Newbie with a basic question…

[kewxedge]

Hi,

Sorry for a potentially silly question. I’m totally new to this but really interested to get listening.

I live in Great Baddow (Chelmsford, Essex). Up pretty high and out of my window I can see planes circling around / heading towards Stansted. With an airband receiver, am I likely going to pick up any traffic or would I be a bit far away? Thoughts?

If yes, what’s a not too expensive, receiver that’d do the trick?

Any help or thoughts much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[wtp]

if can see it you can hear it.
i use a uniden 396T (2005) with a 6 inch radio shack 800 mhz antenna and can hear the space station at 250 miles up.
ok, no trees and a clear shot.
i hear planes 50 miles away talking to the local airport tower 7 miles away but do not hear the tower (no outside antenna).
i did not see any air frequencies for Essex.
so you will have to hunt around.
is there a local group around ?
even going to an airport with a radio, might bring out another listener.

 

[Minus1]

A Uniden UBC125XLT will work, but you should bear in mind that it only has an AM filter for 25 kHz frequencies.
As more and more airband transmissions in Europe use 8.33 kHz a scanner capable of distinguishing between adjacent 8.33 kHz channels is increasingly important.
Unfortunately these come with a higher price tag, e.g. Alinco DJ-X100 or Icom IC-R15.
An airband antenna mounted on your roof, or in the loft, will bring in far more signals.

 

[spongella]

With a scanner in the search mode (108 - 136 MHz) you'll definitely hear aircraft in your area. Just remember that air comms are usually very short in nature. I use an SDR "dongle" attached to my laptop and an outdoor antenna for aero monitoring. Have fun.

 

[wtp]

108.0000 136.9916 8.33 AM Aircraft Band
that is from the US 125, so i might guess that in a place where 8.33 is used, that it would be the same.
just checked. it is.
so, no worries there.