New system?

[SCPD]

I was downtown (Calgary) today and was running my 500 on Super scan and found a system that sounds much like the Calgary Digital system. I have not been able to trunk it yet and I searched the gov database but found nothing...

The frq is

796.66250mhz FM
The system comes up as: M36
System id: 1sTGID

Just a few Id's so far:
34416
19568
36400
56880

The system is defiantly active, as I can see some id's coming up on it. However I did not bring my good antenna i'm using a stubby so my reception is terrible.

 

[Jay911]

When you say it sounds like "Calgary Digital" system, do you mean you're hearing our comms on it? Or the control channel sounds like a Motorola cc?

Nobody is supposed to be on 700MHz yet in Canada. The rollout of AFRRCS is supposed to be the first, and if there was a working AFRRCS site up before mid-2010 I'd be astonished.

Where exactly were you when you heard this? I'll have to put the freq into my 996 tonight when I head into work.

 

[SCPD]

I am sorry I should have been more clear. I brought my 800mhz ant. to work today. I wanted to see if it was a harmonic reflection off a different mot system. But again I am getting a booming loud and clear "Grinding" much like you would if you tuned to one of the Calgary Digital system main tower channels.

I seem to get the strongest signal on my screen when I am tuned to 796.66250 and I am about 1km outside of downtown on top of the 10th ave hill here at SAIT.

I live about 8 blocks away from here so maybe I will light up Trunker tonight and leave it overnight. Someone will have to teach me how to set it to log what it finds however.

I don't know my radio well enough to program it to trunk this system yet (Or to even attempt the trunking). I used Win500 to do the original programing but my license ran out and I have not bought it yet.

 

[SCPD]

Update* I was going through the sweep between 764.0mhz and 803.00mhz and I found another anomaly. I could hear fire dispatch id say about 2 by 5 on 796.737500mhz. They were talking to 20 pump. Thats the last I heard... Could I be getting some mad harmonic reflections or is there a new tower somewhere outside of the city using the upper end of the 796.000mhz + range?

 

[SCPD]

Its catching it as a P25 system now! What the hell... same channel is now dead air but no static, much like an open repeater would sound. 796.737500

 

[Jay911]

I ran my 996 thru 764->956 all the way in to work last night (90 min drive) and all the way home this morning and found no new control channels and not a peep in the 700MHz band. Like I said, Industry Canada has (had) no intent on opening up 700MHz for anyone at this stage, and only the AFRRCS project has been given special consideration for future building in that range. Anything you hear in the 700MHz band is pretty much guaranteed to be an image. I'm not sure how/why you're getting it, but I can guarantee there's no extra/new towers for Calgary Digital Radio and definitely not for 700MHz.

 

[HDMechanic]

Tried the frequincies mysel with my 996 and got not o peep of anything. Wondring if your getting some wierd cross channeling???

 

[RBerezowski]

Like I said, Industry Canada has (had) no intent on opening up 700MHz for anyone at this stage, and only the AFRRCS project has been given special consideration for future building in that range. Anything you hear in the 700MHz band is pretty much guaranteed to be an image.

I have to disagree with you Jay. Industry Canada has allocated channels 63 and 68 (764-770 MHz and 794-800 MHz) for public safety use, following the US FCC band plan. These blocks of spectrum are available now, but it will take some time for deployments to start rolling out. According to an Industry Canada public consultation document dated Jan 2008:

"Deployment under the existing band plan has just begun and the number of existing systems is low"

So, there are a few 700 MHz systems, but I don't know where they are.

Now, having said that, I have to agree with you in reading the various posts that this signal being received in Calgary is likely some sort of image or intermod.

Rob

 

[Jay911]

Rob - my assertion is based on things told to us at AFRRCS meetings. When discussing the decision to use 700MHz, it was mentioned that prior to the AFRRCS plan was initiated, Industry Canada had plans to hold off on any 700MHz allocations/implementations until after the US's plans, allocations, and deployments were underway. The person who gave this information to us went on to say that the RCMP and the other AFRRCS participants lobbied to convince IC to proceed with releasing the 700MHz part of the spectrum early, for projects like AFRRCS and other public safety users. We were led to believe that no systems or allocations were being considered prior to the AFRRCS deployment/rollout.

The TAFL has only ever showed broadcast licensees in searches I've done in the past year or two. Hopefully IC will not deem all of these to be 'protected' systems and thus exempt from being listed in the TAFL.

As for the local situation, I do have one theory I'm looking into - I believe one of the elements of Calgary DRS might have a mobile trunk repeater site in testing. I don't know if it is/was in operation on the days it was reported, and I don't know if it is frequency agile and/or configured to any specific licenses or frequencies. What I do know is, my 996 with a vehicle-mounted antenna that will pull up crazy long range signals as of late (much better than any of my other scanners, handheld or mobile, have ever been able to reach) still picks up nothing at all in the 700 band.

 

[SCPD]

Rob - my assertion is based on things told to us at AFRRCS meetings. When discussing the decision to use 700MHz, it was mentioned that prior to the AFRRCS plan was initiated, Industry Canada had plans to hold off on any 700MHz allocations/implementations until after the US's plans, allocations, and deployments were underway. The person who gave this information to us went on to say that the RCMP and the other AFRRCS participants lobbied to convince IC to proceed with releasing the 700MHz part of the spectrum early, for projects like AFRRCS and other public safety users. We were led to believe that no systems or allocations were being considered prior to the AFRRCS deployment/rollout.

The TAFL has only ever showed broadcast licensees in searches I've done in the past year or two. Hopefully IC will not deem all of these to be 'protected' systems and thus exempt from being listed in the TAFL.

As for the local situation, I do have one theory I'm looking into - I believe one of the elements of Calgary DRS might have a mobile trunk repeater site in testing. I don't know if it is/was in operation on the days it was reported, and I don't know if it is frequency agile and/or configured to any specific licenses or frequencies. What I do know is, my 996 with a vehicle-mounted antenna that will pull up crazy long range signals as of late (much better than any of my other scanners, handheld or mobile, have ever been able to reach) still picks up nothing at all in the 700 band.

IC has approved usage of 700 MHz band for testing months ago. I can say second hand RCMP has boxes of radio equipment marked AFFRCS project in the radio shop last year.

One radio shop in Edmonton have tested radios in the 700 MHz band just this week using some special regulatory provisions permit for use of certain radio devices .......

CPS is evaluating new police cars loaded with all the toys this month. These cars have heads-up computer display, virtual keyboards not sure how that works in a car, dash cams, voice GPS…. maybe they have a new 700 MHz radios installed linked to the 800 MHZ system to demonstrate what the car of the near future will feel and look like.