sunfireguy
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Does anyone have the info for union gas???? in Ontario
Union Gas
- Thread starter sunfireguy
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Like what?
IIRC, they refer to 162.6900 as Pipeline and it's a common frequency across Ontario.
For the other frequencies, check TAFL. I'm sure they're all listed.
IIRC, they refer to 162.6900 as Pipeline and it's a common frequency across Ontario.
For the other frequencies, check TAFL. I'm sure they're all listed.
sunfireguy said:
I haven't been able to find them at all. Maybe I will go park by their place with CC on and see what I find. I will keep listening to police and fire for when there's a gas line hit, and then search out kelcom to see if they're on it.
photodreamer said:
They would definitely not be on Kelcom. Keep in mind that Union Gas is pretty much a province wide system so whatever communications they have must be standard across the province.
I did a search on TAFL for Union Gas and came up with a whole pile of vhf frequencies. There's quite a list licenced out of the London Industry Canada office so I would start with those.
Mike_Oxlong said:
Why not? Our Enwin Powerlines here is on kelcom and it's got powerlines all over the place. If a hydro company is on kelcom, why not a gas company? It's most likely they're on a trunk system. Don't see why they would use some old form of communication. No one seems to around here anymore.
I've heard people on kelcom talking about gas meters. Just haven't heard enough talk to find out more.
sunfireguy said:
a bunch turned up here for my area.
http://sd.ic.gc.ca/pls/eng_alpha/we...ON, DATA COMM&admin_do=44&company_cd=80001229
never knew this page existed till i saw it in the links from our yahoo group
http://sd.ic.gc.ca/pls/eng_alpha/web_search.licensee_name_input
pretty helpful
photodreamer said:
From what I can tell from the web, Enwin Powerlines handles things in the Windsor area. From their website:
ENWIN Powerlines, Windsor's local distribution company, is responsible for the transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the service and maintenance of Windsor’s powerline infrastructure.
So their communications need would be very local compared to a company such as Union Gas. From Union Gas' website:
Union Gas Limited is a major Canadian natural gas utility that provides energy delivery and related services to about 1.2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in over 400 communities in northern, southwestern and eastern Ontario. Its distribution service area extends throughout northern Ontario from the Manitoba border to the North Bay/Muskoka area, through southwestern Ontario from Windsor to just west of Toronto, and across eastern Ontario from Port Hope to Cornwall.
Your assumption that they are on a trunk just because you think conventional vhf systems are old is ridiculous. Conventional communcations work for companies that need large area coverage. Toss in some sort of backbone and you've got instant communications almost anywhere. The railways have used it for years so it must still be good for something.
If they are trying to keep things common across their network, then having the Windsor crews go to a system that provides local coverage only would mean two radios per truck.
Keep in mind that Union Gas installed an 800Mhz data system years ago as well. A lot of the crews are dispatched through that. The VHF day to day operations channels are vhf repeaters.
Most utility companies in this area have stuck with conventional systems. This also includes Ontario Hydro. They're still using lowband and cellphones.
Stick in those VHF frequencies from TAFL (you did bother to look them up?) and let us know what you hear.
Mike_Oxlong said:
Well, I'm just saying this from what I've seen happen here over the years. Nearly everyone has gone to kelcom. Many more are just using MIKE on their cell phones. So many old frequencies are dead. I checked the site I linked to in the above post reply though and entered in all the windsor frequencies mentioned there, so I will monitor them and see what I hear talk on.
photodreamer said:
You seem to be missing my point. Kelcom provides local communications for a small part of Southwestern Ontario. Union Gas has a need for a system that covers a much, much larger section of Ontario.
It would be like suggesting that the railroads that travel through the area switch to Kelcom as well. Don't think that would work to well outside of Kelcom's coverage area.
The other large distributor of gas in Ontario would be Enbridge. Take a look at their system which is located in the database here. They use an EDACS system which covers a large portion of the province.
More then likely, meter reading is contracted out and the company doing the meter reading in the area is using Kelcom.
Mike_Oxlong said:
Thanks, I understood your point though. When I see older frequencies I just have my doubts since when I search them they never seem active anymore. TAFL never seems to remove them either and has many frequencies that have since changed. So I put them in and will search them and see if I hear any talk. I tried searching for Bell Canada last night too, for like their telephone technicians but all that site had was some toronto frequencies and nothing really local. So again, maybe a provincewide thing or local area, who knows. Till we actually hear something it's always up in the air. : ) I just returned to scanning after being away from it since the early 80s. So that's why I keep running into a wall since my old lists seem to be useless, but I'm glad some are still using the old frequencies they did years ago.
