“How do you find the frequencies? I'm going to the air show at Seymour Johnson and don't know where to start. I'm assuming they are different from the regular atc frequencies.”
Yes, mil frequencies are different than civil aero. I’ve looked at the Seymour Johnson Airshow lineup. Be). You shouldn’t have a problem finding Blue Angels frequencies (which are in the military aero band). The frequencies are all AM unless listed otherwise. Better yet, place the setting in AUTO. I’d do that before I start messing with filter settings on my SDS100, in fact I use no filter settings with mine. The F22 Raptor has some frequencies found by people at airshows… 239.900, 290.2250, 292.700, 376.0250 and 387.200 MHz are what I start with. (There is no objection by the demo teams pertaining to anyone listening to their comms but they don’t publish ahead of time what frequencies will be in use because they reserve the right to change any frequency at a moments notice. There may be some sort of interference bothering a frequency which would cause them to change.)
The last thing is something called the “Show Frequency”. It’s usually one of the civil frequencies (118-136 MHz) assigned to the airport. So plug in all the tower, approach, departure, ground, etc. You will see some old warbirds at the shows also. They may still wear their military markings but they usually use the civil “Show” frequency.
Keep well hydrated, arrive early, suntan lotion, pack an extra tee shirt to put on when you get back to your car and expect a long bumper to bumper exit (I pack a snack and hang out in the parking lot until the thundering herd leaves, listening to the authorities dealing with traffic and watching some of the show acts fly out.) If you do these things you won’t have any unexpected surprises.
