MARITIMES SCANNING SITE

OTHER TRUNKING SYSTEMS IN HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA

last updated ,  February 6, 2003

It is not a priority of the MSS to investigate, monitor or list purely commmercial communications, due to lack of interest.  While there are many businesses operating on VHF, 400 MHz UHF and more recently on 800 MHz, most are of less interest than public safety organizations.   Businesses using communications include newspapers, cable companies, towing, security, construction and other contracting, trucking and courier, taxi, oil delivery, maintenance, and the list goes on and on.  Clearly some of these may be of more interest than others, and submissions from readers are welcome.

One aspect of business communications that will be of interest to many, due to the method used rather than the content, is 800 MHz trunking.   There are four known 800 MHz trunk systems in Halifax.   The city-owned 2-site trunk is covered on its own page, and the much larger Aliant-operated TMRS used by many public-safety and government agencies is dealt with extensively on several pages.   The TMRS does include some business communications on a secondary basis.  The other two systems are the Dalhousie University system and Aliant's "other" trunk dedicated to business communications.

Dalhousie University Trunk (an EDACS system)

Information on this system is from the TAFL and from an interested listener.

Dalhousie or "Dal" is the largest university in Nova Scotia but is by no means vast by Canadian standards.   It covers a fairly wide area of Halifax in several separated campuses and residential facilities and operates its own security and maintenance systems, both of which require reliable communications.  Why Dalhousie chose to inaugurate a trunk system is unknown, as own the surface it would appear that a regular repeater system would have been adequate.

This is an EDACS system, which can of course be listened to on a regular 800 MHz scanner.  However if you want to follow communications jumping from frequency to frequency you must have a trunktracker capable of following EDACS and you must enter the frequencies in a certain order.  When programming an EDACS system, the channels mut be put in specific places in a bank, and in a specific order. If they are not programmed in the correct way, you will not hear any conversations. You may get only noise, or you may get only parts of conversations.

The Dalhousie Trunked system is a 3 channel system:  one data channel, and two voice channels. These three channels MUST be entered in the first three channels of a bank. An EDACS control channel directs your scanner not to a frequency when a talkgroup is activated, but to a specific channel in your bank which that talkgroup will be on. So, if you have another service in channel one, and you put this EDACS system in channels 2, 3 and 4, every time someone keys up and the control channel points the scanner to channel one, you will hear the other service instead of the conversation you wish to hear.

The repeater(s) for this system are all located right on campus at Dalhousie but the exact location is unknown.

The three frequencies are as follows, and must be entered in channels
one, two and three of a bank, as indicated.

1.) 858.2125
2.) 858.4625 - Control Channel
3.) 858.7125

Talkgroups (possibly a partial list)


00-012 - Security
00-013 - Security

00-021 - Maintenance
00-022 - Maintenance
00-023 - Maintenance

00-031 - Maintenance??
00-032 - Maintenance??

00-041 - Undetermined
00-042 - Undetermined 

Aliant Telecom's SMR (a Motorola Type II system)

Information on this system is courtesy of Matt

This is Aliant's system dedicated to business communications in the Halifax area.  It is not known at this time whether or not it extends beyond Halifax, or could do so in the future.

There is apparently only one repeater for this system, on Geizers Hill
in Halifax, however coverage of the Halifax/Dartmouth city seems to be
good.   Because this is a type II system, no fleet map is required for entry into your trunktracking scanner.

Frequencies:
853.9875
854.4875
856.2375
856.4875
856.7375
857.2375
858.2375
858.4875
858.7375 - Control Channel heard
858.9875 - Control Channel heard
859.2375

The control channel may alternate between the two listed or perhaps with other frequencies in the group.

Note that there are frequencies missing that might be expected to be part of the system: 854.2375, 854.7375, 854.9875, any of the same sequence in the 855 range,, 856.9875, etc etc, etc.  Either these are restricted frequencies or they are in reserve for future expansion.

Talkgroup ID’s

0978 - Unknown
1424 - Towing
1488 - Unknown
1552 - Courier
1616 - Unknown
2064 - Unknown
2320 - Plowing Ops Heard - Several mentions of Carroll Pontiac -
possibly car lot plows
2896 - Construction
3120 - Unknown
3152 - Deliveries
3216 - Plowing
4304 - Courier Company
4496 - Oil Delivery
4512 - Heating Company (mention of Water Heaters and Furnaces)
4624 - Pickups, Deliveries. Unknown.
4640 - Unknown
4688 - Unknown - related to cars, parts and deliveries.
5520 - Locksmith
6416 - Heavy Equipment - Plowing Operations
7568 - Deliveries
8592 - Unknown
13456 - Data/Encrypted
13840 - Tire Company
13920 - Unknown
14096 - Furnace Repair
14160 - Delivery Service (Possibly container pier)
14192 - Unknown
15120 - Food Delivery
15184 - Garbage Pickup
15760 - Pickup Propane Tanks mentioned
16336 - Possible Plumbing, mention of deliveries as well.
20032 - Unknown
21824 - Unknown
21840 - Unknown
22144 - Marine
22160 - Marine - Same Company as 22144
22176 - Unknown
22592 - Towing
22608 - Towing
22624 - Trucks loaded at Halterm
29248 - Oil Delivery
34944 - Fuel Delivery (incl. Diesel and Oil)
34976 - Oil
34992 - Unknown
35008 - Fuel Delivery
35024 - Fuel Delivery
35072 - Data/Encrypted
35200 - Unknown
35216 - Unknown
35232 - Furnace Cleaning/Repair
35248 - Heater Repair
35280 - Unknown
35296 - Furnace Repair
35968 - Data/Encrypted
35984 - Data/Encrypted
39040 - Data/Encrypted
39168 - Fuel Delivery/Furnaces
39184 - Unknown