Calgary Transit --> Calgary Municipal Radio Network

[Intellgence2008]

Activity on Calgary Transit ...

Been hearing active radio conversation on Calgary Transit today Aug 16th, I can only hear one side of the
conversation and it sounds like the dispatcher talking to a bus operator on TGID 9616 Channel 2, just curious
why I cannot hear the operator ?

 

[Jay911]

Hmm.. despite what I mentioned last night on the AFRRCS thread, this morning I heard a partial conversation on "Channel 4" which sounded like I was only hearing the dispatcher. I tried to watch and see if I saw ENC after the dispatcher stopped talking, but I was driving, so I couldn't pay attention to the radio that much.

I have both my HP1 and my Unitrunker setup running here at work, so when I pick up a transit talkgroup I'll quickly take a peek at UT and see if I see where the response is and what its properties are.

 

[mciupa]

Is it possible that the response/acknowledgement is transmitted back from a button push on a menu as data?

I guess UT will confirm as you said.

 

[Jay911]

The kinds of conversations I heard wouldn't lend themselves to be button-pushes I don't think - they were involving "Did you say that ____ was happening" etc.

Hell, for all I know/can tell, the buses are still using the legacy (iDEN) channels, and the dispatchers are just being obstinate and using the Smartzone channels to respond.

I guess it could be one-sided encryption too (despite what I said yesterday in the AFRRCS thread), but that begs the question why.

 

[harryshute]

Some bus systems set it up so you only hear the dispatcher much like some taxi cabs.

Edmonton keeps the ops channel quiet by answering the buses in individual mode.

 

[Jay911]

Just heard two different conversations on channel 2. One of them I only heard one party on (and UT backs this up), then on the other one I got a field unit doing a radio check and the dispatcher responding with "10-2".

It's still early days, so maybe they're using some other sort of comms during the initial setup, like iDEN or even cellphone.

 

[Intellgence2008]

Jay,
Had my recorder on today for Transit and it was very active today, as you mentioned some of the transmission you could hear both parties and then some was just dispatchers, also it sound like there were two separate conversations going on at the same time but it sound like both conversation could not hear each other.

 

[Jay911]

I think each "numbered channel" (i.e. Ch 1, Ch 2, etc) are linked to whatever they're using now. I got the same RIDs with multiple different parties on each calling in to Control. For example one RID would be Bus 8105 one time and then a completely different one a few minutes later. I also see that the dispatcher transmissions consistently come up with the RID of the dispatch console (or what I suspect is the dispatch console) but there are lots of little zero or one-second clips in between them with no RID recorded - which in my experience happens with link radios sometimes.

I suspect once all is said and done and everybody is transitioned over, things will make more sense.

 

[thundermedic]

Calgary Transit --> Calgary Municipal Radio Network

So you think they are patching the iDEN into the CMRN like the sheriffs do?

 

[Jay911]

It seems like that could be the case. I have my 436 in the truck locked on the Transit talkgroups again today so I should have 8 solid hours of recordings to listen to when I get off work.

 

[Jay911]

TG 9664 is in testing with Transit affiliated radios, unknown use.

In other news, I heard a bus driver say to Control that he had a detour indications on his CAD. I haven't ridden transit at all in ages. Anybody in Calgary riding these days and can give an indication of what kind of data terminals they're using? Is it a mobile computing platform like in emergency vehicles?

 

[Jay911]

Couple of observations from my scanner recordings this week:

1) Heard what we call "Channel 3" and "Channel 4" referred to as "Bus 3" and "Bus 4". I therefore posit that at least "Channel 1" thru "Channel 4" are "Bus 1" thru "Bus 4". Don't know how that dovetails (if at all) with the channels previously identified as "Bus Dispatch" and "Bus Maintenance" (which were definitely identified as such).

2) Heard an operator tell Control "The bus they left me with has only this new radio in it" which IMO further supports the theory that some buses are still using iDEN or something else, and there are patches/links in place.

 

[thundermedic]

I have updated the database

Because this is a P16 system, so the channels are in HEX 16, I have made a few changes that appear to line up quite well...

I think this is the block of frequencies given to Calgary Transit:

9600 - Channel 1 Bus 1
9616 - Channel 2 Bus 2
9632 - Channel 3 Bus 3
9648 - Channel 4 Bus 4
9664 - Channel 5
9680 - Channel 6
9696 - Channel 7
9712 - Bus Dispatch
9728 - Bus Maintenance
9744
9760
9776
9792
9808
9824
9840
9856
9872 - LRT-Red and Blue Line Dispatch
9888
9904
9920
9936
9952
9968 - Testing
9984
10000
10016
10032
10048
10064
10080
10096
10112
10128
10144
10160
10176
10192
10208
10224
10240
10256 - Channel 11 ?

Calgary Transit Peace Officers will be moving over, along with the mobile bus maintenance, LRT Service, and the yard channels for both bus and LRT facilities soon.

 

[RedsunsDriver]

I wonder if Bus 1 - 4 has anything to do with the 4 quadrants in the city.


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[thundermedic]

I think it's grouped by routes, after the Circle Route 72/73 go through all 4 quadrants and if dispatch is looking for them it's easier to keep them on one channel than looking up where the bus is, then finding the channel.

I would also bet when the routes change on Sept 5, and the CT school bus routes start again they may be on their own channels. I would also think the Community Shuttles are on their own channels too...

 

[Jay911]

I heard a 400 series on Bus 3 today. I think those are the smaller community feeder buses.

 

[thundermedic]

That they are

 

[thundermedic]

I wonder if each channel is from the CT yards, Vic Park, Spring Gardens, Anderson, Haysbro, and then repair garages.

 

[RedsunsDriver]

I talked to a bus driver and it seems the CAD or the controller assigns the channel. The bus driver just pushes the request to talk button and wait for a channel to be assigned then talk. So probably CAD/control assign channels based on voice traffic.
Things you learn from bus commute


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[Intellgence2008]

Calgary Transit LRT

I wonder if each channel is from the CT yards, Vic Park, Spring Gardens, Anderson, Haysbro, and then repair garages.

Seen the operator on the CT LRT downtown (Aug 31st) at City hall platform wearing a portable radio with a external microphone clipped to his lapel in the driver seat, also seen CT Peace Officers at 3rd st. platform trying to contact their dispatcher but could not, one said to the other "I be glad when we switch radios systems in September".