Sticky Thread for MilAir II

[ka3jjz]

Re 349.7 - it seems it might be a shared freq after all. Not only is it listed as the secondary for AR20NE, but it also appears on the Milcom list (Ken W's summary) as Shark ops and a-a tac. FWIW 73s Mike

 

[BM82557]

Pitman 25/26 active in the cap. Tanker 08 copied also, 260.9/228.9. First noted at 07:40 local.

Edit - no vhf interflight has been copied as of 09:54

Edit #2 - Corrected time

 

[BM82557]

Pitman 25/26 ar with Tanker 08. Tanker 09 checked in with Huntress at 11:46.

 

[Mark]

Hearing STYLE 13 with Huntress and A/A 138.000. Mentions Timber sour.
The Shaw F-16's back again?

TV commentary- The Fighter wing at Andrews is resonsible for Combat Air Patrols in the area...
Well not totally inaccurate but we know better. LOL
Off to work now.. keep em posting...

Mark

 

[TinEar]

1250: I just got to the radios for the first time today and am hearing the CAP. Primary freq with HUNTRESS is 260.9 but I'm not sure who the fighters are at this time. All I've heard is suffix 13 and 14. They are also operating back to Ops on 138.0 so I'm going to assume we're finally hearing the VT-ANG detachment at Langley pulling CAP duty. I know PITMAN was mentioned above but could they now have changed units? Seems that way at first glance.

(Ref above): Mark, I just heard that too while typing the above. I'm pretty sure it's VT-ANG F-16s. STYLE must be the callsign we have been waiting to learn for them while flying the CAP. They've mentioned they are timber sour with both JADOC and Andrews but timber sweet (sort of) with Langley. All they can see on their Link 16 is each other and the tanker.
NOTE: Added STYLE to my callsign database as VT-ANG F-16s during CAP duty. We knew they'd have a new callsign when they replaced the ND-ANG SPIDERs. Now we finally have it. They are also talking to MAPLE Ops back at Langley on the 260.9 freq as they try to fix their datalink problems. The MAPLE Ops callsign is enough proof to put the VT-ANG tag on them.

1303: TANKER 09 is with Potomac Approach on 135.525. It sounds like he's just getting clearance to head back home. Home is Milwaukee. I think I may have turned on the radios just in time to hear the END of the CAP for today. Sigh....
1307: Both STYLE 13 and 14 reporting timber sour...mention switching back to Langley...260.9
1307: STYLE 13 contacts MAPLE Ops at Langley about the Link 16 problem...138.0
1310: STYLE 13 says he's leaving Maple Ops...138.0.... Goes back to talking to 14 on 260.9
I should add that based on past flights in this area, the F-16s from the VT-ANG Langley detachment have been instructed to use 138.0 for contact with Ops and 142.3 for air-to-air interflight comms. Haven't heard the 142.3 freq yet today.
1312: STYLE 13 and 14 talking about each other showing up on the datalink but only as surveillance tracks - not as the primaries...HUNTRESS pops in to ask what they meant and 13 tells him that was interflight talk only...260.9
1325: STYLE 13/14 ready to refuel with TANKER 09...asking for the tanker to be pointed out to them...guess TANKER 09 didn't leave for home. He must have just been setting up his clearance for when he does leave the CAP...135.525
1330: STYLE 14 contacts TANKER 09 [female] on boom freq 228.9 to make the approach.
1331: There seems to be a greater number of MilAir aircraft in the air today than expected. Several heading for Andrews which has a ramp freeze in effect at the moment. One arrival is AIREVAC 50984 on 378.1. Others are using 141.55
1332: BATON ?? (EC-130J PA-ANG Harrisburg) giving arrival message to Baton Ops...395.1
1334: STYLE 14 asking for 2000 pounds of fuel from TANKER 09...they make boom contact...228.9
1335: PITMAN 14 completes refueling...took 2000 pounds this time and says first time he took 3700 pounds...228.9
1336: STYLE 13 tells HUNTRESS he's heading for the tanker and switching to boom freq...260.9
1337: STYLE 13 to TANKER 09 on boom to announce he's coming in and currently 4 miles in trail...TANKER 09 clears him into the pre-contact position...228.9
1340: STYLE 13 took a total of 4700 pounds according to TANKER 09...228.9 (not sure if that was this refueling or the total for both)
The aircraft carrying President Ford's casket has left Andrews (around 1330) heading for Michigan so this CAP should be done fairly soon I would imagine.
1350: TANKER 09 is cleared out of the CAP by HUNTRESS...260.9
1351: TANKER 09 to Potomac Approach for his clearance back to Milwaukee...135.525
1351: STYLE 13 asks HUNTRESS if they have to stay the next 9 minutes or can they leave early too...260.9
1352: STYLE 13/14 get in fighting wing formation...260.9
1352: STYLE 13 to Potomac to get clearance to RTB...they want 11,000 feet for the flight...135.525
1353: TANKER 09 to HUNTRESS to say they've received their clearance and they're out of here...260.9
So, it was a two hour shift scheduled for the STYLE F-16s in the CAP duty...1200 (per Brian's recording report below) until 1400.
1354: Potomac handed TANKER 09 off to ZDC-Hagerstown where he checks in at FL 250...134.15
1355: STYLE flight cleared direct Nottingham, HARCUM, Langley...135.525
1355: STYLE 13 to HUNTRESS to say he's RTB...Happy New Year...260.9
1356: TANKER 09 cleared to FL 300...134.15
1357: TANKER 09 reports direct Milwaukee...134.15
1357: STYLE 13 flight cleared down to 14,000 feet...135.525
1358: STYLE 13/14 handed off by Potomac to ZDC-Calvert on 281.4 where they check in at 15,200 descending to 14,000
1359: STYLE 13 flight to V-20 and contact Maple Ops to report 10 minutes out and both Code 1...138.0

