Railfan Technology > Looking for Radio Recommendations

Time to by a new radio.    This time I'd like an actual new radio, not something second hand, which is all I've ever owned. 

Looking at the ICOM IC-A16, as I've heard good things about the ICOM line.     I'm interested in something that is relatively easy to program and of course good reception. 

This one any good, or maybe you have something else, other than the cheap Chinese brands. 

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

The radio you mentioned is an air band radio that after a quick check of the manual shows that it does not receive the railroad band which is in the 160Mhz range.  Some folks mention Uniden scanners here and also there are multiple brands of ham radios that receive the railroad band. I'm a Technician Class ham and have used both Yaesu and Kenwood handhelds for railfanning with great success, you just can't transmit on the ham bands without a license. Hope this helps!

There are some good posts here in the "Railfan Technology" section by member "WW" that have a lot of great info about radios.  Definitely read those.

Thanks!  I certainly didn't note the problem with the ICOM. 

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

Another consideration is the railroad's adoption of "narrowband" transmit/receive, which is not supported by many or most radios. 
Again, there was a really good explanation posted in this forum a while back (I think it was TO member WW again). Its worth considering as you make a purchase. 

Since I've been cited as an information source a couple of times in this thread, I will comment specifically on the "digital dilemma" in monitoring of railroad radio communications.  First, as of today, there are three main radio communication platforms being used by the railroads.  The first, and oldest, is the VHF voice radio RR band which contains 97 "original" AAR analog channels and 97 additional "splinter" AAR analog channels created when the business/industry radio bands (which include the railroad channels) were required to convert from analog wide band to analog narrow-band in 2013.  The digital platform that was adopted for the railroad VHF band is NXDN, which actually uses the same VHF frequencies as the VHF voice channels, but using a digital signal.  NXDN was originally going to be put into wide use by railroads by now, but that has been delayed--possibly indefinitely--by the adoption of PTC radio data communications--more about that in a minute.  As it stands today, NXDN is only in railroad use in a smattering of locales in the U.S. and that has not changed significantly for a number of years.  That said, the major railroads have been buying NXDN-capable radios for over a decade now, so much of the infrastructure is already in place should the railroads decide to convert.

The second communication platform used by the railroads is the UHF railroad band.  The UHF has been in use for decades for things like voice repeater links, but it is  also used for train telemetry radio transmissions.  Train telemetry is the catch-all for radio communications between the engineer's locomotive, end-of-train devices, and distributed power.  These are non-voice, digital communications (but not using NXDN) that, so far as I know, can not be decoded by any currently available scanner, etc.  The signal just emits a digital "packet" that is heard as a "blurp" on an analog radio.  Still, it's handy as it will disclose whether or not a train is in the listener's vicinity.  

Finally, there is the "new kid on the block", the Positive Train Control (PTC) system.  This operates in outside of the VHF and UHF voice radio bands, and is configured such that it can not be decoded by any "normal" radio.  The safety aspects of PTC are talked about frequently, but the PTC radio system also allows digital transmission of track warrants, and other Dispatch data to and from trains.  This has dramatically reduced the amount of voice traffic on the railroad voice radio bands,  which means, of course, that railfans now have much less voice communication information upon which to base their railfanning strategy.  For the railroads' part, the reduced amount of voice communications over the railroad voice radio channels has also lessened the clamor to convert the railroad voice radio communication system to NXDN digital. 

How does all of this affect a railfan's decision about buying a radio for railfanning?  Here are a few bullet points.  Most I've covered at some length in previous posts, but I'll touch on the highlights here:

• Because of the very much reduced amount of railroad voice communications, it's more important than ever to have a radio that will perform well at receiving what radio voice communications are out there.  
• Buying the most expensive analog-only radio  out there is probably not the best course today, as, at some point in the future, the railroads will likely convert to NXDN.  
• Having a dual-band radio, or carrying both a VHF and UHF radio is probably a good idea, as--with the paucity of voice communications these days on VHF--those UHF train telemetry "blurps" may be your only indication that a train is in your vicinity.
• None of the current selection of NXDN-capable portable scanners is a particularly good-performing radio on the analog channels.  The comparable mobile NXDN-capable scanner models will do better, but often cost nearly as much as a decent quality NXDN-capable VHF commercial mobile radio.
• Use a quality antenna.  The old ham radio adage is true:  A good antenna may not necessarily make a bad radio perform better, but a bad antenna can certainly make a good radio perform poorly.
• If you do enough railfanning to justify it, get a good quality, professionally installed mobile radio for your vehicle and use your portable radio for the times when you are away from the vehicle.  I've been doing this for over 30 years, and it is the best solution to be able to hear as much radio communication as possible when railfanning.
• Many low-cost Chinese radios are junk, but not all of them are.  I've recommended a few that actually are pretty good radios, especially considering their low price.
• Strongly consider getting either an Amateur Radio License or a GMRS radio license, or both.  Some states have prohibitions against possessing a scanner (especially in a vehicle), but those states often waive that requirement if the scanner owner has a valid Amateur or GMRS radio license.

