AFRRCS - Alberta First Responders' Radio Communication System - INFO HERE

harryshute

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I'm wondering if SOW2 may have moved to Edmonton. I am hearing a Control Channel on 771.36875 with Uniden showing a NAC of 2D0. It is very distant sounding so may be one of the lab tests here. This is the same frequency and NAC I reported hearing up here on March 8th, 2012.
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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That's indeed a SOW frequency. Do you have the ability to run Unitrunker or PRO96COM or something on it?
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Added some more photos to my Flickr page, of Crossfield, Beiseker*, and Rockyford - three of the four active sites.

Afrrcs - a set on Flickr

*Beiseker's lat/long in the TAFL is wrong - it points to an empty field south of Hwy 9. A few hundred meters east, however, are two towers - one is an ATCO Gas tower, and the other is a Rogers Communications tower. I'm not sure which is the AFRRCS site. It's got to be one of them considering the signal strength in the area, but I can't tell which. Perhaps someone can figure it out from the photos.
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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That's interesting. Would it be logical to think that's coming from the location of the remand center, with the signal strength you're getting? Remand is supposed to go live soon on those previously-mentioned freqs, and I wouldn't be surprised if the SOW is being used to help set up/calibrate it.

SysID 001 is not the AFRRCS SysID we're seeing down here (05B). That site info indicates RFSS 002, site 002 as well.

It would be very interesting to see some dump logs from PRO96COM or Unitrunker.
 

harryshute

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Very possible as I can't even get the current UHF low power repeaters with a roof antenna in west Edmonton. I guess the real question is which remand center. The current one in downtown Edmonton or the new one that is not open yet in North Edmonton.

I forget which site was licensed before being protected. I believe originally the north site was licensed then the license changed to the downtown location. I don't recall the power level on the license.

I'll have to do a road trip next week to both sites to listen and look for a SOW.
 

SCPD

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The SOW frequency in Edmonton is coming from the Bell Tower. Very localized to downtown, probably from their test lab.
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Here's an odd development: a license has popped up for Longview southwest of Calgary, with one 700 MHz frequency and one 400 MHz frequency. This is similar to the site to the west of Cochrane with one 700 and one VHF (148 MHz) freq, but unlike that one, the 400 MHz frequency's spectrum status code is 900 - analog voice - instead of 910 (digital).

The whole license is still status 0 (planned) so it remains to be seen what they intend to do down there.
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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The whole license is still status 0 (planned) so it remains to be seen what they intend to do down there.

Looks like I might have my answer. Latest update has a VHF freq on Raspberry Ridge (a known FireNet location in the south of Kananaskis) with the same UHF freq paired with it. Still 900 SSC though...
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Bunch of VHF freqs popped up in the North license recently - mainly at Firenet sites with UHF links to other nearby locations, and in somewhat remote parts of the province in the far NW. Interesting.
 

611_Alberta

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New AFRRCS Site

I work for the propane company that is supplying the tanks for the backup generators at the new AFRRCS sites. Being a scanner/radio enthusiast, I was excited to be dispatched to install the tank. This location is east of Ponoka on hwy 53 at NE 31-42-23 W4. There is an old repeater site at the same location, known to our company as being RCMP. I got to take a peek inside the shelter. Pretty advanced (for me). The tower is still bare but most of the electronics seem to be already installed in the shelter. Here's a couple pictures. Looking forward to AFRRCS coming online.
 

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Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Thanks for that. I gather the propane feeds the Generac - good to see they are installing redundant power. As for the shacks, my understanding is they're essentially fabricated all at one location (possibly with the electronics already installed) and are essentially trucked out to the tower sites whole and plopped down there. That could indicate why the shack is ready prior to the tower getting adorned.

I haven't bothered to do much traveling to scope out any of the newer sites around Calgary - and I'm not hearing any new or changed control channels/towers online. This reinforces my suspicion that they've considered the wide prototype to be successful and aren't going to flip the switch on anything more until they're ready to put it online.

Those VHF freqs with UHF links/backhauls I talked about a couple posts back have grown more numerous. I updated the Google Map (link on the wiki page) with them.. kind of interesting they're using 400 MHz non-MW links (according to the spectrum codes in the license). That might mean you can listen to comms via the link freqs, just the same way you can with the Firenet 400 MHz links and/or the RCMP 400 MHz linking channels between certain paired PACS channels.
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Just got back the other day from a three-week-long trip to Newfoundland where I was visiting family, seeing sights, volunteering to help run the Targa road rally, and mapping out their 50+ site province-wide P25 system. Fun few weeks!

