My real ATC Scanner

Hey Cheeky,

1) Are you definitely sure you have tuned to the ground frequency and that it is correct. You say "Why can I not hear this when I am listening to NZAA tower?" You won't be able to hear the ground chat if you are tuned into the tower frequency. Change to the ground frequency and it should work 😉

2) Their numbers and phonetic letters are simply a way of acknowledging that you have heard a transmission and so ATC know who is talking to them to avoid confusion. Basically it improves the reliability of communications if each aircraft have their own unique identifier.

3) Erm, I'm not too sure on this one. It could be a way in which ATC identifies the size of an aircraft to ensure proper separation between aircraft or it could be just so authorities know how many 'souls' are onboard. Could be wrong with both

4) If you are on the correct ATIS frequency for an airport, you should be able to hear the repeated message. I can only think that ATIS has changed frequencies, (which I don't think it does) or you have the wrong frequency.

5) I wouldn't have thought so. In the UK, it is illegal to listen to emergency services and state services transmissions. Could be different in NZ

Hope that has helped a bit 😉

Hi Cheekytrolley

Try this website for your scanner frequencies.

I am too an avid scanner listener. In the UK it is not illegal to listen to emergency services transmissions, unless you act upon what you hear.

I know this as I am a fire officer with the fire brigade.

You will need to check if this is OK to do locally.

Regards

George

Andrew I'll include some anwsers in the email that I drop you later after my flying lesson at 10:00.

i used have a scaner and i could pick up police and that i used go watch police when soming gud happening lol

What does 'MBZ' mean, because a channel I keep tuning into is called 'Auckland VFR MBZ' I know what VFR stands for but not MBZ. (It is a channel where pilots keep on announcing thier position)

Cheers

MBZ= Mandatory Broadcast Zone

One reason you may have difficulty hearing "ground" instructions is that VHF communications are strictly line of sight.

For example, I am in Hollywood, just below the Hollywood hills. I can hear aircraft at KVNY and KBUR, but because the hills are between me and the airports, I can not hear their towers. However, since my elevation is 409 ft. and KLAX is 126 ft., I can usually hear most of what is going on there.

Thanks for that Crash and RM. I have a another question now, what does 'POB' mean. I think it means passengers on board or something because most airliners decending into the international airport announce it (but not all of them for some reason 😕 )

👏 Your right!
POB Persons on Board

Why the heck does ATC need to know how many people are on board??? 😳

cheekytrolly wrote:

Why the heck does ATC need to know how many people are on board??? 😳

It may be to do with landing fees, but I'm not really sure. If you look at the following link at the top of the table, it has the weight of the aircraft and then says + $1.36 per passengers, but I may be wrong. 😉

Cheekytrolly and I have been getting into scanning recently and I wanted to ask a couple of questions on behalf of both of us, sorry for the large amount of questions. 😳

1. Primary and secondary frequencies. Normally my airport only operates on the primary frequency, but today they were using the secondary frequency as well, any ideas?

2. When listening to Qantas pilots that regularly operate into NZ, their accent sounds like giiiiiiidddddddaaaaayyyyy Aweklaaand (Auckland :wink🙂, but is it suposed to be good day, or is it?

3. Airlines such as United, Lufthanser, KLM, JAL, British Airways and AA operate into NZAA often (we checked on the flight schedules), but are never heard on the scanner, does anyone know why that is?

Once again my apoligies for overwhelming you with questions,

Jarred and Cheekytrolly. 😉

3. Airlines such as United, Lufthanser, KLM, JAL, British Airways and AA operate into NZAA often (we checked on the flight schedules), but are never heard on the scanner, does anyone know why that is?

I found out that airlines codeshare with other airlines on routes to New Zealand, like Qantas operate British Airways flights for example, visit www.ba.com and click our country for more info...

I have another question now about flight numbers. On the NZAA arrivals board (See http://www.aucklandairport.co.nz/FlightInformation.aspx ) Each flight has its own code like 'UA9584' and 'NZ8407' What do these codes mean. I gather the 'UA' is Uninted Airlines and 'NZ' is Air New Zealand but what do the numbers after it mean? I printed out this page and listened to the NZAA tower for the planes to arrive and matched them up and ticked them off which was cool 😉

The number after the airline is basically just the flight number.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_number

I still dont really get it Jarred. Why do Air New Zealand have flight numbers ranging from NZ410 to NZ8408 ? Surely they dont have 8,000 different routes! 😕

Also, what do codes like "AFB PAR" (Air Force Base....?) and "AWIB" mean?

