NS Trunked Mobile Radio System (TMR) System Introduction
Last updated February 16, 2008
©
2008, MARITIMES SCANNING SITE, all rights reserved
Please
note that information presented here and in the associated pages is a
combination of information made available publicly by the Nova Scotia government
or by Industry Canada as well as observations made by myself and other
listeners.
This page describes the system and goes on to suggest some ways to listen to it. You will also need talkgroup id's linked below, and you may wish also to add the non-trunked frequencies that are associated with the TMR, also linked below.
|
Talk
group ID lists: Non-digital |
|
NS Government's official website. |
The Nova Scotia Trunked Mobile Radio System (TMR or less commonly TMRS for short) is operated by Bell Canada, (this name replaces that of Aliant Telecom, a branch of the primary landline telephone provider and major cell-phone company in the Maritime Provinces and in Newfoundland). The system went into service in late 2000 in partnership with the government of the province of Nova Scotia, which is by far the biggest user. Please note that the term Aliant will continue to be used until I edit it to Bell. The contract with Nova Scotia will expire in 2010, and there is no certainty that the arrangement would continue beyond that time. As of late 2007 there was considerable speculation that this system is already past its half-life and something else, unknown at present, is on the horizon.
Usage:
The four most predominant users of the TMR system are: the Nova Scotia provincial government including the privately operated province-wide ambulance system, the Nova Scotia division of the RCMP, and the Halifax Regional Municipality. The following more detailed list is of agencies or categories of agencies using the trunk entirely or very significantly:
| HRM Police (including RCMP Halifax District Detachment) [all digital with some encrypted] | HRM Fire (except pages which are on VHF). Also includes communications with Mount Uniacke, Hubbards and Enfield Fire, which are not in HRM. |
| RCMP Nova Scotia [all digital, with some encrypted]. J Division HQ in Fredericton is also capable. | NS provincial and local EMO, plus Red Cross and Ground Search and Rescue. (Some areas also use VHF and/or 400 MHz) |
| NS Government Departments [some DNR conservation is digital, partially encrypted] | HRM Transit (except actual bus communications, which are on 400 MHz) |
| HRM Works and Property Services | NS EHS (ambulance and hospital system) |
| Truro, NS, Police dispatch | Fredericton City Police, Fire and other services |
| All Nova Scotia town police departments have TMR for liaison with the RCMP and possibly each other. | A large and varied number of commercial users in Nova Scotia, and likely in the Fredericton area. |
| CFB Halifax (Military Police encrypted, plus Fire, Medical, Commissionaires, and some other uses digital unencrypted). Also some users CFB Greenwood | Possible other federal users in Nova Scotia, including Parks Canada, Border Service, Fisheries, etc. Most of these communications are unconfirmable and unlistenable due to encryption. |
A
thorough but not complete list of users is incorporated into the talk group id
list available on this site. The commercial users operate on a
secondary priority basis, which means that if the system is overtaxed, the
public service users take priority. Some of these
commercial users are identified in the tg id list as well; however most of these
are not yet identified by listeners.
1. The Short and Sweet Description. Enough to get you listening:
First here is a map of the system. This map, from the early days of the system colour-codes sites by number of channels; however this is out of date except in a relative sort of way. Excluded are the 3 sites in Fredericton and the added site just east of Shubenacadie at Chaswood.
The TMR is a network of 69 towers or sites throughout Nova Scotia but also including three sites in the Fredericton, New Brunswick area. This description assumes that you know what trunking is, but does not include any un-needed system details. If you have a scanner with control channel mode, then all you need to know are the control channel frequencies. The sites must have set of frequencies that differ from other sites in the vicinity, and for this to happen there are 16 different sets. As long as you know the control channel frequency and the alternate control channel frequency for the site or sites you wish to monitor and enter these into your scanner, you will be fine. Of course this assumes you also have talk groups entered as well, or are using search (open) mode.
