Airband Radio & Aviation Enthusiasts Blog

My Early Airband Radio......

2011-10-09T08:20:00.000Z

I'm feeling in a nostalgic mood today and managed to find a picture of my first 'proper' airband radio, a Sharp airband radio. I did have one of those very cheap multiband radios before it, but I consider this to be my first 'real' airband radio.

Others that I've owned in the past include the Signal R537S which had just two crystal controlled fixed channels available as well as being able to tune the VHF airband via the tuning dial, aah those were the days! This was followed by a WIN108 - my first digital display airband radio, anyone remember these?

I was very excited by the red LED light in the top left corner of the Sharp radio as the intensity of the LED gave some indication of signal strength! I remember the tuning dial was quite 'stretched out' with numerous frequency markings so you had a good idea of where to place the tuning dial to listen to certain frequencies, but of course, like many of these radios, you could be monitoring several frequencies either side of the one you wanted to listen too!

Yet Another Live Air Traffic Radar Website!

2011-09-27T07:13:00.000Z

Just a quick message to mention another great live air traffic radar website which I missed out in my earlier post: www.heathrow-london.co.uk (it doesn't just cover Heathrow!).

Pilots, Flying and Laser Pens!

2011-09-18T08:15:00.000Z

Just last night, I picked up an aircraft inbound to Leeds Bradford working Scottish Air Traffic Control and the pilot was reporting being 'dazzled' by a laser. This seems to be an ongoing problem for pilots and I'm not sure what the answer is as they are so freely available.

I know from my own experience of night flying as a private pilot, it's essential things are kept as dark as possible in the cockpit so that the pilots can easily read the faint glow of the instruments inside the cockpit but also, they're eyes are suitably adjusted to still see out of the cockpit for any traffic etc. When a bright laser is pointed in a pilots direction it can cause temporary 'blindness' that could prove very dangerous.

Signal R535 VHF/UHF Aircraft Band Receiver

2011-09-03T16:39:00.006Z

One of our readers recently asked where to get hold of one of these great airband radio scanners (besides Ebay!). I'm afraid I can't answer that question as Ebay would probably be about the only option now as they do come up for sale once in a while.

I have personally owned one of these on two different occasions now. The reception and sensitivity of this radio scanner for airband listening is well known, however, it is 20+ years old now and I honestly believe scanners such as the Yupiteru 7100 and my own current receiver, a Uniden Bearcat 3500XLT are very close if not equal to the performance of this radio.

The only limiting factor that caused me to sell mine was the fact that it had just 60 memory channels in a single memory bank. For me, this just isn't enough anymore. Do any of our readers still own this great radio? do you find 60 memory channels is enough? Please let us know.

Online Real-Time Virtual Aircraft Radar Sites

2011-08-30T19:52:00.004Z

If you cannot stretch to the cost of the latest Airnav Radarbox or Kinetic SBS-1 real time radar receivers then why not try the next best alternative...

Two websites in particular provide an online real time radar display of aircraft that are transmitting ADS-B position information. The first one being RadarVirtuel.com and the second FlightRadar24.com.

Both of these sites are collating position information submitted from many different receiver owners all over the world.

My personal favourite though, has to be flightradar24.com because there are more options to customize the display. For instance, they have recently added the option to display up to three lines of information next to each aircraft displayed on the map. On the first line you can display callsign or aircraft registration, on line two, type and registration or altitude and speed or just one of any of those four options. On the third line, you have all the same options again, so over the three displayed lines you can instantly see a lot of information!

One other point, FlightRadar24.com also provide apps for the Iphone and Google Android operating system phones - so I've now got a real time radar app on my mobile phone wherever I go! In fact, whilst I can't comment on the Iphone app, my Android phone app even has an option called 'AR view' (I think it stands for aspect ratio view) so you can switch to this option and point your phone at the sky and it will display all the relevant info on any plane that's within your 'view' although, in practice, this doesn't always work correctly.

Why not give one of them a try - you'll soon be hooked!

Waddington Air Show

2010-07-06T13:48:00.000Z

I managed to attend the Waddington air show this year on the Saturday (looked like the best day of the two weatherwise too!) and had a great day.

I didn't bother last year as the display lineup looked very 'thin' with a distinct lack of foreign jet participants, but it was certainly better this year with the inclusion of a Czech Saab Gripen and a Belgian F16 along with the usual RAF participants. The role demo (and pyrotechnics) involving 2 x Tornado GR4's certainly added some interest this year.

Interestingly, they were using 121.3 as a tower frequency which has been noted previous years and they appeared to be using 132.9 (a standard air show frequency allocation) as a radar frequency for departing/arriving and holding air show related traffic.

Aircraft and The Iceland Volcanic Ash

2010-04-22T07:09:00.000Z

Well, today flights seem to returning to some kind of normality but I can't help thinking that a complete 'blanket shutdown' of UK airspace was probably not necessary in the first place. I know safety has to be the primary concern but I don't think the methods employed to measure just how much ash existed and at what levels AND if it was actually dangerous to aircraft engines at the concentration levels seen over the UK was nearly accurate enough.

I do think there were quite possibly 'safe windows' of airspace to operate in during the crisis period but I'm sure that's one issue that all those involved in the industry will be debating for many months to come!

I'm also certain the airlines will be fighting for compensation for the considerable loss of revenue but it's also all the allied industries that have been seriously affected that will suffer the hardest because there's no chance of recompense for them. Businesses such as those based at the airports: car hire firms, retailers, caterers etc. - they will have lost out considerably.

To be fair, this is a new and fairly unique situation to have found ourselves having to deal with as a country and I'm sure lessons will be learned for the future...

Vulcan XH558 - The Current Situation

2009-12-04T14:40:00.002Z

I have today received a note from 'Vulcan to The Sky' that XH558 needs £200,000 by Christmas to avoid the administrators. Currently, they have secured just 25% of this figure to get her through December. They state that she then needs this amount EVERY MONTH until March to secure her future for the 2010 display season.

It has been a truly fantastic achievement to get this complex, four engined, ex-RAF aircraft airworthy again and I was ecstatic to see her perform a display at the Cosby Victory Show this year (so close to home for me), BUT (and it truly pains me to say this) I really think she is on borrowed time, in fact, she's probably been on borrowed time since that first incredible maiden flight after her restoration.

The truth is, we are in a recession, approaching the Christmas period AND no major sponsorship has been forthcoming since the project began. There has been so much publicity generated, often by hardworking volunteers that I firmly believe if major sponsorship was ever going to happen then it would have happened by now.

Much as I love this aircraft, the project seems to 'eat' money like it grows on trees, even through the overwintering period. I honestly think it is unreasonable to expect the same section of society who love and appreciate this aircraft, given the current state of things, to cough up the funds required month after month to keep this aircraft in the air (where I DO BELIEVE it belongs).

I will treasure the experience of seeing her in the summer and I really, really hope I'm wrong, but it could well have been the last time I see this wonderful aircraft in flight.

Update on Airnav Radar Box!

2009-11-18T15:23:00.004Z

What can I say, wow! this is an amazing piece of kit that transforms aircraft spotting and airband listening to a whole new level! (big statement, I know, but completely true).

Airnav radar box arrived yesterday and after a few teething problems getting the drivers on the supplied CD to install correctly ( I still hate windows Vista!!) I was up and running in no time. Within seconds of connecting to my 'radar box' the lights were flashing on the front and data started to stream in, now admittedly when your using the supplied antenna indoors you cannot expect to receive aircraft from any great range. I don't want to get technical here, but the transmissions are on 1090Mhz which means it's SERIOUSLY line of sight reception, even more so than the VHF/UHF airband.

I was getting a modest 40-50 nm radius reception in most directions (just like airband though, it all depends on antenna location AND aircraft height).

I have not got the time today to go into great detail about the amazing features, but you get a 'picture' of air traffic in your area in real-time complete with a datatag very similar to what the air traffic controller would have on his radar screen giving such details as flight number, destination and departure points, ground speed, registration, altitude and whether that aircraft is climbing or descending etc. and if your connected to the net, the software will download a picture of the very aircraft your looking at which is automatically downloaded from airliners.net!

Needless to say, I'm impressed but I will post again when I have more time to discuss this amazing bit of kit further!

All the best for now, Mark.

Airnav Radar Box

2009-11-17T07:47:00.002Z

After some 30 years of airband listening, I've finally taken the next step and splashed out on an Airnav Radar Box. If this bit of kit does everything it says on the tin, I'll be very impressed. The idea of being able to 'see' in real-time commercial aircraft flying through my area on a 'radar screen' providing me with all the same information an air traffic controller is seeing is an exciting prospect!

Also this particular product has the ability to 'see' traffic just about everywhere in the world by being able to connect to the Airnav network via the internet allowing you to receive the information from other Airnav Radar Box users globally! (albeit with a 5 minute delay in the interests of security and international laws).

Having looked at it's competitor, the Kinetic SBS-1 (now available as the 'er' version with built-in airband radio and more expensive) I believe the Airnav Radar Box looks a better product with it's networking ability and highly customisable interface but I'd be glad to hear from SBS-1 users who believe their product to be the better one!

Delivery is expected today so I will post again with my findings once I've had time to play with it.

Victory Show at Cosby

2009-09-24T14:29:00.004Z

In the end, I didn't manage to attend any air shows this year except the victory show held at Cosby in Leicestershire. This was literally a 10 minute drive from me and when I saw that there was going to be a display by the Battle of Britain flight along with a couple of P51 mustangs, Boeing B17 'Sally B' AND not least a 'bombing run' by the Vulcan XH558, I couldn't resist.

I was not disappointed, a great day all in all and we enjoyed a flypast (not a display) by the Red Arrows but the Vulcan did a full display rather than just a single 'bombing run' as the advertising suggested (incidentally the associated pyrotechnics for the bombs going off were excellent as they were for the ground battle re-enactment).

I was surprised to find they had actually created a grass strip running north/south for visiting aircraft and there were a few light aircraft that arrived including wartime 'spotter' type planes and most noticeably a Hawker Hurricane - all of which you could get very close to on the parking line.

Altogether a thoroughly enjoyable day and one I will look forward to next year.

Btw - they were using one of the standard air show frequency allocations for the weekend of 130.625Mhz. Some pilots were having problems communicating with the air/ground operator as I believe he was only using a hand-held Icom transceiver.

RAF Waddington - What did you think?

2009-07-07T08:33:00.002Z

Just interested to hear from any of our readers that attended Waddington air show this year. I must admit I didn't even consider going as the display lineup, (with the exception of Vulcan XH558) didn't look very enticing to me at all.

Last year I did attend, and I thought the RAF role demo was a fantastic routine, but this years event looked much the same as last years but without the role demo and to be honest, I've seen all the RAF stuff before.

I guess I was just spoilt during the 1980's/1990's as airshows seemed to have lots of interesting fast and noisy jet participation from nations far and wide.

Anyway if you would like to make a comment, please do so by hitting the 'comments' link.

