Its great to be back from summer holidays, however it was nice to enjoy them as well.

Now that 95% of the members of NorthScan are back , we did manage a few good updates.

And replied to a lot of email !

There is lots to cover in this edition , so lets get to it.

We added the CNI to the menu section , this way it would be easier to print out or even have handy when a CNI code comes over the air ( OPP ) .

The HTML work load to get the CNI codes to look right took some time, tho I think we did it .

The Misc frequency list came from Industry Canada, and that too took a lot.

Now we should define a lot of those , or break them down as to who owns what.

That will be done over time, the list is large and we here at NorthScan are volunteers for our hobby .

Ministry of health were monitored on a few freqs this month by one of our monitors ( Ken ) .

One uhf freq not listed came up, however Ken is away getting much needed surgery , so we will await his arrival and do wish him the best!

We added the ‘ Unlisted Freq Directory ‘ on the main menu , in hopes to grab some unlisted freqs for any area of Ontario. I got this idea from a very nice young man named Mr. Stone who ran a top notch site devoted to unlisted freqs. And boy do we have our work cut out here.

Mr. Stone no longer runs the web site, so we hope that you the readers of our site will send in your unknown freqs, NorthScan can get as many ( to date ) 45 hits a day were sure someone might be able to ID the freqs you send in.

We removed the forum from the main menu, seems that wasn’t being utilized what so ever, so in its place we will add shortly a mailing list option. Every time we update the site an email will be sent out , telling of the update.

That would be our only use for such a mass mailer on NorthScan.

The OPP here are still using the freqs posted in main menu under ‘ OPP In Elliot Lake ‘ , and all is well with the OPP here.

We have not logged any *new* freqs , however we forgot to add our Fire Dept !

They have been so busy over the last few months, we have been plagued with many serious fires , one leveling an entire apartment building and another gutting a retail store. Unheard of for this sleepy town. Both fires under investigation by the OPP and Fire Marshall’s Office.

Were still seeking links !

And a call out was placed to the Belleville and Area group , they have granted us permission to link there site. The links area should be up very soon , and we thank them for there prompt reply in wishing to link with us.

If you have a website and wish a link, by all means drop us a line.

While a few of us are on a Ontario ( Yahoo ) scanner list we are delighted to be there and we thank the key players of that list very shortly .

But the law seem to have come up often there with much confusion at times in regards to our hobby.

Even one poster challenging my education !

Which is ok I mean this is the net and either the person is a skeptic or was wishing to obtain the degree I hold.

Just the same the laws as seen on the books will also be a post on here ( menu ) very soon. We hope to dispel the many myths of our hobby as we can. There seems to be a lot of them, that update will come before xmas .

The file section has a password to its files, now when I took over the website the files had the password in them, I failed to ascertain the password to that you may unzip these gem of files.

I will re zip the files very soon without the password so you may download such excellent programs.

I know I use many of the files listed in our file section during my hobby sessions.

The tone finder ( WIN TONE ) is not free, but worth it !

I have found many tones ( ctcss ) for the local freq directory.

The MNR is still using low band VHF ( 42 MHz ) and we heard very recently ‘ Sting ‘ Op’s by the MNR and the OPP for FISH AND GAME ACT Violations.

A few days held for good listening , the OPP used the MNR radios and the phone patches in the MNR trucks as well.

This time of year we always hear the sting op’s and MNR in general in this area, after all this is god’s paradise for hunting and fishing !

I was going to add Ken’s detailed explanation about dvp this edition , but due to Ken’s illness I will hold off until he arrives back in the City shortly. ( and what an explanation )

We also would like to have an area for LIVE scanner feeds , if you are streaming your scanner on the net , drop me a line and Ill make sure your link is posted in the new area. The rumors were true , Gary Mills and Andy Katulka did leave our city for brighter lights within the OPP just a few weeks ago ( as of this writing ) so that confirms that little bird whom told us that in July.

We managed to get the rights to post pictures of the OPP ceremony held July , 4 2003 in our new photo gallery , tho we should re size the photos….LOL .

Thank you to The NorthShore Daily for the ‘ written permission ‘ to publish them on NorthScan.

A common 10 code was also added this month, if we missed anything please let us know !

Lots came in the mail , and I tried to either forward the mail to whom ever it was addressed to or I replied myself.

