Great Scanning Spots in PA

[lobo8000]

I started this thread so we could share locations for good scanning in PA. My favorite place to go is on Shade Mountain in Snyder County. There's a public road that goes across the top of the mountain from Rt. 104 to Rt. 235. Particularly a spot called Varner Vista that looks out south towards Harrisburg. That spot is around 2300 above sea level. I'm recieved up to Bradford Co. down all the way down to Howard Co., Maryland. Everything Harrisburg, York, Lancaster comes in clear as day. Berks and Chester comes in and I've even caught Altoona Fire on UHF from there. I think I even caught DC PD once.
It's always fun going up there. If anyone else has any good spots in PA open to the public you should post.
Happy Scanning Friends!

 

[brey1234]

Luzerne Co

Two other good spots in Luzerne Co. Take Route 437 from Mountain Top and you'll climb to the top of the ridge. If you start to go downhill and go through an old style railroad underpass--you've gone to far! Lots of safe spaces to park!
Another good spo is where the N.E. extention of the PA Turnike means Route 115.

 

[ctrabs74]

Along the Delaware Riverfront between the Airport and Chester is usually pretty good (the PA 291 corridor) from my past experience. I can pick up Philly PD/FD, DelCo, Camden Co, Camden City, Gloucester, NJSP/Troop A, and State of Delaware pretty good along this corridor in the Chester City area. Even in parts of Darby/Sharon Hill I can get the MontCo East Zone. The area around Granite Run Mall is also a great reception point (everything above except MontCo and Camden City/County; but including Chester County).

On the flip side, West Chester seems to be just outside of the ranges of the neighboring county's systems (DelCo, MontCo, New Castle Co) depending on what part of town I'm in. MontCo's signal ends about 5 miles out; DelCo and NCCo are spotty at best in certain parts of town (just not the part of town where I live)...

Another dead spot is West Chester Pike at 476. Completely dead...

 

[HM1529]

I've scanned from both Hyner View State Park (1,940 ft ASL) in northcentral PA and from the top of Blue Mountain at the Port Clinton Fire Tower (1,560+ ft ASL). Both locations give a pretty large footprint for listening.

From the Port Clinton fire tower site, I was able to key up my fire company's UHF repeater which is located on top of an apartment building in Upper Merion Township, PA (about 150 ft ASL). According to Google Earth, it is about a 50 mile straight shot from the lookout to our repeater site. Pretty good portable coverage. ;-)

 

[Boomeranger]

I've scanned from both Hyner View State Park (1,940 ft ASL) in northcentral PA and from the top of Blue Mountain at the Port Clinton Fire Tower (1,560+ ft ASL). Both locations give a pretty large footprint for listening.

Ben,

Hyner is a wonderful place!!!

http://www.tinypic.com/2h37in5.jpg (Anne caught from behind)

I keep forgetting my hang glider.

All the best,

Andy

 

[scanjunkie]

My house...I sit at the higher end of our county and I pick up things no one else seems to be able to. Plus I'm at a point near where 5 counties meet so I pick up everything from them too...Perfect!!

 

[yelocrd]

The top of Beaver Stadium! I supervise parking for large Jordan Center events and I regularly monitor 6 counties on my handheld. I have had at least 3 others on good days. It's a great place to be on warm nights and a windy bear on cold winter nights!
Mark

 

[richardfaloney]

Yes, Pennsylvania has some great mountain spots to listen from. Some particuraly good locations I can think of include Jennersville in southern Chester county, where I was working several years ago and I remember how it was one of the few places where I could recieve both the Baltimore and Philadelphia PD dispatches(back when they were on 453MHZ) at the same location as well as fire dispatches from 4 states! And Jennersville is not a mountain or even a hill, just a high spot in southern Chester county. Another good spot is on the east side of Readings mountain where the pagoda is. From there I could easily pick up most of the communications and TRS's in southeast PA and well into Jersey. Additionaly, almost anywhere along the Appalachian Trail in PA and NJ gives you good coverage 100 to even 200 miles out on some frequencies.

 

[Tommahawk]

I live in Lancaster County, and the Amateur Radio Club that I am a part of leases property from the PA Game Commission on SGL #56 which is on the border of Lancaster/Lebanon County.

From this Mountaintop location we can hear pretty much anything. We listen to NY, NJ, MD, DE areas on a weekly basis. Some nights we listen to the Coast Guard off the Coast of New Jersey on 156.800 and it makes for pretty good listening.

We also have a repeater on the same frequency as one in New Jersey and with a handheld and the correct tone could easily speak to through the repeater there.

We also lease a Cabin from the State on the same mountain and have a home away from the XYL's there as well......

If you would be interested please visit us at http://www.lrts.org Lancaster Radio Transmiting Society (The W3AD Repeater) or e-mail me at jsmith@fn10.com for further details if you would like to go hilltopping with us on a Friday night. I will state that we aren't your normal Amateur Radio Club and experimentations in the past include the usuage of Pyrotechnics, plus night hikes...... We normally meet at a local Pizza shop around 9:00pm and then travel up to the hill from there......

 

[Dorpmuller]

I started this thread so we could share locations for good scanning in PA. My favorite place to go is on Shade Mountain in Snyder County. There's a public road that goes across the top of the mountain from Rt. 104 to Rt. 235. Particularly a spot called Varner Vista that looks out south towards Harrisburg.

I'll have to check that out. I'm not far from there.

I tried New Berlin mountain but got killed by pager transmitters.

Rich

 

[chankel]

Welsh Mountain

Welsh Mountain in northwestern Chester County is pretty good for coverage of Chester, Berks, Lancaster, Bucks, and Montgomery. There was little pager interference except at the Corner Ketch Road site on 322, which can be followed all the way to the top of the ridge that includes Welsh Mountain. I will check out reception at some of the nearby parks as there is little in the way of public parking along Route 322. Information on Welsh Mountain can be found at http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=13321

Along the way from southern Chester County up 322 you can also find a Sunoco Logistics facility with several service buildings, large fuel storage tanks, propane tank facility and tank storage, and a single microwave dish on a freestanding pole aimed to the southeast

 

[policefreak]

Tommahawk, I travel quite close to there in the Cocalico/Denver area. Wow, I cant believe you can get NJ and NY. What else can you monitor? Next time I'll have to try it.