RAF Waddington Sentinal R1

2009-03-20T09:43:00.002Z

Has anybody else noticed a sentinal R1 flying a large rectangular pattern over different parts of the UK often for many hours at high altitude? I have noticed one (and heard it on the scanner) on a number of occasions over the central UK over the last month or two.

The callsign is always 'snapshot' followed by a number eg. 'snapshot 1' - appropriate I suppose for an airborne surveillance aircraft! Anyway, please get in touch if you have any further information to add about these flights. Thanks, Mark.

Vulcan XH558 - The End?

2009-01-16T14:38:00.003Z

It is now critical that XH558 receives further donations or pledges to donate, in order to secure her flying career into 2009. After having seen her in the air again for the first time since her restoration at the Waddington show last summer it would be a great shame for her to be grounded after all the work that's gone into getting her airworthy again.

I appreciate the economic situation is very difficult at the moment but some things are worth saving aren't they?

If you think you can help in any way please visit www.vulcantothesky.org for further information.

Now, I appreciate I have not paid much attention to the site for a while, but if anyone has anything interesting to report then please click on the 'comments' link just below this message, it would be nice to hear from you.

Mark.

Airband News

2008-05-21T13:59:00.004Z

An Apache attack helicopter (possibly more than one) has been operating over Leicester for quite some time today. If anyone has some information on what they are doing I would be interested to know! Thanks, Mark.

A Plea For Vulcan XH558

2008-05-16T05:28:00.003Z

It's been a remarkable achievement to return such a large, complex 4 engine ex-RAF aircraft to the air, and this has been the culmination of years of effort and in some cases, thousands of volunteer hours by air and ground crews and incredible goodwill on the part of some individuals and companies.
She had some final flight tests last week at RAF Coningsby and I believe still needs to get her display routine passed by a CAA examiner before being allowed to fly at airshows.

I for one cannot wait to see (and feel!) the incredible power of this great delta taking to the skies.

It's looking like Waddington air show might be XH558's first confirmed appearance this season but following the AGM of the Vulcan Operating committee/Vulcan To The Sky Trust it was confirmed that at this time, there are sufficient funds for 2 months general maintenance and enough fuel for 4 more flights!

Without some major sponsership coming forward very soon, her return to the skies may be very short-lived.

In any case, I would like to ask all my readers to consider contributing what you can. Anything is appreciated and vital to keeping her airborne at this time. I believe, once she has had the opportunity to display her grace and power at a public airshow and it is seen how she alone can 'pull in the crowds' that major sponsorship might be more forthcoming.

It is possible to make an e-donation on the website or, if you have not done so already, consider joining the Vulcan To The Sky Club and receive all the latest news and info on XH558 as I have already done.

Thanks in advance to all my readers, you can visit the Vulcan Operating Committee website
HERE

My Apologies & Some Vulcan Gossip!

2008-05-07T07:38:00.005Z

Firstly, I must apologise for not posting much recently, I seem to go through periods where I am just too busy to sit down and post but I am committed to trying to rectify this and I would like your help!
Please do contribute your comments if you have anything you would like to inform fellow enthusiasts about.

I have had a few days off work and have had the chance to 'listen in' much more on my Uniden UBC3500XLT. While working on my pc yesterday I was listening to 'central sector' (252.875Mhz) for much of the day and heard (and saw) about 8 overflights either westbound or eastbound to the south of Leicester of USAF C17 overflights. Interestingly, one of them called Lakenheath weathar info service (284.425Mhz) for the Spangdahlem weather report. So it would seem perhaps most of these overflights I can see from my location in Leicester are probably operating between the US and Germany.

And now to the Vulcan XH558 based here in Leicestershire at Bruntingthorpe:

Yesterday, Tuesday 6th May, I believe I heard Vulcan XH558 leave Bruntingthorpe around 1500hrs and call Cottesmore radar (UHF) using the callsign 'marshall 1' - she was en route to Cambridge (the home of marshall aerospace) - that's the first time I have picked her up on the scanner since her restoration but I'm still waiting for my first sighting of her in the air!

Perhaps you would like to share your experience of seeing (or hearing!) her again by posting here.
Thanks all, Mark.

Air Show Season Is Upon Us!

2008-04-29T17:04:00.003Z

Well, it's that time of year again. I'm not a big airshow attender, I wish I had the time, but I do hope to attend the RAF Waddington airshow this year on 5-6th July.

The display lineup certainly looks better than last year according to their website and in particular it would be great to see Vulcan XH558 displaying once more (marked as provisional at the moment).

What airshows have you attended? perhaps you would like to leave a post and let us all know.

Thanks, Mark.

Airband Frequencies To Monitor

2008-02-08T16:11:00.000Z

Dare I say, spring will be upon us soon so I thought I would just re-publish some airband frequencies that can be interesting to listen out for when the better weather conditions are upon us (although having said that, today has been a mild and beautifully sunny day here in the midlands).

Anyway I have mentioned these airband frequencies in a past posting but here they are again just in case you can't be bothered to search through all the posts:

Gliders:
129.975
130.1
130.125
130.4

Balloons:
122.475

Microlights:
129.825

Paradropping sites:
129.9

P.s. I have managed to put together a small online store in partnership with Amazon listing airband radios and aviation books - so please take a look and see what you think. You can visit the store HERE.

BA Boeing 777 Incident At Heathrow

2008-01-20T07:45:00.000Z

I'm amazed there were no enthusiasts that caught this event on film, Angus Walker from ITN news has posted here requesting anybody with some footage of the event to contact him.

Interestingly I tried the same failure myself on Microsoft Flight Simulator (cut power completely with 500ft to go on the approach to 27L at Heathrow) and the result for me was identical to the incident. Without enough power to control your descent to hit the touchdown zone you have to trade off height to maintain speed and inevitably land short skidding to a halt somewhere near the touchdown end of the runway. Of course, the reality of that situation and the ability to remain calm and 'fly' the aircraft is a little different but then, what else can you do at 500ft?
It reminded me of the Kegworth incident all those years ago. That was a 'landing short' incident with much more tragic consequences as it came to a very abrupt halt on the western side of the M1 motorway embankment. It made me wonder if this had been at another airport that perhaps didn't have the same 'undershoot' area available, this might have been a similar tragedy, what do you think?

C141 Starlifter vs C17!

2007-12-20T11:23:00.000Z

Thanks to one of our readers who pointed out my 'deliberate' mistake regarding a c141 starlifter which of course in now retired! Actually the aircraft I saw was longer than the C17 so I have to assume it was probably a C5 Galaxy rather than a C17. Most often, they are actually C17's but I believe there are still C5's in service.

Latest Air Traffic Report

2007-12-14T11:24:00.000Z

It was a lovely clear but cold day yesterday and this allowed me to do a bit of spotting for military traffic crossing the north/south civil corridor over Leicester. A USAF C141 Starlifter at FL340 flew eastbound towards Marham then 'NAVPI' earlier in the morning (to the south of Leicester). Later, 3 Typhoons at FL360, one after the other came across westbound out of Coningsby no doubt heading for Wales to go low level training. All aircraft were working 'Central sector' on 252.875Mhz. That's all for now, Mark.

New Post Regarding The UBC3500XLT

2007-11-05T07:00:00.000Z

A reader has submitted the following:

'I have just bought a ubc3500xlt but I'm having trouble picking any signals up.Do i need to attatch a different aerial than the one supplied? I live in the Wirral and I can get John Lennon airport air traffic controll but thats about it.Do you have any recomened frequencies for my area?'

I do find the telescopic aerial supplied with the UBC3500XLT very good but of course it all depends on your location etc. with regard to radio reception.

With regard to frequencies, you are directly under sector 29 operated by Manchester (FL195 to FL285) frequency: 118.775.

Above this are:

sector 7 (london FL285 to FL335) frequency: 135.580
sector 4 (london FL335 to FL660) frequency: 132.860

hope this helps, Mark.

Vulcan XH558 Flies Again!

2007-10-18T13:16:00.000Z

Vulcan XH558 was airborne again just after midday from Bruntingthorpe (about 10 miles from me). I didn't see or hear her but my brother caught site of it in the Bruntingthorpe area. I cannot wait to see this great delta in the skies again. Did any of you readers see her? please let us know, thanks. Mark.

C-17 Aircraft Spotted!

2007-10-04T06:26:00.000Z

Its a beautiful, almost completely clear morning (thursday 4th October) I am up and about at 7am watching southbound departures climbing out of East Midlands to the west of me (working WELIN on 130.925 then handed off to COWLY on 133.075) and I spot a military crosser just south of Leicester heading East on this occasion. A quick look with the binoculars confirms the unmistakable shape of a C-17 (possibly heading for Amsterdam??).
I immediately tune the scanner to CENTRAL SECTOR MILITARY on 252.875.
Surely enough after a few minutes he is given a new squawk ready for handoff to Eastern military, he is routing to 'NAVPI' - a reporting point some 57nm east of Norwich at the edge of UK airspace. After a few minutes he is handed to eastern military 277.775. I have seen these overflights just south of Leicester on a number of occasions, anybody with any further info on their departure and destination points please do let us know more about these overflights. Thanks all, Mark.

Interesting Aircraft Sighting!

2007-09-05T14:46:00.000Z

Yesterday I spotted an Antonov AN2 biplane in formation with a Yak trainer overflying Leicester on a westerly heading. Anybody else see this formation on the 4th September and have any info on destination and departure points? I couldn't pick them up on the scanner but then they were in 'no mans land' in terms of airspace.

Newquay Airport St Mawgan

2007-08-17T06:17:00.000Z

Neil has asked the following question:

'Hi, I've recently rediscovered my Yupiteru VT25II scanner and thought about taking it on holiday with me. We'll be very close to Newquay Airport (St Mawgan).Is there anywhere online that can tell me what the local frequencies are? I've tried to find something but don't appear to be googling with the right words.'

Neil - the only frequency I can find on the UK Aeronautical Info Service website is 128.425Mhz for approach control. Anybody else able to shed further light here?

Visit The Aviation Bookstore At Amazon.co.uk

Uniden UBC3500XLT Question....

2007-08-03T08:59:00.000Z

Ken has sent the following question in:

'I have just bought a Uniden 3500XLT with serial lead and software. The problem is in connecting to the PC - I don't have a serial port on my PC, so, on advice from Nevada, I went to Maplin and bought a USB Serial converter and installed it. However on installing the ARC3500 software and connecting the scanner nothing I do helps the PC recognize that the scanner is attached. Would you have any ideas or could you point me to a source for help.

The other think I am trying to get my head around is programming the scanner but I guess that will come in time though I have seen it written that it is easier to do from the PC which is why I wanted to get that going.

Any help very much appreciated.

Thanks

-ken'

I'm afraid I have no experience in connecting my UBC3500XLT to the computer so can any other readers help?

Off To Corfu On Monday!!

2007-07-12T13:31:00.000Z

I'm flying to the sun for a much needed two-week break on Monday so I won't be posting for a while. Please feel free to continue to comment and on my return I will add your post to the main column here. Thanks all, Mark.

