com

Hi. I´m a student that is going for the PPL. I would like to listen the
traffic and controllers but i don´t know how.
I just bought a scanner MAycom AR108 but i does not catch the controller.
My question is:

- Does a handheld transceiber (jhp 500, icom 22 or so..) catch the
controller while in ground. (at home for example)..

One idea that came to me is to buy a used COM from an aircraft (cheap of
course) and mount it at home. DO you know where to get this old used COM or
NAV/COM at cheap price. (Do not tell my ebay).

Thanks in advance

"ec-ill" wrote in message ...
Hi. I´m a student that is going for the PPL. I would like to listen the
traffic and controllers but i don´t know how.
I just bought a scanner MAycom AR108 but i does not catch the controller.

If your scanner can't hear the controller, it's not likely that a transceiver will either.

You should first invest in a higher/better antenna.

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 13:09:08 -0500, "Ron Natalie" wrote:


"ec-ill" wrote in message ...
Hi. I´m a student that is going for the PPL. I would like to listen the
traffic and controllers but i don´t know how.
I just bought a scanner MAycom AR108 but i does not catch the controller.

If your scanner can't hear the controller, it's not likely that a transceiver will either.

You should first invest in a higher/better antenna.

My vote's for higher. Back when the FCC tightened the frequency standards,
I replaced my Escort 110 with a newer radio. The Escort now sits in my
office, with a Rat Shack power supply and a copper-tape dipole antenna.
The ATIS for Sea-Tac International (about eight miles away, at about the
same ground elevation) is just *barely* unreadable. When it was in the
airplane, this radio with a similar dipole antenna used to pick up traffic
at an airport 80 miles away from pattern altitude.

The current setup does just fine for ground transmissions from a nearby
uncontrolled field, but then I'm only two miles away and 400 feet higher.

Ron Wanttaja

In article , ec-ill
wrote:

Hi. I´m a student that is going for the PPL. I would like to listen the
traffic and controllers but i don´t know how.
I just bought a scanner MAycom AR108 but i does not catch the controller.
My question is:

- Does a handheld transceiber (jhp 500, icom 22 or so..) catch the
controller while in ground. (at home for example)..

One idea that came to me is to buy a used COM from an aircraft (cheap of
course) and mount it at home. DO you know where to get this old used COM or
NAV/COM at cheap price. (Do not tell my ebay).

It's all in the antenna.
Go to Jim Weir's website and you will find the plans for an excellent
external antenna you can build.
http://www.rst-engr.com

Keep in mind that VHF is line of sight. You should hear any transmission on
the frequence if your antenna has an unobstructed line of sight to the
transmitter. This is probably why you can hear (in flight) aircraft but not
(ground based) ATC.

Mike
MU-2

"ec-ill" wrote in message
...
Hi. I´m a student that is going for the PPL. I would like to listen the
traffic and controllers but i don´t know how.
I just bought a scanner MAycom AR108 but i does not catch the controller.
My question is:

- Does a handheld transceiber (jhp 500, icom 22 or so..) catch the
controller while in ground. (at home for example)..

One idea that came to me is to buy a used COM from an aircraft (cheap of
course) and mount it at home. DO you know where to get this old used COM
or
NAV/COM at cheap price. (Do not tell my ebay).

Thanks in advance

VHF requires line of sight between the transmitter and receiver.. at ground
level and too far away.. or a hill in the way.. you will not hear the
controller side, only the airborne aircraft side..

BT

"ec-ill" wrote in message
...
Hi. I´m a student that is going for the PPL. I would like to listen the
traffic and controllers but i don´t know how.
I just bought a scanner MAycom AR108 but i does not catch the controller.
My question is:

- Does a handheld transceiber (jhp 500, icom 22 or so..) catch the
controller while in ground. (at home for example)..

One idea that came to me is to buy a used COM from an aircraft (cheap of
course) and mount it at home. DO you know where to get this old used COM
or
NAV/COM at cheap price. (Do not tell my ebay).

Thanks in advance

"ec-ill" wrote in message
...
Hi. I´m a student that is going for the PPL. I would like to listen the
traffic and controllers but i don´t know how.
I just bought a scanner MAycom AR108 but i does not catch the controller.
My question is:

- Does a handheld transceiber (jhp 500, icom 22 or so..) catch the
controller while in ground. (at home for example)..