1400: TANKER 09 handed off to 132.125 by ZDC-Hagerstown which is not a ZDC freq so here's where I drop coverage of him...we know he's going back to his Milwaukee unit.
132.125 is in the Cleveland Center area - the Altoona RCAG, Blue Knob Sector.
NOTE: DRAGO flights are practicing for President Ford's funeral in Michigan. There are six flights of two F-15s each in the practice operation. They are DRAGO 31/41/51/61/71/81. They are apparently staging out of Battle Creek MI ANGB.
1405: STYLE 13/14 cleared down to 10,000 feet as they pass HARCUM in Virginia (HCM)...281.4
And that was the last heard from them. They weren't heard here on either the Norfolk TRACON (East) 370.925 or (West) 360.6 freqs approaching Langley as would be normal.
NOTE: TANKER 09 heard by a listener in the midwest calling UPSET Command Post at Milwaukee with his arrival message.

1443: RHINO 90 (C-5, 89TH AS, AFRC, Wright-Patterson AFB OH) to Dover Command Post with arrival message...20 minutes out, needs parking...will park it in Lima row...349.4

1526: REACH 2402 [female] with arrival message to Dover Command Post...349.4
1555: REACH 9445 to Andrews Command Post with arrival message...15 minutes out, A-1, wants 50,000 pounds of fuel...378.1

1615: AIREVAC 33117 calling Griffin Command at Andrews with arrival message...141.55
1631: SAM 1036 in the pattern at Andrews with Approach...119.3

 

[BM82557]

1250: I just got to the radios for the first time today and am hearing the CAP. Primary freq with HUNTRESS is 260.9 but I'm not sure who the fighters are at this time. All I've heard is suffix 13 and 14. They are also operating back to Ops on 138.0 so I'm going to assume we're finally hearing the VT-ANG detachment at Langley pulling CAP duty. I know PITMAN was mentioned above but could they now have changed units? Seems that way at first glance.

Haven't been listening "live" today. Reviewed the recordings and it looks like Style took over about 12:00 local.

 

[TinEar]

This is a portion of my "Command Post" for MilAir listening. In the left rack are five Uniden 785D and the right rack contains three BC780XLT scanners. Atop the left rack is a Stridsberg 8-port active multicoupler and atop the right rack is a Stridsberg 4-port active multicoupler. There is also a Stridsberg FM Notch Filter in line with the 8-port.

