Railroad Forums 

  • Can I listen to radio chatter from trains?

  • Discussion related to railroad radio frequencies, railroad communication practices, equipment, and more.
Discussion related to railroad radio frequencies, railroad communication practices, equipment, and more.

Moderator: Aa3rt

 #783851  by Slides
 
1) Is this legal?
2) Do I need to buy a radio scanner or are there online radio streams available?
a) If radio scanner, any recommendations and what frequencies?

Thanks
 #783859  by TREnecNYP
 
http://www.railroadradio.net/content/view/166/200/

Keep what you hear to yourself/don't refer that you heard it on scanner.

If you have an iPhone there are a few apps that can get the railroad frequencies, however some are partially working or only have fire/police/ems.

If you get an actual scanner enjoy it, do not abuse it, for your ears only.

Listening to a scanner is something a lot of railfans might forget is an option, it is a lot of fun listening in "behind the scenes". It is not illegal, however since they are technically publicly accessible private communications, you must keep any references as vague and unspecific as you can.

My grandparents had a few scanners over 50 years and could hear as far away as boston or charleston on clear days, they even picked up some cruise chips out in the ocean.

- A
 #783881  by nick11a
 
The answer is yes. Being that this is a generic question, I'm going to move this to the Radio Forum.
 #784269  by Slides
 
boxcar wrote:I personally leave my radio turned all the way up and keep the mic on my blazer pocket. That's right at the passengers ear level. It's priceless when they ask me to turn it down and I say "NO". Keep sending those complaints to "www.njtransit.com"..
If you do, I hope to travel on your train! I love it when I can hear the comms when on the train. Which is why I asked the question in the first place, after I hear the radio on an NJT train and wanted to know how to hear it by myself.
 #784288  by JLJ061
 
boxcar wrote:I personally leave my radio turned all the way up and keep the mic on my blazer pocket. That's right at the passengers ear level. It's priceless when they ask me to turn it down and I say "NO". Keep sending those complaints to "www.njtransit.com"..
Are you a riding railfan or NJT employee? If you're an employee, is there any specific reason to keep your radio ALL the way up, other than just to annoy passengers? In either case, I think you are being extremely disrespectful to the riding public, most of whom could care less what's happening on the radio channels. Not to mention casting a bad light to fans like me who are content to listen quietly with earphones.
 #784892  by sullivan1985
 
JLJ, There are no rules regarding the volume of a crew members radio. It is a required deivce for the conductor to have on at all times while moving a train. If you don't like the volume of a crew members radio, you're gonna just have to eat it. When my EN reports an Approach on the Southern Tier, I need to hear it. When my train sets off a defect detector, I need to know. No like? Too bad.

Keep in mind not every radio on the railroad transmits loud and clear. Some radios sound awful. Your just gonna have to live with all the other "clear" radio chatter from the other trains in between what I need to hear. I'm not going to adjust my radios volume to "filter" out other trains.
 #786355  by EdM
 
you can listen to just about anything you wish on a radio (that is what a scanner is), EXCEPT the cellular frequencies (about 800+mHz).. BUT you are prohited by federal law from reveiling anything you have heard unless you have heard it on "broadcast [orTV]) frequencies. Technically sites that rebroadcast THE rr FREQUENCIES are or were illegal.. Elsie KAY