What to listen to? Airband noob questions

[GROL]

Generally almost never are ATC antennas made to do that. Allthough close in aircraft will be near vertical, they will be close so no special directed antenna is needed. Farther away aircraft will be near horizon like another ground station would. what make ground monitoring heard is the ATC transmitter do not need much power or height as the aircraft is line of sight. Monitoring from the ground is heard when terrain gets in the way.

Yes. ATC antennas are high gain omnidirectional verticles that concentrate energy to the horizon and less up or down than a unity gain 1/4 wave dipole. Often discones for multi-channel radios but not always, and discones also do not radiate much upward, actually I think it is more down but still to the horizon. Low power transmitters are 20 watts or less. Many are not more than 12 watts. High power transmitters are up to 50 watts. And there is not that much power after feed line and multi-coupler losses. Multiple transmitters into single antennas. For example, in my old friend the AN/MSN-7 (Mobile Air Traffic Control Tower) which uses 2-10 watt AN/PRC-113 manpack radios to cover 116-150 and 225-400 MHz, by the time the transmitted signal at 10 watts gets to the bulkhead after the multi-coupler and before the feed line to the antenna you measure about 1 watt.

 

[morfis]

The problem with that method is that it takes so long to scan through them all and you miss so many while you're doing that.

I agree BUT with time you'll build your record of what you can hear from your location with your kit.

and it's the reason I'd suggest a cheap rtl device is the way to go. Old scanner listening to the few and rtl device actually searching more time than 'listening'. Also opens up whole new chunks od spectrum to explore.

Scanning memories full of frequencies you'll never hear guarantees you will miss things in range.

See it all the time when I talk to the people outside. "Why does my scanner miss all the action but his doesn't". It's pretty much always because they are scanning a few thousand frequencies supplied despite being irrelevent. They won't hear a single frequency from East Anglia outside the fence here but they'll still be scanning therm! Other person is pnly scanning what they know of from here.

Another common 'mistake' seems to be that users want voices all of the time so fill their scanners with ATC freqs and won't spend the time searching for the less used and generally more interesting stuff.
((I'm not suggesting that's what the OP here is trying to do))

 

[G7RUX]

Distance & geography and I believe their antennas radiate upward.

Generally they use reasonably simple antennas, such as dipoles (can be folded) or quarter wave monopole, sometimes a colinear. The patterns tend to point at the horizon but are quite broad.

The main things which makes ground-based transmissions harder to receive than those from aircraft are geography and height over terrain; much air-to-ground propagation is clear line-of-sight but ground-to-ground is subject to diffraction and ground clutter, hence tends to be weaker.

 

[Skyd]

I agree BUT with time you'll build your record of what you can hear from your location with your kit.

and it's the reason I'd suggest a cheap rtl device is the way to go. Old scanner listening to the few and rtl device actually searching more time than 'listening'. Also opens up whole new chunks od spectrum to explore.

Scanning memories full of frequencies you'll never hear guarantees you will miss things in range.

See it all the time when I talk to the people outside. "Why does my scanner miss all the action but his doesn't". It's pretty much always because they are scanning a few thousand frequencies supplied despite being irrelevent. They won't hear a single frequency from East Anglia outside the fence here but they'll still be scanning therm! Other person is pnly scanning what they know of from here.

Another common 'mistake' seems to be that users want voices all of the time so fill their scanners with ATC freqs and won't spend the time searching for the less used and generally more interesting stuff.
((I'm not suggesting that's what the OP here is trying to do))

Yep, precisely what I'm trying to avoid. Using my PRO-106 I try only to have about 120 or less frequencies scanning at a time. This keeps my scan time to 2 seconds. So as you say - filling my scanner with stuff I'm never going to hear is an effort in futility.

However, I do like to program frequencies that might not be used often. Sometimes these can have some interesting things on them from time to time. Those I feel are harder to catch with a search so I suppose it's a bit of a guess until you either hear something or go a long time without hearing anything.