The speakers on either side of the radio racks are comm speakers from Sounds Sweet http://www.soundssweet.com/ and they do sound sweet. The remaining speakers are scattered around the area.

In the background - partially hidden because of camera angle - are a couple of flat panel monitors but those will be replaced in the near future by a pair of 22 inch widescreen monitors. I still have some work to do around the desk. I have charts that will be mounted and some strategically placed lighting. That arm on the left top of the left rack is a blue LED light that lights my notepad area.

Antennas available that feed these radios are a Diamond Discone (my primary), an Icom AH-7000 (Identical to the Diamond), a DX-10 active antenna for HF, a co-phased pair of 7-element Yagis for 800 mHz signals along with a co-phased pair of 3-element Yagis for the same purpose. I also have more antennas awaiting warmer weather to install. Among them are a DPD MilAir Log Periodic and a dual band (VHF/UHF) corner reflector for MilAir and a long wire for HF MilAir.

To the right of the equipment in the picture is a rack with my Icom R75/R8500/R2500 and a couple of old PRO-2042/2045 radios for MilAir. To the left are four more flat panel monitors, PCs, printers and the gaggle of stuff needed for this hobby.

I'll try to get a picture of the whole mess once I've completed the installation with the charts and all installed. I should mention the racks used for these eight Unidens are from JottoDesk. They make for a nice, neat installation. They're a fairly new addition and the main reason I showed just this portion of the desk.

And I managed to get in a second shot of almost the entire desk to show the overall layout as it stands now. It's difficult to tell but this is an 'L' shaped desk.

 

[Mark]

Nice setup Tin.Do you tie all those scanners into those 2 speakers or can you switch speakers around for certain priority scanners?

Mark

 

[TinEar]

Nice setup Tin.Do you tie all those scanners into those 2 speakers or can you switch speakers around for certain priority scanners?

Mark

The two big speakers are hard wired to two of the scanners. They are my two priority searching scanners. I do that because it gives me the best chance of hearing callsigns the first time they come across. Each of the 13 radios has its own external speaker. The problem is getting used to where the sound is coming from so I look at the right scanner when something is heard. After changing the desk setup, it takes a good while to do it automatically. I can't tell you how many times I'd hear something and then not look at the right scanner in time to stop the search. It took about a month to get completely used to the new speaker placements. To add to the problem, I have a weakness in hearing to the right rear side so have to compensate for that. It's such a trivial thing to worry about but you know how this game goes. You want to hear everything the first time.

Anyway...and you obviously thought of it too...one of my future projects is to build a switching device to put any of the radios into the big speakers which are built specifically as communications speakers. The frequency response of the speakers is tuned for radio derived audio. The only time I'd do that (that I can think of) is during a CAP. I generally have individual scanners on HUNTRESS primary, the boom freq, the fighter interflight freq and the two Potomac TRACON ATC freqs. Add another scanner or two for the inbound/outbound ZDC freqs and it always uses between 5 and 7 scanners to monitor every active freq during a CAP. I'd like to be able to have the one or two primary active scanners feeding the big speakers no matter which freq they're using. However, I still have to finish this installation, do some electrical work for lighting, learn where/how to install the charts I want visible and - most of all - not make it a job doing it all. If it becomes a chore instead of just fun, I'll find another hobby. Another thing I need to learn is how to take better pictures. The ones I posted are not very good. It's the first time I tried to use a new digital camera I bought about a year ago, tossed in a drawer when I decided it was too complicated and just dusted it off and took another look at it. Those are the first two pictures I've taken with it.

 

[ka3jjz]

These pix are great for a first attempt - and so's that layout. 2 words come to mind...

HOLY COW!

73s Mike

 

[cas08832]

tin air: i was always wondering after reading all of your reports the past year, how you managed to monitor all those freqs. now i and everyone else knows. it really is an impressive setup. you have given me many great ideas to improve my set up here. please keep us posted on all your upgrades. seems to me that the one item you might need is a back up power system. do you use a computer for each monitor or do you have two monitors per computer like i have? john

 

[BM82557]

I agree with everyone else, that's one impressive monitoring operation!! It's layout is a lot better than many so-called professional stations. I've had quite a few ideas while looking over the pictures and hope to one day have the time and space to implement some of them!

