New Talkgroup ID'd Edmonton

[rabrol]

Hi folks. Have sent a submission to the database but posting here for info as well.

During Canada Day celebrations the Edmonton Public Safety EDACS system was being well used. Several EMS units were situated in various parks where large crowds were gathering for fireworks etc. EMS Dispatch asked them to switch over to TAC 1.

Talkgroup for TAC 1 was confirmed to be 08-096.

 

[EdmontonFireRadio]

Great find. Thanks for posting the information here as the database submission takes quite a while to be updated. We posted the update to the lcn after site 3 was combined with the main site on May 31st and it still doesn't show in the database as of July 2nd.

 

[SCPD]

This is not new information ... Fire has 6 Tac talkgroups, of which EMS have them all programmed into their radios.

 

[EdmontonFireRadio]

It's new in the fact that no one has bothered to submit them to the database. It's almost as if people would rather just keep information to themselves instead of sharing it.

 

[SCPD]

It's new in the fact that no one has bothered to submit them to the database. It's almost as if people would rather just keep information to themselves instead of sharing it.

Well think of it this way .. Lindsay Blanton makes many many thousands of dollars off of the information that is submitted. What is the incentive for people to submit information other than to make Lindsay rich ?

 

[EdmontonFireRadio]

That's an interesting point that I had not considered. The information that is in the database is free for all to access. However I do see your point in that RR is a business and as a business he is trying to make money.

I think that people will pay for something that they find value in. On the other hand as long as they can get something for free they aren't about to spend a dime. How often do people use the features that come with a premium subscription? You program your radio once by downloading the data and you're pretty much all set. The archives are nice but unless something big happens is it really worth the out of pocket cost? My guess is probably not, especially when something does happen if they really want the archive they can pay at that time, grab the file and then let their subscription expire until the next big event.

 

[SCPD]

Well think of it this way .. Lindsay Blanton makes many many thousands of dollars off of the information that is submitted. What is the incentive for people to submit information other than to make Lindsay rich ?

This is my slant on this matter; I stopped contributing when I needed to pay to download a database (premium subscription)

 

[SCPD]

This is my slant on this matter; I stopped contributing when I needed to pay to download a database that I contributed to.

I think that you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly how I feel ... and why I choose to no longer be a 'premium subscriber' and get nothing in return. If someone wants some information .. if I have that information, I may post it here on Radio Reference. But I refuse to have it put in the database so that Lindsay can sell that information to Uniden, GRE and others. I am pretty certain that I am not the only person who feels this way.

 

[SCPD]

As a suggestion to the original poster of this thread ... I would recommend that he download "IDTracker", which is a very good piece of software that will help in finding those elusive talkgroups.

Baton Rouge Area Scanning - ID Tracker

 

[SCPD]

It's new in the fact that no one has bothered to submit them to the database. It's almost as if people would rather just keep information to themselves instead of sharing it.

Why doesn’t RR offer some incentive like they do for Audio Feed Providers? You get points towards gift certificates for every verified frequency or talk group you submit to the database admin?

My opinion of the RR database, it’s a good starting point and 75% accurate at best, there is the odd exception but few. Until RR makes it worth while for those in the know with solid verified frequency and talkgroup data, I see no improvement.

Uniden just announced a so called “Revolution in Scanning is Coming…. Uniden Releases a New Revolutionary Scanner called the Home Patrol”
IMHO, The success of the scanner will depend directly on the accuracy of the RR database. So would you be happy if your GPS was only 75 % accurate, or your satellite receives just 75 % of the channels, I doubt it. Most likely you would return these devices to the store, this is what I expect with the Home Patrol scanner.

I do see a possible source of income with these new radios. Offer for a price programming service with very accurate frequency and Talkgroups information for your city, town, county or province with the stuff people really want to hear that is monitorable.

So the question, lets pick on Pug_27, sorry guy, would you pay me to program your scanner with the frequencies for the Max and Remand center? I don't know? So if I did and Pug_27 helped his buddy break out or do something stupid. Will Pug_27 and I end up in jail with this buddy, probably

 

[harryshute]

I feel much the same. I do not post frequencies to the database as it gets me nothing. At least in the Western Frequency Directories that used to be sold in Radio Shack I would get a free directory every time one came out from the publisher because I contributed a lot of stuff which was hard to come across in Canada. I also got name reconition in the book.

