Radarbox Questions

[wheelerg]

What does the military use for a Mode? i'm really torn wether to get one or not but my goal is to watch military traffic,

 

[737mech]

Military mode s

What does the military use for a Mode? i'm really torn wether to get one or not but my goal is to watch military traffic,

Not likely to happen for any fighter or bomber or uav or stealth etc. (Weapons delivery platforms) but some cargo and transports still use mode s transponders. Turned off in war zones of course. I would not pay $600.00 plus for a radarbox if you want to only see military. IMHO

 

[BMT]

I have seen A-10's and UAV's on my box.

BMT

 

[sigint1]

Not likely to happen for any fighter or bomber or uav or stealth etc. (Weapons delivery platforms) but some cargo and transports still use mode s transponders. Turned off in war zones of course. I would not pay $600.00 plus for a radarbox if you want to only see military. IMHO

I frequently track the following types in Reno area - KC-135, KC-10, C17, C5, C130, E6B along with U2's out of Beale AFB

 

[wheelerg]

Thanks, thats all good info, i live near a military transport base in Ontario Canada and we have c-130's and c-17's stationed here. I'm thinking i may take the plunge in the next month or so. Is there anybody on this net that would know if Canadian transport aircraft use Mode S? thanks in advance.

 

[sigint1]

Thanks, thats all good info, i live near a military transport base in Ontario Canada and we have c-130's and c-17's stationed here. I'm thinking i may take the plunge in the next month or so. Is there anybody on this net that would know if Canadian transport aircraft use Mode S? thanks in advance.

I have tracked transiting Canadian and British military aircraft along with a couple of odd countries here and there - even got one that was regestered to the RCMP. If you are near a major airport you will get lots of internationl commercial birds most of which use ADS-B which displays them right on the map - then the other stuff including most military are MODE S which don't track directly on the map but you still get the readout - but at least you know that they are in the area and sometimes it is very interesting what is flying around. If you OPT to subscribe to the real time network display you can go to any radar box location that is sharing infor mation with the network and see what they are tracking in near real time (about 20 second delay) - otherwise its a minium 5 minute delay. I really enjoy mine and I make it a point to stay out of the flame wars between the Radarbox and SBS-1 users - All I can say is that I have had my radarbox for a year and enjoy it very much and have had no trouble with it at all.

 

[wheelerg]

Thanks "Joking" , roughly where are you located in North America? when the military a/c show up on your screen do they show where they are? will the display tell you for example if the a/c is 40 miles east of your location? I live about 2 hours east of Toronto International Airport so i can imagine seeing lots of transiting a/c going over my head on the overseas flights. My main goal is to monitor the Canadian a/c in and around Canadian Forces Base Trenton. I do agree on staying out of the volatile battle between the two brands. Thanks agian for your help, its nice to speak with a user who has some experience with them.

Gary

 

[DaveNF2G]

People tend to assume an awful lot about military communications, much of which is false.

There is very little "secret" radio traffic over the USA and Canada. Most of what is heard via scanners is routine, peacetime (even though we are technically at war overseas) operations and Guard training. All of that is carried out in the open, and military aircraft do routinely broadcast their locations and status.

 

[sigint1]

I am in Reno Nevada which is right under several major routes both East/West and North/South - I was shocked at the amount of traffic that goes over us - most military flights use the MODE S (with the exception of the E6B's - Dont ask me why) so they dont track on the map but I find it interesting anyway because at least you know they are around because they still read out in the "My Flights" area of your box - the network flights (delayed or Realtime) are all ADS-B flights and will track on the map - I have the disadvantage of living in an apartment and cant have an external antenna but I still get about a 50 mile radius and I average 300-400 flights a day. I just wish this thing was around and I had it when I was stationed at CFS Gander in the 70's. There is couple of yahoo groups one is radarboxsocal and the other that was just started today is radarboxusalogs I will be posting my logs to both groups if you want to check them out - I think you will enjoy your new toy - I know I do.

 

[wheelerg]

Gander???? wow. that is such an undiscovered beautiful area of Canada.....hope it was enjoyable for ya, i will check out the sites you mentioned.
Gary

 

[wheelerg]

People tend to assume an awful lot about military communications, much of which is false.

There is very little "secret" radio traffic over the USA and Canada. Most of what is heard via scanners is routine, peacetime (even though we are technically at war overseas) operations and Guard training. All of that is carried out in the open, and military aircraft do routinely broadcast their locations and status.

i must agree with ya Dave, having listened to ALOT of military comms here in Trenton, i have never heard any secret talk or cloak and dagger type comms, pretty straight forward talk in aero circles, but just the same, nothing like listening to an F18 get IFR clearance etc to Cold Lake or Bagotville.....jeez i love this stuff!

 

[minskie]

To get the most from a RadarBox depends largely on where you happen to live and the height of your antenna.

If your fortunate enough to live near a military airfield you should get some good results.

 

[BMT]

I find it odd the AIRNAV will not track an E-6B but the Kinetic box does.
Living near a miliary base help's, I live 60 miles from the nearest base here in FL.
I have no trouble tracking aircraft within a 125 mile radius of my box.
If you monitor HF mil comms, the box really is a bonus!

BMT

 

[freqhopping]

I find it odd the AIRNAV will not track an E-6B but the Kinetic box does.

BMT

Where'd you come up with that. I see them all the time.
From last August:

 

[MtnBiker2005]

as joking said in the above post. A new group was started on Jan 1st.

The main YahooGroups are.

RadarBoxUSAlogs - United States - Founded: in 2010.
Place to keep track of aircraft in United States.
Please pass the word along to any United States Radarbox or SBS1 users.
So the group can build with daily or weekend logs to read!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/radarboxusalogs/

RadarBoxSoCal - Southern California - Founded: in 2009
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/radarboxsocal/

In the above groups. In the links area. There are more YahooGroups links for other parts of the world.


Mode_S - Logs - YahooGroup (Covers all Locations in the world) - Founded: in 2005
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mode_S/

Speaking of Military flights.

Military Air planes with Mode-S ADS-B
http://live-military-mode-s.eu/

 

[BMT]

I am in Reno Nevada which is right under several major routes both East/West and North/South - I was shocked at the amount of traffic that goes over us - most military flights use the MODE S (with the exception of the E6B's - Dont ask me why) so they dont track on the map but I find it interesting anyway because at least you know they are around because they still read out in the "My Flights" area of your box

Joking posted this about the E-6B's!!

I see 2 or 3 a week in FL.

BMT

 

[minskie]

Freqhopping,

Where did you get the airspace and restricted airspace boundry overlays from ?

Looks cool!

 

[freqhopping]

Freqhopping,

Where did you get the airspace and restricted airspace boundry overlays from ?

Looks cool!

I made them with this site. Jordan's Outline Maker

 

[minskie]

I made them with this site. Jordan's Outline Maker

Thanks for that!

 

[MtnBiker2005]

Just saw this E-6B flying 27,000 feet over Southern California tonight per the ADS-B signal.
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?cnsearch=24507/1002&distinct_entry=true

Another note.
N383LS (one of Las Vegas SANDS aircraft) Was sending the wrong ADS-B map coordinates tonight. It was showing up on the map over Atlantic Ocean! When I'm in California!