I don't think there is a specific system to an aircrafts number. As far as I know, its pretty much randomly allocated. Could be wrong though 😉

Just posting a quick link I found with lots of Air Traffic Control code abbreviations, which may be helpfull to people like me and Jarred who use the scanners:

http://www.fltplan.com/abbreviations.htm#OTHER

For anyone wondering, "AWIB" means 'Aerodrome Weather Information Broadcast' but I still am un-sure on what "AFB PAR" means.

cheekytrolly wrote:

Just posting a quick link I found with lots of Air Traffic Control code abbreviations, which may be helpfull to people like me and Jarred who use the scanners:

http://www.fltplan.com/abbreviations.htm#OTHER

For anyone wondering, "AWIB" means 'Aerodrome Weather Information Broadcast' but I still am un-sure on what "AFB PAR" means.

PAR- pronounced "P" "A" R", not "par" - precision approach radar; a type of instrument approach

Thanks for that Radarman 😂

Here are more questions to keep you on your toes 😉

1) Why do airlines have their own frequencies and what do they use them for?

2) What does Unicom mean?

3) I have seen a frequency called "Auckland RADAR" what exactly does this mean, I thought a RADAR was a screen used for tracking aircraft's direction?

Ooh! I have just notice I am a Chief Captain now! 😳 ... 😀 ... 😎

Since I'm not familiar with any of these I'll let you read them and see if they are what you wanted.

Why do airlines have their own frequencies and what do they use them for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID

UNICOM: privately-operated advisory air-to-ground radio service at uncontrolled airfields, in the USA.

Auckland RADAR

You can ask here.
http://www.liveatc.net/forums/

Thanks again for clearing that up RM friend, but I still have many many more questions 😉

1.
How come I can only hear the aircraft's talking to the Tower on landing, but not the aircraft's talking to the tower on take off, or the people in the tower on both situations?

2. (Requires local knowlage)
What is the best frequency to tune into to hear light GA (propeller planes) over the city and surrounding area just announcing their position (eg: Tracking south from North Head to Rangitoto)

3.
Do you know the frequencies for “Mountain Air” or “Air Nelson” or “RNZAF Northern Ops”

4
How come I can't hear the airplanes requesting permission to land, but only announcing that they are landing, then saying "cleared to land" ? I only hear for example "Qantas 404 on finals runway 23"
5.
Is there any way I can hook my scanner up to my PC?

6.
Why do planes announce how many passengers they have on board???

I have also posted these same questions like was suggested, and will post answers here if I get any from there or vica-verca.

Cheers 🙂

Just to add another question, sorry to overwhelm everyone. I was listening to aircraft on approach to NZHN recently and they quite often say 'caddada' or something similar to that in pronounciation.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jarred.

Why don't you call or go to the ATC tower at the Auckland Airport. I'm sure they will be happy to answer most of your questions.
Now that would be interesting!

I contacted my local airfield, Ardmore, and they sorted out plently of my questions and gave me answers I'm now satisfied with...

...now here's something they can't answer but prehaps someone here can:

Is there anyway I can connect my atc scanner from the audio out (headphone jack) into my soundcard and listen to it in windows media player???

Hi cheekytrolley,

Do you know how far away can you be from the airport to pick up the ATC signals?

I ask this because i am considering purchasing the Uniden 72XLT.

If anyone else knows that would be great also

Thanks

Do you know how far away can you be from the airport to pick up the ATC signals?

I live about 20km away from my International one, and I can hear all the big jets coming into land, but not actually being cleared to land as by that time they are two low to the ground and there are objects blocking the path between my house and the runway. Although oddly enough I can hear aircraft taxing on the tarmac at the airport for some reason.

You can basically hear anything around 35-45km away if you have a direct line of sight. That is great for aircraft because they are in the sky above you with no obstracions in the way.

You can also buy antennas that boost your reception.

I can also hear police and fire trucks around my city that are about 30km away. 😎

flyer_ben wrote:

Hi cheekytrolley,

Do you know how far away can you be from the airport to pick up the ATC signals?

I ask this because i am considering purchasing the Uniden 72XLT.

