I'm about 20 miles from Salinas, and I hear dispatchers and UP repair crews all the time, from as far north as Oakland. I think there must be repeaters or something that allow me to hear that. But as for train crews, I rarely hear any of them, unless the trains are just in the right place. Good luck with your scanner. It'll take a little time to learn how to program and use it. And of course, you can listen to a lot more than trains.
My scanner is divided into ten groups. I have the first three for transportation (#1 air, #2 rail, #3 marine), and the rest are allocated mostly to local emergency services and public works.
Another thing I do is set up a spreadsheet in my computer showing how I programmed the thing. I use one column for the scanner group, one for the scanner's channel number, one for the frequency, one for a description (i.e. "Monterey Police", "Amtrak" etc), one for the location. It really helps to keep track of your programming.
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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy
The Del Monte Club Car
[This message has been edited by Mr. Toy (edited 02-14-2004).]
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