Just heard from a Premium subscriber who downloaded Victoria's CREST information and once he got there found it was all wrong in the RR data base. Do you think the Scan B.C. crew who have it right are going to send in a correction to RR. I don't think so.

Scanning is like fishing. Most are in it for the adventure, weather, companionship and the sport of catching a fish. Some fisherman do not eat their fish and throw them all back.

But if you want only to eat fish without all the fun, like in Scanning, buy the Home Patrol and get the fish with nothing else. You'll get the RR Database which I agree is in the area of 75 per cent correct.
You'll never have the satisfaction of catching that elusive frequency you have been hoping to find.
But instead you can sit back and wait for the next RR update which are few and far between and help pay the owner of radio reference to be able to access certain premium functions. And the info you supplied for free in posts gets sold to Uniden and GRE for large sums.

 

[rabrol]

I feel much the same. I do not post frequencies to the database as it gets me nothing. At least in the Western Frequency Directories that used to be sold in Radio Shack I would get a free directory every time one came out from the publisher because I contributed a lot of stuff which was hard to come across in Canada. I also got name reconition in the book.

Just heard from a Premium subscriber who downloaded Victoria's CREST information and once he got there found it was all wrong in the RR data base. Do you think the Scan B.C. crew who have it right are going to send in a correction to RR. I don't think so.

Scanning is like fishing. Most are in it for the adventure, weather, companionship and the sport of catching a fish. Some fisherman do not eat their fish and throw them all back.

But if you want only to eat fish without all the fun, like in Scanning, buy the Home Patrol and get the fish with nothing else. You'll get the RR Database which I agree is in the area of 75 per cent correct.
You'll never have the satisfaction of catching that elusive frequency you have been hoping to find.
But instead you can sit back and wait for the next RR update which are few and far between and help pay the owner of radio reference to be able to access certain premium functions. And the info you supplied for free in posts gets sold to Uniden and GRE for large sums.

RR is still a useful resource. I had never heard STARS until yesterday and only found the frequency because it was listed in the forums here. Same goes for the Edmonton EDACS tables. I would never have guessed them by myself - especially since I moved from Europe where 800Mhz trunking was not as common. I had never heard of EDACS, let alone know anything about LCN etc.

I guess it is like anything. Consider the GPL used in Linux distros. You are free to download a free CD of linux and sell it for whatever price you like despite the fact it is freely available, providing you include the source code.

When any info is provided for free, anyone can take it and do as they please with it. However I do agree with you gents that those who contribute verified frequencies should at least get access to the downloads free (or a gratis premium membership).

Happy scanning!

 

[harryshute]

You'll get no arguement from me that RR is a useful reference. I must also say I envy Lindsay Blanton for the success he is enjoying.

You did a good job in looking back at the forums and database once you moved here. Some just subscribe and starting shooting out questions that have been answered many times before. Or they ask for everything I need to Monitor Edmonton. It helps to be a bit more specific.

rabrol I look forward to hearing from you on RR.

 

[electricsheep]

RR is still a useful resource. I had never heard STARS until yesterday and only found the frequency because it was listed in the forums here. Same goes for the Edmonton EDACS tables. I would never have guessed them by myself -

Welcome to Edm Rabrol...
As a fellow transplant here from Europe, I know what you mean, EVERYTHING over here is different... But half the fun of scanning is the elusive "search" functions of scanners than nobody seems to use. At least you would never think they use it, as you hardly ever see lists posted here of frequencies found during band searches asking if anyone knows what they are. My advice to people new to the area, start the searching and then hang on those frequencies for a while and figure it out who they are... and for God's sake use the TAFL. Technical and Administrative Frequency Lists - Home

Half the fun is learning... I remember when I was a newbie to trunking and the BC245 came out, I had no idea where to start, but muddled through and figured it out in a couple of days.

And as for the RR database, I think 75% is being way too generous sometimes, especially for Edmonton and area. And agree there is little incentive to contribute to it. There definitely needs to be some kind of rewards program and then maybe there would be a flood of accurate info.