advice on effective use of recon spotting

[Bacillus98]

Hello. I was hoping for some advice from the Panzer Campaign gurus on how best to employ recon spotting. The rules state:

"Selecting Recon Spotting requires that the Recon Spotting Optional Rule first be enabled. Then with one or more recon units selected, this command will attempt to spot enemy units within the Line-of-Sight of the selected units at the cost of 1/3 of the movement allowance of the units. The probability of spotting the enemy units will depend on the distance from the recon unit to the enemy unit, the terrain that the enemy unit is in, the strength of the recon unit, and its quality and fatigue."

I wanted to test on some scenarios that seem to be wide open so I opened the "Vyazma Campaign" in Moscow 41. Here's what I tried doing. The far north of the map contains the 36 ID. I used a recon unit which consists of 24 armored cars located in hex (21,32). It starts the scenario in T-mode, with a number of 79T. I'd like the illustrated the steps I undertook so perhaps someone could correct me if I am in error in the proper utilization of recon assets. The visible hex range is 2 for this scenario. I did the following:

1.) I set the mode to "save movement costs" first. The reasoning was to have enough MP's to retreat from trouble if necessary.
2.) I then selected recon spotting.
3.) I moved the recon unit northwest along to road until it was 2 hexes southwest of the village Demeckh. Here's a small picture.



What do I see? Nothing. There are actually mines 1 hex north, northwest, and south east of the recon unit. The visibility range is 2 on this particular turn. Why are the mines not shown? According to the rules, recon spotting has probability involved, but the mines are in clear terrain, not hidden away in a city or forest. Do I need to move the unit close to the area I want to reconnoiter and then hit RECON spotting? Help on this issue is most greatly appreciated.