PA Statewide P25 Phase 2 System

ChrisRupert

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
212
Location
Clinton County, PA
I was perusing the wiki and see that 40000 got tagged Greensburg DCC. A while back, the DCC was heard answering a unit calling on this channel and the woman had a distinctly WV accent, leading me to believe it was the Fairmont TCC.

Here is a list I started putting together of FE facilities for PA. I'm not sure of the significance of the "service center" versus "line" tag. I mined these locations from various web sources. Some of them just had the location name which I appended with "line" if it didn't specify based on the talkgroup listing on the regional FirstEnergy TRS covering WV, MD, NJ, etc. If anybody wants to wiki this up, feel free. I'm in PECO territory, so I haven't heard electric utility comms in a decade or more since they went encrypted. The only time I'll be particularly interested in FE comms is if I travel across the state. My evening boredom gets you this starter for further talkgroup speculation:

FE Regional Transmission Control Centers (TCC)
Akron, OH
Fairmont, WV (heard "Fairmont Line" answering a field unit on 40000)

Met-Ed
Reading DCC
Boyertown Service Center
Dillsburg Line
Easton Service Center
Hamburg Service Center
Hanover Line
Lebanon Line
Middletown Line

Penelec
Erie DCC
Alexandria Line
Bradford Line
Clearfield Line
DuBois Line
Erie Line
Indiana Line
Johnstown Line
Lewistown
Mansfield Line
Meadville Line
Montrose Line
Oil City Line
Phillipsburg Line
Shippensburg Line
State College Service Center
Towanda Line
Warren Line

Penn Power
???

West Penn Power
Greensburg DCC
Arnold Service Center
Boyce
Butler Line
Charleroi Service Center
Jeannette Service Center
Jefferson Service Center
Latrobe Service Center
McConnellsburg Line
Pleasant Valley Service Center
Somerset Line
Uniontown Line
Washington Line


The State College Service center is West Penn Power.
 

HM1529

Pennsylvania DB Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
3,087
Location
West of the Atlantic Ocean
Thanks. I'm sure I messed up some other sites, too, that should be Penn Power but got listed as West Penn Power. I figure the folks in those areas can flesh this out somewhere and get it all straightened up.

I still have not come across any reference to a DCC for the Penn Power subsidiary. At this point, I think I have exhausted what I can dig up. I fixed a few mistakes from yesterday. That's probably at least 50 talkgroups...49 facilities below plus the 40000 which might be statewide...

Met-EdBoyertown Service Center
Met-EdDillsburg Line
Met-EdEaston Service Center
Met-EdGettysburg Service Center
Met-EdHamburg Service Center
Met-EdHanover Line
Met-EdLebanon Line
Met-EdMiddletown Line
Met-EdReading DCC
Met-EdReading Service Center
Met-EdYork
PenelecAlexandria Line
PenelecAltoona
PenelecBradford Line
PenelecClearfield Line
PenelecDuBois Line
PenelecErie DCC
PenelecErie Line
PenelecIndiana Line
PenelecJohnstown Line
PenelecLewistown
PenelecMansfield Line
PenelecMeadville Line
PenelecMontrose Line
PenelecOil City Line
PenelecPhillipsburg Line
PenelecSaint Mary's
PenelecShippensburg Line
PenelecTowanda Line
PenelecWarren Line
Penn PowerClark Service Center
Penn PowerCranberry Area Service Center
Penn PowerNew Castle Service Center
West Penn PowerArnold Service Center
West Penn PowerBoyce
West Penn PowerButler Service Center
West Penn PowerCharleroi Service Center
West Penn PowerGreensburg DCC
West Penn PowerJeannette Service Center
West Penn PowerJefferson Service Center
West Penn PowerKittanning Service Center
West Penn PowerLatrobe Service Center
West Penn PowerMcConnellsburg Line
West Penn PowerPleasant Valley Service Center
West Penn PowerSomerset Line
West Penn PowerState College Service Center
West Penn PowerUniontown Line
West Penn PowerWashington Line
West Penn PowerWaynesboro Service Center
 

One13Truck

Member
Feed Provider
Joined
Jul 2, 2004
Messages
916
Location
My home 20 eating pizza.
FYI for anyone listening or trying to ID anything in the northeastern part of the state. Troop P has officially moved into their new headquarters in Hanover Township. With the move they have changed from being Troop P - Wyoming back to being Troop P - Wilkes Barre.

 

HM1529

Pennsylvania DB Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
3,087
Location
West of the Atlantic Ocean
127 is already in the database. Any confirmation on 140 (CLEA03) also being in the Penfield area, just to the north? Control channel is 154.1975.

Neighbors list needs to be added to 127 in the DB. It also looks like this further confirms that the Elk Co site (ELKC09) is 141 and not on the air as it seemed after the last report from out that way.
 

