Calgary - couple of unidentified amateur repeaters

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Jay911

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Hey folks, anyone know what the deal is on this freq? I did a conventional discovery session on 144-148 today just for the fun of it and found this machine ID'ing at regular intervals. Naturally I didn't catch the full ID ever and the repeater apparently wasn't used by anyone in the meantime - only got IDs all day long.

Freq 146.895, tone 131.8, picked up clear as a bell in Whitehorn.

The best I could get from the IDer was "-537. The time is" and the time. This was in FM as evidenced by the fact it had a CTCSS tone. It's not in Repeaterbook and I tried to see if 537 was a truncated IRLP or Echolink node address, but had no luck there either.

The only hits on a Google search was a message here on RR in the old Western Canada forums (i.e. from years and years ago) where someone thought it was P25 - but got told it was D-Star instead. I didn't pick up any D-Star noise on this or any other frequency today and can't seem to find a directory of D-Star nodes (similar to the IRLP directory), so I can't tell if that's the case.

Maybe I'll tune it tomorrow directly and see what I can get. If anyone can shed some light on it, please do.

Also - I am buried in intermod from the AHS paging transmitter at the Peter Lougheed hospital. I thought I was getting that on 147.240, but after the "pager" was finished going off, there was an EOT beep - on repeated transmissions, as if the machine is picking up and retransmitting the intermod. Anyone know what machine that freq might be?
 

SCPD

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147.240 is located on a downtown building VE6QCW. Not sure about 146.895 must be something new or unpublished. Assuming the ID is in CW and no voice ID.
 

robertmac

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HDMechanic will be able to fill us in on the IRLP link on 146.895. I believe he is having router problems so not operational for linking the past couple of days. It was listed on the irlp.net site, but I do not see it tonight. I believe the IRLP node was 1537. If you do a Google search for his callsign, information on the IRLP node can be seen. I did find it strange that a simplex frequency was being used in the range where it is typically a repeater output frequency. The node is not on a repeater. I also see there is an IRLP node in Coronation on the same frequency. Thus this frequency can be a problem with automatic repeater offsets which have to be disabled. There is an input tone of 131.8 but I didn't know it also output the tone. 147.24 has had the intermod. interference for over a month now. Certainly sounds like pager, but I could not hear anything on the reverse in north Calgary last week. So may have something leaking into it. Even 146.85 on the weekend had some similar interference and every once in a while there was a data stream that could be heard sounding very much like an APRS burst. I believe if there was a D-Star repeater on this frequency it has been moved a little lower ?146.805.
 
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HDMechanic

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146.895 is my IRLP node running on simplex. Yes I am having router problems this week and have not had tome to deal with it. Hope to have it bck up and running tonight.
 

thundermedic

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I guess QCW is multi-copuled in with a pager antenna and the caretaker thinks thats what's causing the issues there.
 

Jay911

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I would posit that the site is an Alberta Health Services paging transmitter, because the interference coincides with the POCSAG paging coming off the Peter Lougheed Center. There are I don't know how many paging transmitters on 156.9 for their network, all over the city and beyond.

Could QCW put a filter on for that frequency and get rid of that problem?
 

thundermedic

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I would posit that the site is an Alberta Health Services paging transmitter, because the interference coincides with the POCSAG paging coming off the Peter Lougheed Center. There are I don't know how many paging transmitters on 156.9 for their network, all over the city and beyond.

Feel Free to add the site, you would have to match it in TAFL but the location is on the top of the existing TELUS tower across from CFD/EMS 1 Station.

Could QCW put a filter on for that frequency and get rid of that problem?

Yes, Yes they could, except the person who put it on the air no longer has access to the site, and the caretaker of the repeater and sponsor, don't have access easily either. With that being said it could be paging for a while to come.
 

beeperboy

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The AHS 156.9 MHz paging system had about 15 or so 100W transmitters scattered around Calgary and area, or it did when I maintained the system a few years back. I'm sure lots of changes have been made to to the system since I was working there.
 

kayn1n32008

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Feel Free to add the site, you would have to match it in TAFL but the location is on the top of the existing TELUS tower across from CFD/EMS 1 Station.







Yes, Yes they could, except the person who put it on the air no longer has access to the site, and the caretaker of the repeater and sponsor, don't have access easily either. With that being said it could be paging for a while to come.


I believe that the QCW repeater is multi-coupled to Telus 149.7700MHz paging on the TELUS tower, NOT AHS paging. Hopefully something can be done to fix the problem


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Jay911

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That makes more sense, being on the Telus tower - the AHS xmitter downtown is on 400 4 Av SW. I guess the transmissions were just coincidental on the day I was listening. (Who uses VHF POCSAG any more anyway??)
 

kayn1n32008

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beeperboy said:
(Who uses VHF POCSAG any more anyway??)

It's still super cost effective message delivery.

And for private paging, why go to Flex when POCSAG works just fine.
 

Jay911

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Fair enough. It just seems like excess infrastructure to maintain when virtually everyone on the planet can receive text messaging on a personal phone at this stage.

Anyway, back to hammy stuff. I'm currently finding something interesting on 444.8875 - again, not mentioned in RepeaterBook nor anywhere else.
 

SCPD

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Not all repeaters/links are published on repeaterbook based on sponsor requests. The frequency coordinator for Southern Alberta Ken VE6AFO might have record of it.
 

robertmac

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And around 2245 on 444.8875 I did hear some digital sounds on this frequency. It was about half scale in Calgary and I thought I picked up a little sound on reverse but not really sure. The digital noise did not sound like P25 or D*Star. But as there are so many different digital modes, I really can't say what it was. My knowledge of CW is 0 and there was a digital identifier about 2255 hours. On further listening ? if D-Star or associated with the Wild Rose Network? I see they have a listed HUB linking on 444.7875.
 
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robertmac

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Hearing digital [not D-Star] on another WRN frequency of 444.900. Not listening with digital scanner so cannot tell if P25.
 

robertmac

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? using Motorola radios on 444.900 but scanner out of power tonight so did not see if P25 or TRBO. Analog used on this frequency as well.
 
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