Everyone, I did look through the old posts about scanning which answered a lot of my questions, but I have some different questions.
First off, I live in southern Minnesota and the bulk of my railfanning takes place in rural, flat country. I've never used a scanner and am trying to decide if it's for me. What I'd hope to use it for would be, for example, while driving around lightly used grain lines in northern Iowa - a web of tracks eminating out from Mason City, Eagle Grove, Ames, etc. but I never have any idea where or if a train is on any of them. Throw in the ICE lines and UP's Spine Line and there's a lot of varying activity spread out across a hundred or so square miles. Would a scanner be useful over such distances?
If I'm in that web of grain lines, does (in this case) UP use numerous different frequencies in one area, or would it vary from line to line?
Or, if I'm heading into west central MN, you've got a bunch of parallel lines heading west of the Twin Cities - BNSF, CP, TCW, MPI... all about 10-15 miles apart. How easy is it to monitor a number of different railroads like that? Do scanners pick up all frequencies that you have programmed in, assuming you are within range?
Thanks much, Dave
First off, I live in southern Minnesota and the bulk of my railfanning takes place in rural, flat country. I've never used a scanner and am trying to decide if it's for me. What I'd hope to use it for would be, for example, while driving around lightly used grain lines in northern Iowa - a web of tracks eminating out from Mason City, Eagle Grove, Ames, etc. but I never have any idea where or if a train is on any of them. Throw in the ICE lines and UP's Spine Line and there's a lot of varying activity spread out across a hundred or so square miles. Would a scanner be useful over such distances?
If I'm in that web of grain lines, does (in this case) UP use numerous different frequencies in one area, or would it vary from line to line?
Or, if I'm heading into west central MN, you've got a bunch of parallel lines heading west of the Twin Cities - BNSF, CP, TCW, MPI... all about 10-15 miles apart. How easy is it to monitor a number of different railroads like that? Do scanners pick up all frequencies that you have programmed in, assuming you are within range?
Thanks much, Dave