Brian

 

[BM82557]

Activity this morning

Flipped on the rig today after working outside taking down Christmas decorations and heard 2 unid aircraft on 303.000 at 11:25 local chatting way about "landing over a 15 minute spread" and giving indicated ground speed as 420 and 366. Signal strength was 5.

 

[TinEar]

tin air: i was always wondering after reading all of your reports the past year, how you managed to monitor all those freqs. now i and everyone else knows. it really is an impressive setup. you have given me many great ideas to improve my set up here. please keep us posted on all your upgrades. seems to me that the one item you might need is a back up power system. do you use a computer for each monitor or do you have two monitors per computer like i have? john

John, all the equipment - every piece of it - is plugged into several UPS battery backup units to protect it from electrical surges and outages. If power goes off, it gives me abut 30 minutes to shut down computers and radios without any loss. I've also seriously thought about bringing another 100 amp power panel into the house for just the equipment but haven't decided yet to part with the money that would cost.

I have three PCs there on the desk. Each of them runs dual monitors. (And those flat panel monitors are all early versions and will need to be replaced soon.) I've been using dual monitors now for about eight years. It makes it so easy for many computer tasks - even such simple things as answering email where you can have the received email on one screen and your reply on another. Or email on one monitor and your net page on the other...or a dozen other ways that are helpful. All the newer video cards now have that capability. When I first started with the dual monitor idea, it cost several hundred dollars for the capability. Now you can get it for about 40 bucks. But...you do need a video card and not the integrated video that most vendors sell.
***************************************************

I agree with everyone else, that's one impressive monitoring operation!! It's layout is a lot better than many so-called professional stations. I've had quite a few ideas while looking over the pictures and hope to one day have the time and space to implement some of them!

Thanks Brian. I honestly think the biggest improvement to operating all that stuff was the addition of the racks for the Uniden radios. It totally cleaned up all the wiring and the spread of radios across a wide area of the desk.

P.S. Brian, that 303.0 freq was probably the 108th Air Refueling Wing at McGuire. That's their squadron freq. It's also used by the MA-ANG unit at Barnes for a Base Ops freq which I occasionally hear.
***************************************************

These pix are great for a first attempt - and so's that layout. 2 words come to mind...

HOLY COW!

Thanks Mike. I'll learn to take better pictures - maybe by the time I'm done putting the Command Post together. It's hard to tell from the pictures but those two radio racks are in a slight V formation which is why the blue LED lamp distorts the displays on the BC785 rack due to the difference in angles from the camera.

And now back to our regularly scheduled operations....

Edit: In response to emailed questions which I'll answer here in case others have the same questions...the four monitors on the left side are on an Ergotron arm that holds all four monitors in place. They'll tilt and swivel in any direction you want them. They sell those things for just about any setup you can imagine and for as many monitors as you can think of adding. The JottoDesk racks for the Unidens can be bought for anywhere from two to five radios. They have the faceplates in a cutout size for most newer Uniden radios, some Radio Shacks and many other makes/models. They're overpriced but very useful...and their website needs some work...but they responded to my questions ahead of the sale very quickly.
http://www.ergotron.com/
http://www.jottodesk.com/

Alan

 

[BM82557]

REACH 0455 on 364.200 at 15:04 local.

 

[TinEar]

I've been messing with other things all afternoon and listening to a couple of radios in the background. Seems the fighter activity has been steady. Langley fighters heard going out to the offshore areas with Giant Killer have been:
DRAGON 61 - DUDE 71 - AIRGUN 91 - VOODOO 31 - DEEJAY 11
And those are just the ones I happened to hear. Oh yeah...and 358.85 and 228.175 Langley interflight freqs.

There was also a FLYER flight of A-10s from Willow Grove up on interflight 143.75. Also caught them with Philadelphia TRACON on 269.25 as they headed home and from there to GCA on 343.125. (That's who he called on that freq..."GCA this is FLYER 1")

DC31 KC-135 from Andrews was up as were a whole slew of McGuire tankers on interplane freqs 139.875 and 143.825. Activity is back to normal levels after the long holiday layoff.

