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Bill's This present website is intended to share with
others my eclectic interests in radio and other things but is also for
myself, in order to easily access from anywhere my information and links. For
every topic here there are people here in the Maritimes who are more active
and knowledgeable than I am. Unlike my former page where I at least
tried to be complete and up to date, and was stressed when it wasn't, this
one is what it is, with some things not so up to date, and with no
expectations on myself. This site is not intended to be a depository
of lists, but more so a place to find out about radio topics of
interest. You will find that my pages tend to go beyond lists of
frequencies to describe and explain the why's and wherefore's and backgrounds
of the information. This website replaces my previous Maritimes
Scanning Site that encompassed the complete world of scanning VHF and UHF
radio in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. At one
time this was THE place to go for scanning information in the Maritimes, but
it got too big for me, and not as immediate as the forum site. Some parts of
the former site are available via Littlemac, linked to the right, and
reportedly also via ScanMaritimes. Please note that any pages you
encounter (other than here) that appear to be from the former Maritimes
Scanning Site are no longer presented or maintained by me. Some pages
from the past site may be seen elsewhere but also still remain here as well. Thank
you to so many of you for your contributions to the Maritimes Scanning Site
over the past ten years, with the highest honours in the formative years
going to Al and Matt, and later Nick and Mac in particular for New Brunswick
pages, but with quite a few others that were steady correspondents and
contributors for at least a while. Sorry I cannot name you all, and
some of you would not want to be named! The project was a great source of
enjoyment to me and I hope useful to you. I remain interested in
scanning in general but now do not listen much, and and am no longer able to
maintain up-to-date informational pages. I still welcome
questions and comments re any aspect of the hobby via: marscan1 AT gmail.com MY OWN INTERESTS CURRENTLY ARE: Aeronautical (my main listening) and VHF fire. I really only listen to other things if there is something going on in my vicinity. Other than actual listening I am very interested in the structure and usage of the spectrum, such as band plans and frequency lists, even if I never actually hear them in use. A comment regarding "tones". Some lists here include CTCSS or DCS settings. These may not be of any interest to you, but some listeners may wish to enter them so as to positively identify stations when there may be others using the same frequency but a different tone. Using tones also helps to avoid interference from off-frequency sources such as pagers and television transmitters. |
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SITE NEWS: CAPE BRETON FIRE UPDATES DECEMBER 9/11. CUMBERLAND FIRE UPDATES NOVEMBER 20/11
HMCS Restigouche DDE(IRE) 257. Call
letters CZDE, Tactical Call Sign: "Route". Amateur Radio Call Letters:
VE0NA. Now lying peacefully on the bottom off Acapulco, Mexico.
Flight Simulator Bulletin! December 20: I am at the Rochester, Minnesota Airport. See the bottom of this page for a short description of what I am doing. Currently I am on a zigzag southbound leg originating at Churchill, Manitoba and heading to New Orleans, LA. I am flying in Minnesota, with Iowa soon to come. |
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Looking for a scanner, antenna, cable, computer or more? Check out this local small business whose owner is an active member of the Maritimes radio hobby:
His primary business is deejay services but may be able to help you get just what the scanner or antenna you want!
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Search Industry Canada's TAFL |
Portland Maine Radar (see what weather is coming), Bangor Weather.
Link to Highway conditions,
weather, gas prices, etc. in Maine |
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Hepburn's DX Information Centre, including predictions for tropospheric ducting. If you are looking for a lift, this is where to go! |
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Bill's Aeronautical Listening Pages I have the double interest of radio and aircraft! During my long daily commute Sept 2009 to June 2011 I passed by Halifax airport and stopped for a while to watch if the weather was good. The aero band is my most-listened aspect of radio. Others in the Halifax area are even more into this than I am!
Re Halifax airport, runway 05/23 the longer one shown above is currently being extended farther to the left. Enfield is shown in the centre background. Start
here: General outline of the Aero Scene in the Halifax area and the
Maritimes. Aero Frequency List for the Maritimes compiled by Bill
Bill's maps showing high level and low level airspace control
frequencies in our region. Aero Call Signs List What airline is Jetlink 2851 and other questions answered. Timetable of scheduled flights in and out of Halifax Stanfield International. Current March 2010. compiled by Bill. Out of date the minute it is compiled but still gives a good picture of what happens daily. Steep and Fast: Departures from Halifax Learn about the sequence of events on departure, about reporting points, and see the frequency maps of the Maritimes.