If anyone else knows that would be great also

Thanks

Ben, I am located about an 120km from where Cheekytrolly lives and I can pick up airliner radio signals from my house, I too have the 72XLT. Generally the higher up the aircraft are, the clearer the reception, although I can only hear aircraft down to about 3000 ft due to the distance s involved. Planes A320/737 size and up generally have crystal clear reception. CT mentioned a reception range of 35-45 km, this will apply to light GA aircraft, altough like I mentioned I receive crystal clear reception with the larger planes.

Maximum range of larger airliners? Probably 300km or so if they are high enough, altough the signal wont be very clear. If you get a larger antenna such as to mount on your roof, reception will be much clearer and have increased range capabilites, and you may possibly be able to hear the airport tower based on the elevation of your house, as well as the 'line of sight' transmissions that VHF signals rely on.

Hopefully this helps, otherwise drop CT or me an email.
Jarred.

CT is this the sort of thing you're looking for to connect the scanner up to the PC? Cables are a bit pricy, but if your looking to save a few $$$, buy a couple up 3.5mm plugs solder a wire between them! 😂

They will connect up to your mic / line in input socket.

Well folks, after asking various other sorces, includining this online pdf file:

I have found out more answers which I thought I would post here for the benifits of others who are interested:

Why do airlines have their own frequencies and what do they use them for?
Mainly speaking to the ground crew from the air, requesting first aid kits, police officers, docters and wheel chairs upon landing.

What does Unicom mean?
Uncontroller airfield ATC system, where pilots announce thier position, rather than getting told where to fly

I have seen a frequency called "Auckland RADAR" what exactly does this mean, I thought a RADAR was a screen used for tracking aircraft's direction?
All inbound and outbound aircraft leaving and entering the Auckland zone must announce thier height, and direction giving other pilots an idea of where they are, just like a RADAR system does.

How come I can only hear the aircraft's talking to the Tower on landing, but not the aircraft's talking to the tower on take off, or the people in the tower on both situations?
You can only hear a clear transmittion with an aircrfat if you have a clear line of sight between the plane and your reciver. When planes are cleared to land, they are useually pretty low to the ground already, like 800 feet or something, and between my house and 800 feet above the runway, there are hills and buildings blocking the signal. When I visited the airport for some plane spotting right near the runway, I could hear anything and everything, which was awesome

What is the best frequency to tune into to hear light GA (propeller planes) over the city and surrounding area just announcing their position
There are five main MBZ (Mandatory Broadcast Zones) over head my city:
Auckland City Traffic (Waiheke and Mechanics Bay) 120.400
Kaipara Flats VFR MBZ (Parakai) Traffic 119.100
North Shore VFR MBZ (Dairy Flat) Traffic 118.000
Great Barrier Island VFR MBZ (Okiwi) Traffic 124.400
Mercer VFR MBZ (Pokeno) Traffic 133.050

How come I can't hear the airplanes requesting permission to land, but only announcing that they are landing, then saying "cleared to land" ? I only hear for example "Qantas 404 on finals runway 23" and On flight simulator, when you land you are asked to 'turn next taxiway' and then are handed off to the ground control on another frequency. Why can I not here this when I am listening to NZAA (Auckland International) tower? All I am getting at the moment are clearences for landing?
Because I dont have a clear line of sight with the airport ATC tower, only the incoming aircraft. When I was at the airport plane spotting I could hear both the plane and tower in conversation though.

During transmittions, pilots end there speeches with a set of numbers, like "one zero eight" and sometimes a letter of the ATC alphabet like 'Uniform' and 'Lima' Why do they say both of these things and what do they mean?
They are verfying with the ATC tower that they have heard the latest weather conditons from the ATIS frequency.

Why do planes announce how many passengers they have on board???
Still have no idea! 🙄

Thanks for the DSE link Jarred, I'm gonna get a wire ASAP after I have got a DC adapter, man these things eat up batterys like there is no tomorrow!

Andrew thanks for the anwsers that'll help me out a lot when I'm listening to the Auckland frequencies. I'll ask my instuctor at the Aero Club on Thursday as to why they say how many POB they have.

Yep, they sure do eat up the batteries, I've actually started using my recharchable Ni-MH digital camera batteries which seem to last the whole day as long as its turned off for 1 - 2 hours during the day, then its back on the charger at night for another full days use the next day!