All that was between 1430 and 1530 and all I could memorize since I didn't have my handy notepad nearby.

 

[HM1529]

Today, I had to take a ride from the Philly area to the Harrisburg area for a meeting.

As I was getting ready to get on the road, I had a visual sighting of a flight of two A-10's heading roughly southwest from Willow Grove. This was between 0910 and 1000 (wasn't paying attention to the clock). Somewhere in Lancaster County, PA along the turnpike, I was getting broken comms on 143.250. I'm figuring they were working down by PAX maybe? If they were at Bollen, I would have copied them loud and clear. I'd be really surprised if I managed to hear them working Warren Grove.

At around 11:30, I was sitting in a parking lot in Harrisburg and copied Baton 53 on Harrisburg App/Dep getting handed off to ZNY 128.0. Anybody know what this ZNY freq would be used for? I don't see it on any of the online lists I know about. I copied other aircraft here, too, after programming it into the scanner. Baton 53 gave a brief call to Ops on 395.100 to give their take off time. Nothing more heard.

On the way home tonight, I copied Baton 55 on 395.1 talking to Ops regarding some kind of issue. Unfortunately, the aircraft was coming in broken. I was able to determine he was enroute to work in Giant Killer's area (copied him asking Ops for a freq to contact Giant Killer).

I've often wondered what exactly the 193rd does out in Giant Killer's area...practice brainwashing fish, I guess. ;-)

 

[TinEar]

At around 11:30, I was sitting in a parking lot in Harrisburg and copied Baton 53 on Harrisburg App/Dep getting handed off to ZNY 128.0. Anybody know what this ZNY freq would be used for? I don't see it on any of the online lists I know about. I copied other aircraft here, too, after programming it into the scanner. Baton 53 gave a brief call to Ops on 395.100 to give their take off time. Nothing more heard.

I don't know what it is either Ben. It's not listed on the recent Letter To Airmen published by New York Center and it's not in the new FAA-ATA-100 publication dated 18 January 2007. I suppose it could be a new ZNY VHF freq to go along with any of those four new UHF ZNY freqs I've copied and have never found IDs for. It's definitely New York Center based on the aircraft calls.
Maybe we can figure it out by listening for the freq handoffs. First one I just heard was an aircraft at 8000 feet being handed off to freq 128.4. That's a Philadelphia TRACON freq for 270-089 degrees from Philly. And another aircraft just reported passing over Lancaster. And another over Lancaster when he checked in. It's definitely among the "Low Level" Sectors.
I'm also monitoring 132.5 in the Hyper Sector and find that's still active - as is 135.45 in the Modena Sector - and 124.625 in the Pottstown Sector is active....however,133.675 in the Lancaster Sector does not seem to have any activity...yet. I'm trying all the Sectors adjacent to the Lancaster area.

After trying just about every VHF Sector in ZNY around the Lancaster Sector, they are all active. The only listed freq not active is 133.675 in the Lancaster Sector itself. We may have found a new ZNY freq Ben. It has only been about 15-20 minutes but this is a very busy time of evening for aircraft through that area to not hear anything on one of the Sector freqs.
Update: I'm feeling good about 128.0 being a new ZNY-Lancaster freq. Over an hour and nothing heard on 133.675.
Now over two hours with nothing on the 133.675 freq...looking better all the time.
**************************************************************
1924: SAM 1043 with Andrews Approach for landing runway 19R...119.3 (He was in Michigan earlier today.)
1925: SAM 1043 switches to ADW Twr for landing...118.4
1926: BATON 55 (EC-130J 193rd Special Operations Wing, PA-ANG Harrisburg) with Giant Killer to enter warning area W-107 at 0040Z...255.0...says he'll work FL 200-210. He's on mission 0406 (It's January 4th in Zulu time)
1930: Air Force 2 with ADW App...heading for runway 19R...119.3
1932: Air Force 2 to ADW Tower...six miles out, gear down...cleared to land 19R...118.4
[OMG...just turned on the TV news and there's Cindy Sheehan squawking...think I need to be sick.]
1953: U/I aircraft on Langley 1st Fighter Wing freq...236.55 (First time I've ever heard this freq active)
1955: ARMY 1778 in the pattern at Andrews...119.3
1956: ARMY 1778 for landing at Andrews with Tower...118.4
1956: DC 02 (KC-135 756th ARS Andrews) with ADW Approach doing pattern work...119.3