A Question From 'ErnieB' On The Uniden UBC3500XLT

2007-07-04T17:31:00.000Z

ErnieB has posted the following:

Hi Mark
I have just got myself a Uniden 3500XLT and I like very much the close call but find it very hard to come to grips with inputting Freqs on my old radio. I just put in 124.0 and saved it then then all the rest for EMA and saved it to band 1 then the same for BHX into band 2 and so on. but I don't seem to be able to this with the new radio any help PleaseErnieB

Hi ErnieB - the UBC3500XLT is the best scanner I have come across in years, but it does work in a completely different way to most scanners you will be familiar with. Please send me an email to : mg170466@hotmail.co.uk from an address I can reply to, and I will be happy to get in touch by phone if necessary and 'talk you' through it.

Cheers, Mark

VISIT THE AVIATION BOOKSTORE AT: AMAZON.CO.UK

New Info On The Kinetic SBS-1

2007-07-01T19:03:00.000Z

Thanks to Matt Harvey for the following information:

'Hi, just to mention that Kinetic have reduced the price of the SBS-1 from £500 to £380 now. This should help a lot of new users to buy into this great piece of kit. Agree with your comments about Airnav...Matt

Comment From Dave Key (MilitaryAirshows.co.uk)

2007-06-27T05:30:00.000Z

'There is not much in the way of foreign display aircraft again at Waddington but then again we will get to see the Indian AF Su-30s & IL-78 even if its only a flypast as well as on the ground. Also the Sentinel, E-3D Sentry, and Nimrod recon. aircraft in formation, also the first display of the new Sentinel with a flypast with the Red Arrows and of course the new RAF Role Demo. What frequencies do you expect to be used at Waddington Airshow?'

Thanks Dave -btw I like the glider pic on your site, http://www.militaryairshows.co.uk/ I was an active PPL with the Leicester Aero Club for many years.

Getting back on subject, I'm not certain about show frequencies for this year, but here's a list of Waddington published frequencies and also the 'general' frequencies that are allocated for airshows only:

Waddington:
Approach: 250.85
DATIS: 291.675
Ground: 342.125
Radar (standby) 125.35
Radar (zone) 127.35 / 259.525
Departures: 308.625
Director: 378.5
Tower: 256.675

Airshow Allocations:
130.5
130.625
130.675
132.9
134.55
135.475

It's also worth including the NATO common frequencies on your scanner at an airshow too:

Tower: 122.1 / 257.8
Radar: 123.3 / 344.0 / 362.3 / 385.4

Hope this is useful!

Mark.

Kinetic SBS-1

2007-06-22T14:56:00.000Z

David has posted the following comment regarding the SBS-1:

'Re the SBS-1, just a small anecdote. I was looking at the demo on in M Lynch & Sons' place in Chertsey a while back and noticed it was even picking up aircraft taxi-ing at LHR. As I'd just come back from Moscow, I watched BA872 until it obviously took off and headed East.'
David. Egham.

Thanks for that David - that's one piece of equipment I am drooling over! Just haven't worked out the sales pitch to my wife yet as to how it will be £500 well spent!!

Interestingly there is a a new web-based product similar to the SBS-1. It's called the Airnav RadarBox - it appears to be about £100 cheaper and comes with 1 years free access but after that, you have to pay £120 a year to access the system via the web! over a few years that would work out considerably more expensive than just buying the SBS-1.

Btw I am considering attending Waddington airshow again this year but unfortunately it looks a rather 'weak' line up again, very little foreign air force participation. For a two day event, Waddington is becoming bit of a let-down, what do you think?

cheers for now, Mark.

Help With A Commtel 102

2007-05-16T08:07:00.000Z

Peter Cottle has posted the following:

Hi can any one help me I am a newbe and recently acquired a commtel 102 and it works fine however i took the bateries out and it lost the frequencies. I dont have an instruction set to re programme it. When I have keyed in the frq's it says error. I am stuck and unsure what to do.Regards all Peter.

I'm afraid I can't help on this one, anybody else reading this that can help Peter out please do post it here. Thanks, Mark.

Readers Airband Radios Continued...

2007-04-12T11:36:00.000Z

Matt Has posted the following:

Hello again, when I started aircraft spotting around 1960, it was possible to use binoculars and telescopes(anyone remember the Hilkinson Pancratic ?)to read off registrations. Most civil and a lots of military aircraft had giant registrations and the civil ones all flew below about FL150.
A few years later I got my first airband radio - a Shorrock, cost £36 = a whole summer's work for me.Interestingly if you index the inflation since then this would be about £470 in today's money. This is almost the price of the Kinetic SBS-1 so not much has changed.In those early days only BOAC and a few American airlines used Flight Numbers and with Procedural air traffic control it was easy to get the registration and position just by listening.
Of course all that's changed and the modern tool has to be the SBS-1 from Kinetic Avionics. At the moment mine is displaying the radar positions of120 aircraft over southern England together with their registrations, callsigns and loads of other data.All of this is possible thanks to some very talented folks in the Kinetic Users Forum who have created lots of useful add-on programs that seriously enhance the SBS-1. As a general comment Mode S is now compulsory for IFR flights in UK controlled airspace and starting 2008-2010 other flights are expected to comply which should embrace most GA operations. Not all aircraft provide positional information, a big example are Military Flights. This is allowed but increasingly amongst Civil Aircraft positional data is being provided.For me, the SBS-1 has created a massive awareness of just how much traffic is around and that I was not noticing inspite of monitoring lots of the frequencies. In a way it takes me back to the 1960's type of spotting when you knew what was coming/and when by using the radio. Paired with an airband radio you really can get on top of the hobby.To any readers wondering about the SBS-1 I'd say visit a dealer and try it out. Make the investment and watch you own radar screen !Yes its not cheap, you also need to have a PC and depending where you live you may need to spend quite a bit extra to get a good aerial up outside and possibly even a preamp.Try these links to Kinetics and also their Forum where lots of newcomers find out details before parting with their cash:http://www.kinetic-avionics.co.uk/index.phphttp://www.kinetic-avionics.co.uk/forums/I'm happy to answer any queries about SBS-1 if this will help you decide.When I get a moment I'll sort out something on the Nova Tech...Have funMatt

And also a post left by Nick B:

Reading though Matt's list of receivers I realized I've been through a few myself, mainly during the early 1990's when I spent a lot of time listening to Mil Air.
I started with a Realistic PRO-2005. Bought this new from Tandy and set it up at home with a discone. Performance on both VHF and UHF airband was very good, apart from the odd problem with pager interference around 135MHz.I then sold this and bought the AOR-1000. Big mistake! Although this hand-held covered the frequency range, sensitivity was poor and it was very prone to overload on a discone. I also found the programming very unfriendly after the PRO-2005.
I was then fortunate enough to buy a second-hand PRO-2004. This was as good as, or probably better than the 2005. It has a metal case, as opposed to the plastic one on the 2005, and a sloping panel with a membrane keypad. It was easily modified for 400 channels and faster scan speed. I had this for over ten years before selling it.
One day, whilst on a visit to Lowe Electronics, I saw a Signal R-535, complete with battery pack which was quickly snapped up. Lowes were also kind enough to let me a have a copy of the service manual. Performance of this receiver is probably one of the best I have heard as is is a dedicated AM receiver. Compared to keypad-entry scanners is it a little slow to program at first, but once mastered there is no problem.Regrettably I sold the R-535, or rather exchanged it for an AOR AR-8000. Again, not something I was particularly impressed with so it got part exchanged against a MVT-9000. Another mistake. The MVT-9000 was another unwilling victim to local pager breakthrough on VHF so had to go, being exchanged for an Icom IC-R10E. I was never really happy with this either and it eventually got sold on.
Then I got Realistic PRO-60. Simple to program, just like the 2004 and 2005 base scanners, with excellent AM performance. This was regular visitor to the north of Scotland with me, spending many hours monitoring the range traffic at Tain, amongst other places.
At home I acquired a PRO-2042. Again, excellent performance for a Realistic scanner, with a few added features compared to the earlier 2004 and 2005.Recently, I was lucky enough to get a dead R-535 which I have repaired. Still a solid performer. They still hold their value, which is probably because they are unique as far as airband monitors go.

Thanks to both Matt & Nick for posting, I have had a couple of R535's myself, excellent radio but 60 memory channels is just not enough for me particularly if you monitor military. I can honestly say that my current Uniden UBC3500XLT matches the best radios I have had (Yupi 7100 & the R535) for sensitivity and the scanning ability is much faster than any other scanner I have owned myself at around 100 channels/second. I notice that Nick has had an Icom ICR-10. I found this to be absolutely 'deaf' compared to the Yupi 7100 I exchanged it for, I've also tried the ICR-2 & ICR-5 - both neat and portable but again, relatively deaf in my opinion!

Anyway, thanks guys and keep the comments coming, cheers. Mark Graham.

Re: Readers Airband Radios

2007-04-09T05:28:00.000Z

Thanks to Matt Harvey who has posted the following regarding his current airband equipment:

Hi, I have the following airband radios.
Top 3 are1960's Nova Tech Pilot II - analogue, great squelch control and lovely audio.1990's Radio Shack Pro-2036 (made by Uniden), very sensitive, fast scan and good clear audio. Connected to Howes Active Aerial.1990's Yupiteru MVT-7100, very sensitive, audio is not bad. Let down by internal noise appearing in129 - 131MHz range,this makes any stations in this range hard to hear clearly. All the Yupiteru models I've tried seem to have this weakness.Bottom of my list are :1990's Win 108 it is quite hissy once the squelch is open, it gets tedious listening on this set.2006 Uniden UBC 92 XLT I find the squelch is too coarse. The audio is very noisy, similar to the Win 108. Audio power output is too low and cannot drive external speakers very well. I think it would have been better if it had been designed with 4 AA's instead of 2 to provide more useable power.For the future I'm thinking of the Uniden BCT15 which they don't seem to have any EU release plans for.I also need to get my 1960's Shorrock and Gauer's sets working again.Should also mention the best advance I have is not another scanner but my Kinetic SBS-1 Virtual Radar. It has transformed my aviation hobby....Hope this is of interest. Matt.

Thanks for that Matt! always good to hear from readers, I certainly remember having a WIN 108 myself many years ago and more recently, a Yupi 7100. I haven't heard of the Nova Tech Pilot 11? maybe we could coerce you into sending a picture I could post here?

I'm definately interested in knowing more about your SBS-1. I have looked at the maunufacturers website a number of times but not committed to purchasing one yet.

Regards, Mark.

Readers Airband Radios

2007-04-04T12:04:00.000Z

It would be nice to hear from any readers willing to post about what radio scanner you use and with what antenna etc? My own personal setup as you have probably gathered is a Uniden 3500XLT linked to about 4 metres of coax just running to a telescopic antenna strategically positioned in a certain window where reception is best. Interestingly what has improved reception greatly was the addition of a 'ground plane' piece of wire running vertically downward from the antenna (approx 22" in length) - the addition of this ground plane has had a marked effect on radio reception. Many ground station previously unheard are now coming through loud and clear!
By the way thanks to Nick B. for stopping by the site and leaving a comment.