Approaches to Halifax. (Read the departures page first) A basic guide to inbound flights and those weird clearances such as to ODKAS and VOKIL, and what is ILS and a localizer back course?? Also includes a map of major reporting points. With more to follow.
U.S. Military Aerial Refueling over Nova Scotia This is a very common occurrence.
Runway designations. What does Runway 35 really mean? and why did the designations at Halifax change a while back? Read all about runways here.
Civil registration marks such as C-GBDF and N234TF. Favourite Aero Links www.flightaware.com Flightaware is wonderful. You can check on flights in and out of any airport in various ways. Check it out. I use it a lot!
NTSB (United States National Transportation Safety Board) reports on incidents. This has reports on all aviation incidents that the NTSB has been involved in since 1962. This includes some incidents outside the USA in which for some reason the NTSB played an official role. Very interesting as it gives more details on accidents and incidents than you would find in the press.
Canadian Aeronautical Communications Website, which covers the country with frequency information, along with airline fleet lists, and a log of unusual aircraft movements in the Ontario area.
YYZ News. Despite its YYZ (Toronto) title, this approximately weekly digest covers aeronatautical news from across Canada. Keep in touch with what airlines serving Canada are planning and doing, and as other air industry news VATCAN Moncton This is one of many sites from around the world established for the benefit of serious flight simulation enthusiasts. This site provides airport maps, along with diagrams of standard approaches and departures at the major airports in the Maritimes, all of which originate in Nav Canada publications and reproduced superbly at the simulator site. Nav Canada's Airport Diagram Site. See a chart of practically any significant airport in Canada.
Link to LiveATC.net (aero) live streaming many areas of the world
· Halifax Stanfield International official site www.hiaa.ca · Moncton Airport official site. · Fredericton airport official site. · Saint John airport official site. · Charlottetown airport official site. · Sydney airport official site. · Yarmouth airport official site. |
Bill's VHF Marine Band and Weatheradio Listening Pages I don't really listen a lot to the marine band these days, except when I am near the ocean, but when I am it is a must! Start here for a description of the VHF marine band, especially in relation to Canada, and a channel by channel guide to this region.
Marine and Weather Radio Links
CCG Radio Aids to Marine Navigation
now called "All Hazards Radio"
NOAA's
Charts of the US Coasts,
Port of Halifax website, with daily berthing and sailing reports
Shipfax - shipping news blog from Halifax Tugfax - tugs blog from Halifax Armchair Captain - another Halifax shipping blog Shipspotting.com a worldwide ship photo site Hurricane Havens Handbook - descriptions of many ports along the Atlantic coast including an interesting description of Halifax |
Various radio systems and topics of interest to me. 800 MHz band plan for Canada and specific use of frequencies in the Maritimes
Nova Scotia Fire Dept frequencies and systems. Nova Scotia Police. This section outlines what are the police services in NS and details those that remain on VHF (no details on HRP or RCMP) Nova Scotia’s provincial radio systems: the TMR and NSIMRS. Check here for extensive descriptions of these systems. Please note that while the TMR description is lengthy, you will have to go to ScanMaritimes or RadioReference for talk group lists.
Maritime Radio
Communications Initiative, also known as TMR2 Listening to the Railways of the Maritimes Bill's Atlas of NS showing radio sites Calculating bearings and distances Bill's Call Letters page. A peculiar fascination of mine Codes used in radio.. ten, Q, CW etc Historical about the old Mobile Telephone Service and the
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Amateur Radio in the Halifax and Surrounding area I am not very active in amateur radio but there is always
the hope for the future. Some Links of Interest (most of these in turn link to other sites) Halifax Amateur Radio Club (HARC) Paul's VE1DY Website with its own links Ron's VE1CRA website, again with many useful links |
Bill's
Broadcast Listening Pages I have just recently installed a UB-33 High VHF/UHF television antenna and amp, aimed at the US eastern seaboard, and hope to catch some American digital signals DX. The nearest station is over 300 km away from me. A long shot but let's see what happens! So far zippo! You ought to see Bill Hepburn's shots of tv signals he has received.. fantastic.. see link at top centre. AM, FM, TV Start here Sorry, I do not cover international
shortwave broadcasting! Current list of FM broadcast stations in the
Maritimes and Broadcast Links
TVFool. See what the closest tv stations to you are, with distances and azimuth, and more. Meant as an aid to DTV reception but great for DX'ers
Northeast Radio Watch. Scott Fybush's weekly roundup of all happenings in NE USA and in Ontario and east in Canada. Excellent!
