Speaking of preamplifiers I use one's designed for cable TV because they have better filtering and you'll hear a hell of a lot better than that piece of shit that you are using now that m75 doesn't work at all whatsoever it in fact can damage the front end receiver of your radio and when that happens you have nothing but a paperweight because it will completely go deaf then that means you have to either replace it or send it in to have it fixed I had done that to Mine by accident and yeah it did happen because somehow it gets screwed up with not having shielding inside the damn radio itself which is total bullshit I hate the fact that these radios are that cheap where it doesn't take much to burn it out so I won't be doing that unless I get a cable TV amplifier which does a hell of a lot better and it auto Tunes the gain so it won't burn out your front end of the radio‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
Thank you for the advice, in fact, you're not the first person to make me aware of this problem. I have since removed the M75 from the set up, and will experiment with other TV rated options. Thanks for the note, seemed like a good idea for RR specific monitoring at the time.
@@RailfanRowan hey no problem glad I could help I'm just trying to save you the disaster of overloading your front end receive on those scanners because I had a 15X before and it was borrowed to a friend of mine and he traveled somewhere and somehow was near heavy RF and all the sudden it burned out the front end receiver on the scanner rendering it useless and boy was I pissed I was not about to send it in because that would've costed over $100 just for parts and labor and retuning whatever they do over at that uniden scanner factory depot and that's just too much the radio didn't cost that much to me because it was a hand me down but it meant everything to me and when I thought I could trust somebody it didn't work out that way so I learned a lesson never to borrow my equipment out to anybody again and I haven't since then so if you do use a scanner be sure you're not anywhere near any high powered transmitters in excess of 50 Watts and another little tidbit of information if you do change antennas out be sure to power off the scanner to avoid any stray RF from getting into the radio because that can also screw it up big time especially with these pager transmitters all over the place and other sources of interference‼️‼️‼️‼️
I've got a 30-channel programmable handheld scanner from Radio Shack that I've had since 1996. Back when I got my 2014 Grand Cherokee, the Jeep came with an audio port for plugging in MP3 players, etc. I just plug in an audio cable from the scanner's headphones port and listen to the scanner through my Jeep's speakers when I'm driving or just hanging out in the Jeep like when I'm in Fostoria and enjoying a tailgate dinner while watching trains.
Nice setup Rowan. I use the Uniden BC355N and traintenna setup and it works great also. I usually sit at the church across from where you were at. Might see ya around one of these days. Great video
Rowan,excellent tutorial,and well presented! This would be for someone who got a scanner for Christmas and had no idea,how to install it! Great,and more power to you!! Thanks again for your time! 😇
Hey,Rowan,many years ago,I worked with a bunch of guys,who were in the Teen Association of Model Railroaders,[TAMR],and was the Tech Editor,and Troop Advisor,so I got my digs,in article writing,photography,and railroad layout modeling,plus the odd and out of the way operations! Went from mimeogragh,to offset printing! This was on the old North Eastern Region publication- The Depot! Those guys,I mentored went on to greater things! One,or two of them,went onto Amtrak,and one I heard,works for Metro-North! Really proud of how they turned out! You're on the same type of path,and you've got a lot of native savvy,so the encouragement is natural! Got photography isn't easy to come by,and it means that you really know,understand,and can anticipate actions,before they occur! You know yourself and the subject,well!! Thank you for the compliments,and it cuts both ways!!THANK YOU!
This video is crazy awesome. I was looking into scanners on amazon for something to use in the car. I was using a handheld years ago with a whip antenna on a large conversion van. Now getting back into it, I found your video and I happen to also be a FJ Cruiser owner. So this video was perfect. Thank you!
Very nice setup! I tend to go what I call the “easy way” and just connect a handheld scanner straight to my car’s stereo and power it through a 12V socket.
Great video, Rowan! Radio scanning is a fun hobby to get into, and I recently go more into scanning and radios. My setup isn't quite as clean as yours, but it works a treat. Super convenient while out railfanning. Looking forward to more videos on the topic! 👍
Thanks so much for the info! It helped a lot! I think your next goal should be catching the new Operation Lifesaver Amtrak heritage unit. It would be a fun one to catch
I use the uniden BCD996p2 trunk tracker it's just like this but with p25 and Motorola capabilities. i use it for rail air fire law Ems public works dot state police dwr wildlife SAR teams and more.
Imagine so many railfans using this setup. I have an idea for a future train video. The Reading & Northern has a 4-8-4 steam locomotive that will operate excursions. The locomotive no. 2102 will operate Iron Horse Ramble excursions from Reading to Jim Thorpe, PA and back on May 28th, July 2nd, August 13th, September 3rd, and some trips in October.
Great info rowan! Thanks for sharing with us. I was hoping for a video post from you this morning and i wasn't disappointed. Take care my friend and God bless!
