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== Master List of AAR Channels ==
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* [https://www.radioreference.com/db/aid/7747 RadRef AAR Channel Listings]
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* [https://dpdproductions.com/pages/railroad-frequencies-new-aar-plan DPD Productions unified list sorted by frequency]
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* [[Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) Frequencies]]
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== Finding Specific Railroad Frequencies==
 
== Finding Specific Railroad Frequencies==
 
A great place to start is the RRDB for your particular area. Sometimes, there is not any information to be had and this is where it can be fun!  
 
A great place to start is the RRDB for your particular area. Sometimes, there is not any information to be had and this is where it can be fun!  
  
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If you live in the USA you can find all the railroad licenses in your area with a visit to the [https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/General_Menu_Reports/engineering_search.cfm?accessible=NO&wild_select=on FCC's website]
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If you live in the USA you can find all the railroad licenses in your area with a visit to the [http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/reports7/ FCC's website]
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* Next, select one of the '''Frequency (Range)''' queries and then enter '''160.2150''' and '''161.5650''' for the begin and end search frequencies.  
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* For '''Service''' select '''Land Mobile - Private [LP]'''  
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Next, select one of the '''Frequency (Range)''' queries and then enter '''M160.215''' and '''M161.565''' for the begin and end search frequencies.  
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* For '''Radio Service''' select '''Industrial/Business Pool - Conventional [IG]'''  
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For '''Service''' select '''Land Mobile - Private [LP]'''  
 
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For '''Radio Service''' select '''Industrial/Business Pool - Conventional [IG]'''  
 
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You can then download the results or search them and make a custom spreadsheet with only the fields you want and download it.  
 
You can then download the results or search them and make a custom spreadsheet with only the fields you want and download it.  
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As always, be sure to submit any new information for inclusion in the RRDB!
 
As always, be sure to submit any new information for inclusion in the RRDB!
  
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If you don't find it here or in the database, feel free to post a message in the RadioReference's {{Forum|railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum|Railroad-Railfan Monitoring}}.
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If you don't find it here or in the database, feel free to post a message in the RadioReference {{Forum|railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum.88|Railroad Railfan Monitoring}}  
  
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Amtrak routes and frequencies can be found on the [http://on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml On Line On Track Amtrak] page
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== Scanners and Radios ==
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* [http://www.batlabs.com/rrspectra.html Motorola Spectra Railroad radio]
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* [https://uniden.com/products/bc125at Uniden BC125AT portable scanner]
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* [https://www.trainaficionado.com/uniden-bearcat-bcd160dn-bcd260dn/ Uniden BCD160DN and BCD260DN DMR and NXDN scanners]
  
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== VHF Frequencies==
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== Railscanning/Railfanning References ==
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Railroad radios display the transmit and receive frequency as American Association of Railroads (AAR) channel numbers. For example, these numbers will be referred to over-the-air as "1616" for AAR channel 16 (160.350) or "1180" for AAR channels 11 and 80 in full duplex use (Dispatch transmits on one channel and the train transmits on the other channel).
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* [[Railfan Radio FAQ]]
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* [[General Railfan links]]
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AAR Ch Frequency
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* [[Railfan links alphabetic sort]]
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02 159.8100 Canada Only
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* [https://forums.radioreference.com/forums/railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum.88/ RadioReference Railroad Railfan Monitoring Forum]
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03 159.9300 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
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* [https://dpdproductions.com/pages/railroad-radio-terminology-glossary DPD Productions - Railroad Glossary]
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04 160.0500 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
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* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States US Rail Transportation (WikiPedia)]
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05 160.1850 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
 
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06 160.2000 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
 
