Great New England Airshow

[gralston73]

I'll be going to the Great New England Airshow at Westover ARB in Chicopee, MA this weekend 8/4 - 8/5. Does anyone have any confirmed frequencies that have been used in years past?

Thanks

 

[ka3jjz]

While I'm not up that way, and all these sources aren't confirmed as such, they're a darn good place to start...

Mass.Military - Scan New England Wiki

http://www.monitoringtimes.com/0312airshowguide.pdf

Boston (ZBW) Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

AirNav: KCEF - Westover Air Reserve Base/Metropolitan Airport

The first one is the Mass military page on Scan New England which has base freqs. Next is the MT airshow guide (it's PDF), then the ARTCC Boston Center freqs (hasn't been updated in a year, but it's a place to start - always ignore the FAA listings!), then Westover's entries on Airnav.

Listen to the military side of the ARTCC freqs for incoming mil flights...

With all of this you should be able to construct a pretty decent sized list of freqs to check. A wiki article (either here or on SNE) would be most welcome to document what was used for future use - that way a pattern develops, and that pattern can be used to set up known freqs that are heard every year.

HTH...Mike

 

[n1chu]

Westover RAFB Frequencies

Below are the frequencies. Air comms are AM mode unless otherwise specified. Ground comms are digital with P25NAC set to 293 on all freqs. I use ARC XT PRO to program. There are 2 settings listed for each frequency in this program which need to be modified in order to hear these frequencies... the column labeled "Audio Type" must be set to "Digital" and the "P25NAC" column needs to be set to "293". Drop the quotes. If you can't set the NAC, don't worry about it. I believe it is only used to prevent the system from hearing other digital and analog signals on the same frequency. Here is a link to frequently asked scanner questions; Radio Scanners FAQ

Hope this helps...

Bill





WESTOVER ARB METROPOLITAN, CHICOPEE, MA

Air comms:
114.000/138.100 Westover Atis (recorded weather)
118.350/275.800 Westover Ground Control
134.850/348.750 Westover Tower Control
125.350/325.000 Bradley Approach/Departure Control
372.200 Pilot to Dispatch (base ops with transient aircraft)
252.100 Casino Royale - 439th Airlift Wing C-5 Command Post
274.750 Westover PMSV Metro (weather air/ground)
134.850 Common Traffic Advisory Freq
123.000 Unicom

Ground comms (may be digital):
repeater output/repeater input
138.0750/148.4625 Westover AFB Law Enforcement/Security
138.2350 Westover AFB Civil Engineering Roads & Grounds
138.3250/150.2875 Westover AFB Aircraft Maintenance (Net #1)
138.9625/150.5125 Westover AFB Fire Department
139.2375/139.2375 Westover AFB Civil Engineering (CE CH#5)/Fireground
139.9875/150.3375 Westover AFB Aircraft Maintenance (Net #2)
140.7875/150.7875 Westover AFB Aircraft Maintenance (Net #3)
142.1750/148.8625 Westover AFB Aerial Port, Fleet & Pax Svc
142.4500/xxx.xxxx Westover AFB Communications Sqdn Repair
143.6500 Westover AFB Aircraft Maintenance Net (Net #4) Base Ops and Transit Alert.
149.0375 Westover AFB Base Ops/Ground Control Tower Simplex (Aircraft Maint Net #5 Tower Net)

 

[kb1ejw]

Scanner feed

I threw together a scanner feed for this weekend. Compared to having a scanner on you and being at the show, some things won't be heard on the feed... But for those who aren't close or don't own a scanner, it works. Type/copy this into your browser http://24.60.120.2:8084/
Works well w/ Winamp, text tags and all... not sure about other media players players.

 

[joekay1]

Thanks for the scanner feed this weekend KB1EJW,it was great. Joe

 

[maggieo]

I threw together a scanner feed for this weekend. Compared to having a scanner on you and being at the show, some things won't be heard on the feed... But for those who aren't close or don't own a scanner, it works. Type/copy this into your browser http://24.60.120.2:8084/
Works well w/ Winamp, text tags and all... not sure about other media players players.

I know this is old, but in case you're listening - any chance you'll be doing this again?

Thanks a lot - Maggie

 

[skip39]

does anyone know if you can bring a police scanner into the airshow this year? any help would be appreciated.
thanks ryan

 

[mainetrunk]

I'd put the scanner on my belt, run an ear peice up the shirt, if they ask, DON'T lie.. Just an ooops..

 

[wa1nic]

I tried bringing a scanner in 2012 and a big dude with a gun told me to turn around and leave. I asked about it for this year and got no answer so I wound up not even bothering to go.

BTW, they use metal detectors at the gate, pat people down and look through anything you are carrying.

 

[mainetrunk]

No fooling.. Sorry guy

 

[n1chu]

Apparently, Westover ARB policy is "No Scanners" allowed on base. This policy is the "rule of thumb" routinely. I was advised of this when I entered the base earlier than when the gates opened for the general public. (Permission was granted to me on the occasion of my being a vendor helper.) I had neglected to turn down the volume on my 4 ham and scanner radios mounted in my truck and the gate guard overheard some base frequencies. He advised me of the base scanner policy and I replied it would be hard to enforce with all the GMRS, FRS, CB, etc. and ham gear they were about to be inundated with. Reasonably speaking, the policy is either relaxed for the airshow or ignored outright as it would become impossible to enforce.

So, to answer the question "Are Scanners Allowed?" It depends upon what day it is. But during air shows, yes.

 

[wa1nic]

It was pretty easy to enforce. They searched everyone at the gates during the show, went thru back packs and used metal detectors, found an air band receiver, and told me to leave.