Airband Radios - A Message From Peter

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

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......

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Just A Note To Say....

I have turned on 'word verification' now, when you want to comment & hit the 'comments' button at the bottom right of any message you can leave your message as normal but you will be asked to enter the letter combination shown in a seperate box. This is to help stop the automated 'spam' messages that I seem to be getting of late, thanks all.

Best 'On Site' Scanner

Hi all, apologies for the delay in replying, I have been a bit busy with work of late. I have been asked by Pete Turner which might be the best 'on site radio' for use at airshows etc.

Well, my favorite at the moment is my little Icom IC-R2, its very robust and truly fits in your pocket. Connect a good earpiece and it's ideal. I know there is now an Icom IC-R5 (which I have owned), but there is very little difference between them (more memories & alpha tagging with the IC-R5). Because the IC-R2 has been superseded, you can get them quite cheap on ebay, I bought mine for about £70 and Im sure it was actually brand new! The only thing I would say is that, because there are very few buttons on these tiny scanners, it can be difficult at first to remember the key combinations needed to enter frequencies into memory etc. and you may find yourself constantly referring back to the manual to start with.

Br warned! the Icoms don't scan nearly as fast as scanners such as the Yupiteru MVT7100. I have measured it at about 10 channels per second (Yupi around 25 channels p/s) but how many frequencies do you scan particularly when your at an airfield anyway? maybe 20 or 30 at the most right? so, It shouldn't be a major problem.

I noted that you would like to listen in on your visits to Donna Nook range Pete, for your info the frequencies I have for Donna Nook are as follows:

Primary Hold: 340.15Mhz

Primary Join: 342.175Mhz

My Airband Listening Set Up

Just thought it worth mentioning my exact set up at home at the moment. I have a Signal R535 which is connected to about 4m of coax cable and that is connected to the antenna from my Yupiteru MVT 7100! (this set up works very well) which is strategically positioned in the corner of my bedroom bay window. It is always worth experimenting with positioning for maximum performance, you'll usually find windows and chimney breasts seem the best place for your scanner or at least the antenna to be positioned. I live just outside Leicester on fairly high ground (city of Leicester is in a bit of a valley) but I get very good results. 6am this morning I was listening to aircraft receiving there final clearance to land at Heathrow on runways 9 left and 9 right. Not bad! Click on 'comments' to share your set up details and any hints and tips you would like to contribute, and thanks for stopping by!

Bruntingthorpe - A Unique Experience

Bruntingthorpe airfield is quite local to myself being an ex USAF base (closed in the 50's). It is home to quite a few ex cold war jets, many maintained in flying condition, although many are not allowed to be flown anymore. About once or twice a year they hold an open day where you can go along and watch aircraft such as the two lightnings and also the likes of a Victor tanker, Buccanneer, Comet and many more carry out full power taxy runs down the 2 mile runway.(the most notable resident aircraft being Vulcan XH558 which is due to return to the air in 2006). It's a unique experience as you can stand right by the runway, much closer than at a conventional airshow. I believe the next open day is going to be August bank holiday Sunday. For more info check out: www.ColdWarJets.co.uk

Very often other aircraft will visit on these open days and there is also sporadic weekend flying activity. Seems a shame it doesn't see much flying activity these days with such a huge runway. The owner, a dedicated enthusiast has put forward plans for a freight airport in the past but to no avail.
By the way, their air/ground frequency is: 122.825.

Air To Air Frequencies

I don't want to go into a list of military air to air frequencies right now as there are hundreds of them. These are generally allocated to individual squadrons, however its always worth checking the following VHF frequencies that are frequently used for civil air to air and they are: 118.0, 122.65 & 123.45. I have heard all of these in use in the last week or so.

Atmospherics & The Civil Airband

Whilst I definitely don't claim to be a radio expert, I do know from experience that atmospheric conditions can drastically increase reception from time to time. These atmospheric effects are most prominent on the short wave bands but can effect the civil VHF airband also. I understand there is some relation to sunspot activity which apparently runs in seven year cycles. Anyway enough of that, if your still reading, thanks for bearing with me! As far as I'm aware the UHF military band never experiences this but I have experienced it on the civil VHF band. The last occasion was probably over a year ago for me. At the time I was able to clearly here the controllers at: Gatwick (126.825) , Brize Norton (various) and Mildenhall tower on 122.55. Pretty amazing from my location in Leicester! I wonder if any of you readers have experienced this also?