That's all for now, Mark.

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The Uniden Debate!

2007-01-22T18:10:00.000Z

Rob has posted the following comment:

"Sole 3500 importer? I wish! Any comments comparisons yet? I've kept my 330T, but then again my interests are not solely airband."

Seems like you have got yourself another 330T Rob! After having both scanners side by side for several days there is definately a marked improvement in sensitivity on the 3500XLT. I'll give you an example: I'm approx 15nm as the crow flies from East Midlands Airport, if I tuned to the ground frequency (121.9) with the 330T, I could only just pick up the ground controller with the squelch open. On the 3500XLT, the controller is loud and clear and coming through the squelch. Not only that but i am picking up some aircraft requesting pushback and start on the ramp! That's just one example, there are many others where the signal is stronger or a station previously not heard at all is now clearly audible. The example I gave has not been as good since I owned a Yupteru MVT7100 - generally considered to be extremely sensitive, so yes, a marked improvement over the 330T and worth the upgrade in my opinion.

Off topic now, I was listening to London Miliatry this afternoon on 252.875 and a an aircraft callsign: 'typhoon 1' came over the scanner, he seemed very loud and clear so I looked out my window and immediately saw his contrail at 36,000ft heading west, just north of Leicester across the normal flow of northbound commercial traffic, seems he was on his way to fly an approach at Valley then return to Coningsby at 40,000ft. Military 'crossers' are rare over Leicester but not unheard of, most traffic uses the 'Lichfield Corridor' further north over East Midland Airport. Occasionaly there are also c130's, royal flight aircraft and nimrods heading north in the normal commercial corridor northbound. Cheers for now, Mark.

Uniden BR330T

2007-01-16T07:13:00.000Z

Yes, ok ok I admit it. The keen eyed Robert Davies has spotted my Uniden BR330T up for grabs on Ebay. It really is a great scanner but I'm keen to put the UBC3500XLT along side it briefly (should arrive today) to test out Rob's theory that it is slightly better on VHF/UHF air. Unlike some of you scanner boys (is Rob reading this?) I can't afford to build up a collection of radios. If I want to try a new one it generally involves flogging my existing one to offset the cost as I have a mortgage, wife, two kids, a dog and a hamster to feed ( imagine the violins in the background about now). Anyway you can await my findings on the 'BR330T vs UBC3500XLT'. Maybe it's all a load of rubbish, just maybe, Rob is the sole importer for the UBC3500XLT (the plot thickens). Who knows!

BTW - Graham Duke, are you still out there? Graham has made some great contributions to the site, unfortunately I had serious problems cutting and pasting the last info he sent me on UK airspace changes for some reason? Anyway if your there Graham, please do get in touch.

All the best for now - Mark.

Uniden BR330T vs Uniden 3500XLT (part 2!)

2007-01-10T07:58:00.000Z

From Rob Davies:

Hello Mark (and everyone else!) If you own a 330T is it worth getting a 3500? From a civ air point of view, the performance variations between the two scanners are at their smallest in this part of the radio band. e.g. If a signal comes in scratchy with one flickering bar on the sig meter on the 330T, the same signal on the 3500 will be solid one bar with a possible flicker into two bars. The listening comparisons also bear this out. The further you move away from vhf air (in either direction) the performance variations can be as much as two solid bars on the sig meter in favour of the 3500 (The difference between unreadable and loud and clear in some cases..) The 3500 has three different selectable bandplans (3 being the most uk centric) It also has Close Call Do Not Disturb - no more dropouts in audio every two-ish seconds with CC DND enabled - downside = CC DND only works when you are not actively receiving a transmission - whereupon if that's an issue revert to the CC Pri mode which is the same as the 330T's sole CC mode. There are more gaps in the 3500's coverage, but I haven't found them yet from a monitoring point of view. If you *don't* already own a 330T buy a 3500 immediately, it's an ABSOLUTE bargain for the price v features - Since the 3500 arrived I haven't used my AOR AR8200MkIII (which is 2.5 times the price of the 3500) Only buy an 8200 if you need the frequency extremes that it covers - The 3500 is better for all the rest. If you *do* already own a 330T find a fellow local enthusiast to compare the 330T against their 3500... or maybe not... it may just be expensive. Just my personal findings and opinions.... Your mileage may vary.... Don't run with scissors... etc etc etc In my case having bought the 3500 I don't regret having done so :-) btw... Alternative review of the 3500 here: http://www.ukmidlandscanner.co.uk/uni3500.htm btw again as I write this the best 3500 price seems to be with Nevada on ebay @ 150ukp with *free* p&p - other vendors charge the same basic price plus 6 or 7 quid p&p. -Rob

Thanks Rob, I will certainly give the 3500 some thought. I do think considering the cost and the features available for airband listeners, it's got to be the best value for money scanner available at the moment. My 'benchmark' scanner has always been the Yupiteru MVT7100 in terms of sensitivity, and I think the Unidens are equal to it but with a lot more features.

Going off-topic now, I turned on the scanner a few nights ago and immediately intercepted a 'pan pan pan' call from an RAF C130 working London (Swanwick) military on UHF - seems he had lost one engine and required a direct routing into Lyneham. being in Leicester, I lost him as he descended towards Lyneham, anybody else catch this? Anyway, cheers for now and do please hit the comments button if you have anything to contribute. Mark.

Uniden BR330T vs UBC3500XLT

2007-01-09T10:42:00.000Z

Robert Davies has posted the following comment:

'Well..... I have since bought a Uniden UBC3500XLT (rearrange the following words into a common phrase or saying "money" "than" "sense" "more"). It's even better than the BR330T, initial tests suggest from this location that it is more sensitive on vhf and uhf air than the BR330T, and I always thought *that* was pretty handy ;-) -Rob'

That's interesting Rob, you would think it would essentially have the same 'internals'. I presume your testing them both alongside each other on the same antenna setup etc.

I'd be interested to know if you think the performance increase is worth buying a UBC3500XLT even if like ourselves you already have a BR330T?

Re: Airband Recommendations

2006-11-19T16:20:00.000Z

Robert Davies has contributed the following:

'Uniden BR330T 'nuff said. I've had mine a couple of months now and rate it very highly for all civ air and mil air. The supplied antenna is excellent for 'on site' monitoring, but I would recommend an upgrade for remote use - tho' that recommendation would stand for *any* handheld scanner. There is a Yahoo! group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Uniden-Close-Call-Euro/ which details using this scanner in a UK/European context. I paid 160ukp delivered for mine btw. Do a search on ebay for BR330T. -Rob '

Thanks Rob - my scanner also! I understand from a previous reader the European version is being released shortly as the Uniden UBC 3500XLT I think. Mark.

Airband Radio Recommendation Required

2006-11-19T08:29:00.000Z

A reader has posted the following:

'I am in the market for an airband scanner. Requirements are; Hand held model. Good reception. Replaceable batteries i.e. not rechargeable battery pack.8.33 MHz steps.VHF, UHF and HF with no gaps. Cost irrelevant.Which would you recommend ??'

If you would like to contribute a recommendation, please hit the comments button, thanks. Mark.

Yupiteru & Maycom Airband Info...

2006-11-07T07:13:00.000Z

The following information has ben kindly submitted by Jonathan:

Browsing around this evening I've stumbled across this thread. Hope you don't object to the input.
Certainly the MVT-8000 operates similar to the previous MVT-6000, not identical but as with most of the Yupiteru models they all follow a similar "logic".One of the worst features of the earlier MVT-'s was the fact that the preprogrammed (Japanese) search limits were given various titles that cluttered the keypad area - once the user set there own limits these titles were irrelevant anyway !

I wrote several "English" manuals for the Yupiteru range and whilst my original printed copies have mostly gone I can provide A4 photocopies of my MVT-7000, MVT-7100, MVT-7200, MVT-8000, VT-125MkII & VT-225 manuals should anybody be on the lookout in the future for a nominal charge to cover copy charges, postage and small profit towards a few pints.Browsing around this evening I've stumbled across this thread. Hope you don't object to the input.Certainly the MVT-8000 operates similar to the previous MVT-6000, not identical but as with most of the Yupiteru models they all follow a similar "logic".One of the worst features of the earlier MVT-'s was the fact that the preprogrammed (Japanese) search limits were given various titles that cluttered the keypad area - once the user set there own limits these titles were irrelevant anyway ! I wrote several "English" manuals for the Yupiteru range and whilst my original printed copies have mostly gone I can provide A4 photocopies of my MVT-7000, MVT-7100, MVT-7200, MVT-8000, VT-125MkII & VT-225 manuals should anybody be on the lookout in the future for a nominal charge to cover copy charges, postage and small profit towards a few pints.

My advice would be forget the Maycom. Reception performance aside and unless things have changed since the last batch we received it has one major flaw in so much as when scanning it will remain on the frequency for the duration of the transmission or that set by the user in the "delay" setting. Not ideal really.I'd suggest you go with something like the UBC-72XLT or for a little less money the UBC-30XLT. The latter lacks a conventional keypad and DC input.

regards
Jonathan
info@javiation.co.uk
http://www.javiation.co.uk

Thanks for those comments Jonathan, please do stop by again and feel free to comment. Regards, Mark.

Airband Radio

2006-11-01T15:02:00.000Z

Chris Thomas posted the following:

'Thanks for the replies chaps! I've found the Maycom one available for £59, but also spotted a Bearcat UBC 105XLT for just ten pounds more, and it had far more buttons so must be better! ;) Does anyone have any arguments for or against these two? Would one be better over the other?'

If you have anything to add please hit the comment link below this post, thanks. Mark

More Airband Advice!

2006-10-16T19:15:00.000Z

A reader has left the following comment:
'good choice is uniden bearcat 30xltaround fifty pound.i recently bought one and find it excellent'
thanks for that. Mark

BTW I have also received a message from 'Rob' as to how Im getting on with my Uniden BR330T. I have to say Rob I'm extremely happy with it. Although I had to import it from the US and pay some hefty tax duty when it arrived at the door, it is definitely worth it. It is an awesome scanner (very fast scan). the memory is arranged more like a computers, I can create a 'system' eg. London ATCC and I can then have up to 99 groups within that system containing any number of channels I wish until I have used all the memory. I have several hundred channels stored in many groups and systems and I've only used 6% of my memory area available! In addition to the many other functions and facilities which I've not begun to cover it is as sensitive in my opinion to the 'benchmark' Yupiteru MVT7100.

Airband Radio Advice

2006-10-16T16:11:00.000Z

Chris has sent the following message:
'Hi Mark, could I ask your advice? My brother is a bit of an aviation nut, and loves attending various airshows when he gets the chance (as do I). For his birthday this year, I thought I'd get him a scanner, so he could listen to the air traffic control and pilot's radio comms. Do you or your readers have any recommendations on a cheap (about £40 to £50) 'my first scanner' for him?Thanks! Chris.'