As for that DC adaptor, do you know where you can buy them? I had a look on Uniden and DSE's website, however they only seem to have them for other scanner models. My old CD Walkman had a DC adaptor which I sometimes use when the batteries die on me, however it rated at 600mAh instead of the 500mAh it says by the plug on the scanner, but it doesnt seem to affect it at all. I guess you could use a DC adaptor from DSE that could be used for anything, they would be pretty cheap I suspect.

thanks CT and Jarred

thats enough distance for me to hear ops at my local airport.

Thanks, ben

No probs, as a matter of fact how far away from the airport actually are you, and do you know your house elevation in relation to the tower?

Yep, they sure do eat up the batteries, I've actually started using my recharchable Ni-MH digital camera batteries which seem to last the whole day as long as its turned off for 1 - 2 hours during the day, then its back on the charger at night for another full days use the next day!

LOL, same here. Did you make sure you move the little switch tp "Ni-MH" underneath the battery compartment when doing so? Also, the scanner seems to reconise it as low battery when its like down to 15% full, so I compleaty run them down in my electric shaver before charging them up again...I hear it gives better effecency or something.

As for that DC adaptor, do you know where you can buy them? I had a look on Uniden and DSE's website, however they only seem to have them for other scanner models.

The scanner booklet says it requires at "6V 500mA AC adapter" and this one at DSE is a has a multiple power range from 1.5v to 12v with all size connecters:

Yep I flicked that switch over to Ni-MH, I wish it wouldnt start beeping for low battery so early, it would still have 1.5 - 2 hours left in it, I try putting them in my digital camera to go flat, but it requires too much power and only switches on for a minute, so i need to think up a plan to get rid of all the leftover power in them.

Thanks for the link, I'll add that to my list of things to buy if I get a job at the New World supermarket they're building close by. 😉

Just as a matter of interest, does anyone know if you can get a USB adaptor which could power a scanner - it would need to be able to supply a current of 500mA and a voltage of 6.0

Thanks in advance,
Jarred.

Just a quick Q on the subject for J1:

Yesterday I was listening to the city traffic MBZ and heard a parachue aircarft saying "Kilo Xray Foxtrot (ZK-KXF) 60 seconds till drop" and then "Kilo Xray Foxtrot, jumpers away, tracking North to North Head"

Is there any NZ registerd aircrfat database I can look up to find out what plane ZK-KXF was?

(BTW, this is my 500th pots 😉 )

Interesting listening their CT, never heard any parachutists on the scanner before, but why would anyone parachute over Hamilton! 😂

Indeed there is CT, go to the following link, then on the nav bar click on aircraft, then click on aircraft register. Type in the aircrafts rego, and an error message will come up - looks like you got the rego a little wrong! 😂

➡ http://www.caa.govt.nz

Yer J1, I know they do alot of parachuting over Waiheke Island...and thanks for the CAA link, I must have got the rego down wrong, I was scramberling around trying to find pen and paper when I heard so I could ask about it here, lol!

Cheeky / All,

If you haven't already seen this you're going to love it !

It's a 17 minute video of a ANZ flight from Christchurch to Queenstown in a 737-200 and is generally regarded as one of the best aviation short vids ever made. Brilliant camera views.

Also, in this the Captain informs Queenstown tower how many souls are on board, which I had never heard before. Perhaps it's a NZ Aviation Authority thing that they have to do?

ENJOY THIS

Hey Pro-Sim,
Your link dosent work! Please could you fix it coz i'd love to watch it? How many mb is it btw, unfortuantly I'm still on 56k!

the Captain informs Queenstown tower how many souls are on board

Does he actually say "souls" because I have heard "P.O.B" many times on my scanner listening to Air New Zealand heavys, but never "souls" J1 asked his instructor the reason why people said this, but he didnt know and said "its just one of those things you have to do" 😉

CT I found the link here:

It doesn't say how many mb is is but seems to download rather fast for its length. Thanks for the link Pro-Sim! 👍

Thanks for the link J1, although I didn't realise it was streamed. Does anyone have a direct link so that I can download it to my computer and save it??? It's not working atm! 😞

Cheeky,

It's only possible to stream it I think, not d/load and save it 😞

The link in my original email does work though - just tested it - hope you can get it sorted, it's a fab film.

Yes, I think he say's "Souls on board".

The other nice thing is that the Captain does what we often do in FS when we want to do a Visual Landing (rather than get the long, drawn out Vectors from ATC), he "Cancels IFR" with ATC and then speaks directly to the Queenstown Tower who clear him VFR for approach and landing ....