Recent Broadcast Decisions from the CRTC Northwest Broadcasters (AM, FM, TV developments and Lists from the Seattle/Vancouver area) (I am from there, that's why!) Ontario
DX Association. The #1 Canada-oriented shortwave listeners
club, but there may be some AM and VHF info here too. Worldwide TV-FM DX Association (WTFDA) This is the top club for those interested in TV, FM and related DX'ing...including up to the minute forums on ducting and other skip phenomena) Digital Home's Digital Forum. Canadian site. I go here mostly for the OTA (Over the Air) reception discussion.
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Webcams of particular interest to me Highway Conditions and Weather NS Highway Webcams index page Lake
Charlotte Webcam Highway 7 Bedford/Sackville Interchange Highway 102 close to home
Halifax Harbour: Harbour and Halifax from Dartmouth side Pier 21 showing cruise ships (if any) Harbour..looking out to entrance
Halifax Stanfield International Airport: Halifax Aiport: a view from the terminal towards jct 05 and 14
Close to where grew up: Parksville Beach, Vancouver Island
Canadian Airport Weather Cameras
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Equipment Suppliers Littlemac Custom Computers & Electronics (see top of page) Local seller of scanners, antennas, computers, etc Radio Shack (USA)
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Go here for a laugh, updated daily. The Customer is Not Always Right |
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Flight Simulator Description: I am in the middle of an ambitious plan to tour North America on Flight Simulator! This is no ordinary tour that visits a few airports around the continent. My plan is to visit not only all major airports, i.e. those currently with control towers, but also all airfields still in existence that are or were at one time military airfields, including those in use during World War II. Some of those wartime fields no longer exist so I can't visit those, but all in all I will be visiting well over a thousand airfields. I am using Flight Simulator 2002 and flying the basic aircraft, the Cessna 172. While I like the idea of adding in rain and wind and flying at night I do not do so because I do not want to miss any of the scenery! In fact I am mostly interested in visiting these airports and "seeing" the land along the way. Sure the 172 is slow, so on long flights I double or quadruple the speed of the simulation! I use radio aids when I can, e.g. NDB's, VOR's and ILS. I have not been using GPS but plan to do so before I am through. My plan is being carried out by way of long sections or legs. I began at Inuvik, Northwest Territories and headed west along the north shore of Alaska, and down the west side with a side trip over to Siberia, then south and southwest to the tip of the Aleutians and again over to Siberia, then back up the Aleutians, over to Whitehorse and down along the Alaska Panhandle and BC coast. Essentially after that I have flown south legs to the Mexican border then north legs into northern Canada, alternating. As of December 2011 I have already covered the Western mountains (that was fun!) and the western most part of the plains. I am flying south now on a zig-zag leg from Churchill, Manitoba to New Orleans, Louisiana. On the whole due to the flat terrain this area is not as enjoyable as in the mountains. Some of what I did in the mountains was unrealistic for the real Cessna 172, such as flying via the 12000 foot Independence Pass (that I have had the pleasure of driving over in real life) and landing at the highest airport in North America at Lead, Colorado (10000 feet). After I reach Churchill, the next leg will be south to New Orleans, and so on. When I reach western Florida I will then start a major divergence to fly around the rim of the Gulf of Mexico counter-clockwise to visit only the very large city airports in Mexico, Central America and along the shores of Colombia and Venezuela and up the West Indies back to Florida and resume my north and south legs. Eventually I will reach CFS Alert, Nunavut and will finish off with a south leg along Greenland to end at Keflavik, Iceland. This will be a natural start for a European project; however that will be quite a while in the future. I have already been flying this North American tour for over two years, off and on, mostly in the winter seasons and in terms of numbers of airports visited I am not yet half way through. As I fly I usually just touch and go at most airports and land and stop only at the end of a daily session. As I fly I use actual FAA and Nav Canada charts, as well as the website www.airnav.com. I also in most cases read about the airports on wiki and historical sites, and use the airphotos on line to see the land and airports, better than what appears on the rather rudimentary (though still amazing) detail of FS2002. It is amazing how much I have learned in doing this, not that I am claiming it is important information, but for a traveller and geographer like me it has been a lot of fun doing this. |
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