Well Chris the radio that comes to mind in this price range (maybe a bit more) is the Maycom AR108. It is a good 'entry level' digital scanner offering full VHF airband coverage and tuning steps down to 5KHz which is sufficient for all the new airband channels and also offers about 99 memories I think. If your looking for a radio covering the UHF military band you may need to spend more. Hope this helps, and if any reader has a recommendation to offer please do post a message, thanks. Mark.

Airshow Season Almost Over!

2006-09-19T06:45:00.000Z

With airshow season almost over I wondered if any readers would like to share any notable experiences from airshows you may have attended this year. Unfortunately I only managed to make it to Waddington this year which was a little disappointing as there was a notable absence of foreign participation. Anything you would like to share?

Heathrow Frequencies

2006-09-11T21:27:00.000Z

I have received a couple of requests for frequencies at Heathrow so here goes:

Approach:
119.725
120.4
127.525
134.975
Departure ATIS:
121.85
Arrival ATIS:
128.075
Clearance Delivery:
121.975
Ground:
121.7
121.9
Radar (special VFR):
125.625
Tower:
118.5
118.7
124.475

Thanks all, Mark.

Holidays!

2006-08-08T07:08:00.000Z

Sorry It's been a bit quiet lately as I have just returned from two weeks in the Greek island of Crete. We were in fact, located about 7 miles out on the approach to Heraklion airports runway 27. I have to say, I have never seen a holiday airport as busy as this. At times there were arrivals every few minutes, but at least I was treated to a great view of the wide variety of aircraft that operate in and out of this airport.
Everything from regional turboprops such as ATR's and Dash 8's which appear to be operated on flights from other islands such as Rhodes to the usual Airbus and Boeing models carrying holidaymakers. I think there was also some Tupolevs (154's?) carrying Russian and/or Ukrainian holidaymakers
I didn't dare take my radio scanner (Uniden Bearcat BR330T) as the Greeks don't look to kindly on that sort of thing if they should discover it, but I'm sure it would have made interesting listening. That's all I have time for right now, but if you have any info you would like to share regarding holiday airports or otherwise please hit the comments button, thanks. Mark.

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Changes To Airspace At Newcastle, Bristol & Cardiff

2006-07-14T08:18:00.000Z

Significant changes to the airspace arrangements at Newcastle were introduced on 6th July 2006.
These changes increased the area of controlled airspace around the airport, designed to improve the safety of commercial flights arriving or departing.
Major changes at Cardiff/Bristol will come into effect on 31st August 2006..
The region surrounding Cardiff and Bristol will be enclosed in a new Class D area of controlled airspace enabling flights to approach and leave the airports under the jurisdiction of air traffic controllers.
This change will take place on 31st August 2006.
Prior to this, many flights arriving or departing the two airports had to fly through Class G airspace, meaning that they were not under the control of ATC.
Other traffic, unknown to ATC, were a constant problem for the controllers as the legal conditions relating to Class G airspace meant that the pilots did not even have to speak to ATC.
Even hot air balloons, launched from a site close to Bristol airport, were frequently encountered by flights approaching runway 27.
The new arrangements will include a series of Standard Instrument Departure Routes (SID’s) and Standard Arrival Routes (STAR’s), similar to those already in use at most large UK airports.

Thanks to Graham Duke for submitting this information.

Message From Graham Duke Re: MVT 8000 Radio Scanner

2006-07-13T05:58:00.000Z

"Re the query from moris.jose about a manual for the MVT 8000, my base station is a MVT 6000 which I believe is almost identical as far as operating instructions are concerned.He is welcome to a copy of the manual, and I will email him soon."

Thanks Graham - Mark

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Yupiteru MVT 8000

2006-07-05T17:45:00.000Z

A reader has requested some help in finding a manual or copy of a manual for the above scanner. I believe one of our regular contributors, Graham Duke has this radio? If anyone can help please email: moris.jose@gmail.com

Airshow Common Frequencies

2006-06-23T10:07:00.000Z

I have posted these frequencies in the past but it is worth mentioning them again as we are in airshow season.
The following are all listed as frequencies allocated for airshow use:

121.175
130.5
130.625
130.675
132.9
134.55

It is always worth including these in your 'scan' when attending airshows.

I am hoping to put the 'close call' feature to the test on my Uniden Bearcat BR330T when I attend Waddington airshow next week, basically the scanner can be set to 'hunt down' strong local transmissions and will then immediately tune to them and store the frequency in memory if required. It will be interesting to see how effective this really is, I'm hoping to sniff out some unknown frequencies that might be in use at the base!

cheers for now, Mark.

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RAF Waddington Airshow

2006-06-21T17:57:00.000Z

I must firstly apologise for not posting in recent weeks, I have been very busy with work.

Well airshow season is upon us! I do not get the opportunity to attend many shows but I am attending Waddington this year. I will be camping during the airshow weekend of 1-2nd July very close to RAF Coningsby and making the fairly short commute to the show on Saturday only.

Waddington has been a great show in years gone past and it is billed as the biggest show the RAF themselves organise however, looking at the list of aircraft taking part in the flying display it seems very short on foreign airforce participation particularly concerning fast jets. No F16's no mig29 or SU27 etc? and what with the RAF not displaying a Tornado F3 or Jaguar it is not looking particularly good value for money. Maybe there are other display participants that won't be confirmed till very late in which case I apologise for being to critical, I would be interested to hear what any other Waddington veterans think?

Airband

2006-05-18T06:00:00.000Z

The mighty A380 Airbus is visiting the UK today (thursday 18th May) and will be flying in to Heathrow from Berlin, I understand it's due about midday? anybody have any more info on this?
And just a brief reminder as we head towards summer (though you wouldn't know it from the weather!) it can be interesting to listen to the 'common' allocated frequencies for gliding, microlights and balloons etc.

129.975 gliding
130.1 gliding
130.125 gliding
130.4 gliding
122.475 balloons
122.95 helicopters
129.9 balloons/gliders/paradrop sites
129.825 microlights

Cheers for now, Mark.

Airband Books

New Airband Scanner Arrives!

2006-05-10T05:20:00.000Z

I have now received my Uniden Bearcat BR330t scanner which I have had to import from the US as it isn't available here. After forking out around £250 by the time I had paid for UPS delivery AND the dreaded import duty, I was hoping it was worth it.
This scanner has the 'Nascar' logo across the front as it has some special facilities for race fans in the US but after doing some research on the net, this scanner had the features I wanted specifically for airband listening (full VHF & UHF coverage included).
Wow! where do I start with this scanner, the functions included are brilliant and it's completely different to any scanner I have had before. Firstly it has up to 2500 'dynamic ' memories which basically means there is no set structure to the memory banks, the scanner simply has a memory area a bit like a computer to store any memory channels and banks that you create. Firstly you can create up to 200 'systems', for instance, I have a system called 'Mil Air'. Within that system I can then create up to 20 groups eg. I have groups within the 'Mil Air' system called 'Brize Norton' & 'Mildenhall' etc. Within those groups you can simply add as many channels as you want and also assign a name to them all (all systems, groups and individual channels can be given upto a 16 character name).
I have now added several hundred frequencies divided by about four systems all containing many groups and my current memory usage is just 6%!!

In addition, you can lock out any number of systems, groups or individual channels, and it scans at an amazing 90 channels a second (searching is 140 steps a second!).

Sensitivity and audio quality are on a par with my 'benchmark' Yupiteru MVT7100 (at last a worthy successor with all the facilities I could want!).
I will post again soon on my further findings and tell you all about the 'close call' feature included on this scanner. Cheers for now, Mark.

North East Airband Listener...

2006-05-03T12:26:00.000Z

Carl has posted the following message:

Hi...I live in the North East uk (hartlepool)and always see High altiude aircrafts flying from East to West and West to east and these are normaly B747/777 plus many others and I would like to know the Frequencies of the Beacon Points from the East Coast hope someone out there can help us in this matter and I currently use a Icom RC10 Handheld.

Carl, I do know that Newcastle is a major intersection to the North and you are under the Montrose sector (Scottish ATCC) from FL255 to FL660. If anyone has some further detailed information for Carl please hit the 'comments' link at the bottom of this post, thanks. Mark.

Military Airband

2006-04-28T10:34:00.000Z

Just a word on military frequencies, since the major shake up of all military frequencies in January throughout NATO I have so far noted the following frequencies in use by Swanwick/London military:

252.875
256.575 (lichfield corridor)
275.625
277.625
278.6
280.35
231.525
397.175 (recently heard F15's using this as a discreet freq. while practising air combat)
233.725
269.475
259.6
251.075
277.775
280.35

regards, Mark

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Air Traffic Control R/T Procedure Changes

2006-04-25T14:55:00.000Z

Graham Duke has kindly contributed the following:

For your information, new procedures for frequencies will come into operation on 1st May.

On that date, in UK airspace, frequencies will be spoken in 6 digits ( instead of 5 as present), except where the last two digits are both zero.

Also, the use of the word "channel" will be discontinued.

For example, 127.375 will be spoken as "one two seven decimal three seven five"

135.200 will be spoken as "one three five decimal zero"

Thanks for that info Graham.

Airband Books

Yupiteru MVT 8000 Airband Scanner

2006-04-23T06:29:00.000Z

I have received a question from a reader who has just purchased a Yupiteru MVT 8000 radio scanner and is requesting some feedback on this radio. I believe it is basically a 'base station' version of the yupiteru MVT 7100 but I have never owned one, perhaps another reader has some further information?

Airband Scanner Recommendations Please!

2006-04-12T17:08:00.000Z

Dear Readers, I would appreciate your recommendations regarding a new airband scanner for both VHF civil & UHF military listening. I currently use a Yupiteru MVT 7100 but would like a comparable scanner that will allow for 'alpha tagging' of memory channels. Dynamic memory banks would be ideal but not essential, likewise pc control would not be essential either.

At present I am considering a Uniden BCD396T (have to buy from the US) which even has what they call 'close call' which will seek out strong local signals and copy them to memory. Imagine being at an airfield and being able to intercept all local transmissions with the frequency immediately displayed and stored!

Also the 'alpha tagging' would need to accommodate a good number of letters/numbers for instance, I might want to enter 'Lakenheath CH10' etc.

So please hit the 'comment' button and let me know!

Aviation Posters

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Airband & 8.33KHz Frequencies

2006-04-08T06:00:00.000Z

A note below from Graham Duke for all airband listeners re: 8.33KHz frequencies:

'The recent introduction of the new 8.33kHz channels in UK airspace may have resulted in unexpected consequencies for some airband listeners.
For example, it may have been possible to hear the controller on the original 25kHz frequency, but nothing is being heard on its replacement 8.33 channel.
This is because the two systems operate in different ways.
Under the original 25kHz system, the signals were usually transmitted from two or three different sites.
However, this is not possible under the 8.33kHz, and only one transmitter can be used.
This means that the transmitter near you may no longer be in use for the new 8.33kHz channel, therefore the controller can no longer be heard.
It does not mean that there is a fault with your receiver. PROVIDED YOU ARE WITHIN RANGE of the transmitter, the controller will be heard.
Your radio needs EITHER 8.33kHz steps OR 5Khz steps to do this.'

