Hershey Park (conventional)

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n2kkz

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I'm going to Hershey Park. Anything worth programming for a conventional scanner? (Non DMR/ non LTR).
 

wtp

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you might want to move the thread

click the red triangle and have the post moved to Pennsylvania for a more local response.
 

NobodyS

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I dont believe Hershey Park uses any conventonal frequencies anymore. I believe all comms occur on the MotoTRBO system they switched to.
 

HM1529

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The database shows one conventional frequency for use at Chocolate World. There does not appear to be a channel dedicated to Chocolate World on the new DMR system. So, you could hear something there. There are usually some security staff roaming around the CW lobby. That facility has a short ride that provides a sort of tour about how the chocolate is made, a theater experience, a custom candy bar making experience and a large retail store/cafeteria. It is packed every time I have ever been there. No idea if anyone there is using that conventional freq or not anymore....

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=9114
 

Rishayan

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n2kkz...Hello friend....I am currently here in Hershey and have 451.725(Chocolate World) programmed in my memory in my analog scanner but have not heard anything on this frequency since 2015....Most everything local in this town is DMR or APCO 25 digital or encrypted. In fact, the only analog transmissions that I have logged lately here in the whole township are the following: 153.095 and 153.125 Hershey Foods Corp chocolate plant ops (boring and infrequent), Country Meadows retirement home on 152.36 RM ( very infrequent use), and 160.86 Norfolk Southern RR road channel ....heavy use as the tracks go right along Hershey Park...The only analog public safety transmissions that can be received strongly here in town are 453.175 RM Cumberland County EMS, 151.22 and 155.31 RM Berks County Fire and EMS dispatch and response, and 33.90, 33.64 RM, 33.56 RM and 33.72 RM Lancaster County Fire and EMS Dispatch and Response.....Also, all the FRS channels are heavily used in the park still by the guests......Enjoy your visit!
 

Rishayan

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n2kkz....Well friend, I have good news and bad news for you...I monitored the frequency 451.725 for a 4 hour period and discovered that the repeater is indeed still in use and still analog. The bad news is that over the 4 hours I only heard 2 xsmsns, each one lasting about 30 seconds each. It appears to be used by the managers only. And if you want to monitor the frequency I suggest that you program your scanner with the dcs code 431 because the annoying buzz of a distant DMR repeater on the same frequency can be heard here....Also, if you like to listen to industrial plants, I discovered that the 464.20 analog repeater of the Reeses peanut butter cups plant is still on the air, although very infrequent activity.
 

mlmummert

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Re Chocolate World, bear in mind that is not Hershey Park. Chocolate World belongs to the food company; Hershey Park belongs to HERCO.

FWIU.
 

hosehead88

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n2kkz...Hello friend....I am currently here in Hershey and have 451.725(Chocolate World) programmed in my memory in my analog scanner but have not heard anything on this frequency since 2015....Most everything local in this town is DMR or APCO 25 digital or encrypted. In fact, the only analog transmissions that I have logged lately here in the whole township are the following: 153.095 and 153.125 Hershey Foods Corp chocolate plant ops (boring and infrequent), Country Meadows retirement home on 152.36 RM ( very infrequent use), and 160.86 Norfolk Southern RR road channel ....heavy use as the tracks go right along Hershey Park...The only analog public safety transmissions that can be received strongly here in town are 453.175 RM Cumberland County EMS, 151.22 and 155.31 RM Berks County Fire and EMS dispatch and response, and 33.90, 33.64 RM, 33.56 RM and 33.72 RM Lancaster County Fire and EMS Dispatch and Response.....Also, all the FRS channels are heavily used in the park still by the guests......Enjoy your visit!

Does LanCo still use the conventional channels at all? Same question for Berks. They both have moved to new systems for a while.
 

HM1529

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Re Chocolate World, bear in mind that is not Hershey Park. Chocolate World belongs to the food company; Hershey Park belongs to HERCO.

FWIU.

That would explain why it isn't on the DMR system, I guess, since that system covers all the Hershey Entertainment properties. I didn't realize Chocolate World was not part of the Hershey Entertainment empire.
 

