radio-based data streams, and then serve them out via the internet for others to use remotely as their data stream for the ATCS Monitor application. Therefore, the availability of server-based data streams are totally dependent on whether local railfans have set up that capability in a physical location where the radio-based data streams can be captured. They may or may not be available; it just depends on whether that's been done by dedicated volunteers. In that respect, it's somewhat like the voice-based railroad radio streams available on various radio-monitoring internet sites. Someone within range of the transmissions had to take the time and effort to set up a scanner and proper antenna to capture the frequencies, and then serve those out to the internet site for our listening pleasure.

The current issue I'm having is that I can't access or locate a list or database of those servers for the data streams. The ATCS Monitor Wiki gives a link for a list or database that's apparently part of the ATCS Monitor Yahoo group site. This link never goes through and times out every time I access it, day or night. I have been logged into Yahoo and the ATCS Monitor group site when I have tried to access, so that should not be an issue.

http://atcswiki-beta.greatlakesnetworking.net/index.php/GettingStartedOverview#1.2.7a_Check_for_Server_Listings
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/ATCS_Monitor/database?method=reportRows&tbl=2

Can anyone help with this? Is this just a Yahoo problem, and keep trying? (I've seen numerous posts that Yahoo's download servers can be lousy for special interest group resources.) I've checked my antivirus/firewall software. There should be no issues, and other downloads from the ATCS Monitor group site have gone OK (although some have required several tries).

Is there another source for locating the server-based resources list or database? I've done a number of Google and Yahoo searches, and always keep coming up only with the link listed above.

Thanks in advance for any help.

MC
Muskegon, Michigan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/18 09:40 by ironmtn.

To follow up on my post above:

I learned late in the day of that post that there was indeed an issue with the Yahoo server for the database of servers for ATCS Monitor data streams. However, another individual in the ATCS Monitor group pointed out that a read-me document in many of the territory files also lists the server address(es) for that territory. I missed that, even though I do usually consult read-me docs with new files.

Why? Because one resource with instructions for installing the territory files pointed out that an unzip-and-install procedure is built into the ATCS Monitor application -- no need to unzip an archive, and then place various files in their proper places in the ATCS Monitor software. I used that procedure. As a result, I never even saw the read-me file.

Lesson learned. I found the read-me for one territory, and yes it listed the necessary information. Used that information, and the territory is up and running just fine. Bottom line: the server database may not be needed for your territory. Check the read-me document, and the server setup information may well be there. Good workaround.

MC
Muskegon, Michigan

Further follow-up to the above two posts:

After downloading a number of monitoring kits from the ATCS Monitor Yahoo group site, and then installing them, I learned that many already have the data source(s) for internet monitoring pre-set.

This seems to be particularly true if they are several routes from a given geographical area. For example, I downloaded a number of monitoring kits for the Chicago region. Most of them had the data source for internet monitoring already installed in Configure > Options > Data Source. As soon as I re-started the profile after the monitoring kit's install, it immediately came to life with a data stream, and the route diagram was quickly populated with train movements and routing lineups then underway.

I am thoroughly enjoying ATCS Monitor so far -- and I haven't even taken it into the field yet. Just monitoring movements on territories that I know has been interesting, informative, and frankly quite entertaining. This is a marvelous tool, well worth any effort you may need to take to install it and learn it. However, for me both were pretty easy, and for most of us they should be as well.

MC
Muskegon, Michigan