It was decided that we would cover a wider radius than we first thought we would back in Jan 2003.

The areas of Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie hold lots of radio comms , and both Cities have new radio systems as well.

We do know however that The Greater Sudbury Police are using an 800 MHz Eriksson trunked system, but are using the proprietary ‘ Ageis ‘ encryption system.

I will write a story on exactly how they got to such a system.

So Police in Sudbury cannot be monitored , fire, public works etc are also on the trunk and can be heard ok.

Sault City Police got a new system , however we know little about the system, we believe its an standard APCO 25 digital system with no encryption, then again we might be wrong , so any persons in the Sault with knowledge of the system , are asked to drop us a line .

Casino’s are in the Sault, while I'm not much of a gambler I did go to the casino last year and it looked like a UHF system , I did bring the freq counter and handheld monitor with me, but didn’t dare take it out, not even in the parking lot.

So again we ask those with information to email us and let us know what they are using so we can add in the area of Sudbury and the Sault.

We also will add ( with your help ) a full , city ( Town ) by city area .

Complete with talkgroups and more!

Please send your freq lists in , stating “ where – type “ etc.

We would love to add as much current and accurate information as we can.

In the mail bag came a good email , “ Do you notice any difference now your OPP “

The reply is YES, very much!

It seems visible patrols are very common now , as well as HTA enforcement !

Thank you to Randy and Wayne for the good email’s .

Also in the mail bag was some confusion if we were a closed club ?

The answer is no , not at all.

We do not meet , nor have a charter or even a leader if you will there is currently 14 members as we call them, a member is someone who need NOT live here , but merely sends freq information or systems info.

Again, we do not release names of members. And at no time will there ever be a charge to use , or become a member of NorthScan.

That should answer the 7 email’s about membership.

Sault College runs an aviation program for fixed wing and rotary wing , we hear a lot of traffic on the Unicom of 123.000 MHz as well as the Pilots common of 123.456 MHz .

From Bell jet Rangers ( 206 ) to Robinson 22’s fly over head very often from Sept – June .

Also C 150 – 152 – and 172’s and a few light twins are seen with this excellent program.

The students use Elliot Lake as a time builder for there commercial tickets and track the NDB of 276 KHz performing procedure approaches and non procedure approaches.

Toronto Center on 135.400 is very active!

The Zellers freqs in the UHF range are active , but are price checkers and not what we thought , 2 way comms .

I had thought the Kenwoods hanging off there belts didn’t look UHF to me.

Ill have to do a freq hunt soon and grab those for an update soon!

The Motorola Spectra W9 ( DVP ) was sold to a PD out of town , soon we shall find out just where and I hope how much it went for.

The Ski hill should be running in the months ahead and Mount Dufor uses VHF , on 173. ??? Ill have to find the freq , last year we had good signals from the hill !

Seeing as I live in an apartment , I cannot use any good antenna so I built a simple dipole .

I took 19 inches of house wire and cut that in half , making two legs exactly 9.5 Inches each. Now 50 Ohm coax would be ideal , do you think I could obtain such coaxial cable….no. I had to use 75 Ohm , but then again I don’t transmit anything and for the purpose of a scanner antenna it was fine.

I took the coax and stripped it in two sections, one being the center core ( Copper Wire ) and the other the braided Shield.

I soldered one 9.5 inch wire on the core and the other on the braid.

I used a 4 inch slab of flat wood to secure the now “ T “ shaped antenna , and used silicone to ward off any water on the contacts.

This was the best for my area of the city, and hangs on my wall in a horizontal plane.

PL 259 connects were soldered on the end and a PL259 to BNC adaptor was obtained from Radio Shack .

This works well!

I did clip the 9.5 inch legs a lil here n there….the OPP mobiles are now much clearer than before.

I think this is a simple 1/4 wave dipole , I haven’t made one in many years tho I am also a Ham Radio Op as well.

Tho lost interest in the hobby in 1990.

Keep an eye or even sign up for the mailing list , so that we can keep you informed each time we add to the menu area.

This site has been very popular , exceeding our expectations and seeing a daily increase in traffic.

For that , THANK YOU

Keep those mails coming in !

Until Dec 2003 ,

May You have No Loose Connections On Your Outdoor Antenna In The Middle Of February . 73

Robert Gainer

Web master – NorthScan