One idea that came to me is to buy a used COM from an aircraft (cheap of
course) and mount it at home. DO you know where to get this old used COM
or
NAV/COM at cheap price. (Do not tell my ebay).

Thanks in advance

In simple terms radios operate in line of sight. That's why it is difficult
to pick up transmissions from ground stations, whereas its straight forward
hearing to aircraft.

To hear ground stations you either need to be close to them on the ground or
in the air.

A bigger (higher) ariel will help.

Dave

On 1-Jan-2004, "Dave" wrote:

In simple terms radios operate in line of sight.

This is true for the VHF frequencies used for conventional aircraft com
communications (118-136 MHz). HF frequencies (below around 5 MHz) bounce
off of the ionosphere and can be received well "over the horizon." That is
why HF is used for oceanic com.

That's why it is difficult to pick up transmissions from ground stations,
whereas its straight forward
hearing to aircraft.

To hear ground stations you either need to be close to them on the ground
or in the air.

Yes, picking up a distant VHF ground station while on the ground is
unlikely. Just how far away one can be and still get a usable signal
depends upon terrain and heights of antennas (at both ends).



A bigger (higher) ariel will help.

MAYBE!!!


I have for some time thought that it would be neat if the FAA (or some other
institution), as a PR and educational initiative, put some selected ATC com
interchange on the web in real time streaming audio. Maybe a busy JFK
RAPCON frequency would be a good choice. ATC coms are public domain (i.e.
they are not protected as private communications) so their re-broadcast on
the Web would be perfectly legal.

--
-Elliott Drucker

wrote in message
...

On 1-Jan-2004, "Dave" wrote:

In simple terms radios operate in line of sight.

This is true for the VHF frequencies used for conventional aircraft com
communications (118-136 MHz). HF frequencies (below around 5 MHz) bounce
off of the ionosphere and can be received well "over the horizon." That
is
why HF is used for oceanic com.

That's why it is difficult to pick up transmissions from ground stations,
whereas its straight forward
hearing to aircraft.

To hear ground stations you either need to be close to them on the
ground
or in the air.

Yes, picking up a distant VHF ground station while on the ground is
unlikely. Just how far away one can be and still get a usable signal
depends upon terrain and heights of antennas (at both ends).



A bigger (higher) ariel will help.

MAYBE!!!


I have for some time thought that it would be neat if the FAA (or some
other
institution), as a PR and educational initiative, put some selected ATC
com
interchange on the web in real time streaming audio. Maybe a busy JFK
RAPCON frequency would be a good choice. ATC coms are public domain (i.e.
they are not protected as private communications) so their re-broadcast on
the Web would be perfectly legal.

--
-Elliott Drucker


This already exists. Landings.com has live ATC feeds from 8 or 10 different
locations (including JFK, MIA, ORD) that you can listen to using RealAudio.

Howard Neff

"Giganews" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...

On 1-Jan-2004, "Dave" wrote:

In simple terms radios operate in line of sight.

This is true for the VHF frequencies used for conventional aircraft com
communications (118-136 MHz). HF frequencies (below around 5 MHz)
bounce
off of the ionosphere and can be received well "over the horizon." That
is
why HF is used for oceanic com.

That's why it is difficult to pick up transmissions from ground
stations,
whereas its straight forward
hearing to aircraft.

To hear ground stations you either need to be close to them on the
ground
or in the air.

Yes, picking up a distant VHF ground station while on the ground is
unlikely. Just how far away one can be and still get a usable signal
depends upon terrain and heights of antennas (at both ends).



A bigger (higher) ariel will help.

MAYBE!!!


I have for some time thought that it would be neat if the FAA (or some
other
institution), as a PR and educational initiative, put some selected ATC
com
interchange on the web in real time streaming audio. Maybe a busy JFK
RAPCON frequency would be a good choice. ATC coms are public domain
(i.e.
they are not protected as private communications) so their re-broadcast
on
the Web would be perfectly legal.

--
-Elliott Drucker


This already exists. Landings.com has live ATC feeds from 8 or 10
different
locations (including JFK, MIA, ORD) that you can listen to using
RealAudio.

Howard Neff

url please