....and what an Approach !

Looks like NZ must be one of the most stunning places to fly in ... (well apart from North East England of course.. 😉 ).

David.

Looks like NZ must be one of the most stunning places to fly in ... (well apart from North East England of course.. 😉 ).

Looks like NZ must be one of the most stunning places to fly in ... (well apart from North East England of course..

It certainly is, in New Zealand you can find a little piece of just about everywhere in the world. We have magnificent mountain ranges, lush tropical forests, large urban centres and flat open deserts! Its all here 😎

By the way, I hear on my scanner about 70% of airliners landing at Auckland International ask for a visual appoach rather than IFR unless its bad weather!

Yeah I found that interesting too CT, I think I have only heard airliners ask for an ILS 2 or 3 times! I think the pilots actually have an easier job landing the plane on the visual rather than the ILS but I'm no commercial pilot so I'm not too sure...

You can hook your scanner up to your PC by using a 1/8 Audio dubbing cable. You just connect it from the headphone jack in your scanner to the line-in of your PC.

If you haven't allready, I would REALLY reccomend buying an external antenna. You will be amazed what a good antenna clear of obstacles can do for you.

Also, pilots will take the visual approach pretty much anytime they can get it. The workload is considerably less and allows you to actually fly the plane; the fun part of being a pilot.

Er just a quick question for J1... I have never really thought about this but does it really matter how far around the squelch thing is?

If the off position is "7 o'clock" I useually have mine set on "11 o'clock" Is this correct?

Cheers

Set the squelch so that it cuts the noise when there is no transmission or the transmission is so weak that you can't understand it. That said, mine is at the 10 o'clock position.

As crash said, the dial shoud be approx 10 or 11o'clock, depends on the sort of scanner you're using.

I set the squelch by starting at full reception (7 o'clock) and then adjust it so that the static just dissapears. 😉

Thanks for answering that guys- I just don't see why you can turn the squelch a full circle if you only need to move it about a 1/4 of the way round to get good reception ❓

Pardon me guys for stepping in:

Think of the squelch as a variable filter.

Full off-no filter at all. All static received, voice. All sounds.

Full on- filter completely in place, No static, voice or sound of any kind.

The clock angle doesn't matter. What you want is the position that gives enough filter to stop background static with out being too much to stop desired transmissions. Start with no filter and slowly adjust squelch knob toward full until background static just goes away.🙂

When no one is transmitting, turn the squelch just enough to kill the static. If you still get transmissions that are so weak you can't understand them, turn it just a hair more. After all, you don't want to tie the scanner up listening to something that is unintelligible.

Now, just to spice your life up a bit, static levels are not constant. Atmospheric and other local conditions change, so you might have to adjust the setting from time to time.

Having just today purchased my very first scanner, a Uniden 72XLT (yes, I know it's an el cheapo) and not having a clue how to use it as yet, I stumbled across this forum purely by accident and am very impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness I've seen thus far 🙂

Dalriadan- its great to hear you have the same scanner as me.

To start with, search on the internet for your local area airport frequences and then input them program them into the scanner. Turn the "squelch" about 1/2 of the way around and scan!

cheekytrolly wrote:

Dalriadan- its great to hear you have the same scanner as me.

To start with, search on the internet for your local area airport frequences and then input them program them into the scanner. Turn the "squelch" about 1/2 of the way around and scan!

Same city as you, CT 🙂

By the way, just a tip for improved audio... I'm currently feeding the 72XLT through an old twin tapedeck/FM radio combo which has a manual graphic equalizer. From there it's all fed through the twin speakers of the tape deck. Improves the audio no end!

from when my dad worked at our local airport we`ve still got a aircraft, atc, and emergency vehicle scanner.....this is not stealing we were told we could have it the airport was buying new ones the ones ive got are to old for the more modernized aircraft.

and the emergency vehicle scanner is from when my dad workked at the hospital.

cheekytrolly hows the 72xlt going

try this site for scanner freqs
I am in New Plymouth

hope that helps

Hi guest.

My scanning is going great, and I still listen to it nearly everyday and always take it down to the airport whenever I visit.

I have plugged it into a my TV roof aerial via a connecter you can get at Dick Smith Electronics for about $1.50 to get increased reception from my house.