NDB locations
- Thread starter chrismol1
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chrismol1
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Maybe. What's an NDB?
non-directional beacon
I am not familiar with ths but I learned a bit this afternoon. Thanks. I am not sure how up to date it is but this page is a start and he lists a NBD webring on his page. http://www.xs4all.nl/~cisquet/NDB.htm
rfradioconsult
Member
Search here: http://www.airnav.com/airports/
Try finding your house on a VFR sectional chart at www.skyvector.com . Then look for NDBs. If it's the compass locator type (co-located with a 75 Mhz marker beacon on an instrument approach) it may not be on the sectional but would definitely show up in the FAA's Digital Airport Facilities Directory for New York. Give it a try here: http://www.avn.faa.gov/index.asp?xml=naco/online/d_afd
Good Luck.
Inigo
Good Luck.
Inigo
chrismoll, the nearest to us is Schenectady. It is located on the field and is called HUNTER.
There are not that many NDB and they are being phased out..as for VORTAC/VORs on the other hand there is one on the Albany field, one in Cambride and also one in Glens Falls
I have found a lot of people dont know what an NDB is...as you may know an NDB is literally nothing but a low power AM station. Basically a needle in the cockpit points to where the tower is. It actually works for AM commercial broadcast stations too..dont know if thats illegal still! If you tune an NDB you can hear the phase noise and the morse code usually...kinda fun. It is called non-directional because it has no idea where you are, only the plane does...and the thing transmits in all directions...as opposed to VOR which has radials and knows the plane is on a radial. NDBs are much easier to understand how to USE than VORs, but in actuality they are the old-skool, dusty way of naviagation....most do not have DME. They are usually used in ILS systems to find the slope point or you might see them on the outermarkers....sometimes used for fixes too..
Best,
ColdBricks
There are not that many NDB and they are being phased out..as for VORTAC/VORs on the other hand there is one on the Albany field, one in Cambride and also one in Glens Falls
I have found a lot of people dont know what an NDB is...as you may know an NDB is literally nothing but a low power AM station. Basically a needle in the cockpit points to where the tower is. It actually works for AM commercial broadcast stations too..dont know if thats illegal still! If you tune an NDB you can hear the phase noise and the morse code usually...kinda fun. It is called non-directional because it has no idea where you are, only the plane does...and the thing transmits in all directions...as opposed to VOR which has radials and knows the plane is on a radial. NDBs are much easier to understand how to USE than VORs, but in actuality they are the old-skool, dusty way of naviagation....most do not have DME. They are usually used in ILS systems to find the slope point or you might see them on the outermarkers....sometimes used for fixes too..
Best,
ColdBricks
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D
DaveNF2G
Guest
NDB = Non Directional Beacon. An interesting name for a device that is actually omnidirectional. A non-directional radio would send a signal in no direction at all.
I second the recommendation of Airnav.com. They have airports, navaids, and intersections.
I second the recommendation of Airnav.com. They have airports, navaids, and intersections.
This reminds me of when I went flying in a small plane about 30 years ago.
I went up with my older Brother and a friend of his who was a pilot. As we were flying I remember the pilot made some settings to locate the tower for the radio station that my Brother worked for.
It wasn't long until the airplane was "on course" to that location and we circled the tower, from a great distance of course, and then flew on to do a few other things. I even got to "steer' the aircraft while in-flight, thought that was pretty cool, me about 15 years old, "flying" a plane!!!
Yeah, the terminology is a bit odd, but it's non-directional as opposed to a VOR that transmits 360 separate radials.
Are you interested in just looking at one, or are you interested in hearing one on the air?
I actually have spent a fair amount of time listening to distant NDB's, and even though they don't send much besides a 3 letter morse ID, it's fun to chase them.
The old NDB's are getting phased out, but there are still plenty out there to hear, and the marine beacons don't seem to be going away. There are also DGPS stations in the beacon band that are every bit as fun to chase, maybe more so. They run higher power, so they can be heard several thousand miles away if the conditions are right.
k9rzz
Member
Here's a good chance to plug my NDB videos I have on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLC2ciwTgkk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVlDwSQGDTw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkwrjP00UMM
I knew where these were already, but I could hear them easily with my mobile IC706 and 2m whip hooked up to the HF antenna port.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLC2ciwTgkk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVlDwSQGDTw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkwrjP00UMM
I knew where these were already, but I could hear them easily with my mobile IC706 and 2m whip hooked up to the HF antenna port.
K4DHR
Member
NDBs are indeed disappearing rather rapidly, they just decommissioned the CATTA and REDAN NDBs, which were associated with approaches to KATL, just this week.
Some NDBs may have the ASOS/AWOS weather for the airport broadcast over them, but these too, are becoming increasingly rare. This is because the ADFs in aircraft are being removed and replaced with GPS units instead of getting fixed.
In the summer, I listen to baseball games when I'm flying with the ADF if the plane I'm flying is equipped with one. Just flip it over to the BFO mode and tune it in like if you were in your car. In days past commercial AM stations were actually charted to allow pilots to navigate with them, since many of them were much more powerful than most NDBs. I have a couple of older sectionals (7-8 years old) that still have a couple of commercial stations marked on them.
Some NDBs may have the ASOS/AWOS weather for the airport broadcast over them, but these too, are becoming increasingly rare. This is because the ADFs in aircraft are being removed and replaced with GPS units instead of getting fixed.
In the summer, I listen to baseball games when I'm flying with the ADF if the plane I'm flying is equipped with one. Just flip it over to the BFO mode and tune it in like if you were in your car. In days past commercial AM stations were actually charted to allow pilots to navigate with them, since many of them were much more powerful than most NDBs. I have a couple of older sectionals (7-8 years old) that still have a couple of commercial stations marked on them.
kx5g
Newbie
You didn't set a record for reviving and old thread, but you came close.
It adds to the topic so I approved it. :wink:
When I was still flying with FAA Flight Inspection not only did we check NDBs associated with ILS and NDB approaches there was at least 1 in West Virginia that was a high power enroute NDB and NAS Lakehurst in NJ had a UHF NDB.
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