I apologize in advance if this is already posted somewhere else and if it is i will close it out. I was wondering if anyone has had success monitoring the PA STARNET system. I know there is a bit of encryption for law enforcement but i am looking to monitor the non E stuff. I am looking to monitor in the western montgomery county area. Do you have to enter all the frequencies listed as the system in a scan or can I grab the closest to my area to monitor local stuff to me? TIA.
PA STARNET
- Thread starter RES27CUE
- Start date
Yes, I have no issues monitoring PA StarNet for the non-encrypted talkgroups. Which scanner do you have and what software are you using?
Hey Drew:
Have a look at the RRDB entry. Anything mode "T" is clear. You won't be able to monitor everything systemwide on every site. If you're interested in PennDot, focus on District 6 talkgroups & if you have a scanner utilizing service types make sure "Public Works" (& anything else from "tag" column you're interested in) are turned on. You'll hear chatter occasionally throughout the day from road & tow crews but they're non-stop during major snow events. As of this posting I'm hearing some Montco PennDot chatter from Devault 800
Have a look at the RRDB entry. Anything mode "T" is clear. You won't be able to monitor everything systemwide on every site. If you're interested in PennDot, focus on District 6 talkgroups & if you have a scanner utilizing service types make sure "Public Works" (& anything else from "tag" column you're interested in) are turned on. You'll hear chatter occasionally throughout the day from road & tow crews but they're non-stop during major snow events. As of this posting I'm hearing some Montco PennDot chatter from Devault 800
Enter only the control channel frequencies for the sites within range to you. Devault VHF & 800, Willow Grove VHF, Belmont & a few others are within range to us. Have a look at the "County" column in Sites and Frequencies for a better idea of what may be within range
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Depending on where you are in western Montco, you would want to target the following sites:
70 - Devault VHF
75 - Devault 800
80 - Graterford 800
135 - Geigertown 800 (havent had much luck seeing this site in most of western Montco)
148 - Gulph Mills 800
If you get to the far NW corner of the county, a couple of the Lehigh Valley sites may come into play:
84 - Emmaus 800
85 - Flint Hill VHF
On a scanner in a car, reception can be spotty if you don't have an external antenna, especially in the Pottstown area. That Geigertown site is really blocked by terrain in the direction of Pottstown, so even though it is fairly close, it just doesn't help all that much.
I've had past success from "West Montco" picking up certain Berks, Lehigh & Lancaster County sites from various roof antennas I used over the years
Hello @jtwalker I have a Unication G5 and a Harris XG100
Hi @Whiskey3JMC I mostly want to listen to district 6 road and tow crews. I am in the same area as you so I will try to add the ones you stated and get back to you with what I figure out thanks.
HI @HM1529 I'm really south central/east montco norristown,kop,plymouth areas I will try the ones you listed and get back to you on it thanks.
Mostly looking for norristown, kop, plymouth area as that is my daily travel.
Put in Devault 800 & you should be good to go
I programmed it into my xg100 looks like gulph mills site is strongest for where I am, I was able to hear the safety trucks this morning. My only problem is I can't scan multi-site so I have to make different zones for different sites
psp is 100 percent encrypted, you wont hear them.
I hear PennDot on the 800mhz sites throughout the day. Much more chatter during snow events as I mentioned in post #3
I can confirm with @Whiskey3JMC mostly Penndot and the safety patrols not much on other talkgroups most are big "E"
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