Wednesday, May 31, 2006

130.650 MHz. What is it really?

Hey I love a good mystery, bet you do also. I especially like radio frequency mysteries.

I bet if you go out and do a Google search like I did for the mission tag on 130.650 MHz you will see a lot of listings showing this as an AMC frequency -- nationwide. You will also see it listed as AMC Command Post (Contract Carrier aircraft) among other things.

But when you dig just a bit, those listing just do not hold up under closer observation. In order for a frequency to be truly classified as nationwide, that means that the people on the west coast hear the same mission activity on it as those in the mid continent or the east coast.

Now I know where some of this started (no don't ask cause I won't tell you). But let's look at two pieces of official information in the public domain that may reveal what this frequency really is, and it isn't a nationwide AMC frequency.

First the FCC database http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/reports/index.cfm. Yes sir, we discovered that the good folks at ARINC in Annapolis, Maryland, control the assignments on this frequency. They are the managers of the 128.825-132.000 MHz spectrum and some new frequency discretes in the 136-137 MHz range.

The bulk of the 40 listings (about 75%) come back to plain old civilian airports. Down here in the south Frontier airlines uses it as an ops freq into Hartsfield-Jackson. Only one assignment actually came back to a military base:

KFT8 NAS Norfolk, VA (listed in the current DoD IFR Sup as AMC/ATOC). That would certainly fit the bill, but this is definitely not a USAF AMC outfit.

There are two other FCC ARINC listings at civilian airports that have mil units assigned on them:

KSL6 Bradley Intl Airport, CT, and WPZQ967 Portland Intl Airport, OR. I am not aware that either of these are hotbeds of AMC transport/contract activity, but I need some "current" field reports to confirm the user of 130.650 MHz in those locations.

The second source is the DoD IFR Supplement (not the most reliable of sources in some cases). Here is the listing in the latest edition of that pub for 130.650 MHz:

Ft. Campbell/Campbell AAF/Sabre AHF, KY Pilot to Dispatcher
Lackland AFB Kelly Field Annex, TX Pilot to Dispatcher
Scott AFB Midamerica, IL 375AW Command Post.

None of these are listed in the FCC database. All three I am sure have contract aircraft in/out and I can confirm the Lackland freq was in use as of last month.

So where are the rest of the listings?

So here is the deal. Join me in putting this one into your scanner and let me know if you hear any aircraft calling military facilities. Maybe we can find out what 130.650 MHz really is in the 21st century. You can send your reports to the email address above and I will report back on the blog any results we receive.

Good hunting and 73 de Larry

FAA TFR Website

When a major natural disaster strikes (wildfires, hurricanes, etc) or there is a VIP movement, the FAA sometimes creates special restrricted airspace as a temporary flying restriction or TFR. This can provide the aero monitor with some interesting monitor opportunities.

You can learn about these TFRs and sometimes the frequencies associated with them at: http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html

Larry

Dutch Aero Frequencies

Gayle and I had a nice writeup on one of the Dutch scanner boards
http://www.scannerforum.nl/viewtopic.php?t=8419. Thank you Bubo Bubo.

Overnight I have noticed an increase in traffic from Holland. To thank those from the NL for supporting MT-Milcom, here are some of the main center-type frequencies for the Netherlands.

AMSTERDAM ACC/FIC [Civilian] (EHAA), Netherlands
124.300 Fixer network
133.100 N sea area in uncontrolled airspace at 3000 feet or below.
EAST OF SPY/PAM 124.300 124.875 275.725 by ATC
WEST OF SPY/PAM 123.850 290.325 (124.300 125.750 275.725 341.600 by ATC), 125.750 378.200 (124.300 275.725 by ATC) and 123.700 (125.750 124.300 378.200 275.725 by ATC)

NIEUW MILLIGEN MIL ACC/FIC/ATCC [Dutch Mil] (EHMC), Netherlands
FIC Dutch Mil Info 132.350 276.650 317.500
ACC 128.350 132.525 242.150 250.800 up to FL200 and 120.825 268.400 248.325 232.850 363.325 above FL200)
RAPCON 123.575 256.700 244.350 249.650 294.600 284.850

Hartelijk dank voor uw bezoek en ik heet al mijn Nederlandse vrienden welkom. Indien u informatie heeft om te delen stuur een e-mail aan het adres zoals vermeld boven in de pagina. Thanks Huub for helping translate my English to Dutch.

73 de Larry

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

“Red Arrows” Team to India, Mid-East

BAE SYSTEMS Sponsors U.K. Aerobatic
(May 19, 2006) — The Red Arrows, the U.K. Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team will perform in Goa, India, May 23 as part of a BAE Systems-sponsored tour of India, the Middle East and Europe. The Red Arrows fly the BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainer in a 22-minute long performance of aviation maneuvers.

The team will also put on shows in Jordan, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Spain as part of the current tour.

Thanks to Jim MacDonald for this interesting bit of info for folks overseas.

