Scanner Frequency Problem

fireball451 · March 28, 2010, 07:52:04 PM

I am having trouble with one frequency in my scanner.
Everything has worked fine for years up until the past couple of months.
One channel in particular is now very garbled and muffled.
It is NS SOU Channel 1, 160.950.
All other frequencies (CSX, NS SOUCh2, East Tennessee Railway, Police, Fire, etc.) works fine.
It is just this one frequency that has suddenly turned to crap.
I am in East Tennessee.
Scanner is a Radio Shack Dual Trunking Scanner.
Has NS done something to tweak or change the frequency?
Any ideas?

billworsham · March 28, 2010, 07:58:59 PM

I have been having problems as well over the last couple weeks or so. There are a lot of 'sound-outs' or 'bleep-outs' as I can best describe. They are very frequent and nerve-racking when trying to determine what is being said. Same frequency-the road channel.

nsgelocos · March 28, 2010, 09:07:56 PM

I would suggest getting a DPD productions Traintenna or some sort of railscan gain atenna. This would probably remedy the problem.

fireball451 · March 28, 2010, 09:32:08 PM

The thing is that is has always been loud and clear until recently. The other channels are fine........

nsgelocos · March 28, 2010, 10:01:38 PM

idk, hopefully NS will fix this problem soon

Conrail Tweety · March 29, 2010, 01:34:51 PM

Quote from: fireball451 on March 28, 2010, 07:52:04 PM
I am having trouble with one frequency in my scanner.
Everything has worked fine for years up until the past couple of months.
One channel in particular is now very garbled and muffled.
It is NS SOU Channel 1, 160.950.
All other frequencies (CSX, NS SOUCh2, East Tennessee Railway, Police, Fire, etc.) works fine.
It is just this one frequency that has suddenly turned to crap.
I am in East Tennessee.
Scanner is a Radio Shack Dual Trunking Scanner.
Has NS done something to tweak or change the frequency?
Any ideas?

Have you tried using the scanner in another location, miles away? If moving the scanner solves the problem, then there may be interference from a strong signal on another frequency that the scanner is having diffilculty rejecting.

Something else to try: Put the questionable frequency into a memory channel in a different channel bank and see if the problem goes away.

Dennis

nsgelocos · March 29, 2010, 05:01:48 PM

Well, I mentioned this problem to my dad this morning. His opinion is that he thinks the railroad could be trying to restrict the frequency from public scanners. I honestly don't think this is why this is happening.

NSMoWandS · March 29, 2010, 05:20:21 PM

I believe there is a repeater down in the area.

nsgelocos · March 29, 2010, 07:13:20 PM

There are a couple down in the tunnels in Nemo.

fireball451 · March 30, 2010, 06:35:23 PM

It is like that all over.
Been up and down the A line and the TC line and its the same.
I have tried the frequency in another band with no luck.
Talked to the guys at ET Railway today.
They said that they are having to upgrade their radios.
They described it as a "compressed" band frequency now (don't remember the word he used).
Said it was more likely to restrict what is heard in scanner land........

E.M. Bell · March 30, 2010, 08:30:35 PM

The FCC has mandated that the railroads begin to switch to narrow band channel spacing (12.5kh spacing), which will serve to open up more available land mobile frequencies in the future. I believe that everything has to be switched over by 2013 or so.

There are a multitude of new radios on the market right now that are capable of monitoring the new channels, but for the most part it will be all commercial equipment for now. NS and other roads have been slowly installing new equipment as the deadline grows near, but as far as I know, everything is still on the normal channels right now. While the change will make it harder to listen, it wont be imposable, it will just mean new radios to buy.

The big kicker for most folks will be when, and if they choose to use the new NXDN digital format...that will pretty well seal it shut unless you want to layout the cash for a digital capable radio.

JCagle · April 01, 2010, 05:55:37 PM

I have heard some rumors that the shift to narrowband may be delayed. Something along the lines of the railroads citing the cost to replace thousands of units. I guess it would be similar to the switch to digital tv with several delays. Hopefully by the digital switch the prices will have dropped some, as they should.

mkerner · April 10, 2010, 10:09:33 PM

Heard the DI on the St Louis District trying to give out a TA to a foreman and his work train the otherday
and none of the parties could hear each other properly and the DI made a comment about the new radios
being junk some it might be a system wide computer update issue.