Does your area have a lot of rail traffic that you want to scan?

How can you get started?

In this episode, we have guest Joe Curtis. He shares about his background, his setup, how he monitors train location while trackside, and more.

What You Need To Know

• Guest Joe Curtis shares his background and how he got into scanning rail networks.
• The equipment Joe uses and what's actually necessary to listen to rail traffic.
• What can you hear on a rail scanner?
• The first steps you should take if you want to listen to the rails.
• What does Joe hear most often when listening to the rails?
• You only need the basics to listen to the railroads because they haven't switched to digital yet.
• Listening to the railroad is a good alternative as police departments increasingly encrypt their radios.
• How Joe uses his iPhone to monitor train location with PC-based software.
• Joe and Phil discuss the benefits and limitations of different rail scanning setups.
• Joe shares advice for those interested in monitoring the railroads.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session112

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at www.scannerschool.com/support

Many of you have have been submitting their questions and today I am answering some of them.

This month I answer:

• What is the best broadband bay station antenna on the market, and the top-performing mobile scanner?
• What SDR dongle do I use?
• How to find out if the radio in your area is encrypted.
• Is it possible to get around control channel delays?
• How can you fix it if you are getting no signal from something you know is an active channel?
• Is it possible to set up your own private scanner broadcast to listen to on your own home system or on your cell phone?

If you have a question about scanning, please visit www.scannerschool.com/ask and leave us a message via SpeakPipe or the local number on our website. We'll play your message on next month's #AskScannerSchool

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session111

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at www.scannerschool.com/support

The Uniden SR30C is the newest release by Uniden.

Hitting the market in late 2019, this scanner replaces the BC75XLT as a their entry level scanner.

With 500 memory channels, 10 banks, and limited features, is this a good scanner for the money?

How does it compare to the BC75XLT, BC125AT, or UBC126AT?

We break it all down in this week's podcast

Have you ever wondered how to record your scanner audio?

What software tools and equipment would you need?

In this podcast, we have guest Garrett Farwell. He shares about his background, his setup, how he records his scanner audio to PC, and why.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session109

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at www.scannerschool.com/support

Today we remember Rodney Paul "Upman" Opitz.

Paul was the Director of Marketing and Product Development for Uniden.

It is his work that gave us scanners such as the HomePatrol 1 & 2, The BCD436HP and BCD536HP, and the SDS100 and SDS200.

Paul passed away at the age of 59 after losing his battle with cancer on Dec 28, 2019.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session108

Many of you have have been submitting their questions and today I am answering some of them.

This month I answer:

• What GPS should be used on the SDS100 & SDS200
• Why is my USB hub transmitting?
• Why can't I unlock banks on my PRO-2055?
• Should I trade in my BCD436HP for an SDS100?
• Does it look like a SDS100 or SDS200 will be required to monitor the Alameda County Trunk System in California?

If you have a question about scanning, please visit www.scannerschool.com/ask and leave us a message via SpeakPipe or the local number on our website. We'll play your message on next month's #AskScannerSchool

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session107

A big THANK YOU to our continued Patreon Supporters. www.scannerschool.com/support to see how you can help us. Some of the ways you can support us won't cost you any additional money!

The Scanning hobby is ever-changing.

Who would have though that at the start of the 2010's we would see touch screen scanners, be able to receive DMR and NXDN, and also use SDR's to pickup almost any signal out there?

What will the next one hold?

In this podcast, we discuss what has happened over the last decade in scanning and what might be coming in the future.

What do you predict we will see in the hobby in the next 10 years?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session106

I've been in the scanning hobby for about 30 years now.

Here are some of the observations that I've made about the hobby since I started.

I hope you enjoy this list!

What are some observations you made about the hobby?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session105

In this podcast, we discuss where you can find high-quality reviews for the equipment you are looking for.

• Are you searching for new or used equipment?
• What do people think about the products you're looking for?
• Sometimes "good" review for can be hard to find.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session104

Are you not able to afford completely new equipment?

How do you go about finding the best "used" equipment?

What do you look for when buying "used" gear?

In this podcast, we talk about what's changed in finding new gear, how to go about looking for used scanners and the best and safe ways for finding good used equipment.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session103