Aero Monitoring Tip: Live ATC on the Internet



I am an aircraft monitoring junkie. There I said it. And thanks to the net I am not limited to the audio from just the scanners in my shack. I can do long distance aircraft monitoring also. But hey, the civilian aircraft band (118-137 MHz) are line of sight frequencies so how does he pull it off you say?

Absent a tropo or E-skip opening I use LiveATC.net.

If you want to see all the great ATC live voice links they have check out http://www.liveatc.net/feedindex.php?type=all. Not only can you hear VHF ATC traffic from various locations, but there is HF receivers parked on HF MWARA freqs as well.

So point that browser to the website above and enjoy some long distance aero monitoring.

Larry

Monday, May 29, 2006

Milair Nationwide Frequencies Part 1

One of the most common questions I get from milair enthusiasts is what frequencies are acive nationwide. Here is the beginning of a nationwide frequency list that I will add to as time permits.

225.150 JStars
225.400 Ground Control
225.450 USAF ACC exercise
225.575 JStars
225.650 USAF ACC exercise
225.725 JStars
225.800 AWACS
225.825 AWACS
225.850 USAF ACC exercise
225.875 AWACS
225.950 USAF ACC exercise
225.975 JStars
226.150 USAF ACC exercise
226.250 USAF ACC exercise
226.875 JStars
227.275 AWACS
227.725 JStars
227.875 USAF ACC exercise
227.925 JStars
227.950 USAF ACC exercise
227.950 USAF ACC exercise
228.150 USAF ACC exercise
228.225 JStars
228.250 USAF ACC exercise
228.375 JStars
228.450 USAF F-15 Flight Demo (East)
228.475 USAF ACC exercise
228.500 JStars
228.550 Coronet Aerial Refueling
228.650 USAF ACC exercise
228.725 USAF ACC exercise
228.750 JStars
228.800 NORAD Tactical
228.850 USAF ACC exercise
228.900 NORAD CAP discrete
228.975 USAF ACC exercise
229.075 USAF ACC exercise
229.275 USAF ACC exercise

More coming soon.

Larry

Sunday, May 28, 2006

News Reader Feed

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http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Larry

Fort Benning, Georgia 380-399.9 TRS Profile

Fort Benning, Georgia (System ID: 01e)
System: Project 25 Standard

Frequencies:
Site 101 386.0750/396.0750c 386.2250/396.2250c 388.0000/398.000c

Site 202 386.1375/396.1375c 386.2875/396.2875c 386.4375/396.4375
386.5875/396.5875 386.7375/396.7375 386.9500/396.9500c
388.1125/398.1125 388.2625/398.2625 388.4125/398.4125
388.5625/398.5625

Site 303 388.2500/398.2500 388.5500/398.5500 388.7000/398.7000 388.8500/398.8500 389.4875/398.4875

Talkgroups:
1057 Foxtrot Base
1060 Rock Force Base
3202 Military Police Dispatch
3208 Military Police Checkpoints
3217 Sniper School
3253 Rock Steady Base
3254 Comanche calling any station this net / Comanche calling Guardian 6
3255 Bayonet Battalion Net
3257 Charlie Sierra calling Patriot Sierra / Charlie 2 calling Rock Force Sierra
3260 Charlie 4 calling Rock Force Sierra
3261 Patriot Base
3272 Wildlife/Forestry Management
3282 Scorpion Elements
3327 Squad leaders (tentative) calling TOC
3335 Dragon Elements
3345 Fryar Drop Zone
3346 Fryar Drop Zone
3442 Fire Department Dispatch
3443 Fire Department Base
3453 Lawson AAF
3456 EMS Operations
3465 Martin Army Community Hospital Emergency Room
3516 Kingpin (Transportation/Buses)
3517 Transportation
3535 Diablo Elements
3568 Range Control
3569 Range Control
3636 Ammunition Stock Control
3648 Bulldog Elements
3701 E-911
3702 Range Control – Lifenet/EMS
3703 Range Control
3708 Range Control – Skywatch

Unknown user/usage 1050, 1053, 1056, 3205, 3220, 3222, 3224, 3225, 3227, 3247, 3248, 3249, 3251, 3476, 3482, 3704 and 3705

Updates for this system are always welcomed.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

New VHF PTD Nationwide Freqs

Most milair monitors are familiar with the UHF Pilot to Dispatcher frequency of 372.2 MHz used nationwide. But many do not know there are now two VHF high band frequencies. Plug in 139.3000 and 142.3000 MHz (AM mode) and enjoy some new listening opportunities.

73 and good hunting
Larry

Welcome to MT's Milcom Blog

Welcome to my new Monitoring Times Milcom column blog. Here you will find information that does not make my monthly column, airshow frequency updates during the season, the latest LMR and trunk frequencies, occasional interesting intercepts from western North Carolina and maybe a few of my favorite pics. You can send me feedback through the normal channels listed on the Monitoring Times webpages or listed in the magazine. So let's get down to business.