Here are the control and alternate control frequencies. Keep in mind that for most sites the alternate seems to be rarely used, but you should have it entered just in case. A few sites, particularly those around Halifax do use the alternate quite often (no predictable pattern that I know of) and you cannot do without them around Halifax. Do not worry about the designation column. You can see that for complete listening coverage if you were travelling the province you need a total of 32 frequencies entered into your scanner (four each for groups 1 to 7, plus 2 each for groups 8 and 10 ..... there are no Group 9 control channels)
| DESIG* | CONTROL CHANNEL |
ALTERNATE CONTROL CHANNEL |
SITES |
| 1A | 860.0125 | 860.2625 | Ecum Secum, North Mtn*, Loch Lomond*, Wakeup Hill, Belliveau Lk |
| 2A | 860.0375 | 860.2875 | Caledonia, Chaswood, Rear Big Hill* |
| 3A | 860.0625 | 860.3125 | Hebron, Aulds Cove, Cape Smokey*, Queensland, Londonderry, Central Clarence |
| 4A | 860.0875 | 860.3375 | Martock, Middle East Pubnico, Coxheath*, Chaplin |
| 5A | 860.1125 | 860.3625 | Meteghan, Kiltarlity*, Tangier, Hebbville |
| 6A | 860.1375 | 860.3875 | Maritime Centre (Halifax downtown), Glace Bay*, Barrington, Nuttby Mtn, Popple Hill (Fredericton) |
| 7A | 860.1625 | 860.4125 | Musquodoboit Hbr, North Side East Bay*, Fairmount, Belleville South, New Germany, Claremont |
| 8A | 860.1875 | 860.4375 | Geizers Hill (Halifax), Maryland Hill (Fredericton) |
| 10A | 860.2375 | 860.4875 | Preston, Blomidon |
| 1B | 861.2625 | 861.5125 | Hilden, Lundy, Cape North*, Inverness*, Prospect, Dalhousie |
| 2B | 861.2875 | 861.5375 | Sackville, Sutherlands Bog, Liverpool, Lower Middle River* |
| 3B | 861.3125 | 861.5625 | Cheticamp*, Tantallon, Wentworth, Eaton Lake |
| 4B | 861.3375 | 861.5875 | Ellershouse, Granite Village, Melrose, Silverwood (Fredericton) |
| 5B | 861.3625 | 861.6125 | Marshalltown, Louisbourg*, Marinette, Amherst?,Wharton? |
| 6B | 861.3875 | 861.6375 | Shelburne, Aldersville, Brookland, Kingsville* |
| 7B | 861.4125 | 861.6625 | Shubenacadie, Boularderie*, Piedmont, East Kemptville, Sellars Brook |
| *sites marked with an
asterisk are located on
Cape Breton Island
Note: While Amherst and Wharton are listed in 5B, it is possible that one of these sites is actually in the 5 A group. First-hand observation of both is requested. |
|||
2. The more complicated description, with much information you do not really need for listening. If you do not have a control channel mode trunktracking scanner you will need the detailed frequency information presented here.
The System:
This is
not intended to be a technical description. The TMR is a two-zone Motorola Smart-Zone
system that covers the province of Nova Scotia using a network of 69 sites.
Incidental coverage extends to nearby areas of New Brunswick and Prince Edward
Island; however it is thought that there are no authorized users based in those
areas. There are also three sites in the vicinity of Fredericton, New
Brunswick, where there is a contract with the city. Zone 1 consists of Western
and Northwest Nova Scotia. Zone 2 is the Northeast and Cape Breton
Island, as well as the New Brunswick sites. For the casual listener,
the concept of zones is of no relevance as there is only one list of talk group
id’s for the whole system, and mobile listening is seamless. All
major users have two-zone capability. The
sites are computer controlled from Halifax and connected by fibre optic cable.
Most sites are collocated with previously constructed Aliant cell phone towers,
typically the very tall towers with multiple red flashing lights, but note
that there most of these cell phone towers are not also TMR sites.
Frequencies are discussed in detail below but may be summarized as being the
block of frequencies from 860.0125 MHz to 862.4875 MHz (plus the corresponding
input frequencies); however a few overtaxed sites now have additional
frequencies in the 858 and/or 859 range. All sites have at least
four frequencies consisting of a primary control frequency or channel (CC), an
alternate or secondary CC (ACC) that normally operates as a voice channel (VC),
and at least two other frequencies that are always voice channels. Some
sites have many more voice channels, as many as fourteen around the
Halifax area. My observations are that the busier sites do
alternate between the CC and ACC but no time or date pattern has been discerned.
Some of the sites outside of the Halifax area have been observed using the ACC,
but it is thought that this is relatively uncommon. As is detailed below,
there are 9 sets or groups of frequencies in use with 7 of these divided into
upper and lower halves. This means that there are in theory 16 different
CC’s and 16 ACC’s associated in the system. A mobile listener who
wished to cover the system could enter these 32 CC/ACC’s into one or more
scanner banks and be sure to have all sites. There are some pitfalls
in this method covered in the listening guide farther down this page.
List of sites, indicating
area of service
Site numbers will be of
interest to those using analysis software. Official call
signs are only relevant to those who listen with conventional scanners, in which
case CW identifiers can be heard on occasion, and this may aid in identifying
what site is being monitored. Sites are listed in
order of frequency group. Frequencies are presented in more detail farther down this page.
Alternate control channels are invariably 0.2500 MHz higher than the Control Channels shown. For example if the CC is 860.0125, the ACC will be 860.0125 + .2500 = 860.2625.
Zone 1 (System ID is 6939)
|
Site # |
Location |
Area Served |
Region |
Frequency |
Control Ch |
Call Sign |
|
18 |
Belliveau Lake |
Weymouth
|
WEST |
1A |
860.0125 |
XKB842 |
|
15 |
Dalhousie |
SE Annapolis |
WEST |
1B |
861.2625 |
XKB837 |
|
32 |
Wakeup Hill |
Chester |
WEST |
1A |
860.0125 |
XKB863 |
|
36 |
Prospect |
SW Hfx Metro |
HALIFAX |
1B |
861.2625 |
XKB804 |
|
45 |
Ecum Secum |
Ecum Secum |
EAST |
1A |
860.0125 |
XKB816 |
|
8 |
Hilden |
Truro |
NORTH |
1 |
861.2625 |
XKB809 |
|
28 |
Caledonia |
SW
Annapolis |
WEST |
2A |
860.0375 |
XKB865 |
|
27 |
Great Hill |
Liverpool |
WEST |
2B |
861.2875 |
XKB884 |
|
46 |
Chaswood |
Musq.