Also - last night I set up a limit search and did the entire air band. It's too slow really but I did catch at least 3 different frequencies in the short time I tried it out. I'm going to reduce it down to a few more specific searches. I'll take a look at the FAA thing someone else posted that way I can skip over the frequencies allocated to things I don't care about.

But I think I'll order myself an SDR dongle this weekend also because that sounds like fun too

 

[rrobinso84]

I got a few SDRs after my scanner, and frankly, I should have started with them first! I'm learning SO MUCH MORE from the SDR dongles and DSD+ Fast Lane!

It's also helping me navigate the scanner and fine tune what I set that to listen for.

I have several P25 systems nearby, so the data and info DSD+ provides really helps me "see" what's going on behind the audio that it decodes! Yes, I'm hooked!

 

[wtp]

i always like the line, you can never have enough radios !
even cheap analog ones can do air stuff.

 

[KK4JUG]

Go to AirNav: Airport Information

Put in the 3 or 4 letter airport designation (or the city) and you can find all kinds of information (including frequenies) about the airports around you, and there are a lot more than just Logan.

Here's an example for Logan:

UNICOM:​	122.95
WX ASOS:​	135.0 (617-567-5762)
BOSTON GROUND:​	121.75 121.9
BOSTON TOWER:​	124.725 ;HELICOPTERS 128.8 ;WEST 132.225 ;EAST 257.8
BOSTON APPROACH:​	118.25 ;NORTH 120.6 ;WEST 127.2 ;SOUTH
BOSTON DEPARTURE:​	133.0
CLEARANCE DELIVERY:​	121.65 257.8
PRE-TAXI CLEARANCE:​	121.65
CLASS B:​	124.1 ;091-269 124.4 ;270-090
D-ATIS:​	135.0 ;ARR 135.0 ;DEP
EMERG:​	121.5 243.0
IC:​	120.6 ;WEST
RAMP CTL:​	134.05

 

[dave3825]

But I think I'll order myself an SDR dongle this weekend also because that sounds like fun too

There is a lot of enjoyment playing with a dongle. I would play with my dongle 24/7 if I could..



.

 

[kny2xb]

In addition to ATC, towers, approach, departure, etc, I would program in:

122.750 Air-to-Air fixed wing, this is the legal, official frequency allocation/usage per the FAA

123.025 Air-to-Air helicopters

123.450 Now a flight test frequency, this used to be Air-to-Air long range, but some pilots either didn’t get the memo or disregard it & still use it as air-to-air

123.400 Now a flight test frequency, this used to be an unofficial Air-to-Air, I forgot what it was used as officially, again, some pilots either didn’t get the memo or disregard it & still use it as air-to-air, the same as 123.450

129.400 ARINC

129.900 ARINC

121.500 GUARD, aviation distress calling

123.100 Search-and-Rescue SAR operations, I presume mainly Civil Air Patrol

122.900 MULTICOM Search-and-Rescue SAR, secondary usage to 123.100, it can also be used for SAR training

122.925 MULTICOM Fire fighting, forestry management & fire suppression, fish & game management & protection, environmental monitoring & protection, I've heard this frequency being used here in FL when there's been wildfires in the next county north of me

 

[xms3200]

123.45 is still used for Air to Air over the water, I work for United Airlines, and it is still very much used over water. Wonder which bulletins you are using. The longer answer is that such use is permitted over the oceans and outside the range of VHF ground stations, but that this will almost never be the case in the continental US.

 

[Alain]

SKYD, what I did was put my SDS 200 in a scanning mode from 111 MHz thru 138 MHz and see what I heard. Finding freq's on my own made it much more fun for me...

 

[iMONITOR]

SKYD, what I did was put my SDS 200 in a scanning mode from 111 MHz thru 138 MHz and see what I heard. Finding freq's on my own made it much more fun for me...

The only problem with doing that is that is will take so long to scan or search that portion of the spectrum you will like miss a lot due to the time the scanner is looking at individual frequencies that are not necessarily active at that exact time and by the time the scanner reaches the active frequency it will likely become inactive at that time. Aircraft communications are typically very short.

