DCNR Repeater changes

[HM1529]

I'm looking for help from folks who can monitor the northern tier area regularly.

Several state forest districts have been or are being realigned in northeastern
PA (officially effective June 1, but unofficially in effect now). As a result,
there will be changes in radio comms from these districts.

District 18 (Wesier) will take over operations in Northumberland, Columbia, and
Montour Counties from District 20 (Wyoming) and will turn over operations in
Berks and Lehigh Counties to District 17 (Valley Forge).

District 20 will be renamed Loyalsock State Forest District and will manage
operations in Bradford, Sullivan, and eastern Lycoming counties.

District 18 (Tioga) will now manage only the Tioga County area. District 12
(Tiadaghton) will now handle western Lycoming County (with a focus on the Pine
Creek Trail corridor).

District 11 (Lackawanna) will take over operations for all of Luzerne County.

Comm wise, the only change I can hear from my part of the world is the switch
of the Boyers Repeater from 151.295 to 151.385 to match it with the other
towers used by Weiser District personnel. Boyers covers the
Northumberland/Columbia area.

I would expect the Freeland tower in Luzerne to be switched to 151.175 and the
Kellogg tower in Bradford Co to be switched to 151.295. Although, these are just speculations.

Also, for anyone keeping notes, the Philly repeater has been non-operational
for over two years now...although the only people who really used this were DEP
emergency response and they rely mainly on nextel now in the SE.

 

[captclint]

No obvious changes yet in D11 & D20. However, I did want to report use of one of the new low power splinter frequencies. There was a fairly lengthy conversation on 151.4600 Simplex DEP Tac about fixing some electrical panel or equipment, when they decided to switch to Ch4. The conversation continued on 151.4525. I also had monitored a MM conversation on another day, so I am pretty sure it was within 5-10 miles of Mountain Top(N41° 7.201' W75° 54.582'), due to the low power.

I just noticed that my "smart" BC796D rounded up 159.3525, so I'll let you know if I hear anything with the correct freq loaded.

Thanks for all you great info on DCNR

 

[captclint]

DNCR Low Power Tac

Both Confirmed. D-20 Rickets Glen
151.4525 WPTF841 no PL Used in D-20 as Tac, called Ch4 direct
159.3525 WPTF841 no PL Used in D-20

Still no obvious changes in Districts or Freq's

 

[HM1529]

Interesting that voice traffic has been heard on these. Do you know if it was regular staff for the forest district or could it have been radio repair folks?

I only ask because when I queried Mr. Kleeman (DCNR radio guy) about those frequencies a few years ago, he said they were going to be used for data links for some remote DEP air monitors stationed in areas where there were no available phone lines. I asked about them because the license got approved around the time OpenSky was starting to get rolling and I thought it was odd that DCNR would be seeking new VHF allocations when everybody was supposed to be making plans for OpenSky.

If you look at the license, they're licensed statewide for mobile/portable use. I imagine you're the one who submitted the info for the DB. The freqs are probably not limited to just District 20 and radio channel numbers usually vary by area across the state. I'm just taking a guess here, but I'm figuring that since District 20 was one of the districts that got realigned, they got access to these frequencies when their radios were reprogrammed. Again, just a guess. I'll have to make room in the scanner to monitor these while travelling throughout Districts 17, 18, and 19. I had them in the scanner for about a year after the license got approved and never heard anything.

As far as I know, DEP doesn't have these frequencies available for use. The VHF radios in my region haven't even been getting reinstalled when they're pulled from vehicles.

Thanks for the report.

 

[captclint]

Interesting that voice traffic has been heard on these. Do you know if it was regular staff for the forest district or could it have been radio repair folks?

Definitely not radio repair. Ricketts Glenn seems to use this fairly regularly as another Tac channel for rather mundane conversations. Also see my previous post about 151.4600. Ricketts Glen DCNR also uses this, so probably not DEP. However, did not sound like radio repair either.

I'll keep you posted if I hear any other stations or districts using.

 

[captclint]

I know you are looking for changes in the North, but it seems the SE has changes that are unclear to me. This huge district is being split into 3 districts from what I can see of the new map on DCNR site. So far, I can detect no change from the old huge district.

151.385 (103.5) - DCNR Forestry Districts 17(Tango), 18(Victor), 19(Whiskey)

Repeaters:
Delaware Dist
High Knob - Pike Co
Pohopoco - Monroe Co

Weiser Dist
Bear's Head - Schuylkill Co
Ellendale - Dauphin Co

Valley Forge Dist
Welsh Hill - Lancaster Co
Flint Hill - Lehigh Co
Black Eddy - Bucks Co
Philadelphia - Phila. Co


Sooo, what are the new frequencies and PL's for this split, and are you hearing anything different?
BTW, havent' heard Ricketts Glen using the "data" frequencies. It is as if you mentioned to Mr. Kleeman (DCNR radio guy), and he told them to stop. Forget it. Just heard them today (7/18)

 

[HM1529]

I know you are looking for changes in the North, but it seems the SE has changes that are unclear to me. This huge district is being split into 3 districts from what I can see of the new map on DCNR site. So far, I can detect no change from the old huge district.

151.385 (103.5) - DCNR Forestry Districts 17(Tango), 18(Victor), 19(Whiskey)

Repeaters:
Delaware Dist
High Knob - Pike Co
Pohopoco - Monroe Co

Weiser Dist
Bear's Head - Schuylkill Co
Ellendale - Dauphin Co

Valley Forge Dist
Welsh Hill - Lancaster Co
Flint Hill - Lehigh Co
Black Eddy - Bucks Co
Philadelphia - Phila. Co


Sooo, what are the new frequencies and PL's for this split, and are you hearing anything different?

All of the repeaters you listed operate with an ouptut of 151.385 (103.5), so I don't see any reason for changes. Each of those three districts uses the same "direct" frequency that matches the previously listed repeater output. The Philly Repeater is not operational...hasn't worked in several years. The only change to these three districts was the adjustment of the 17/18 border along Berks and Lehigh counties and the expansion of Wesier to take over portions of the Wyoming District. The "Boyers Repeater" in Northumberland County should be listed under Weiser District as it now operates on 151.385 instead of 151.295.

 

[captclint]

Freeland Tower

Ben,
Freeland Tower now confired as 151.1750 D-11. This was the 1st traffic in weeks.
Thanks for the clarification on D-17 to 19. Makes perfect sense.

One more thing:
D-16 Tioga was 151.385 (88.5) and D-12 Tiadaghton was 151.295 (114.8). Since both have been split up, I was wondering if D-12 would switch to 151.385