Re: RR and TRAM RADIO IN OZ

[matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au (Matthew Geier)]

In article <7671ls$op7$2@news3.infoave.net>,
Dan Yemiola N8FIU <dyemiola@infoave.et> wrote:
>What kinds of Radios and what frequency bands do Australian 
>RRs use?
>Are the Radio frequencies grouped according to a"master Plan"
>with channel designators like in North America with the AAR 
>Channel Plan?

 We wish...

 There is an Australian 'ROA' UHF band for railway use. No one uses it.
(Maybe a few 'shunting' channels are in the ROA band...). Each state has
its own system, some times several. Most UHF, some HF. The Victorians even
when to the extreme of using a propriety Motorola system, which I userstand
works well, but there is only one supplier - and this caused no end of
problems for the contractor who got the challenging job of building an 'all
in one' radio console of National Rail's new locomotives. (It wasnt a Motrola
company you see...). Ive read that the NR locomotives went into service with
no less than 7 antenna fitted.
 In NSW the 'CityRail' group (Suburban trains) and the Freight group let
seperate contracts for train radio systems. Both projects ran late (neither
are yet fully deployed 5 years later) and are incompatable with one another.

 A suburban train wanting to contact a goods train, (to say 'hey a wagon door
is open and hitting things', has to call suburban control, get them to call
Freight control guys who can relay the message to the goods train - and hope
that the message arrives understandable and before the wagon door takes out
the side of a passenger train. ( I think this issue was solved by leaving
the SRA's current 'free for all' traffic channel active and having both
types of radio units respond to it.)

 Incompatable radio systems are the least of the problems for Interstate
operators - NR got a multisystem radio built - however the safeworking rules
are different for each state, the loading guages are different, and of course
each has its own bureaucracy that one must get approval from (and get crews
certified by).

 There is a book available that lists all the currently used train radio
frequecies for people who want to listen in, called 'RailScan' or something
similar. Ive got an old copy here some where...