Train watching season is coming

With the onset of spring thoughts turn to going out and spending time watching and photographing trains. Those of us that check into the Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net have discussed some organized field trips that involve both of these pass times. So the subject of this posting is to two fold. One is to alert you to the fact that we will be planning these trips in case you are interested in joining in on the fun. The other is to ask everyone to think about how we will communicate during these trips.

Now of course I'm talking about two way radio communications. If you are checking into the weekly net you are a ham, at least I hope you are, and two meters is the obvious choice. We do have a number of folks that listen in on the net and are not licensed.

For those I think the best choice would be the Family Radio Service or FRS. The reason I say this is that not quite as many people have FRS radio as the number with cell phones but I think it would be a close second. If you are thinking about joining us on some of our future excursions please drop me a note in email and let me know if you will be bringing two way radio along with you.

Also feel free to offer suggestions on destinations for our “field trips” and places where we might find SAFE areas to photograph trains as they pass. Information on either will be welcome. Keep and ear on the net and an eye on the blog reports on any information that I receive.