ACARS Decoding newbie question

[davidbroxson]

I just bought a Radio Shack Pro-163, I want to try ACARS decoding. But the software I'm reviewing suggests it will decode the transmission including message content. From what I'm seeing in the screenshots of various software is that the infomation after message content is a mixture of letters and numbers, how is this translated?or is it supposed to be? Is this the actual decoding? thanks for any input.

 

[ka3jjz]

It depends on the software. Some software just gives you a raw dump, others translate it internally and lay out the various labels (ACARSD does this).

It's a bit involved, but if you are a plane spotter, sometimes the information is invaluable 73 Mike

 

[oregontreehugger]

Best bet is to get the "acarsd" software up and running. Install acarsd. Tune your scanner to an active ACARS frequency in your area (probably 131.550 the primary freq). Connect an audio cable from your scanner to the line or mic in jack on your computer. Be sure to set your Windows sound settings to the "record" mode. You'll probably have to adjust the volume settings to get them just right. Open acarsd software and you should see a stream of data being decoded after a few minutes.

 

[davidbroxson]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the information, very helpful. Thanks for being so articulate.

 

[davidbroxson]

XP will only record for 60 seconds under the sound recorder. Is that the record mode your talking about?

 

[oregontreehugger]

Actually talking about the volume settings in Windows. Depending on how your computer is set up you'll probably need to adjust the line-in or mic-in volume settings.

You don't want the scanner volume cranked up to the line/mic-in; might ruin your sound card.

What I've been doing is turn on the scanner first, un-squelch it and adjust the volume to a decent level, then adjust squelch until white noise goes away, and plug in your audio cable to the PC.

There is a small "Vol" number in the lower right corner of the Acarsd program. You should get good results with that number between 10-20. Might have to tweak your scanner or computer volume again at this point to get it just right.