HM1529

Pennsylvania DB Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
3,087
Location
West of the Atlantic Ocean
Is that a clean read on the channels? I know the older version of Unitrunker used to sometimes muddle frequencies between sites if you didn't clear it out before changing the site you were monitoring. The license for CLEA15 shows: 154.9425, 156.1125, 156.225. FCC Callsign WQUG547 (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)

It looks like it is tagging two CCs and two ALTs.
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,416
Location
BEE00
Is that a clean read on the channels? I know the older version of Unitrunker used to sometimes muddle frequencies between sites if you didn't clear it out before changing the site you were monitoring. The license for CLEA15 shows: 154.9425, 156.1125, 156.225. FCC Callsign WQUG547 (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)

It looks like it is tagging two CCs and two ALTs.
151.4675 is Site 38's control channel, so maybe he switched between the two sites while decoding without letting Pro96Com clear out first.
 

druhe

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
684
Location
Southwest Pa
Is that a clean read on the channels? I know the older version of Unitrunker used to sometimes muddle frequencies between sites if you didn't clear it out before changing the site you were monitoring. The license for CLEA15 shows: 154.9425, 156.1125, 156.225. FCC Callsign WQUG547 (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)

It looks like it is tagging two CCs and two ALTs.

This was a clean start from the site that I was at. I noticed the double CC and AC, but have no clue as to why
 

IStebleton

Active Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 19, 2017
Messages
591
This may be a stupid question, but if the OpenSky system is being taken off air by the end of this year like they are planning to do, is PSP Troop T going to operate on the P25 system until the Turnpike builds out their new system in the next several years?
 

druhe

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
684
Location
Southwest Pa
This may be a stupid question, but if the OpenSky system is being taken off air by the end of this year like they are planning to do, is PSP Troop T going to operate on the P25 system until the Turnpike builds out their new system in the next several years?

The Turnpike supposedly delayed their project to 2024, see below thread

 

redbeard

OH, PA, WV Regional Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Feb 5, 2003
Messages
1,237
Location
BEE00.348-3.1
This may be a stupid question, but if the OpenSky system is being taken off air by the end of this year like they are planning to do, is PSP Troop T going to operate on the P25 system until the Turnpike builds out their new system in the next several years?
They would probably go back to using the existing Turnpike analog system.
 

bearcat

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
734
They would probably go back to using the existing Turnpike analog system.
Actually they currently they patch the OpenSky audio to the analog system. You can hear how digital they sound on the VHF analog. I would imagine they will patch the P25 system also.
 

redbeard

OH, PA, WV Regional Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Feb 5, 2003
Messages
1,237
Location
BEE00.348-3.1
Actually they currently they patch the OpenSky audio to the analog system. You can hear how digital they sound on the VHF analog. I would imagine they will patch the P25 system also.
Well aware, hence the 'go back to' as they aren't on the Turnpike system directly but via patch. The new system may not have total coverage (why they plan to build the 700MHz sites) so it would make more sense to use the Turnpike VHF network directly rather than patching a group from the new system. But who knows, they may do both.
 

bearcat

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
734
Well aware, hence the 'go back to' as they aren't on the Turnpike system directly but via patch. The new system may not have total coverage (why they plan to build the 700MHz sites) so it would make more sense to use the Turnpike VHF network directly rather than patching a group from the new system. But who knows, they may do both.
Yep you are correct. I never gave it a thought that they actually have VHF radios now so no need to patch them. Good Point!
 

HM1529

Pennsylvania DB Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
3,087
Location
West of the Atlantic Ocean
Yep you are correct. I never gave it a thought that they actually have VHF radios now so no need to patch them. Good Point!

They had VHF radios before. Many cars have had OpenSky mobiles and VHF (back-up) mobiles the whole time. But, PSP being PSP, they worked on the OpenSky radio which required a patch to the turnpike VHF. I have wondered for years why they didn't just have Troop T work directly on the VHF.

I have also heard that, going forward, Troop T will be on an encrypted P25 dispatch channel just like all the other troops and that during an incident, they could switch over to the regular turnpike channels. This, of course, flies in the face of traffic incident management teachings that the turnpike and other entities push hard for nowadays. But, well, I'll say no more. Of course, given the fact that things are still the way they are at the moment, perhaps PSP is reconsidering? Who knows. We will find out eventually.
 

rjm022222

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Messages
71
Location
Philadelphia, Pa
This may be a stupid question, but if the OpenSky system is being taken off air by the end of this year like they are planning to do, is PSP Troop T going to operate on the P25 system until the Turnpike builds out their new system in the next several years?

The answer is yes. Turnpike Troopers are scheduled to switch to P25 at the end of May 2021.
 

redbeard

OH, PA, WV Regional Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Feb 5, 2003
Messages
1,237
Location
BEE00.348-3.1
The answer is yes. Turnpike Troopers are scheduled to switch to P25 at the end of May 2021.
But what will they switch to if the 700 sites aren't built out yet for the turnpike? And if the answer is the new VHF/800 P25 sites, then why do they need the 700 network for the Turnpike? It turns into a catch-22 real fast. And with all the money problems it seems like the last thing they need to do is build a 3rd radio network on top of the current analog VHF and P25 VHF/800 networks.
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,416
Location
BEE00
But what will they switch to if the 700 sites aren't built out yet for the turnpike? And if the answer is the new VHF/800 P25 sites, then why do they need the 700 network for the Turnpike? It turns into a catch-22 real fast. And with all the money problems it seems like the last thing they need to do is build a 3rd radio network on top of the current analog VHF and P25 VHF/800 networks.
The simplest answer is that the Turnpike wants their own system, and doesn't really care what the commonwealth is doing with STARNet. It's not just PSP Troop T that will operate on the Turnpike's system, but all of the maintenance crews and whatnot. Eventually they'll wind up on the Turnpike's 700 system, if they go forward with it.
 
Top