Awesome video Rowan that was a great tutorial video you did keep up the great work my friend and great catches of that NS engine and the maintenance truck
Careful of the antena cable when rains that doesnt leak. When i ran with the fire co use to put a layer of electrical or duct tape on the magnet to protect the cars paint. Nice job on the set up.
I use a handheld Uniden BC125AT on a magnetic roof mount antenna in my F150 truck. Works pretty good. I can hear trains, planes, EMS, etc. No cops. They went digital.
I have the exact same setup (BC125AT, Mag mount roof antenna, F-150) In my driveway, which is about 4 miles south of MP 53 of the CN Springhill sub, I reliably pickup a defect detector at MP 83.
One problem with your antenna instal. Water will run down the coax and get the interior wet. Solution, I always make a U-shape in the coax before I run it inside. Allowing the water or drip to run down the door jam instead of going inside. Hopes this helps you and everyone else. Nice video
@@RailfanRowan when the snow stops flying in Pennsylvania I’ll be traveling between Pittsburgh and Tappahannock Va twice a month. Last year was the first year I didn’t have the CB. Not do that again.
Nice stuff! My setup is very simple. Just a Uniden BC125AT and a car mount antenna for my truck, but when I’m with someone else without my car mount I use a huge fricken antenna, idk what the make and model is thought lol.
Another excellent video Rowan. Maybe a Newbie Series for people like me? How about a video on train signaling, two color lights, three color lights, blinking/non blinking etc. What do they mean?
by the way... have a suggestion for a future video.. in several videos of the past you mention and show an app you use on your phone to track trains. It would be cool to see which app you use, why you chose that one, and how to install and use the app. Thanks!
Rowen.... Here's an idea for you that I did. I have that same Uniden Bearcat scanner. As you can tell, that speaker is not the best... So, If your FJ is Bluetooth equipped, go on Amazon and get a rechargeable BT receiver transmitter, plug it into the EXT Speaker jack set it up for Tx and BT it to your car head unit. You can get the scanner audio over your stereo. I bought the Tensun Bluetooth Transmitter Receiver for TV PC for like $16 and as of this comment, it's unavailable, but there are others. I use it mostly on my handheld scanner BT'd to my car's head unit...
That's a fantastic idea, and I'm glad that works for you!! Personally, I'm quite content without having yet another device to keep charged lol, I've already got batteries and cameras and laptops and phones to keep charged, also devices for the railroad that I work at so like radios, phones, headlamps 😅 that's very clever tho thanks for adding to the conversation!! I already too often find myself without a charge on something
Great video! I will get one! You said it would do most railroads. I do go to a lot of tourists lines do you think it would pick them up as well. Also the antenna base is that some adhesive you used to attach to the top of your car?
That was neat!! AWSOME!!😄 👌. So where did you buy scanner from and how much was it, I didn't think Uniden still made scanners, do they make digital trunk line police scanners????
I have no idea what you are talking about because I do not understand English I speak Arabic but I can translate the comments I hope Rawan will put an Arabic translation Greetings from Saudi Arabia 💜💙
في إضافة ترجمات إلى التسميات التوضيحية. آمل أن تفهم! تذكر دائمًا ، يسوع يحبك! لقد جاء ومات على صليب من أجل خطيئتك حتى تكون لك الحياة الأبدية ، وتوب عن خطاياك وتعترف بها للرب وهو أمين ليغفر! 'ahlan bika! shukran liltahaquq min alqanaati. qad 'abda fi 'iidafat tarjamat 'iilaa altasmiat altawdihiati. amal 'an tafhami! tudhakur dayman , Yasue yuhabuka! laqad ja' wamat ealaa salib min 'ajl khatiyatik hataa takun lak alhayaat al'abadiat , watawb ean khatayak wataetarif biha lilrabi wahu 'amin lighfar!
I follow the trains of BNSF freights and other trains in La Plata Missouri.Do you know how to track the trains online and on the cellphone? And also tracking Amtrak.
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Uniden's are horrible. That pre amp will only add weather radio bleed, and hurt your scanner in the long run. A real radio like a Kenwood or Motorola would easily be able to pick up that maintainer that was 25 miles away. At least the 5/8 is decent. I know what I'm talking about, I work for Tri Rail and use Kenwood's on a daily basis. TR Foreman Weegee OUT!
Good stuff man, we use both of those + Icom (which is garbage imo) on the RR. Yeah Uniden was what was in the budget at the time. I should probably clarify that this is intermediate level scanner not professional. I don't work for Uniden nor do I actually support them as I detest their product and service quality, they were what I had, so I was offered an exchange and chose to keep that option. Won't be buying a Uniden in the future, although I love the FreeScan program they offer!
No need for an amplifier! ALL your going to do is amplify NOISE which isnt good. Let me guess you paid some hobby shop $100 for that antenna, its junk. Should have just bought a commercial antenna like Larsen or the likes and just trimmed it to their cut guides! Would have cost $30 and couldnt have tuned it any better unless you have equipment that you don't have!