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07 160.2150
 
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08 160.2300
 
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09 160.2450
 
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10 160.2600
 
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11 160.2750
 
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12 160.2900
 
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13 160.3050
 
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14 160.3200
 
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15 160.3350
 
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16 160.3500
 
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17 160.3650
 
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18 160.3800
 
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19 160.3950
 
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20 160.4100
 
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21 160.4250
 
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22 160.4400
 
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23 160.4550
 
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24 160.4700
 
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25 160.4850
 
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26 160.5000
 
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27 160.5150
 
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28 160.5300
 
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29 160.5450
 
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30 160.5600
 
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31 160.5750
 
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32 160.5900
 
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33 160.6050
 
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34 160.6200
 
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35 160.6350
 
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36 160.6500
 
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37 160.6650
 
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38 160.6800
 
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39 160.6950
 
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40 160.7100
 
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41 160.7250
 
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42 160.7400
 
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43 160.7550
 
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44 160.7700
 
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45 160.7850
 
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46 160.8000
 
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47 160.8150
 
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48 160.8300
 
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49 160.8450
 
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50 160.8600
 
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51 160.8750
 
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52 160.8900
 
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53 160.9050
 
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54 160.9200
 
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55 160.9350
 
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56 160.9500
 
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57 160.9650
 
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58 160.9800
 
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59 160.9950
 
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60 161.0100
 
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61 161.0250
 
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62 161.0400
 
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63 161.0550
 
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64 161.0700
 
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65 161.0850
 
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66 161.1000
 
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67 161.1150
 
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68 161.1300
 
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69 161.1450
 
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70 161.1600
 
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71 161.1750
 
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72 161.1900
 
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73 161.2050
 
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74 161.2200
 
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75 161.2350
 
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76 161.2500
 
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77 161.2650
 
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78 161.2800
 
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79 161.2950
 
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80 161.3100
 
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81 161.3250
 
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82 161.3400
 
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83 161.3550
 
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84 161.3700
 
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85 161.3850
 
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86 161.4000
 
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87 161.4150
 
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88 161.4300
 
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89 161.4450
 
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90 161.4600
 
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91 161.4750
 
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92 161.4900
 
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93 161.5050
 
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94 161.5200
 
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95 161.5350
 
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96 161.5500
 
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97 161.5650
 
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-- 161.6100 Shared with Marine (Existing railroad users are grandfathered)
 
  
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== UHF Frequencies ==
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== Websites / YouTube / Facebook ==
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* [https://www.youtube.com/user/distantsignal Distant Signal videos]
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* [https://www.facebook.com/RailfanDanny/ Railfan Danny on Facebook]
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* [https://www.trainaficionado.com/about-train-aficionado/ Train Aficionado Website]
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* [http://on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml On Line On Track Amtrak]
  
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Frequencies on the same line can be paired for possible full duplex or repeater use. 452.9375 is a common EOT device frequency in Canada. 457.9375 is a common EOT device frequency in the USA.
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== Live Audio and Video Feeds ==
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* [https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/coid/1/rail Radio Reference Live Rail Feeds]
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* [http://www.railroadradio.net/ Railroad Radio dot net]
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* [https://virtualrailfan.com/ Virtual Railfan Website] [https://www.facebook.com/virtualrailfan/ Facebook Page] [https://www.facebook.com/groups/virtualrailfanlive/ Facebook Group] [https://www.youtube.com/c/VirtualRailfan YouTube] [https://vrf.tv/ VRF TV]
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* [https://www.railserve.com/RailCams/ RailServe.com] [https://www.facebook.com/railserve/ Facebook Page] [https://www.railserve.com/youtube_train_videos/ YouTube]
  
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452.3250 / 457.3250
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== Official Pages ==
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452.3750 / 457.3750
 
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452.4250 / 457.4250
 
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452.4750 / 457.4750
 
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452.7750 / 457.7750
 
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452.8250 / 457.8250
 
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452.8750 / 457.8750
 
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452.9000 / 457.9000
 
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452.9125 / 457.9125 Telemetry
 
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452.9250 / 457.9250 Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
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452.9375 / 457.9375 Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
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452.9500 / 457.9500 Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
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452.9625 / 457.9625 Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
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== Narrowbanding (Refarming) the Railroad Service ==
 
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Many rumors have circulated regarding the [[refarming]] of the railroad radio band and whether or not people will be able to monitor it once the changes are made. First of all, don't worry... These changes will progress very slowly. There isn't going to be a point where everything changes in a day, or even a month. It will take years before the whole rail system adopts a totally new standard. Once it does, you will still be able to monitor it. The way you monitor it may change, but it will still be open.
 
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The basis for these changes are the various mandates that the FCC has imposed for radio systems... Their overall goal is to reorganize the radio spectrum so there's more room for all of the wireless equipment being put into use today, and also to try and create more interoperability between various services. One of the ways they're creating more space, is by narrowing the channel spacing in different service bands by splitting them.
 
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The original AAR railroad radio band has a 15 kHz spacing between each channel. Modern technology allows channels to be spaced much closer together now, which creates more channels in a much smaller amount of radio spectrum. The FCC mandates that new radio systems use a smaller 12.5 kHz spacing by 2013. They also want new radio systems to eventually be capable of an even smaller channel spacing, mandating that manufacturers make all new equipment capable of a 6.25 kHz spacing by 2011, and that end users of new systems use a 6.25 kHz spacing by 2018. The new railroad band plan shown below is the one that would be adopted for the first 12.5 kHz mandate by 2013. This plan does not require radios to be digital. However, due to technical limitations for the much tighter 6.25 kHz channel spacing that will eventually
 
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happen, that plan will most likely require radios to be digital. It's this second new plan due in 2018 that has railroads experimenting with digital and trying to decide how exactly they will go about the change. Most radios being purchased now are capable of both analog and digital, or they're at least capable of being modified to digital.
 