 

[WX9RLT]

I am sure many people will be mad at my response.

But I like to use the search feature.
And search the whole aircraft band.
Many people hate using that feature, and many think its "taboo" lol
That darn search feature...

 

[WX9RLT]

SKYD, what I did was put my SDS 200 in a scanning mode from 111 MHz thru 138 MHz and see what I heard. Finding freq's on my own made it much more fun for me...

I do the same thing
Except I search 118.0 thru 136.00

 

[iMONITOR]

I am sure many people will be mad at my response.

But I like to use the search feature.
And search the whole aircraft band.
Many people hate using that feature, and many think its "taboo" lol
That darn search feature...

Nobody is mad. If you're logging over a long period of time it works, just doesn't work well if you're just listening.

 

[nd5y]

The civilian aircraft band in the US is 118-137.

 

[R0am3r]

I use the combo SDR# and RTL-SDR dongle with the Frequency Scanner plugin to sweep the Airband. This configuration works great and is incredibly fast. I combine this setup with the Frequency Manager plugin to display the ATC Center, airport name, etc.

 

[GROL]

I didn't see that anyone explained ARTCC frequencies. Air Route Traffic control Centers provide services to aircraft flying IFR flight plans between airports. High altitude and easy to monitor at very long distances.

There are 21 ARTCC in the US and the RR database under each state has frequencies for routes covered by the ARTCC's.

Boston (ZBW) Air Route Traffic Control Center Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Boston (ZBW) Air Route Traffic Control Center

www.radioreference.com

ATC, ATCT, TRACON, ARTCC -- Who are We Talking to and Why?

Air Traffic Control assists pilots in different phases of reaching their destination utilizing different specialties and methods.

www.globalair.com

Sometimes you will find useful information in NOTAMs. Notice to Air Missions contain anything the FCC needs to communicate to controllers, pilots and facilities. They may contain temporary changes or permanent changes. Information about obstacles, special events or circumstances among others.

Federal Aviation Administration: NOTAM Search

notams.aim.faa.gov

 

[Skyd]

I didn't see that anyone explained ARTCC frequencies. Air Route Traffic control Centers provide services to aircraft flying IFR flight plans between airports. High altitude and easy to monitor at very long distances.

There are 21 ARTCC in the US and the RR database under each state has frequencies for routes covered by the ARTCC's.

Boston (ZBW) Air Route Traffic Control Center Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Boston (ZBW) Air Route Traffic Control Center

www.radioreference.com

ATC, ATCT, TRACON, ARTCC -- Who are We Talking to and Why?

Air Traffic Control assists pilots in different phases of reaching their destination utilizing different specialties and methods.

www.globalair.com

Sometimes you will find useful information in NOTAMs. Notice to Air Missions contain anything the FCC needs to communicate to controllers, pilots and facilities. They may contain temporary changes or permanent changes. Information about obstacles, special events or circumstances among others.

Federal Aviation Administration: NOTAM Search

notams.aim.faa.gov

Oh thanks for that info I need to dive in a bit. I hear quite a bit on 135.700 that I found just doing an air band search so that falls right into this.

 

[GROL]

Oh thanks for that info I need to dive in a bit. I hear quite a bit on 135.700 that I found just doing an air band search so that falls right into this.

There ya go. 135.7 shows up in the list for an ARTCC transceiver site in Vermont and New Hampshire.

You can also access the aeronautical charts on SkyVector. The charts have frequencies.

SkyVector: Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts

Make your Flight Plan at SkyVector.com. SkyVector is a free online flight planner. Flight planning is easy on our large collection of Aeronautical Charts, including Sectional Charts, Approach Plates, IFR Enroute Charts, and Helicopter route charts. Weather data is always current, as are Jet Fuel...

skyvector.com

You can also follow flights with the Flightradar24 app.
Load the app to get the ability to browse the map and see flights. Within the app you can click on AR and point your phone in the direction of aircraft you see or hear and it will show what it is. If you just move your phone around pointing the camera towards the sky you will see flights near you. You do not need a subscription for basic usage with ads.