Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) monitoring on the Shenandoah Division

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

November 24, 2004

Good evening, all:

A partial draft of the information below was
accidentally sent by by fat fingers on the keyboard,
but lacked an explanation.  Please accept my apology
for that errant transmission.

There has been a thread on the VRFE groups postings
that I think may be of interest to those N&W and NS
groups' members focusing on the Shenandoah Division. 
I included several messages below to properly credit
the original sources.

Basically, it is possible to monitor real-time
operations of the northern end of the Hagerstown
District by a voice radio feed, as well as several
monitoring points for Advanced Train Control System
(ATCS) data.  The ATCS data can be used to update a
dispatcher-like panel on your computer.  There is
information below for sources of these monitoring
tools which you could run at home or office.

Monitoring can only be as good as there are points
providing an Internet feed.  If a reader is within a
mile of the Shenandoah Division --or further if they
are on a hill with line-of-sight of the right-of-way--
and can arrange for a DSL or cable connection so that
their computer is continuously connected, they are an
excellent candidate for making a real contribution for
those who are elsewhere.

Peter Furnee and George Paine have email addresses
shown below and can provide helpful technical support
to people who are interested in pursuing this topic. 
Also, if there is interest in monitoring of other
lines, they'd welcome hearing from you.  The
Shenandoah Division is just a good example of what can
be accomplished by people with a common interest
working cooperatively.

===============================================

VOICE COMMUNICATIONS FEED INFORMATION:


You should use an older version of Winamp... Go to 
http://www.downloads.com and search. Peter Furnee 
thinks that Version 3 is the best for this purpose. 
That is at 
http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?qt=Winamp&tg=dl-2001&search.x=12&search.y=3
 
Once installed, you would enter
http://170.215.143.76:8000/listen.pls into the URL
selection.  This is the CSXT Cumberland Sub; I need to
clarify if NS Hagerstown District communications is
included in the scanning.  If not, I will provide a
later update for this source.


ATCS MONITORING TOPICS BELOW:

Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 17:39:32 -0500
From: "g mull" <gp123 at lycos.com>
Subject: Re: GARY's ATCS, Was Re: H-Line coming to
life

Jeff/Peter

I talked to a guy at Cassandra earlier this year who
was a comuter guy and he said in theroy you could have
a laptop, modified, a scanner modified and sit at
Cassandra and know what was where by watchnig you 
laptop...that was the first time I ever heard of
this....he said they do it in Ohio all the time..I
still think with a network of people along a 
line...WOW you could know everything...or if I went
somewhere...Roanoke, Blufield, Collier, with my
laptop.....imagine.....Star trek was not far 
off were they?



Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 17:25:49 -0500
From: "g mull" <gp123 at lycos.com>
Subject: Re: GARY's ATCS, Was Re: H-Line coming to
life

Ok now I feel like a complete idiot!.....I lost
everything you said Peter after the first
sentance....in fact may have lost it after 
Gary....lol...  I have been accepted on the yahoo
group for ATCS, but thats where my computer skills got
stuck...if anyone would be able to get this poor 
computer illeterate fool started I would be very
greatfully....I wonder with a group as big as VRFE and
Roanoke railfan if it would be possible to 
monitor from Roanoke to Vardo?  What a thought..the
next best thing to making chasing easier since they 
started calling signals.

Gary


Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 16:51:24 -0500
From: P. Furnée <pfurnee at stochast.com>
Subject: GARY's ATCS, Was Re: H-Line coming to life

Gary, like others have accepted, it would have to be a
day when we (Current users) with equipment spent some
time near your house "sniffing" for packets. There is
currently nothing on the North Mountain Sub, but
through Waynesboro on NS, there is.  Unfortunately,
CSX uses a relay system where you can pick up the
"echo" from the control points, and NS uses a
unidirectional, where the CP beams it at  
low power to the Microwave Tower. All this means is
that you should  expect contact from no more than the
3 closest control points. Look at your shot at Ashby
on 
RP.net,(http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=83882)
see the mast between signal case and locomotive? That
is the MCP, or Mobile Control Point antenna. That is
the radio you would receive at your  
house.(for your local control points). It is 900MHz
range, and more than likely, you can pick it up with
your scanner altered for the discriminator tap.  Be
sure to check the site at www.atcsmon.com for further
questions, as well as if your old scanner can handle
it.  WARNING: This is extremely addictive. Plan for
many hours in the basement watching your own server,
as well as being connected to other's. You will also
find yourself impeding on your friends who live  
further up the line, because once you are set, you
will want someone else to put in a server that
overlaps your last receivable control point, in your
case, someone near Elkton... (I know someone there, I 
might begin the lobby soon).

Join the Yahoogroup, read the rules, FAQ's, etc. And
when you are ready to monitor, go for it, when you are
ready to test, let us know!

PF


Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:53:47 -0500
From: george paine <george at pacerfarm.org>
Subject: ATCS, what it takes

this will encapsulate what you can find at the ATCSmon
web site,
http://www.atcsmon.com

you need:

- computer with Windows 32 bit operating system (win98
or later) and, if you will be monitoring from a radio,
a sound card.  if not equipped with an onboard sound
card, a USB sound card works fine.

- ATCSmon software -- free download to members of the
ATCS monitor Yahoo! group.

- data files for the location in question -- also
download from the ATCS monitor Yahoo! group

- for monitoring across the 'net, an internet
connection.  there are a couple dozen servers
available around the country.

- for monitoring from a radio, you need a radio with a
discriminator tap -- lets you bypass the squelch
circuitry.  radio details are in, of course, the
shared area of the ATCS monitor Yahoo! group.

- with the radio you will also need an antenna
optimized for 900 MHz (details available from, oh, by
now you know where) and an audio cable to connect the
radio data output to your sound card "line in" plug.

- for running a server, location, location and
location.  you need to be in a spot where the signals
can be received!  also, a computer and radio as
indicated above and an always-on internet connection. 
the bandwidth consumption is pretty minimal so you
could even host an feed over dial-up but for "always
on" DSL or cable makes life a lot easier.  should work
over satellite, too, but we don't know anybody who has
tried that.  yet.

for further details, or for assistance, contact Peter
Furnee (email address elsewhere) or myself off list. 
I wrote up the steps for [implementing ATCS
monitoring] a few days ago and can retransmit you a
copy -- drop a note off list with your email.

-- 
George T. Paine
Washington Grove Pacer Farm
Washington Grove, MD
MP 20.5 on the CSX (former B&O) Metropolitan
Subdivision
  george at pacerfarm.org
  http://www.pacerfarm.org
  atcs wgpf.dynalias.org:4800
===============================================

Best wishes to all for a nice Thanksgiving!



=====
Dr. Frank R. Scheer, Curator
Railway Mail Service Library, Inc.
f_scheer at yahoo.com
(202) 268-2121 - weekday office
(540) 837-9090 - weekend afternoons 
in the former N&W station on VA rte 723 
117 East Main Street 
Boyce  VA  22620-9639