Signal R535

I have been asked how much I payed for my Signal R535. I bought it for £200 on Ebay. Maybe it's more than it's worth, I'm not sure, but it is a great performer although a little dated and long-winded in it's operation (having to move the cursor along and then use the up and down arrows to tune the desired frequency) but I still like this radio. On my own testing it just has the edge on the trusty Yupiteru MVT7100, but there's very little in it.

Stoke Golding Airfield

I'll be visiting Stoke Golding airfield (near Hinckley - Leicestershire) which is not far from myself this weekend. They are having a fly-in this Saturday & Sunday 23rd & 24th July. It is not announced to the public for insurance reasons but visitors are welcome. Its a great little airstrip with a single east - west grass runway. There are several interesting types based here (Yaks etc.) and the fly-in will no doubt attract some interesting aircraft also. You can park right next to the edge of the strip which is great although on-airfield parking is very limited. The air/ground frequency allocated to Stoke Golding is 127.925Mhz. If you would like to make an announcement about any less well known fly-ins, then hit the comments button at the bottom of this post.

P.S. Take a look at Stoke Goldings own web site at http://www.StokeGoldingAirfield.co.uk

Emergency Call

I was listening to Swanwick control at 6.35am yesterday on 132.840 when Easyjet 3869 (Stansted To Alicante) made a 'PAN PAN PAN' call declaring a medical emergency and requesting a diversion to Gatwick. It was then passed to Dover sector on 134.9 and then Timba arrivals on 120.175. The aircraft was descending rapidly and I lost radio contact with it whilst working this sector. Has anybody else heard an emergency call you would like to share with other readers of the site?

East Midlands Airport (EGNX)

There have been some fairly drastic airspace changes to East Mids, my nearest airport recently. There are several new 'reporting points' in the vicinity including most notably, ROKUP to the North and PIGOT to the south. Both RP's have holding procedures if needed. Personally I don't think East Mids has enough traffic to warrant holding stacks but I imagine the procedures have been put in place to cover the traffic increases for years to come.

East Mids Frequencies:

Ground: 121.9
ATIS: 128.225
Tower: 124.00
Radar: 120.125 (not used much)
Approach: 134.175

Commercial Dep's to the North are transferred to Manchester Trent sector on: 133.4 / 134.425 / 133.8 (depending on which sectors are 'bandboxed' together.)

South dep's are transferred straight to London Terminal Control Welin sector now on 130.925.

Duxford

Dave has posted a comment regarding Duxford frequencies (flying legends show coming up). All I have listed is the AFIS (aerodrome flight information service) frequency of: 122.075. Anybody know of anymore frequencies?

Back From Waddington

Attended the Waddington Air Show on Saturday. The Icom IC-R2 proved ideal as I could 'pocket' the radio and when used with a good earphone, I could hear everything perfectly well. The frequencies in use were as follows:

VHF air show tower: 132.9
VHF ground: 122.1

Military traffic tended to use the normal ground (342.125) and tower (370.125) frequencies at Waddington.

There was some traffic on 134.55 although I didn't monitor it much it seemed to be used as an 'ops' frequency.

Its always worth entering all six 'common' air show frequencies which I have listed in an earlier post into memory channels and scanning when at an air show.

Signal R535 Has Arrived!

Well, my R535 Airband Scanner arrived yesterday. I bought it on Ebay and it's in very good condition & working order (thanks to Iain). I remember having one of these in the late '80s early '90s and it was a great receiver but my early version only tuned up to 379.975 on the military UHF band, this is one of the later models which actually tunes up to 399.975. I'd almost forgotten how good these radios are. This completes my new set up now, with the Icom IC-R2 as my mobile 'on site' receiver and the R535 set up on the bedside table (wife wont get a look in now!). Im camping about 12 miles from Waddington this coming Friday & Saturday and will be attending the show with the family on Saturday so the Icom will get a good 'field test' whilst there.

Portsmouth

Dave sent the following e-mail:

Sorry it's short notice, got passed to you from another site. Have you a rough idea what frequencies may be used at the Royal fleet review at portsmouth today?There is some aircraft6 activity from about 3.00pm.Thanx in advance,Dave.

