Railfan Technology > a scanner problem

i have a radioshack trunktracker scanner and i just revived from a long deep sleep this scanner i had for a long while

the particular problem is that i can scan the programmed frequencies for getting trains but it doesn’t actually blast out loud the stuff i need to hear on the speaker. This morning i was hearing I032 east on the csx philly sub east radio stream but my scanner didn’t say a peep and this might be a problem. It was left out in the cold a while back and wasn’t sure if it was damaged in some way, can you help me fix before i have to order a “bearcat” off amazon?


thanks,


nick

Posted from iPhone

How far is it from the train's location to your location?

There are multiple possible elements to radio and Antenna range. To confirm the radio works try using the local Weather Broadcast in the 162 MHz band ( also somehow verify that you can receive a NWS weather broadcast ), move the antenna around a bit or move the radio to a window location if needed. If the radio simply doesn't work that simplifies the antenna range issue.

hth.

https://www.weather.gov/phi/wxradio

• New York, NY - 162.55 MHz
• Atlantic City, NJ - 162.40 MHz
• Hardystown, NJ - 162.500 MHz
• Howell Twp, NJ - 162.450 MHz
• Allentown, PA - 162.40 MHz
• Hibernia Park, PA - 162.425 MHz
• Philadelphia, PA - 162.475 MHz
• Lewes, DE - 162.55 MHz
• Baltimore, MD - 162.40 MHz
• Salisbury, MD - 162.475 MHz
• Sudlersville, MD - 162.500 MHz

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/25 12:35 by TCnR.

Could the output volume be low because the railroad is using narrow band FM (NFM) and your radio only demodulates FM?

chessie7602 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Could the output volume be low because the
> railroad is using narrow band FM (NFM) and your
> radio only demodulates FM?

That is indeed a possible cause.  Also, listening to the NOAA weather channels will not unmask that problem because they are broadcast in wide band FM.  The railroad VHF voice channels have been narrow band in the U.S. since 2013.

There's two descriptions, this is the one that seems to be the most concerning.
The low volume is easily the narrow BW but would indicate the radio is still working. 
An older radio could have all sorts of problems, a new purchase is probably a good idea anyways but there could still be a range / antenna issue. An idea about distance would help.

Darthsimpletext Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
...This morning i was hearing
> I032 east on the csx philly sub east radio stream
> but my scanner didn’t say a peep ...
>
> thanks,
>
>
> nick
>
> Posted from iPhone

+ should add that listening to online feeds solves quite a few hardware problems if there is a feed that takes care of a persons interests. The whole field of radio and monitoring by radio is an interesting hobby by itself but it does take some work to get all the options, frequencies and hardware selections right.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/25 20:23 by TCnR.

Darthsimpletext--
Before you purchase a new radio, you will definitely want to read up on the "narrowband" issue that WW mentioned.  If you don't buy a radio that can receive the narrowband format, then you coudl just end up with a new radio that has the same problem, and a little less cash in your pocket.
WW has posted about this in this "Railfan Technology" forum in the past.  His stuff is definitely worth reading.
Good luck!