Since Union Gas has an mdt type system they don't have much need for voice comm's anymore.
Bell Canada is still somewhat active in the 152-153Mhz band using the old IMTS system.
However, for the most part, they use a cell phone or they clip onto the closest telephone line and dial in.
The last Bell tech I worked with had a laptop and received his dispatches on that.
Rogers Cable tech's have done away with voice communications for the most part and use computers on the Rogers Wireless data network.
No need for ancient uhf trunking technology :wink:
Bell Canada is still somewhat active in the 152-153Mhz band using the old IMTS system.
However, for the most part, they use a cell phone or they clip onto the closest telephone line and dial in.
The last Bell tech I worked with had a laptop and received his dispatches on that.
Rogers Cable tech's have done away with voice communications for the most part and use computers on the Rogers Wireless data network.
No need for ancient uhf trunking technology :wink:
Mike_Oxlong said:
Yup, I was just asking in my group for Bell and Cogeco we have here, not Rogers. Last time one of their guys was here was years ago. He seemed to have this wireless computer device. Something like the UPS guys have you sign, but it had all this line data info on it and stuff.
I'll still try to search though once it gets cooler. Too hot out there today.
Are you part of the Hamsexy group? Saw their video from the Hamvention which was fun. I missed out going this year, but hope to go to the next one.
DaveH
Member
Mike_Oxlong said:
Rogers Cable vehicles in the Ottawa area used to have four or five antennas; VHF simplex, 900MHz Mobitex, cellular, and UHF. They were, and may still be, one of the biggest users on TimeMCI's UHF MPT-1327 system, which is...UHF trunking. I haven't listened for awhile so maybe they've cut down or even moved off.
Dave
A lot of times the vhf antenna was for a scanner which they used to spot cable leakage sites. They usually inject a signal into the system and see if they can hear it. Brantford's was around 108Mhz and could sometimes be heard wiping out the old CING-FM on 107.9Mhz in certain areas of town.
Rogers Cable around here had one vhf simplex channel with a base station located at Edgar on top of the head end tower and another repeater located over on Blue Mountain. Both are pretty much silent these days.
Rogers Cable around here had one vhf simplex channel with a base station located at Edgar on top of the head end tower and another repeater located over on Blue Mountain. Both are pretty much silent these days.
mrweather said:You can hear leaky cable on 145.250'ish also.
Ticks us ham radio guys off to no end!
i was listening to 147.060 or something last week too and i swear when someone would let go of their key in i could hear tv too... not sure what's up with that. was listening to the ham net here in windsor.
jellotor
Member
Mike_Oxlong said:
That would be at Banks...they still have their VHF frequencies and use them from time to time when the laptops conk out. Of course, there's still the most important use for the radios: "Joe to Bob...coffee in fifteen minutes?"
When I worked for the community channel up there (Collingwood) we'd use the VHF frequency occaisionally on nights and weekends if we had a larger event with a few vehicles involved. Still, all we seemed to say was: "Joe to Bob...can you pick up six large coffees on your way back?"
Sigh.
Close to Banks but not quite and I'm pretty sure the repeater was unplugged the last time I was at the site.
You must know Doug then?
You must know Doug then?
jellotor
Member
Do I ever know Dougie. Logged a lot of hours in my 'formative years' under his wing. Mention Graeme if you're speaking to him and I'm sure he'll regale you with a mittfull of stories about the various elections, hockey games, Ride for Sight parades and god knows what else we did together. Oh, and ski jumping at Blue, too. Any stories involving beer are probably true.
As for the repeater, you're probably right about it not being in use. I know last time I listened in when I was in Owen Sound the trucks were still using the simplex frequency to talk to each other. Someone told me they were keeping all the gear together as a fail safe.
At the risk of sounding harsh, listening to cable techs do their work orders over a repeater is hardly what I would consider interesting...right up there with taxis. Go nuts if you're into it, though, I say.
As for the repeater, you're probably right about it not being in use. I know last time I listened in when I was in Owen Sound the trucks were still using the simplex frequency to talk to each other. Someone told me they were keeping all the gear together as a fail safe.
At the risk of sounding harsh, listening to cable techs do their work orders over a repeater is hardly what I would consider interesting...right up there with taxis. Go nuts if you're into it, though, I say.
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jellotor said:
Alot can be heard while listening to the taxi's especially when they're picking up people after a night out at the bars. You'd be suprised what goes on inside a cab on the ride home. It's fun to listen to the drivers tell each other that someone had left a 'pocket rocket' in the back of the van etc....
Friday and Saturday night taxi chatter can be interesting.
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