Storms and the media

[oklameatman]

OKC Channels 4 & 9 -- How do the helicopter pilots communicate with the studio meterologists when they are flying around a storm hoping for a tornado to develop? I would assume it is not cellular. Can this audio be monitored?

 

[KK5FM]

Channel 4 uses any of these three frequencies:
455.050
455.350
463.850
Channel 9 uses primarily:
450.5125

And you are correct about them not using cellular. Besides rules prohibiting use of cellular phones in aircraft, there is the issue of the height confusing the cellular system and it has a nasty habit of dropping the calls... if you ever get connected to start with!

 

[oklameatman]

Are these the frequencies used also when the pilot is "live" talking on television to the chief meteorologist?

 

[hcary1]

Audio you hear from the chopper is sent with the video via microwave. Below are the KWTV frequencies.

http://www.broadcast.net/~sbe85/okc1.html

2016.5
2033.5
2475.5

 

[oklameatman]

Neat website. . .Thank you.

 

[Thunderbolt]

I know in the Detroit area and elsewhere, 2 GHz., is slowly replacing the older 450 & 455 MHz., frequencies for audio transmission back to the station. I asked one person that I know why there was such a migration taking place and they said, "the audio clarity is better and more privacy."
I wonder if all the media operations will move up to the 2 GHz., area?

73's

Ron

 

[KK5FM]

OK. So I misread or misinterpreted the original post. When the station is telling the helicopter where to go, they are doing so on scannerable frequencies. When the pilot talks to the assignment desk, those conversations are on scannerable frequencies. The video and audio that you see on TV is via the 2gHz microwave channels. We tried to get the Icom IC-R3 to pick up these channels without success...

 

[N5MRK]

The reason you cant pick it up is because they are using a highly directional antenna. Unless you are sitting between it and the tower, you are not going to pick it up. (And if you are sitting between it and the tower, you are most likely going to get cancer or fry something. lol)

-KD5WUW

 

[K5MAR]

The reason you cant pick it up is because they are using a highly directional antenna. Unless you are sitting between it and the tower, you are not going to pick it up. (And if you are sitting between it and the tower, you are most likely going to get cancer or fry something. lol)

-KD5WUW

He Works for one of the Okla. TV stations running a large communications vehicle (no further personal information will be given), so I expect he knows a fair amount about how the microwave links work. If he says they tried the Icom receiver, I'm sure they did it in the proper manner to insure safe, but accurate operation. I'm just guessing here, but if the helicopter in question was sending a signal down to a sat truck to be relayed to the station via sat uplink, it would be safe and effective to stand next to the sat truck and try the R3.

Gotta love these forums, you get people from all walks of life!

Mark S.

 

[KK5FM]

THANK YOU, Mark... But who said anything about being safe around microwave transmitters.... There's a reason I have no children! hahahah!