I have the mini circuits 4 port. Big difference after installing it.
Getting started in MilAir - newbie questions
- Thread starter kc2asb
- Start date
wtp
Member
allrighty then...
police call consolidated list from 2 decades ago
so you can check the bands,
380 to 400 is now military land use.
military call signs
air stuff
en.wikipedia.org
RR air stuff
wiki.radioreference.com
military refuel tracts
unsecure site, i use it sometimes.
refuel
map on section 5-3
those should keep you busy.
use the slow scanner for the small band scan.
enjoy,
police call consolidated list from 2 decades ago
so you can check the bands,
380 to 400 is now military land use.
military call signs
air stuff
Airband - Wikipedia
RR air stuff
Aircraft - The RadioReference Wiki
military refuel tracts
unsecure site, i use it sometimes.
refuel
map on section 5-3
those should keep you busy.
use the slow scanner for the small band scan.
enjoy,
Mil comms are generally short and quick. Even 2 scanners can miss a bunch of comms. I basically gave up using my scanners for mil air. The absolute best way is with sdr. An Airspy that covers close to 8mhz can do 225 to 400 in about 1.5 seconds. Even a standard sdr dongle is super fast. Check out this sdr based mil air thread from @mancow
225-400 in 1.5 seconds. The best MilAir setup I've encountered yet.
225-400 in 1.5 seconds. The best MilAir setup I've encountered yet.
Thanks! Maybe I'll finally have to break down and enter the SDR world. To date, I've only used online ones. Easy to get addicted to the waterfall.
1.5 seconds is incredible. My 996T is covering 75 MHz and the BCT15 80 MHz. In two days, I've only caught the tail end of one transmission.
Many thanks, sir! Appreciate it. I'm learning a lot here thanks to all of you.allrighty then...
police call consolidated list from 2 decades ago
so you can check the bands,
380 to 400 is now military land use.
military call signs
air stuff
Airband - Wikipedia
RR air stuff
Aircraft - The RadioReference Wiki
military refuel tracts
unsecure site, i use it sometimes.
refuel
map on section 5-3
those should keep you busy.
use the slow scanner for the small band scan.
enjoy,
wtp
Member
i find it hard to remember who i sent what to.
so that was for everybody.
so that was for everybody.
eorange
♦RF Enabled Member♦
A while ago I thought the same thing. Except...those FM broadcast stations can completely desense your receiver. On a hunch I bought a Mini-Circuits FM Broadcast band stop filter and it made a huge difference. I began hearing more 225-380 MHz AM mil air traffic like never before.
And that's the thing: you don't know what you're missing when you can't hear it.
Thank you! Very interesting - I figured without any real audible interference, all was good. I am scanning civilian air vs doing a band search. I used to get interference here / FM band images, but it was years ago. I need to do a sweep again and see. Also, I accepted some noise as normal due to AM being more prone to it.
FYI - The Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) changed their name to the Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) many years ago (2009?). I'm not nitpicking, I just happen to work on Griffiss and have met EADS folks over the years.
Don't overlook the 380-400 MHz range. There are military aircraft using that portion of the spectrum.
Example: 384.55 am SW F-16 Demo Team
Thanks for the information! I have searched through that portion of the band and have found a few digital signals. This was on the BCT-15X, so not sure if they were P25, DMR, etc.
Very true, but I have encountered less and less activity in that range, so omitting it speeds up searching. It is the main reason I never bought a BC125AT since it will not tune that range. I actually wound up getting the BCD325P2 which turned out to be great for all MilAir ranges and P25 except simulcast of course.
Command posts used to be around 383. The UBC125XLT does not exclude 380-400, so it is obvious Uniden assumed it would be all trunked systems in the BC125AT market. To buy a UBC125XLT will cost you twice as much as a BC125AT, probably due to VAT taxes in Europe and then it has to be shipped from Europe.
The main ranges to not overlook are 138-144 and 148-150 Mhz, AM 25 khz spacing. Fighter aircraft use a lot of discrete assignments in that range.
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Well check this out. Looking at frequencies for an upcoming trip, shows 381.0 Mhz for Ops at Elmendorf AFB AK
OPS: | 123.1 ;11AF RESCUE COORD CNTR 282.8 ;11AF RESCUE COORD CNTR 381.0 ;11AF COMD CEN 381.0 ;ARTIC WARRIOR OPS |
I'll add 381.0 to the scan list - never know what might pop up.
Just an update - thanks to the help I received from all of you, including invaluable help from RR user @Frequency1 in the form of his frequencies/notes, I had some success on Mil Air yesterday. I programmed a new system into the BCT-15X and let it rip.
So far, I have hits on 315.900, 288.000, 298.600 and 237.500. Most of the activity was on 315.900 and 298.600 MHz.
On 315.900, I heard the following:
"CT to the IT 16:30"
Further TX's - "Are we going to be doing high block or low block today?" "High block" Two different aircraft heard.
I'm officially addicted! Thank you again, all!
So far, I have hits on 315.900, 288.000, 298.600 and 237.500. Most of the activity was on 315.900 and 298.600 MHz.
On 315.900, I heard the following:
"CT to the IT 16:30"
Further TX's - "Are we going to be doing high block or low block today?" "High block" Two different aircraft heard.
I'm officially addicted! Thank you again, all!
Usually when doing aerial refueling they refer to the "IP" (Initial Point), this would be the start of the refueling track. AR777
Thanks! That makes much more sense. So, "Control Tower? to the Initial Point".
I'm guessing they more likely probably said "ET" (Estimated Time) to the "IP", 1630 would be the time in UTC aka "Zulu" Z Time (1130 EST).
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Yep, my ears. LOL That makes a lot more sense. Appreciate it!
