Help Identifying a Federal Freq

[Ghstwolf62]

I've been picking up a Federal frequency for a while now and thought it was a ranger thing in Virginia.

But today I heard a unit advising dispatch he was leaving Hopkins and a radio tower there to meet another unit back in White Sulpher Springs.

They refer to the channel as Meadow Creek which there is one in WV west of WSS.

Anyway the traffic sounds much like Douthat State Park out here does. Talking about beach areas, campers, and such.

Its 173.775 with a PL of 110.9

I've looked under state, federal and several county pages for WV as well as doing a DB search under WV and have found nothing. Even a google search got nothing.

Anyone have any ideas as to who and what?

 

[ecps92]

sounds like one of the USFS or NPS might have a new channel/frequency with the NTIA changes

Google says "White Sulphur Springs" is likely in WV

Google also indicates "Meadow Creek Campground" is in the Mononhahela NF
https://www.fs.usda.gov/generalinfo/mnf/recreation/generalinfo/?groupid=18880&recid=16614

Little more monitoring, to confirm.
The "Meadow Creek" Name is likely the Repeater they are using.
There are likely more than one Repeater on this Freq and an old list had (likely more now) 14+ Repeaters for this forest, One of them is at Meadow Creek Knob
38.004444 / -80.035833

I've been picking up a Federal frequency for a while now and thought it was a ranger thing in Virginia.

But today I heard a unit advising dispatch he was leaving Hopkins and a radio tower there to meet another unit back in White Sulpher Springs.

They refer to the channel as Meadow Creek which there is one in WV west of WSS.

Anyway the traffic sounds much like Douthat State Park out here does. Talking about beach areas, campers, and such.

Its 173.775 with a PL of 110.9

I've looked under state, federal and several county pages for WV as well as doing a DB search under WV and have found nothing. Even a google search got nothing.

Anyone have any ideas as to who and what?

 

[Ghstwolf62]

Yes, White Sulpher Springs is definitely WV. I live about 30 miles from it in VA. I thought I heard them say Bald Knob as the repeater but I thought that was in VA. May not have heard it correctly or be mistaken as to location.

I didn't think of checking for MC campground. I did find as I said Meadow Creek listed in WV. https://www.google.com/search?q=meadow creek wv&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Glen Jean is showing as the new "Meadow Creek Campground" in WV on Goggle. Several others list it as part of the "New River Gorge National River" in Beaver WV.

Beaver is listed by Beckley while searching the New River name gets you a location quite a bit east of Glen Jean. Glen Jean is on the west side of the Summit boy scout reserve while the new river one is east of it a ways.

I've haven't been able to find a "Hopkins" in WV.

Some of these seem be too far away for me to pick up from where I live which is 27 miles into VA from the WV line. I do pick up Pocahontas County though so who knows.

A friend also suggested it might be that national forest you mention. I thought someone out there would be better able to figure it out but so far only you have responded. Thanks for that.

I'll keep listening. Maybe lock my 536 onto the freq and record for the day and see what else I can find out.

 

[BM82557]

Hopkins -
Bald Knob -- Bald Knob is the highest summit of Back Allegheny Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia and is part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.Wikipedia -

 

[Gilligan]

I would guess that Meadow Creek refers as much to a repeater location as it does to a specific "channel" -- so that it may refer to a repeater with a specific input just for that repeater but the common output, and possibly linked to the other repeaters via microwave, etc...

 

[Ghstwolf62]

Yes I believe you're right and that "Meadow Creek" is the repeater being used. They do it that way here in Virginia too. Same freq different repeaters.

BM82557, thanks. I couldn't find a listing on Google Maps for a "Hopkins" by itself. There was a Hopkins something but not a plain Hopkins.

In recordings today they spoke of forest road 96 and Blue Fin or at least that is what it sounded like.

Spoke of Hopkins again and telling someone to take the picnic table and put it down past the children's playground and upper parking lot to be picked up later.

 

[ecps92]

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mnf/recarea/?recid=77599
Sounds like mystery solved - Forest Road 96 listed in this document

Yes I believe you're right and that "Meadow Creek" is the repeater being used. They do it that way here in Virginia too. Same freq different repeaters.

BM82557, thanks. I couldn't find a listing on Google Maps for a "Hopkins" by itself. There was a Hopkins something but not a plain Hopkins.

In recordings today they spoke of forest road 96 and Blue Fin or at least that is what it sounded like.

Spoke of Hopkins again and telling someone to take the picnic table and put it down past the children's playground and upper parking lot to be picked up later.

 

[Ghstwolf62]

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mnf/recarea/?recid=77599
Sounds like mystery solved - Forest Road 96 listed in this document

Great thanks. Question is what agency is this? That is the other big question.

 

[ecps92]

I would [big wild guess] it is USFS Monongahela National Forest
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mnf/recarea/?recid=77599
as indicated in the upper right hand corner of the web page

Generally USFWS has gone P25, NPS have gone P25
and the BLM I've not run across in the Eastern US
and the few BIA are rare out this way

There will be plenty of Eastern US USFS changes, coming as agencies become NTIA Compliant for the Input/Output of Repeaters

Great thanks. Question is what agency is this? That is the other big question.