MWARA NAT A-F HF frequencies
Go To:
HTTP://www.hfunderground.com/wiki/MWARA
Note that there are several maps dividing the world into various MWARA (Major World Aeronautical Route Areas) There is a map covering the North Atlantic in this series of maps.
On each individual map you will see little boxes with lists of frequencies in them.
Each group of frequencies in a little box is a set used to maintain HF comms in a certain MWARA area.
The frequencies in the little boxes are changed at different times of the day according to changes in HF propagation.
The North Atlantic MWARA (of which Gander and New York Radio are just parts) is so busy compared compared to other MWARA, that heavily used tracks (NAT-A, NAT-B, CAR-A) are almost exclusively assigned a certain set of frequencies.
Gander, and NY Radio fade out because of changes in the ionosphere that do not support HF propagation on certain frequencies at certain times of the day.
Gander is not the only user of these sets of frequencies, NY Radio in North America,Santa Maria, and Shanwick in Europe also use these sets of frequencies.
You do not hear the actual ATC air traffic controllers talking. The people talking that you hear are just communicators who relay messages between the actual ATC controllers and the aircraft.
NY Radio communicators are employees of ARINC, not FAA personnel.
Gander Radio communicators are employees of a Canadian for profit company that just runs communications, and are not Transport Canada ATC controller personnel.
The ATC personnel who make the actual ATC decisions are located away from the ARINC communicators.