HM1529

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Does LanCo still use the conventional channels at all? Same question for Berks. They both have moved to new systems for a while.

I came across the turnpike from Valley Forge to Gettysburg Pike for Thanksgiving. Lancaster's main lowband channels were still in use, rebroadcasting the corresponding talkgroups for fire. Presumably, this is done for voice pagers so vollies can monitor response traffic without having a radio or digital scanner.
 

mlmummert

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That would explain why it isn't on the DMR system, I guess, since that system covers all the Hershey Entertainment properties. I didn't realize Chocolate World was not part of the Hershey Entertainment empire.

From what I always understood, Chocolate World was the replacement long ago for public tours of the main plant in downtown Hershey. It's basically a PR piece for the chocolate company.
 

Rishayan

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In response to horsehead88´s question, yes, both Lancaster County and Berks County's conventional channels are still used and quite active. In fact,the 151.22 and 155.31 transmitters in Berks county were only recently activated since they put in the new phase 2 TRS. Before that, Fire dispatching was done on 33.94 and 154.31 and many other small repeater stations. Furthermore, Cumberland, Franklin, Dauphin, Frederick, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Chester, Schuylkill and Bucks counties all continue to use analog conventional dispatch frequencies despite having in place modern digital TRS systems operating for many years. All of these counties can be received here in central Pennsylvania on their analog frequencies, although some, such as Bucks, Montgomery, Howard and Anne Arundel, only when there are good ground wave conditions. In fact, I have discovered at least three new analog police and fire frequencies now operating in Lebanon, Dauphin and Cumberland counties that did not exist a year or two ago. So despite the tendency for everything to go digital, there is still plenty to hear on analog public safety frequencies.
 

hosehead88

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The problem with most of the systems you mention is that you only hear dispatch on analog, and then all comms are on digital, or in my case here in Cumberland, encrypted. Not helpful to hear a dispatch and then have no idea what is really happening after it i sent out.
 

Rishayan

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Yes, you are very right. However, there are several exceptions. In Dauphin County, for example, both dispatch and response communications can easily be heard on the analog simulcast 857.2625. The only thing missing are the ops channels, which really only come into play when it is a major event or fire. But, of course, Dauphin County ( and the vast majority of counties across the United States) do not encrypt their fire communications as does Cumberland County. Although I am completely in agreement that sensitive police communications need to be encrypted, there is no logical reason to encrypt fire communications. The excuse that Philadelphia uses that salty language is used on their fireground channels is absolutely criminally absurd, be it true or not. Government officials conveniently forget that their very existence is thanks to the hard work of the american taxpayer. The general public PAYS for all these public safety radio systems and much of their equipment and although I know that Cumberland County is volunteer, much of the firefighters across the nation are paid for by public funds. The public have every right to know about, and to monitor their activities. The citizens of Cumberland County have every right to forcefully pressure and demand that , at the least. all fire communications in the county be made available to the general public to monitor. It is the taxpayers human right to know how their money is being spent.
 

hosehead88

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Dauphin County FD units get assigned an Ops channel once first unit responds. All relevant communications other than responding units are on the ops channels. The simulcast channel is worthless, really. I cannot see the point of listening to fire transmissions if I only hear units going responding and on scene. It is no different than Cumberland if all you have is an analog scanner. You are effectively int he dark for anything relevant to the call.
 

Rishayan

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Yes, I agree with you completely...but at least in Dauphin County there is the option to acquire a digital scanner to follow all the transmissions, that in Cumberland County , very unfairly, does not exist!
 

HM1529

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Cumberland will me moving to P25, so thing could change there. OpenSky is on the way out. There is a reason the state went with P25 phase 2. OpenSky is reaching end of life and loss of manufacturer support.
 

hosehead88

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Cumberland will me moving to P25, so thing could change there. OpenSky is on the way out. There is a reason the state went with P25 phase 2. OpenSky is reaching end of life and loss of manufacturer support.

Just hoping encryption for at least FD goes out the window.
 
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