Thanks for clearing that up Graham, there seems to be some confusion over these channels among pilots as well as listening enthusiasts!

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Aviation Posters

Yupiteru Scanners

Airband Reception

2006-04-03T20:53:00.000Z

Aviation Posters

Airband Books

Hi Graham,

Noticed your comment on the airband news site about my radio. I bought a Uniden Bearcat UBC72 XLT. I use a scanner mainly to identify high level flights over my home in Warrington which I have been doing for years now. I suppose in a way it is my own fault for not really understanding that just because the scanner has the 8.33 step it still might not be sensitive enough to tune into all these new frequencies. I simply believed this to be the case, since the adverts in magazines imply that if a scanner has the 8.33 step then these new channels would be tuneable. I doubt I'd get my money back on that basis, as its my ignorance that is the problem! Funnily enough I could hear the controller again on the default of 132.125 this weekend. I suppose that is due to atmospheric conditions. I'll have to save up for the one Mark recommends and in the meantime just listen to the pilots when spotting. It seems quite odd really. I got my first air band radio off my dad way back in 1978 and 131.05 (together with originally 128.05) has been in use for my sector in all that time. Now its gone!

BTW your excellent air band books are in my collection. Maybe a brief section on this if they are updated may stop people making my mistake again.

Thanks for the interest and all the best

David Jackson

David

Thanks for your message.

If I have understood it correctly, you are saying that you purchased a scanner which has 8.33 channel tuning, but when you tune into the new channels you can only hear the pilots and not the controllers, whereas previously, on the old frequencies, you could hear them both.
If this is the case, it is not unusual. The same has happened with me, where there are separate channels for upper and lower airspace - I have always been able to hear the controller clearly on the old frequency, but I can't hear them on the new channel, even though they cover the same area.

I believe that this is because the signal for the channel is not as powerful, as it is for the higher levels. Therefore unless you are close to the transmitter, you will not pick it up. This will probably be the case whichever scanner you buy. I certainly wouldn't buy another one unless you are sure it will do the job. Also, a major upgrade of the UK transmitter sites has recently been completed, and this could have affected things.

Another point is the aerial. What are you using, how high are you, how far are you from the transmitter? All these things have a big influence on reception.

In my case, since these new channels started up, one of my best, 127.425 has changed to 127.430. I have now lost the controller, who I used to pick up clearly before. It is possible that they are no longer transmitting from two or three transmitters (known as offsets) as 8,33 channels can only be transmitted from one site for technical reasons.

To summarise, I don't think your scanner is the culprit. Other factors, which I have described above, are more likely to be the cause.

I am copying this to Mark Graham as he might think it worthwhile adding this to his site.

Regards

Graham

Thanks for the comments both, there can often be a number of factors such as those Graham has suggested. I can no longer pick up Nottingham East Midlands tower, the frequency has not changed but the location of the tower has changed slightly and in addition the new tower is much taller than the old which you would think would improve my reception but maybe they have reduced the transmitting power? there could be a number of factors, sometimes you can improve the situation by repositioning your antenna etc.

Airband

2006-04-03T12:55:00.000Z

A message to Dave posted by Graham:

I would be interested to know which scanner Dave has purchased, as most modern sets can go down to 5kHz steps. Has he thought about taking it back as "not fit for purpose", especially if it was advertised in a misleading way?

Valid comment Graham, I would certainly be interested to know which airband scanner we are talking about here.

Mark

Airband

2006-03-30T21:16:00.000Z

Dave Has posted the following:

'Hi Mark, that was useful info from Graham. I wish I'd had it before I bought a new scanner with 8.33 channels that now can't hear the controllers because it doesn't have the 5khz step and, as I mentioned in an earlier post, defaults in my case to 132.863 and 132.125.These scanners are advertised erroneously as being "future proof". I started by hearing the controller on my scanners default of 132.125 but can't anymore. I can sometimes hear him on 135.583 but it comes and goes. Money wasted and very frustrating! Any advice on a reasonably price scanner that WILL work? '

Hi Dave, well I use a Yupiteru MVT7100. I have tried numerous airband scanners over the years but have always ended up going back to the Yupi. I'm now on about my third Yupiteru and I won't make the mistake of selling it again. Great reception quality and sensitivity, it's hard to believe that it was first introduced around 1990/1991. In addition you have tuning steps of 5KHz and even down to 1KHz on AM & FM, this allows for very precise tuning of all airband frequencies which can then be saved to memory. Of course, what you cannot do is search in 8.33KHz steps as it does not have that tuning step but then I'm sure most listeners like me, know the frequencies they want to listen to and save them to memory for scanning.

Regards Mark.

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8.33KHz Airband Frequencies

2006-03-28T08:39:00.000Z

Graham Duke has kindly supplied the following information with regard to the new 8.33Khz airband frequencies for the UK:

The following list gives all existing and planned 8.33 kHz channels in UK airspace:

132.840 Introduced approximately 2 years ago, covers London Upper West sector.

135.580 replaces 135.575 14 February 2006

132.860 replaces 131.050 15 February 2006

132.130 replaces 129.100 16 February 2006

127.880 replaces 127.875 23 February 2006

127.430 replaces 127.425 22 March 2006

128.160 replaces 127.825 5 April 2006

126.780 replaces 126.775 12 April 2006

Some points to remember:
You don't need a scanner with 8.33 channels, just a scanner with steps of 5kHz or lower;

The transmissions do not take place exactly on the published channels. For example, a channel of 134.005 is actually transmitted on 134.000.

Where a frequency and its replacement channel are only 5kHz apart apart, they can often both be heard on a scanner, due to their proximity. Listen to the controller handing over an aircraft to find out the correct frequency being used.

Later this year, probably in May, the terms channel and frequency will be discontinued. Only frequencies will be used.Also, all frequencies will be spoken in 6 digits ie 127.275 except where the last 2 digits are zeros.

More information on 8.33 channels:

These concern the major resectorisation which took place over South Wales and the West of England on 16 March 2006, with several new air routes, and lots of new reporting points.

This is known as the WestEnd resectorisation.

Two new channels are now in use:

Flight Levels 340 and above 135.255

Flight Levels 300 and above 135.540

In practice, these channels are only being used at busy periods. Most of the time, they are "bandboxed" with the existing frequencies.

Thanks go to Graham Duke for this very informative and comprehensive guide to 8.33KHz allocations.

Mark.

Books on: Airband Aviation

Airband

2006-03-23T14:23:00.000Z

Airband News

Graham Duke has advised me he will post a full list of 8.33KHz channels here in due course along with major changes due to take place for Bristol and Cardiff arrivals & departures. No doubt similar to the sweeping changes introduced recently at Nottingham East Midlands.

As I write this I've just been gazing up into the blue sky over Leicestershire and spotted a flight of four military 'crossers' at high altitude heading east (didn't have scanner to hand but will almost certainly be Lakenheath F15's heading back to base). There is not a recognised military crossing corridor right over here but nevertheless, you do get them crossing east to west or vice versa from time to time against the run of commercial traffic heading north (southbounders are over the west midlands).

Book Links: Airband Aviation

Airband

2006-03-22T08:50:00.000Z

Graham Duke, auther of the 'Abc Airband Radio Guide' has posted the following:

'I came across your site recently, and I would be happy to contribute whenever I can on airband matters - for example the new 8.33 channels.Also, thanks for including details of my books on your site.'

Thanks Graham and look forward to your input here in the future, if you follow the 'airband' link below you will see Graham's excellent guide to airband listening.

Book Links: Airband Aviation

Airband Company Frequencies

2006-03-15T10:01:00.000Z

Airband company frequencies are something different to listen to compared with the standard ATC frequencies. I have a search band set up between 131.00MHz and 131.975MHz for listening in to these channels. Most of them can be found in this area but not all of them by any means. You can often here them passing info on any delays and estimated arrival time at their destination and sometimes they will give a shout to the technical dept. and report any minor aircraft snags that need sorting when the aircraft is back on the ground.
If anyone wishes to reply to the posting with specific frequencies for their local airport I will be happy to include them here.

Links to books on: Airband Aviation A380Airbus

New Airband Blog Appearance

2006-03-13T15:03:00.000Z

Sorry if the current change in appearance has upset any regular readers. I am just 'playing' with the format at the moment to determine the best appearance for the site. Please feel fee to comment, thanks. Mark

8.33KHz Frequencies - The Ongoing Story!

2006-03-07T16:55:00.000Z

Dave has posted the following:

'Hi Mark. You are right about 132.86. There are in fact 2 new freqs for this sector. 132.12 replaces 131.05 (up to FL330) and 132.860 replaces 129.1 (FL330 up). The latter gets used at busy times but at quieter times (now rare!)it gets relayed through to 132.12. Had to get a new scanner with 8.33 step but it defaults to 132.862. Can hear planes but not controller. Don't pretend to understand the new steps but hoped a radio with 8.33 capability would solve this. Obviously not! Cheers'

Thanks for the confirmation on those Dave. Yes these 8.33KHz channels are strange especially when you consider that you can't use an adjacent frequency within a few hundred miles or so because you would here channels either side due to the nature of AM signals and the bandwidth that they use.

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Another New Airband Frequency

2006-03-03T08:12:00.000Z

Further to my previous post regarding a new 8.33KHz frequency, I have now heard traffic that is working S28 (central UK northbound) being transferred to a frequency of 132.860Mhz. Seems like yet another new 8.33KHz channel being brought into use. I know I have mentioned this in previous posts but if your scanner has the ability to tune in 5KHz steps you will pick up these new channels perfectly well.

Book Links: Airband Aviation A380Airbus

A Tip From Pete

2006-02-28T13:44:00.000Z

Pete has sent a message with regard to my recent post about offset frequencies for Swanwick and London Air traffic control centres. Pete notes that scanners with a 'WAM' (or Wide AM mode) do not need to 'offset tune' to receive those frequencies correctly so thanks for that tip Pete.

Airband books here.

A Readers Question....

2006-02-27T11:31:00.000Z

cmylan has posted the following:

'Just bought an maycom fr-100 with the rubber duck aerial.What mobile aerial can i replace it with to get the best possible reception.At the moment i get some ok reception from teesside airport and some bad.Newcastle approach 30 miles away vary from decent to awful.Can I buy something to improve this.'

Just about anything is better than a 'rubber duck' type aerial which is really only any good for 'on site' listening, even a telescopic whip type aerial will offer greatly improved performance. (In fact a piece of wire about 22 inches long for VHF airband attached to the antenna socket will offer great performance when out and about).You mention your after a mobile aerial, do you mean for fitting to your car? perhaps another reader could offer some recommendations on that.