Valley |
NORTH |
2A** |
860.0375 |
CIT965 |
|
39 |
Sackville |
NW
Hfx Metro |
HALIFAX |
2B |
861.2875 |
XKB814 |
|
21 |
Hebron |
Yarmouth |
WEST |
3 |
860.0625 |
XKB875 |
|
14 |
Central Clarence |
C
Annapolis Valley |
WEST |
3A |
860.0625 |
XKB839 |
|
16 |
Eaton Lake |
C
Annapolis Valley |
WEST |
3B |
861.3125 |
XKB836 |
|
4 |
Queensland |
St
Margts Bay |
HALIFAX |
3A |
860.0625 |
XKB812 |
|
35 |
Tantallon |
W
Hfx Metro |
HALIFAX |
3B |
861.3125 |
XKD803 |
|
7 |
Londonderry |
Cobequid
Pass
|
NORTH |
3A |
860.0625 |
XKB823 |
|
6 |
Wentworth |
Wentworth
Valley |
NORTH |
3B |
861.3125 |
XKB822 |
|
23 |
Mid E Pubnico |
S
Yarmouth C |
WEST |
4A |
860.0875 |
XKB878 |
|
2 |
Granite Village |
Sable
River |
WEST |
4B |
861.3375 |
XKB834 |
|
11 |
Martock |
Windsor |
WEST |
4A |
860.0875 |
XKB805 |
|
10 |
Ellershouse |
West
Hants |
WEST |
4B |
861.3375 |
XKD800 |
|
44 |
Chaplin |
Upper
Musq Valley |
EAST |
4A |
860.0875 |
XKB830 |
|
19 |
Meteghan |
Meteghan |
WEST |
5A |
860.1125 |
XKB879 |
|
17 |
Marshalltown |
Digby |
WEST |
5B |
861.3625 |
XKB880 |
|
29 |
Hebbville |
Bridgewater |
WEST |
5 |
860.1125 |
XKB874 |
|
42 |
Tangier |
Eastern
Shore |
EAST |
5A |
860.1125 |
XKB808 |
|
43 |
Marinette |
Sheet
Hbr |
EAST |
5B |
861.3625 |
XKB815 |
|
2 |
Wharton |
Parrsboro |
NORTHWEST |
5B* |
861.3625* |
XKB861 |
|
3 |
Amherst |
Amherst |
NORTHWEST |
5A* |
860.1125* |
XKB845 |
|
24 |
Barrington |
Barrington |
WEST |
6A |
860.1375 |
XKB844 |
|
25 |
Shelburne |
Shelburne |
WEST |
6B |
861.3875 |
XKB882 |
|
13 |
Morristown |
W
Kings |
WEST |
6A |
860.1375 |
XKB877 |
|
33 |
Aldersville |
Highway
12 |
WEST |
6B |
861.3875 |
XKB806 |
|
38 |
Maritime Ctr |
Downtown
Hfx |
HALIFAX |
6 |
860.1375 |
XKB811 |
|
14 |
Belleville South |
Argyle
area |
WEST |
7A |
860.1625 |
XKB843 |
|
20 |
E Kemptville |
Yarmouth
County |
WEST |
7B |
861.4125 |
XKB870 |
|
31 |
New Germany |
N
Lunenburg |
WEST |
7A |
860.1625 |
XKB866 |
|
30 |
Sellars Brook |
Mahone
Bay |
WEST |
7B |
861.4125 |
XKB883 |
|
41 |
Musquodoboit Hbr |
Musq
Hbr |
HALIFAX |
7A |
860.1625 |
XKD801 |
|
9 |
Shubenacadie |
Shubenacadie |
NORTH |
7B |
861.4125 |
XKD802 |
|
3 |
Claremont |
Springhill/Oxford |
NORTHWEST |
7A |
860.1625 |
XKB864 |
|
5 |
Pugwash |
Pugwash |
NORTHWEST |
7B |
861.4125 |
XKB881 |
|
37 |
Geizers Hill |
Central
Hfx Metro |
HALIFAX |
8 |
860.1875 |
XKB813 |
|
12 |
Blomidon |
Eastern
Ann Valley |
WEST |
10 |
860.2375 |
XKB841 |
|
40 |
Preston |
East
Hfx Metro |
HALIFAX |
10 |
860.2375 |
XKB810 |
Zone 2 (System ID is 6D19)
|
Site # |
Site |
Area Served |
Region |
Frequency |
Control Ch |
Call Sign |
|
3 |
Lundy |
Guysborough |
EAST |
1B |
861.2625 |
XKB868 |
|
5 |
Loch Lomond |
NE
Richmond
|
CB |
1A |
860.0125 |
XKB832 |
|
18 |
Inverness |
Inverness |
CB |