I reply: Im afraid Im not sure Dave but here's a few air to ship freqs. I have listed:

230.075 NATO Fleet
231.275 " "
315.175 " "
233.15 Ark Royal
283.3 " "
336.15 " "
345.45

260.1 Invincible
342.05 " "
375.85 " "
350.55 " "

237.85 Illustrious
280.15 " "

345.825 RN NET
350.15 RN
356.4 RN Safety

357.95 Deck Landings

Anybody else help with more relevent info please post here. Thanks - Mark

Re: Waddington

NEMA_Fly_Boy has sent me the following:

Hi, thanks for the Waddington Freqs. Will these be in use this year do we know, or are we likely to see standard display freqs. in place?? Also, do you have any Sqadron ops. frequencies, both discreet and display use for the show this year??Thanks in advance!!

In Reply: I'm just not sure on the display frequency, my previous post lists some 'common' allocated display frequencies, might be worth checking these at the show. I have the following frequencies which are ops frequencies I have listed for Waddington based units:

259.65 AWACS/magic ops
374.5 Wing Ops
253.35 Ops maintenance
364.725 Ops 51 Squadron (nimrod)
378.8 NOMAD ops

Dont forget also the Red Arrows nearly always use 243.45 as an air to air display frequency.

Hope this helps & thanks for the question.

Some Interesting Airband Frequencies

I thought it would be useful to publish some 'common' airband frequencies that can make for interesting listening:

Airshows:
121.175
130.625
132.9
130.5
130.675
134.55

Balloons:
122.475

Gliders:
129.9 (also balloons & Paradrop fields) eg. Langar
129.975 eg. Husbands Bosworth
130.1
130.125
130.4

Microlights:
129.825

Airport Fire Services:
121.6

RAF FAIRFORD

Dave asked for any frequencies I have for Fairford so here goes:

Ground: 259.975

Tower: 119.15 / 337.575

METRO (weather) 257.75 (as Mildenhall & Lakenheath)

Radar is operated by RAF Brize Norton:

123.55
127.25
124.275
342.45
311.825
277.35
376.625
119.0

Any of these could possibly be used!

About Posting Your Replies Or Questions Here

Dave from www.militaryairshows.co.uk has indicated that many airbanders wishing to ask a question may be unsure how to post here. If you look at a posting and click on the word 'comments' at the bottom right of each post a new window will open allowing you to type in your comment or question, you can then either mark the 'anonymous' button or the 'other' button to leave your name, then click 'publish your comment' hope thats clear for anybody wanting to post here.

Air Traffic Control

I have just received the latest update to my ATC simulator: 'London Control'. I have to say I am somewhat addicted to this program. It VERY ACCURATELY simulates the Manchester, London, Swanwick & Scottish ATC centres and is updated quarterly to keep up with changes to the UK ATC system. I have to say that this program has given me a more complete & accurate picture of the UK air traffic control system than I ever had before purchasing it. If you want to have a look at it go to: www.LondonControl.co.uk (and no I'm not on commission!).

Icom Ic-R2 has arrived!

My Icom IC-R2 arrived yesterday and I'm not disappointed. For such a little radio it's a great performer particularly if you hook it up to a better antenna such as a telescopic or something better by using an SMA to BNC adaptor. My only gripe would be the rather slow scan speed of around 10 channels a second. If you had just 200 frequencies programmed in, any one frequency would be checked every 20 seconds and it seems to me that you could easily miss transmissions on airband in that time. That said, I never even have that many frequencies in memory so its not that much of a problem for me personally. I'm now just awaiting the arrival of the Signal R535 bought on Ebay.

Icom Scanner Purchased

Have now completed the purchase of an Icom IC-R2 (have previously owned an IC-R5). This will do me fine for 'on airfield' operations with the signal R535 for home based listening. I purchased the Icom R2 as their quite cheap now. I have read in some places that it performs better than the R5? in any case it is more than sufficient for my mobile operating needs. My trusty, much looked after Yupiteru 7100 will be sold on Ebay shortly. These are still a great scanner and I would be not selling it had I not acquired a Signal R535 which is probably the only receiver to rival it's performance.