As I was driving home along Stoney yesterday, I noticed a new red-and-white three-legged tower being erected around 250m away from the existing tower that has the city trunk system, CFD voice alerts, etc., on it. It'll be interesting to see if it sports the same services and shacks at the bottom as the photos above.

Since my last update of the Google Maps link, somebody has gone and re-shuffled all the frequencies in the pending VHF/UHF licenses. I'll get to updating the maps again soon.
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Hi all,
Got a comment the other day that nobody had seen an update in a while, so here's what meager info I can offer (because there's been no movement otherwise that I can see).

- The tower I saw at Spy Hill was erected to the 3rd section (about 2 stories tall, looking like there was only one section to go), then taken back down so there's only one section left attached to the base. No idea what's up there - all the parts seem to still be lying around in the vicinity so I presume they still plan to put it up.

- Google map should be as up-to-date as it can be with the info from TAFL.
- This past weekend 16 new microwave sites were added to the MW license, some in places we already know of 700/VHF sites, some in others.
- Both the north and south LMR licenses have a small handful of sites sporting VHF single-frequency LMR channels with UHF (~410-429 MHz) link frequencies linking them and some 700 sites together. These 400 MHz channels have been "confirmed" (as far as they can be with "paper frequencies") as link frequencies by their IC Virtual License documentation.
- No new RF is emanating from anything in my earshot. My suspicion is that they are planning to erect all of Census Division 6 (hence the tower at Spy Hill) and bring it all online once the CD is completely physically built. Or it could be larger-scale - several CDs at once - it's hard to tell.

I haven't bothered with new scanner save files for the HP1, PSR500, etc., recently - if someone wants an updated one, let me know and I'll build them.
 

dean83

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AHS EMS Edmonton Metro are now using the larger P25 style HARRIS brand radios. Would assume they are gearing up or at least prepping for AFRRCS. Didn't get a chance to grab a model number but I will try next time I can. Which if they are not on the new system then the radios must be the multi band type? $$$$?


AHS EMS North Central (Parkland) just recently upgraded their old cell phone style (yellow or grey) Iden radios to the new "radio style" iden's.
 
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Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Radio manufacturers are treating the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands as "one band" so most modern P25 800 radios are also 700 capable. Without seeing them (or at least a model number) I can't say for sure, but I'd think that Edmonton Metro is probably using 700/800 capable radios. Redwood Meadows has Motorola mobiles which are all 700/800 compatible and ready for AFRRCS, but are operating currently on Calgary's 800 MHz Smartzone system.
 

SCPD

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AFFRCS acceptable radio list so far

EF Johnson
5100ES, 5300ES
Harris
XG100, XG75, XM100, P7300 series, M7300 series
Kenwood
TK-5220, TK-5210, TK-5710, TK-5720, TK-5410, TK-5910
Motorola
APX4000, APX6000, APX6500, APX7000, APX7500, XTS Series XTL Series
RELM
KNG P150, KNG M150
TAIT
TP9100 Series, TM9100 Series
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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I've updated the wiki and Google Maps with the most recent site updates from TAFL. Calgary Airport has finally been put through the application process - I have no idea what the delay was but it wouldn't surprise me if it was related to the acres of construction going on at the airport.

The Spy Hill tower, or at least what I think is the Spy Hill tower (it's a new tower with the same type of shack, and there's nothing else new in TAFL), went up again. Antennas can be seen on it but it has no lighting and is not radiating (yet).

I'll try to get the files for the HomePatrol, PSR500, etc., updated this week, but nothing is guaranteed.

As for the permitted radios list, good catch. That's a living document so I'm told, and will be updated as vendors submit and succeed with other radios. In other words, the radios on there now aren't the only ones getting on the system, necessarily.
 

mark2117

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I'm doing quite a bit of travelling recently with my job and am usually anywhere from here in Medicine Hat and heading west to Brooks, north to Oyen and as far east as Swift Current. Is there anything I should be looking/hearing for around these parts to help fill in some of the gaps with this new system?
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
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Any P25 control channel activity on 700 MHz frequencies would be a giveaway. If you look at the wiki page (AFRRCS - The RadioReference Wiki), you'll see frequencies for the sites that are licensed. There's also a link to a Google Map in there that has the sites visible with their frequencies.

On that Google Map, there are four sites - Crossfield, Beiseker, Rockyford, and Wintering Hills - marked with push pins instead of teardrops. The push pins are known active (at least in terms of having a CC that is operational) sites. I'm particularly wondering about Iddesleigh, Outer Rainy Hill, Brooks, McNeill, etc.
 
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