Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8900/4.6.1.231 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)
I have been looking at getting into milair monitoring for awhile now and was curious as to whether anyone here lives in Western Colorado and has success listening to milair?
Bluealien,
While I don't live in Colorado, I might offer some suggestions that might help you out. I'm not sure exactly what your local terrain is like but I'm sure it is not as flat as it is here in Alabama and your "mileage may vary" as they say with these suggestions.
I routinely here milcoms from traffic that is 100-200 miles away, possibly further depending on conditions and the aircraft altitude. The first thing I did using Streets and Trips was check a 250 mile radius from Grand Junction. You have:
- USAF Academy Airfield
- Buckly AFB Airport
- Butts AAF (Fort Carson)
- Hill AFB, UT
Using web sites like
www.airnav.com &
www.skyvector.com check these locations for any command posts, base ops, & PMSV Metro frequencies. All of these are on the fringe of 250 mile radius you might also pick up some of the approach & departure chat from these.
Also like abqscan said, check out the ARTCC frequencies in your area, not only do you have Denver center, your on the edge of Salt Lake center and should hear aircraft passing through on many of these frequencies again stick with the areas around 200 miles from your location
Using the web sites above also look at other airports in your area. Look up any airport on Airnav, scroll down near the bottom of that page it should show you a percentage of military traffic at that airport. Below is from Grand Junction Regional:
Airport Operational Statistics
Aircraft based on the field: 114
Single engine airplanes: 94
Multi engine airplanes: 1
Jet airplanes: 6
Helicopters: 1
Aircraft operations: avg 187/day
[SIZE=-1] *[/SIZE]40% transient general aviation
27% air taxi
21% local general aviation
7% military
5% commercial
There might be other airports near you that do military training and these would be good opportunities to hear traffic.
Also search the 138mHz ~ 144mHz band in AM mode for any air to air comms.
Patience is the key when it comes to milcom. But don't overlook the VHF band as many C-130s, KC-135s, KC-10s, C-17s use the common ARTCC frequencies when communicating.
Good Luck and Good Listening....
Keith