I hope this helps.  I'll always try to answer questions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/24 14:38 by WW.

WW:

I'm currently using a Motorola MT2000.  It's mainly used in my truck along with a roof mounted AAR tuned antenna.   It works well for that purpose, but I can't program the scanning channels.  When I first got it, a friend programmed it for me using a very old Windows 98 laptop. 

I'd like to have a portable radio/scanner for use away from the truck.   Easy (or relatively so) to program, and not to expensive, say under $500. 

Can you make a recomendation or two?

 

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

^You can check my many other posts and threads on the subject.  For many railfans, the analog portable solution of choice is the Uniden BC125AT.  It has its shortcomings that I've previously posted about, but  it is an OK analog portable in most respects.  The Quansheng UV-K5(8) that I just reviewed is also a pretty OK analog radio, and costs $30-$40 right now, which is about a third of what the BC125AT costs.

Don’t forget to purchase an antennae that is tuned for the railroad frequencies. That makes a world difference in what you can pick up. A roof mounted magnetic car antennae is also a nice addition.

Posted from iPhone

Floridarailfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don’t forget to purchase an antennae that is
> tuned for the railroad frequencies. That makes a
> world difference in what you can pick up. A roof
> mounted magnetic car antennae is also a nice
> addition.
>
> Posted from iPhone

This is absolutely true for a VHF-only radio.  Most portable scanners are sold with a "wide-band" antenna that will work across the whole frequency spectrum.  As such, they are sort of like a Swiss Army knife--they can do a lot of things, but none of them especially well.  Both Smiley and Laird (my two favorite portable antenna brands) manufacture antennas specifically tuned for the 155 mHz-165 mHz frequency range.  Take a good look at most portable radios carried by railroaders and the radio will probably have one of those antennas--typically one of the Laird antennas.  (Some of the optional antennas sold by Icom and Kenwood for their commercial portable radios appear to be made by Laird--they look and feel identical to the Laird models.)

Dual-band antennas are more tricky.  I've tried a lot of different ones on my dual-band radios.  Their performance on the railroad VHF and UHF channels can be all over the place.  Some do well on both bands, some do poorly, and some will be "biased"--i.e., they will perform better on VHF than on UHF or vice versa.

As for mobile radios, the same advice applies.  Typically, single-band mobile antennas are sold with an antenna rod that the purchaser needs to cut to the exact length required to best receive the portion of the band that he/she wants to receive the best.  There is usually a "cutting chart" supplied with the antenna that shows what length will receive best in the chosen frequency range.  I've touched on this before--as far as best mobile antennas go for a single-band VHF antenna, if one is not concerned about the physical length of the antenna, the Larsen NMO-150, cut to the proper length is the best performer that I have found.  However, for most people, the NMO-150 is unwieldy--it will rub going through garage doors, parking structures, even some drive-through fast food lines, banks, etc.  My go-to VHF mobile antenna is the Sti-co Flexiwhip antenna--it is short, performs pretty well, and is so flexible that it is pretty impervious to damage.  The Sti-co's only disadvantage is that it is expensive ($50+ range) and can be hard to find, but I've never had to replace one from damage, and I have Sti-co antennas that have been on vehicles for 10-years or more and are still going strong.  For dual band radios, you're back to the same issue that they have to compromise reception on each band to be able to receive both bands adequately.  I use the Diamond NR72 or Comet B10NMO--neither is a super performer, but they are short and not prone to physical damage.  On my railfanning vehicle, I use the Sti-co for my mobile VHF commercial radio, and the NR72 on my dual-band amateur radio that I also utilize to monitor the UHF train telemetry channels.  In that application, the NR72 works fine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/24 06:05 by WW.