You can find airband books here.

New Airband Frequency?

2006-02-22T13:37:00.000Z

I was listening briefly yesterday to Swanwick on 127.1 (S28 - central UK FL195 - FL295) and I noticed aircraft were being handed off to a quoted frequency of '132.130MHz' could this be a new 8.33KHz frequency allocation? Time will tell.

Check out some great airband books here.

Airband Scanner Problems...

2006-02-17T07:46:00.000Z

I have received an anonymous post from someone who has bought a radio scanner for their son but cannot receive anything. You have not stated what radio you have but in any case, please remember that the civil airband is found between 118.0MHz to 136.975MHz and the military airband is between 225.0MHz to 400.0MHz. All signals are AM NOT FM and tuning steps are 25Khz (just one UK frequency on the new 8.33KHz steps at the moment which is 'sector 1' on 132.840MHz).

Perhaps you could let us know whereabouts in the UK you are and I can give you a better idea of what to listen out for and on what frequencies. If you are having problems actually getting the radio set up on airband then let us know what radio you have and we can help you further, thanks. Mark.

Heard Anything Interesting Recently?

2006-02-16T09:13:00.000Z

I switched on my scanner last week, it was tuned to Swanwick S5 sector (brecon) on 133.6MHz. Within seconds, I heard an aircraft put out a 'Pan Pan Pan' call. This aircraft was routing north/south through the Brecon sector but promptly requested a diversion east towards Birmingham declaring a medical emergency. I wonder if any readers have heard anything of interest lately?

Please keep any replies fairly general as for legal reasons we all have to be careful about divulging information heard. Thanks. Mark.

Airband Books

2006-02-08T13:15:00.000Z

'dh' has sent the following message regarding airband book recommendations:

'My favourite airband books are: 1. Air Band Radio Handbook by David J Smith 2. Air Band Radio Guide by Graham Duke 3. Airwaves, VHF/UHF Aviation Frequency Directory by Photavia Press'.

thanks for those recommendations, airwaves is a great frequency guide. I have been making attempts to obtain supplies of this publication to offer to readers but after initially agreeing to supply me I cannot get them to reply to my requests to actually place an order at the moment, so I will keep you all posted on that one.

Airband Frequencies Over Caterham Surrey

2006-02-05T08:44:00.000Z

Ok, with regard to frequencies over Caterham Surrey as requested. I imagine this is a very busy area for air traffic. You are directly underneath the London 'Biggin' sector (120.525MHz). This extends from surface to FL175 and handles traffic inbound to Heathrow from the South West, this traffic heads straight for Biggin where it is either passed to Heathrow director on 134.975MHz or is held in the Biggin 'stack' when its busy. The sector also handles Gatwick departures heading East & North and Luton, London City & Stansted departures which are routed to the East of Heathrow heading South/South West.

Above this, are Vaton up to FL215 (127.95MHz) then S26 upto FL305 (132.6MHz) and finally S2 upto FL660 (127.425MHz). As with other frequencies some of these may be bandboxed together during quiet periods.

IOW Air Traffic Control

2006-02-01T19:22:00.000Z

A reader has posted the following:

"Hi, I have just a few months ago brought a uniden ubc30xlt as my first scanner. Also I live in Newport on the IOW and in the morning I can see flights coming in from the USA and in the late morning and the early afternoon I can see trans-atlantic flight climbing over the solent ( I think).Also I see some trans-atlantic flights that a at flight level still going east. Another flight path I can see is the one going to spain because I see easyjet ,ryanair ,monarch ,tap through the binoculars.So can you tell me what frequencys are being used in my area. thank you in advance."

As far as I am aware the only london frequency over the IOW is S19 (sector 19) which operates on a frequency of 135.05MHz. S19's area to the south of the IOW extends from surface level to FL660. There is then a 'chunk' of airspace running east to west from Bembridge to the mainland which covers surface to FL275 and then a small area to the north of the mainland extending from FL175 to FL275. I believe that solent radar (southampton) possibly overlaps this area handling lower traffic on 120.225MHz.

Just on the western side of the IOW is S20 following the same flight levels as S19 quoted earlier. The frequency for S20 is 129.425MHz however when traffic is low the two sectors can be 'bandboxed' together on one frequency. Hope this helps.

A reader has requested Swanwick centre frequencies, I'm sorry but I don't have time to publish a full list right now but if you want frequencies for a particular area I'll be glad to help out.

Also John from Caterham in Surrey has requested frequencies, again I'll get round to these in the next couple of days as time is limited right now. Thanks for your questions all and I will endeavor to answer them all as quickly as possible. Mark.

Gatwick Ops

2006-01-31T18:09:00.000Z

Caz has sent the following message:

"Hello! I took your advice on the frequency tuning as I could not hear the ground controllers for my local WILLO sector or the Gatwick approach and so I re-tuned 5khz up and now I get them, if a little scratchy at times. Thank you for the advice on that one it makes a big difference to hear both sides! Also, I have been tuning in to some of the company Operations frequencies at Gatwick and they make very interesting listening, getting to hear what goes on behind the scenes with the aircraft, crew and passengers. Just last night, one aircraft on it's way in to Gatwick told their ground staff they wanted the airport police to meet them at the air bridge on arrival as a passenger had been caught smoking on board!! Anyway, best go but will be in touch again soon. Still love the site! Caz. "

Thanks for that Caz, perhaps when you have time you could post some info on which airlines use which frequencies at Gatwick.

Quite a lot of these frequencies (but not all of them) can be found in the 131MHz area. I have a search band set up between 131.00 - 131.975MHz to monitor airline company ops. You might need to 'lock out' the ACARS frequencies though (another subject that I'm not going to cover now!).

Recommended Airband / Air Traffic Control Books

2006-01-20T07:49:00.000Z

Caz has requested some recommendations on books relating to our hobby, I have to say I haven't read any books on the subject for many years (only books relating to pilot training) so if anybody could offer some recommendations on good airband / air traffic control publications available please click the comment button and post a reply. Thanks all, Mark.

THE AIRBAND AND OFFSET TUNING

2006-01-15T13:43:00.000Z

Something to consider when listening:

Many London/Swanwick air traffic control frequencies are deliberately offset from the exact quoted frequency by plus or minus 5Khz. For example, I like to listen to London Welin sector frequency 130.925MHz however I cannot hear the controller side of the conversation that is UNTIL I tune up 5KHz to 130.130MHZ. I now receive the controller loud and clear.

If I wish to listen to Brecon sector, frequency 133.6 I can't actually hear the controller until I tune down 5Khz to 133.595.

You should experiment with some of your favorite London/Swanwick frequencies by tuning either up or down by 5KHz (assuming your scanner allows for 5Khz steps). You may be surprised and find a previously unheard controller coming through load and clear!

I have to admit I'm not sure of the reasons for this, maybe one of you can enlighten us all? In any case, the important thing for listeners are that you know about it and can experiment with some of those frequencies where you cannot here the controller side of the conversation. Happy listening!

Regular Readers Comment.....

2006-01-10T16:27:00.001Z

Caz posted the following:

"Hi there & Happy New Year! It's Caz back again! I spent a bit of time over the holiday period listening to the London FIS on 124.6 and i thought it was fascinating! Not only could i listen to people flying in Wales, Norfolk & The Cotswolds (not bad considering i live down near Brighton)and hearing all about various weather reports and planes being turned around as the airfields they were trying to get to were not open on New Years Day and the Bank Holiday Monday, but the controller chap was also telling one of the pilots he was talking to about the New Years party he was going to and that he wasn't looking forward to it! It is a great frequency to listen to for all sorts of reasons and can be very varied!! "

Thanks for the comments Caz. It certainly makes for interesting listening at times and is a bit different compared with the standard air traffic frequencies.

Signal R535 Airband Scanner

2006-01-05T15:45:00.000Z

Well, I have reluctantly put my Signal R535 scanner up for sale on ebay. I want to try out a new scanner but simply can't afford to without selling the trusty R535. I know many of my readers will know this, but the R535 really is the 'rolls royce' of airband receivers and truly offers fantastic performance being a dedicated civil & military scanner. If you should be interested then please check out my auction here.

I know its blatent advertising but who better to advise of the sale of this great scanner than my airband listening colleagues? The succesful bidder will have my full ongoing support and advice on the use of this fine radio and any other aspect of the hobby.

All the best for now. Mark.

Wainfleet, Donna Nook & Holbeach

2006-01-05T10:18:00.000Z

The following was posted by a reader:

"I live near the Wainfleet range and was recently treated to a Stealth B2s flying over, usually it's F15s.Donna Nook - 340.15 - 342.175 Wainfleet - 356.8 - 387.9 Holbeach - 343.375 - 360.45 Try and get a copy of AirWaves for all airband frequencies.Good Web sites www.fightercontrol.co.uk
www.rocketradio.net
www.airsupply.co.uk"

Thanks for the input, I'm sure I read somewhere else about B2's visiting the range and had apparantly made a non stop round trip from their US base!

Yupiteru MVT3300

2006-01-03T16:39:00.000Z

The following was posted by Chris:

Hi there.Just stumbled on this site and was wondering if anybody can help. I have just bought an airband radio(yupiteru MVT3300EU)and a discone antenna,what sort of stuff can I listen to and on what frequencies.I live in Solihull in the West Midlands and used to do this ages ago but I imagine that things have changed a bit since then.Thanks.

Hi Chris, sound like you have pretty good set up there. Birmingham would be an obvious listening choice (approach: 118.05 / 131.325 tower 118.3) and Manchester 'Stafa sector on 134.425 up to FL195 and above that, Swanwick on 129.2.

As regards military, I believe the Yupiteru MVT3300 starts coverage at 300Mhz which does mean your missing about half the military airband (220.00 - 400Mhz), but you should still monitor activity from 300 - 400Mhz.

Airband Radios - A Message From Peter

2005-12-23T15:07:00.000Z

Peter has posted the following:

Hi, apologies if this is posted in the wrong place, I've been following this blog for a month or so now and love it, there isn't much information out there now adays.I was wondering if you could advise me on hardware?Currently, I am just outside of the centre of manchester and about 1 or 2 miles off the flight path for aircraft landing at manchester - (need to find out what wind conditions and runway it is for). However I currently use a rather old and trusted Win-108 VHF scanner, i scan through 10 frequencies (Tower x 2 // Approach // Ground x 2 - poor reception :( // 5 FL frequencies).Next year I will be moving about half a mile into a house (I currently live in University Halls) and would really love to get my hands on a new scanner, I was looking at buying a yupiteru mvt-7100 or 7300 scanner, would I see an increase with this if I use a better antenna rather than the "Rubber Duck" that I have with the 108? Also any recommendations on a type of indoor aerial that would be good? or would the standar telescopic antenna be fine?Thank you and sorry for the mass of questions :)

Thanks for the comments on the site Peter, I'm always grateful for some feedback. I remember owning a WIN 108 many years ago, they are a great receiver but definitely a little dated now and I would certainly find 10 memory channels very restrictive.

