Re: Airband Recommendations

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

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...

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

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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.

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New Airband Scanner Arrives!

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...

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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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).

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Airband

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.

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Airband Company Frequencies

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

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!

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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A380 Airbus

Another New Airband Frequency

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.

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A Tip From Pete

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.



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A Readers Question....

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?

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.



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Airband Scanner Problems...

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?

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

'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

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

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

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

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

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.....

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

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

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

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.