Audio cutout - not the usual pri/wx/cc issue

[Jay911]

Greetings all,

The Civil Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) frequency in Calgary has a rather unique sound to it that I'm wondering if others have heard before. I don't think it's a fault with my scanner - a new 996 - nor a problem with the radio system, as the people seem to be communicating just fine.

The audio has a distinct "chop" to it, as if the PTT was being interrupted 2 or 3 times per second. When the audio isn't being transmitted, there's solid squelch hash/static. The transmitter never fully drops to dead air during the individual transmission, but it's definitely hard to hear what's being said.

The (single, conventional, non-trunked) frequency is 859.3375 - and the tone is CSQ as far as I have been able to tell (unless the static is some kind of reverse-burst PL/DPL to disrupt scanners). I haven't bothered to get close enough to the airport to listen to the repeater input on 814.3375, but maybe I will sometime soon.

Just wondering if anyone has any inklings on what this might be - some kind of privacy function, or a borked repeater, or what?

 

[scanfan03]

The only thing I think it can be is EDACs SCAT (trunked).

 

[Rayjk110]

Possibly a NextHELL cell next to your scanner if you subscribe to them. They'll do that to scanners b/c of the cheaper front-end they're all prone to the Nextel garbage.

 

[Jay911]

This was all across the city, more or less. My cellphone is not iDEN/Nextel and I hope nobody with one was pursuing me.

I can't find an audio sample of EDACS SCAT on the site or on the web... I'll try to get a recording of this audio in the next day or so and post it for your review.