Re: Waddington Air Show

Dave from www.militaryairshows.co.uk has posted the following comment:

I have 388.225Mhz for the Tower, is it now 370.125Mhz or are both used?Any idea if they will use these frequencies for the show or will they use a temporary air display frequency?Looking forward to seeing the Hungarian MiG-29 display at Waddington.Dave

In answer: Hi Dave, Yes I remember the tower being 388.225 but it changed maybe a year or two ago now. With regard to temporary airshow frequencies, Im not sure as I haven't been to Waddington for a couple of years. Maybe another reader can help with that one?

Waddington Air Show

I don't get around to attending many air shows but, I am hoping to get to Waddington air show this year on the 2nd & 3rd July. Just in case you didn't know, the frequencies I have for Waddington are as follows:

Approach: 312.5Mhz/127.35Mhz
Director: 300.575Mhz
Departures: 249.85Mhz
Tower: 370.125Mhz/

VHF Tower tends to be the NATO standard tower frequency of 122.1Mhz.

These tend to be the main frequencies. There are also squadron ops frequencies etc. if anybody wants these please let me know by posting here.

If you have any other information on Waddington, again, please post it here.

New Radio Scanner

I have now successfully won an auction for a Signal R535 airband radio. I have owned one before many years ago and have always regretted selling it. Although the 60 memory channels are not brilliant I still consider this to be the 'rolls royce' of airband receivers. I am therefore putting my immaculate Yupiteru MVT7100 up for sale. Anyone out there interested? I will probably try and pick up a cheap Icom IC-R2 or similar for 'on airfield' operation.

Lakenheath Military Air Traffic

Although I live in the midlands I here a lot of F15 lakenheath traffic transiting East to West or West to East across controlled airspace. Yesterday seemed quite busy when I was listening. Traffic crossing in the Lichfield radar corridor seem to talk to Swanwick mil quite a lot on 257.275Mhz and traffic crossing further south in the Daventry/Westcott corridor seem to use 275.35Mhz. Heard any interesting movements lately? post your comments here.

Icom IC-R20 Scanner

Anybody out there got an Icom IC-R20 scanner? Looks a nice bit of kit but have no idea how it performs. I wonder if it scans memory channels faster than other Icoms, they always seem rather slow on scanning (or is it 'searching' according to Icom) If you've got one please post your opinions here. I would also be interested to here from anyone with a Realistic/Radio Shack or Uniden scanner as I have no experience of these radios at all.

Mildenhall

I wonder if any of you like me, remember the great airshows at Mildenhall particularly in the 80's? I got some great shots of an SR71 Blackbird on static display and I remember that some years at least there was the other aircraft ( 2 SR71's were stationed there) in the flying display. I remember it being very impressive! Talking of airshows, Dave Key of www.MilitaryAirshows.co.uk has kindly agreed to link to my site and I have reciprocated here and in the link on the lower right hand side. It really is a great site for all airshow related matters, so if you are not familier with his site, please take a look.

New Frequency Allocation?

I have recently heard traffic transferred to a London/Swanwick frequency of 132.840Mhz. Is this the first UK allocation of the new 8.33Khz channels? Anyone know what sector this covers?

My Airband Listening History

Hello Everybody

My name is Mark Graham and I have created this site in the hope that it might become a place for fellow airband enthusiasts to share information on all matters related to airband listening, Inc. information on scanners, reception, frequencies and events etc.

I have been airband listening for some 27 years now (started at 12, now 39 years old) my first radio being a simple 'multiband receiver' which tuned the entire VHF band in about 2cm of travel. Later I had a small 'Sharp' radio that allowed more accurate tuning and had an LED light indicating the signal strength ( I thought this was fantastic at the time). My other radios/scanners have included a Signal R537s, WIN108, Signal R535 (should NEVER have sold that one!) an ICOM IC-R10 (not impressed) and also Yupiteru MVT 5000, 7000 & 7100. Very recently I tried an Icom IC-R5 which was surprisingly impressive for such a tiny radio. My current receiver is the Yupiteru MVT7100. Although it doesn't have all the 'bells & whistles' of more modern scanners I think It is still the best for raw reception quality and ease of use. If anybody knows of a newer model that beats or matches the Yupi I'd be very happy to here from you!

I also managed to gain my Uk Private Pilots Licence in 1991 and later IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) rating & night ratings. After some 250 logged hours, in 2003 I finally gave up flying as the pressures of family & mortgage stretched my finances.

Well, that's enough about me for now, If you have anything to share with fellow airbanders please do hit the comments button at the bottom right and post it here. Thanks for reading.

Mark Graham