Here's the scoop: the NJ State Parks Police Dept. uses the NJSP Trunked Radio [Talkgroups assigned to them] as their main communications throughout the State now with Trenton Dispatch. The primary talk group used is the "Parks PD" channel, then "Parks PD Ops." When those talk groups are busy, they may either use StateCom1 or 2 for large scale events (like the recent Air Show at Liberty State Park) or the NJSP talk-around channels 1 or 2. Or, they may choose to utilize the VHF channels as in the past. Most likely, they will use either Channel 5 (Parks) for on-site coordination, or the local Channel 1 Repeater (depending on their location in the State). They may also use Channel 2 (DEP Simplex) for other tactical or on-scene use, like Island Beach State Park use to. When all else fails, they revert to State cellular phone use for private messages or communications failure. The Parks Police personnel normally wear both the 800 MHz trunked portable and a VHF portable on their belts, and have a mobile VHF radio in the vehicle, with a charger for the trunked radio to charge at all times.
With the NPS Sandy Hook Unit, a few folks discovered a couple of months ago that the switch to digital was (finally) made. They have had the equipment for it for at least five years, but my guess is the repeater equipment was not in place yet. While on a search-and-find frequency mission that I often perform, I wanted to verify whether the old Channel 2 (172.6000 PL 151.4) was in use for the Lifeguards. And so the story goes, that channel changed frequencies as well with the change-over. I discovered some talk on 168.35000 NAC 225, and verified it with communication on the primary channel (169.4000 NAC 225). Be aware that right after the switch to P25 digital, a few of the units were still using 169.4000 in analog mode, while the Rangers were using digital mode. So, that leaves me with an educated guess that they can revert to analog mode if digital mode fails. I'm not positive on that, just a guess. I also have no clue if 172.6000 is still programmed in the radios or not.
