After much research, planning, & discussion, the time has finally come to reveal our next radio feed project: North Jersey Railroads, which will initially consist of one feed for freight and one feed for passenger. The Model Railroad Club, Inc. has graciously agreed to host these feeds at their location in Union, NJ.
Northern New Jersey is a mecca of railroading that does not currently have a wide-area radio feed to listen in to the action. The host location in Union, NJ is well positioned to receive virtually all of Conrail’s “North Jersey Jungle,” as well as many of New Jersey Transit’s operations and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor – all of which can be listened to on Broadcastify, or on your phone with apps such as Scanner Radio.
Some of our basic hardware plans are outlined below:
| Antenna: | Sinclair 2-Bay Folded Dipole |
| Coax: | Times-Microwave LMR-400 |
| Multicoupler: | Sinclair 4-Port w/ Bandpass Filter |
| Radios: | Kenwood TK-7180 |
| Computer: | Lenovo ThinkCentre M920q |
| Power Supply: | Astron 4 Amp |
To do this right will not be a cheap endeavor, but the results will be worth it. While we could utilize cheaper hardware, this would likely result in poor reception, subpar audio quality, a potential increase in interference from nearby strong frequencies, and a greatly reduced lifespan for exterior hardware. As we have done with our other radio feeds, we intend to only use commercial grade two-way radio equipment – the very same used reliably for decades in the public safety realm – to ensure the best possible listening experience and reliability for decades to come.
Please consider donating to the cause; without your support, these radio feeds will not be possible.