In the radio scanner section I went over some basic scanner information. In this section I will cover the most important part of your radio scanner, the antenna. Any scanner you buy will be shipped with a standard "ducky" antenna. This antenna is a broadband antenna, in that it can receive a range from frequencies from probably 10 MHz to 1000 MHz and beyond. This is great if you are scanning a wide range of interests, but for railfan's these aren't much use. What you will want to get is an antenna that is specifically made for the railroad band. I have bought two antenna's for my scanner so far and I have had great success with both, although the second antenna I bought was better suited for what I want to do. The first antenna was a Diamond RH77CA quarter wave dualband mobile antenna. This antenna covered the 2 meter and 70 cm band. I had this antenna for about 9 month before I bought my second antenna and it worked really well. The second antenna I bought was a custom 5/8 wave antenna specifically tuned to a center frequency of 160 MHz from Smiley Antenna company. This antenna outperforms my Diamond antenna because it is tuned for the center of the railroad frequency band. I would recommend this antenna as the one antenna a railroad enthusiast needs. It was $28. The one other piece of equipment you will want to get for your antenna is a mobile magnetic mount. I got a magnetic mount with a BNC connector so I just connect my antenna up to the mount and go. Then if I want to go walking around I just disconnect from the roof of my car and go.