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So what will digital mean? For now it's hard to say exactly how it will all work. The most important thing to emphasize though, is that this will be a very slow change, and it will most likely NOT include any encryption on normal voice channels. For now, two digital protocols seem to be getting tested by the railroads and evaluated. The earliest one is [[APCO-25]] or 'P25'. This protocol is already widely in use around the US on various civil and private radio systems. However, Motorola has indicated that they don't seem to have much interest in the railroad industry at this point, due to the fact that they've discontinued both the railroad Spectra and Astro Spectra radio models. Also in the running for the new digital protocol for railroad radio is the Kenwood / Icom format called NXDN. This protocol is newer and proprietary to
 
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Kenwood and Icom equipment. It's also cheaper to implement than P25. Having a proprietary digital protocol for the rail industry wouldn't be that much of a problem, because unlike civil services, the rail industry is fairly self contained. They don't need their system to be compatible with other services. It's been reported that the big roads have been testing not only P25 but also the NXDN protocol. Which one will be the winner is still up in the air; perhaps neither in the end. As of late 2008, some of the new radio equipment being fielded by the large roads is:
 
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* Norfolk Southern: Kenwood TK-290 portables, unknown mobiles.
 
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* CSX: Icom portables, Motorola mobiles and Kenwood portables.
 
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* BNSF: Kenwood TK-290 & TK-2180 portables, some Motorolas, Kenwood TK-790 and 740 mobiles.
 
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* UPRR: Kenwood TK-290 & TK-2180 portables.
 
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Motorola no longer produces a dedicated 'clean cab' railroad radio, such as the Spectra or Astro Spectra. Motorola does have the P25 capable XTL2500 and XTL5000 mobiles, but these are not dedicated 'clean cab' style radios. There's basically three known 'clean cab' style radios other than the old Motorolas. They're produced by JEM, Wabtec (Kenwood NX-700s with custom control head), and GE (formerly Harmon). In 2008, Ritron Inc. introduced a newly-designed clean cab radio.
 
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Proceed to [[Narrowband VHF Railroad Frequencies]]
 
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==Frequencies and Links==
 
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* [[Railfan Radio FAQ]]
 
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* [[Current VHF Railroad Frequencies]]
 
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* [[Narrowband VHF Railroad Frequencies]]
 
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* [[UHF Railroad Allocations]]
 
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* [http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?action=genre&genre=3 Radio Reference Live Rail Feeds]
 
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* Railroading/Railscanning/Railfanning links
 
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** [[General Railfan links]]
 
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** [[Railfan links -alphabetic sort]]
 
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* [http://www.batlabs.com/rrspectra.html Motorola Spectra Railroad radio]
 
 
* [[Federal Railroad Administration]]
 
* [[Federal Railroad Administration]]
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* [[Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) Frequencies]]
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* [https://fragis.fra.dot.gov/gisfrasafety/ FRA Railroad Map]
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* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Railroad_Administration FRA WikiPedia]
  
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==Forum Threads==
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== Related RadRef Pages ==
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*{{Thread|railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum|313043-derailment-recovery-company-frequencies.html|Derailment Recovery Company Frequencies}}
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* [[Railroad_Businesses|Recovery Services and Related Businesses Wiki page]]
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* {{Thread|railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum|313043-derailment-recovery-company-frequencies.html|Derailment Recovery Company Frequencies}}
  
 
==Related Software Applications==
 
==Related Software Applications==
 
* [http://www.coaa.co.uk/trainplotter.htm TrainPlotter]
 
* [http://www.coaa.co.uk/trainplotter.htm TrainPlotter]
 
* [http://www.atcsmon.com/ ATCS Monitor]
 
* [http://www.atcsmon.com/ ATCS Monitor]
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==Mailing Lists==
 
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* [http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/RailScan/ Railscan Yahoo Group]
 
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Return to DB page: {{DB|a|7747|Railroads}}<br>
 
Return to DB page: {{DB|a|7747|Railroads}}<br>
 
Return to Wiki page: [[Common Frequencies]]
 
Return to Wiki page: [[Common Frequencies]]
  
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[[Category:US and Canadian Common Frequencies]]
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[[Category:US and Canadian Common Railroads Frequencies]]
 
[[Category:Alabama Railroads]]
 
[[Category:Alabama Railroads]]
 
[[Category:Alabama Railroads Frequencies]]
 
[[Category:Alabama Railroads Frequencies]]

Latest revision as of 02:19, 30 October 2023

Master List of AAR Channels

Finding Specific Railroad Frequencies

A great place to start is the RRDB for your particular area. Sometimes, there is not any information to be had and this is where it can be fun!

If you live in the USA you can find all the railroad licenses in your area with a visit to the FCC's website

  • Next, select one of the Frequency (Range) queries and then enter 160.2150 and 161.5650 for the begin and end search frequencies.
  • For Service select Land Mobile - Private [LP]
  • For Radio Service select Industrial/Business Pool - Conventional [IG]

You can then download the results or search them and make a custom spreadsheet with only the fields you want and download it.

As always, be sure to submit any new information for inclusion in the RRDB!

If you don't find it here or in the database, feel free to post a message in the RadioReference Railroad Railfan Monitoring Forum

Scanners and Radios

Railscanning/Railfanning References

Websites / YouTube / Facebook

Live Audio and Video Feeds

Official Pages

Related RadRef Pages

Related Software Applications

Return to DB page: Railroads
Return to Wiki page: Common Frequencies

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