Aviation frequencies in the Knoxville area

[KQ4VKM]

Hello everyone, I hope I'm posting this in the correct place. I'm an amateur radio operator in the Knoxville area who just got my first scanner this year for Christmas (a Uniden SDS100). I'm plugging in all the frequencies I want but I am a bit confused regarding which frequencies I should monitor to listen in on Atlanta Center aviation traffic. I suppose I'm trying to ask: which ZTL frequencies should I listen to so that I will actually get good reception and be able to hear traffic instead of monitoring something I wouldn't be able to hear in the first place. Thanks very much in advance for any help. 73. -KQ4VKM

 

[W4EMS]

See if this helps: AirNav: Airport Information
Type in Knoxville and you will get a listing of the area FAA approved airports which by clicking on the airport of choice scroll down a bit and all the frequencies are listed. And of course they are AM, not FM

 

[n4yek]

I monitor ZTL RCAG (remote communications air/ground) frequencies:
127.5500 MHz workload
134.0750 MHz Ultra High altitude

But go hear and scroll down to Tennessee and it will give you a lot to monitor:

Atlanta (ZTL) Air Route Traffic Control Center Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Atlanta (ZTL) Air Route Traffic Control Center

www.radioreference.com

FYI, when the frequency is labeled Low, High or Ultra High, that is letting you know the altitude that
it is intended for communication.
Example: A jet in Atlanta air control at 40,000 feet would be assigned to an Ultra High frequency as it is passing through
an air space that it will not land. It would not need to communicate with no one other than the air space controller.
As they approach their destination, they would be assigned to a lower altitude and a lower controlled frequency all the
way down to tower approach frequency of the airport.

One more thing to add, the rubber duck antenna provided with the scanner isn't an ideal antenna to use.
If being used at home, put up and outside antenna, doesn't need to be an expensive one, just a quarter wave
antenna around 20" will be just fine. You can use RG6 75 ohm coax, which isn't expensive, to run between your
radio and antenna. Since you will not transmit on it you don't need to worry about the SWR so don't need to
spend a bunch of money. This is what I use and it works great.

 

[MiCon]

This is good place to start, as you're asking for local info. However, you might also check the Aircraft Monitoring Forum. Lots of info posted there concerning where to find aviation frequencies.

Also consider the W4EMS reply:
"See if this helps: AirNav: Airport Information
Type in Knoxville and you will get a listing of the area FAA approved airports which by clicking on the airport of choice scroll down a bit and all the frequencies are listed. And of course they are AM, not FM."

Monitoring the TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol) you will hear aircraft handed off to a ZTL frequency as they gain altitude. Eventually you will have a list of local ZTL freqs that you can hear.

Also, try one of the on-line radar sites (ADS-B, Flightradar24, etc.). You can track the flights you're listening to, and see where they are and what altitude they're at.