I was in fact thinking of perhaps selling some scanners myself at some point but I'm not ready for that yet. The Yupiteru is still my scanner of choice at the moment even though I have a Signal R535. The telescopic antenna that is supplied as standard with the Yupi will greatly improve your reception over the WIN 108's rubber duck. The rubber duck antenna's are really only of any use 'on site' at airshows etc. where reception range isn't an issue.

In terms of antenna I am restricted by what my other half will put up with in the bedroom! I currently simply have a length of coax connected to the Yupi's original antenna strategically positioned near the bedroom window where the reception is at it's best. Tip: (always experiment with antenna location if it has to be indoors as you will find a dramatic difference in reception conditions in different locations).

Obviously the 'best' arrangement is to get an antenna outdoors on the roof (something like a 'discone' antenna which provides good gain over a wide range of frequencies). In my old house I had just this arrangement but interestingly my reception is better now with the simple indoor setup simply because of the house location/elevation which is also another factor in the performance you will achieve.

I hope these comments help Peter, I am off to Yorkshire for a week now over the holiday period so I will not be posting till the new year, all my very best for a prosperous new year to all who read and contribute to this site. Mark.

Gatwick Traffic

2005-12-19T22:25:00.000Z

Caz has posted the following:

Thank you again for your help! It was beginning to bug me as i kept hearing it and couldn't figure out what it meant! I have a GRE PSR 282 scanner and my father in law has just put an aerial (skyscan Airmaster i think!?) up on the side of our house for me and i now get to hear 2 way conversations which has greatly improved my listening enjoyment! I can now get Gatwick ground and Tower which i couldn't before! I also tuned in to the London FIS on 124.6 which you recommended in an earlier message and that does make quite interesting listening. I just wish i had more time to spend on it though! One more thing before i sign off, i have a couple of charts (Aerad En Route UK(L)2 and CAA England South Topographical 1:250 000) and i am desperately trying to see what flight routes go over my area as we have planes going over our house most of the day but especially early morning and i am desperate to know what frequency they could be on. I know you mentioned WILLO and frequency 133.175 in an earlier message so is it likely to be that one. Am i looking at the right sort of charts?? Sorry to keep asking but you are my only font of knowledge at the moment and i am very keen to keep learning!! Thank you again!

My reply is as follows:

I would say most of the traffic near you will be working WILLO sector, in fact the WILLO reporting point should be very close to your location and when it's busy that controller (133.175) is responsible for 'stacking' aircraft in a holding pattern around WILLO. A lot of the traffic inbound from the south will be entering the area from the LUCCO reporting point on the east side of the Isle Of Wight and from there taken eastward toward WILLO before being handed off to Gatwick director on 126.825. If not holding, the 'standing agreement' handoff altitude is FL90.

Aircraft outbound from Heathrow and Gatwick heading south out of the UK will be handed straight to WILLO on departure and should be climbed to FL170 and routed to the BOGNA reporting point which is actually about 8 miles out in the channel to the south of Shoreham and from there, handed to the next sector.

As regards charts, when I was regularly flying, the most popular chart for VFR (visual flight rules -ie. navigation by means of landmarks) was the 1:500000 scale. Commercial pilots will use the Aerad type charts and there are usually high and low altitude versions of these for a given area which detail the commercial routes and reporting points etc.

A question from Caz......

2005-12-18T23:18:00.000Z

Caz has posted the following question:

Hello its Caz again! A quick question, what does it mean when pilots say 'We are a Boeing 777 (understand that bit!) with information Lima? or Romeo? or Papa?' It always seems to be a different letter but i just don't understand what that bit means & i can't find it anywhere in my books!

This relates to the continuous weather broadcast given out on a dedicated frequency at airports. Remember my post regarding Gatwick frequencies mentions the 'ATIS' frequency of 136.525? ATIS stand for 'automatic terminal information service' - it is a continuous broadcast of the current weather conditions at that airport and it is typically updated every 20 to 30 minutes. This is just an example, but say the weather broadcast at 8am in the morning is known as 'information alpha' when it is next updated at say, 8.30am it becomes 'information bravo' and so it goes on throughout the day until the update becomes 'information zulu' and it then starts all over again at 'information alpha'. When an aircraft calls approach control and advises his aircraft type along with 'information alpha' for example, the controller immediately knows which weather broadcast the pilot has listened in to on the ATIS frequency. If there has been a further update with any changes in weather conditions this will be reported to the pilot.

I hope I have explained this clearly enough? If there are still any queries please let me know.

Reply to my Sussex Air Traffic Control post

2005-12-10T07:20:00.000Z

Here is the reply received from Caz:

"Many thanks to your response to my question! My name is Caz, the person who lives south of Gatwick and just a few miles from the South Downs. I have quite a few questions but am a bit pushed for time right now as i have a young daughter who is getting a little bored! but many thanks for answering my initial question, it is extremely helpful and i think this site is a great idea. I will make contact again soon".

Just thought I'd put the responce on the main page, it's nice to get some feedback, please stop by regularly and ask away with those questions when you've got time!

London FIS (Flight Information Service)

2005-12-06T07:36:00.000Z

In case you weren't aware, there is a 'flight information service' for all aircraft operating outside of controlled airspace (in other words no mans land!). Depending on the aircrafts location, there are two frequencies used which are: 124.6 & 124.75 but most of the time these are 'bandboxed' together under one controller. It is important to understand this is not a radar service of any kind but is useful for pilots (I used it quite regularly when I was flying) to provide information on their flight and receive information on other possible conflicting flights and in addition, to obtain weather reports and regional pressure settings etc.

It can make very interesting listening at times. Also because the service is transmitted through various repeaters in order to cover the UK it is possible to listen to aircraft at low level even if they are 200 miles or more away!

Sussex ATC Frequencies

2005-12-02T17:56:00.000Z

I must apologise for not posting recently as I have been very busy with work etc. I have received a question on frequencies by a reader living 15 miles south of Gatwick.

Just in case you don't have the Gatwick frequencies here they are:

Approach Primary 126.825
Approach 118.95
129.02
135.575
ATIS 136.525
Clearances 121.95
Ground 121.8
Tower 124.225 Primary
134.225

As regards airways frequencies, you are right underneath the 'WILLO' sector which extends from surface to FL175 frequency: 133.175.

Above this are sectors S18 FL175 to FL255 (extending to FL335 over the channel).
Then S25 FL255 to FL305 and finally S1 FL305 to FL660.

I think there was also a question regarding oceanic clearance frequencies. There are two frequencies, one for aircraft registered west of 30W ie. US aircraft etc. which is 123.95 and for aircraft registered East of 30W ie. european aircraft the frequency is 127.65.

Well I hope thats useful, thats all I have time for right now. Please keep posting and let me know what you think about the site and what else you might like to see here. Thanks all, Mark.

Military ATC over Matlock Derbyshire

2005-11-01T15:00:00.000Z

I have been asked about frequencies for military traffic over Matlock, Derbyshire. Unfortunately you are situated underneath a large chunk of civilian airspace, so there are no fixed military frequencies for this area. However, there is a military corridor called the 'Lichfield corridor' streching West to East roughly from Lichfield in staffordshire to RAF Newton (now closed) in Nottinghamshire which facilitates the crossing of military traffic to and from airbases on the eastern side of the Uk to their training ranges in Wales etc. For the military airband listener it is possible to listen in on fast jet traffic and also quite frequently Brize Norton based tanker aircraft transiting these corridors but, as far as I know there are not any specific allocated frequencies for this? I could list all the London Military allocated frequencies but time doesn't allow now, if anybody would like me to do this I might bow to pressure from readers!

Blackpool Frequencies

2005-10-27T09:00:00.000Z

I have had a question regarding blackpool area frequencies. Well, Blackpool itself has the following:

Approach: 119.95
Radar: 135.95
ATIS: 121.75
Tower: 118.4

As regards the surrounding airspace, the Isle Of Man Sector covers the Blackpool area from surface to FL195 (Manchester control). Further to the west of Blackpool this sector extends to FL245 and operates on: 133.05. Above this are sectors S3 & S4 as mentioned in my previous post regarding Lancs area frequencies.

I request for information has also been posted as follows:

"where can i get an digital adaptor for my analogue REALISTIC PRO 2042please? "

I'm afraid I can't help on this one but if any other reader can, please post a reply.

Thanks all.

East Lancashire ATC Frequencies

2005-10-11T07:38:00.000Z

I have had a request for information on frequencies in use in East Lancashire. If you live here you will have no less than 5 different sectors above you! They are as follows: (incidentally 'FL' means flight level eg. FL290 means 29,000ft on the standard altimeter setting of 1013.2 millibars or 29.92 inches of mercury)

The first three sectors are Manchester controlled sectors as follows:

NORTH LOW surface to FL165 Freq: 125.1
NORTH HIGH FL165 to FL195 Freq: 125.95
S29 (or sector 29) FL195 to FL285 Freq: 118.775

Any or all of these may be 'bandboxed' together on any of the frequencies quoted when traffic is light.

The Swanwick controlled sectors above these are as follows:

S3 FL290 - FL330 Freq: 129.1
S4 FL340 and above Freq: 131.05

again these could be bandboxed together depending on traffic levels.
Hope this info is useful, please keep the questions coming, however I am off to the sunshine of Rhodes on Saturday 15th October for 1 week so after Friday I will not be posting next week. Thanks all.

Re; Atmospherics

2005-10-03T20:59:00.000Z

Dave F. has posted the following comment:
'I have just read your comments on atmospheric conditions last year sometime (one Sunday morning I recall), I experienced the same type of reception from Heathrow, and in fact could hear delivery and ground frequencies in Staffordshire. Well, a strange coincedence, because early this morning (3/10/05)I was receiving the same high clarity reception,but only down to tower frequencies. Could a contributing factor be associated with the QNH ? pretty high today 1031.My radio equipment is Signal R535 ,Yupiteru 7100 , and AR8600 Mk11 for VHF linked to a external discone and dedicated Airband antenna.'

Thanks for the info Dave, have not listened much myself today so haven't experienced todays conditions. Thanks for info on your set up. I wonder how you find the R535 next to the Yupi? personally I find very little difference in their sensitivity. I've never owned an AOR receiver so would be interested to know how this performs alongside your other radios. Please get back to me if you have time.

Air Traffic Where You Live

2005-09-30T07:39:00.000Z

If any readers are reletively new to airband listening and would like to know what frequencies are in use where you live, hit the comments button and give me an idea of your location and I will provide as much information as I can on the traffic and frequencies in your area.

An Interesting Frequency

2005-09-26T16:52:00.000Z

One frequency I scan regularly is 313.0Mhz. This is the Wash ATA (Aerial Tactics Area) frequency. It is a Swanwick frequency set aside for aircraft operating in this area only and you can regularly listen in to aircraft such as Lakenheath F15's and Coningsby Typhoons practicing aerial combat.