Someone "Rick Rolling" 123.450

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scannerboy01

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Interesting that someone potentianly could be transmitting illegally on areonautical frequencies. Maybe if you can figure out exactly where they are transmitting, you could alert Industry Canada of this since this could endanger the lives of many people if the frequency is being used for emergency aviation purposes.
 

CalebATC

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scannerboy01, that's the nationwide Air to Air frequency for pilots. No endangering there, just some entertainment! :) Probably a pilot and a friend on a XC needing some music or something.
 

trace1

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A couple of weeks ago I heard someone playing around on this frequency. It lasted about 20 minutes or so and sounded like kids goofing off. I'm in the Anniston/Oxford AL area,
 

scannerboy01

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A couple of weeks ago I heard someone playing around on this frequency. It lasted about 20 minutes or so and sounded like kids goofing off. I'm in the Anniston/Oxford AL area,
Maybe it could be kids who are knowledgeable with electronics and decided to modify a radio to transmit on a different band and see what would happen.
 

scannerboy01

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You'd think that pilots would use something like an iPod to just listen to music while on a flight.
 
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dune

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Why would anyone listen to Rick Astley? 123.45 is an unofficial air to air freq that people use to screw around all the time. I've never heard any actual ATC activity on this freq so most likely no harm done.
 

scannerboy01

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123.45 is an unofficial air to air freq that people use to screw around all the time. I've never heard any actual ATC activity on this freq so most likely no harm done.
I guess that since this is an unofficial air to air frequency, there isn't any harm done.
 

CalebATC

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No, that is an FAA *official* frequency for air to air with pilots, along with 131.8. So yes, that's not just a little illegal frequency, it's a legal A2A frequency, where you won't find anything but a bunch of chatter between pilots (and the occasional music playing and other BS).
 
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kma371

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No, that is an FAA *official* frequency for air to air with pilots, along with 131.8. So yes, that's not just a little illegal frequency, it's a legal A2A frequency, where you won't find anything but a bunch of chatter between pilots (and the occasional music playing and other BS).

I've never seen that in any official lists. Can you cite a source?
 

CalebATC

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Ok, I was half right! While it is an official frequency for A2A for pilots in oceanic regions. "VHF inter-pilot
air-to-air frequency 123.45" and per reference to ICAO, it is also a A2A frequency for oceanic routes where HF communication is lost. As I read more, 131.8 was replaced by 123.45 in Oceanic regions.

I guess I was wrong though! The "official FCC" (yes, not issued by FAA) one is 122.75, I found this in the AIM TBL (table) 4-1-3.

Anyways, sorry for my mistake! Now that I see that, it is a very misused frequency. I have heard everything on it, from friends here in formation, to airliners, to parachute jumping, to many other kinds of operations! It's official to us pilots, let's go with that! :D I'd say there is more that use on 123.45 versus 122.75.
 

trace1

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Someone playing music again on 123.450. Been off and on here in Central East Alabama for the last 20 minutes or so...
 

popnokick

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Illegal transmissions on aircraft frequencies tend to draw interest from appropriate authorities. Not just nowadays with heightened interest from law enforcement in potential terror activity, but even decades ago until present. The govt and law enforcement tend to view it as a "life safety" issue.... imagine that.

A couple of decades ago there were interfering transmissions on a Miami Approach frequency. Some would say it was "just chatter/fooling around".... some said it was deliberate interference from a Cuban group upset over a political issue. Didn't matter the reason: USAF AWACS was put aloft for RDF location of the transmitter source(s). Someone else reading this forum can tell you the accuracy of an AWACS RDF location from the air to the ground. AWACS was able to direct Federal Marshals right to the source.

I always found it interesting that USAF was involved with airborne assets, and wondered what else could be put "in the air" to acquire a target that was interfering with "life safety" communications. And combine that with the fact they scramble F-16s when a private pilot wanders off course.... well, you get the picture.
 

DocDaddy

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I live in the Kansas City to St Louis fly way... and I hear all kinds of traffic on 123.45 Everything from music... to pilots complaining about the hours they work or complainining about the bosses, picking up chicks and what they did on vacation.

Sometimes the freq is pretty interesting... other times, no so much.
 
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Hooligan

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I too hear lot's of chatter BS'ing by pilots on 123.450, but I would have hoped that between the flight physical's and the time, work, intellect & $$$ involved to get a pilot's license, they wouldn't be bored/stupid enough to play radio DJ on the freq other than maybe brief snippets ("Big ol' jet air liner...").
 

CalebATC

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I too hear lot's of chatter BS'ing by pilots on 123.450, but I would have hoped that between the flight physical's and the time, work, intellect & $$$ involved to get a pilot's license, they wouldn't be bored/stupid enough to play radio DJ on the freq other than maybe brief snippets ("Big ol' jet air liner...").

Hooligan, from what I have seen, few pilots intentionally use 123.45 for not only formation comms, cross country formation/buddy flights, and when they do, they will play music to entertain the other pilot sometimes.

Even more amusing, I have heard this on military A2A frequencies for aircraft on cross countries. Kinda reminded me of Iron Eagle!
 
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