2007: DC 02 to LIBERATOR mentions leaving the local area and wanting one last check on his receivers....378.1
2010: DC 02 repeats the ground station message that "they're airborne"...378.1
2024: TEAM 35 (KC-10A McGuire) to McGuire Command Post wanting to confirm his second activity with (missed callsign - ended in 32) is still on...319.4
2045: U/I aircraft on AR-636 primary freq talking to DC 02 telling him he's approaching Norfolk and about to turn toward the IP...238.9
2046: REACH 0455 to Dover Command Post with arrival message...25 minutes out, 11 pax to offload...needs high stairs and two vans...status A-1...349.7
2048: U/I to DC 02 to say he'll be at the IP at 0158Z...238.9
2055: JOSA 885 with arrival message to Andrews...378.1
2055: REACH 705T with arrival message to Andrews...378.1
2058: REACH 3115 to Andrews...378.1

2113: REACH 3115 tells Andrews he's just been informed they'll need crew transportation for 4 upon arrival...378.1
2141: BATON 55 on the way home to Harrisburg from W-107...giving arrival message to Baton Ops...15 minutes out, A-2 for backend writeups and 10,000 pounds of fuel remaining...395.1

2208: GIANT 8531 calling ?Dover?...134.1
2219: REACH 7041 calling Westover CP [CASINO ROYALE]...252.1 (Noise on freq blocking his calls so I'm not sure which ground station callsign he used)
2234: REACH 705T reports off the ground from Andrews at this time...378.1
2234: DC 02 to LIBERATOR to report coming home with 36,000 pounds of fuel and needs a parking spot...378.1
2252: TEAM 35 Heavy (KC-10A McGuire) to Atlantic City Approach reports descending from 9 to 8000 feet...then cleared to 5000...124.6

NOTE: I tried to post a message with the new FAA-ATA-100 freq list coming out in a couple of weeks for the Washington Center area but it's way too long for this forum. Only 12,000 characters allowed in a message and the list is over 50,000 characters long. If anyone wants a copy of this ZDC document in Microsoft Word format only sent via email, please contact me at boston@erols.com Just please keep in mind that the published FAA lists are never totally correct. They are not updated as they should be.

Brian, got your request for the list, sent it and am now getting something from your Earthlink ISP that I'm not an approved sender. Sheesh!!!!

 

[dparana]

Good evening all and happy new year!

Is anyone picking up air to air activity on 142.60. It sounds like a male and female chatting. First picked up at about 20:50 or so. It's very weak and I need to have my squealch turned all the way down to pick it up.

Ref Below: Thanks Tin, must be from the North or West. By the way, awesome command post.

Dave

 

[TinEar]

Hi Dave and Happy New Year back to you.

Nothing heard here. I've had one radio searching the 138-144 band full time as always and have not had a stop on that freq. Upon receiving your post, I stopped the receiver on 142.6 and have heard nothing up to this point so it's probably not coming from this area.
******************************************************
Effective Date: November 23, 2006
Navaids located in MD.

ADW - ANDREWS AFB, MD
APG - ABERDEEN, MD
BAL - BALTIMORE, MD
BUH - ANNE ARUNDEL, MD (Fort Meade)
CBE - CUMBERLAND, MD
CGE - CAMBRIDGE, MD
EMI - WESTMINSTER, MD
ESN - EASTON, MD
FDK - FREDERICK, MD
FND - ELLICOTT, MD
GAI - GAITHERSBURG, MD
GRV - GRANTSVILLE, MD
HGR - HAGERSTOWN, MD
IUB - INSTITUTE, MD (Baltimore)
MTN - MARTIN, MD
NHK - PATUXENT, MD
OTT - NOTTINGHAM, MD
OX - LANDY, MD (Ocean City)
PPM - PHILLIPS, MD (Aberdeen)
PXT - PATUXENT, MD
SBY - SALISBURY, MD
SWL - SNOW HILL, MD