Radio's At Airshows etc?.....

Mr Pid

Mr Pid

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Apologies if this has been covered before, I did a search which didn't reveal much.

Does anyone use scanners to tune into the tower etc at airshows? I have seen lots of other photographers using them and not sure how helpful they would be?

Do you just hear the tower chat or can you hear pilot instructions like the Reds as well giving commands for maneuvers?

The decent ones seem to be around £100 or so.

Any info appreciated.
 
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IME as a pilot, different communications occur on different frequencies/bands... if you tune into the tower frequency then all you will hear is tower communications. But that may be what you actually want. Getting the advanced notice that a flight has just been cleared to turn in for their pass is a lot more useful than hearing a maneuver command that will probably be executed before you can react (if one is even given).
 
Ah I see - that makes sense.

I hadn't taken too much notice of them before but at Great Yarmouth this weekend I was too close to the shore to hear any commentary or the like through the crowd speakers and also plan on going to the Loop this year and I understand that Scanners are pretty handy there.
 
Mr Pid said:
Ah I see - that makes sense.

I hadn't taken too much notice of them before but at Great Yarmouth this weekend I was too close to the shore to hear any commentary or the like through the crowd speakers and also plan on going to the Loop this year and I understand that Scanners are pretty handy there.
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Will you be able to hear anything on a standard scanner at the loop. As most scanners don't cover military freq iirc.
 
I use one most days and at airshows, bases, if you get a decent one and pre load it with all the frequencies from a certain airfield or show and set to scan you will hear all the chat going on.
 
kingo15 said:
Will you be able to hear anything on a standard scanner at the loop. As most scanners don't cover military freq iirc.
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If you want to hear MIL then you will need something like the Uniden 125XLT as its the best out there and can be picked up used for about £70-90 the aerial it comes with should go straight into the bin as it really is useless and then get something like the Nagoya 771 or Watson 881 or if they seem to long go for a 701, and don't forget the 125XLT is a BNC aerial connection not SMA
 
If you are interested I just happen to be selling my Uniden Bearcat 3500xlt over in the classifieds.....
 
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Sorry for late reply - got stuck in a client meeting all afternoon.

I bit the bullet and ordered the Uniden 125XLT - they pre-programme all the military channels for you for £10 and I went with the bigger aerial in a package deal from Radioworld.
 
Mr Pid said:
Sorry for late reply - got stuck in a client meeting all afternoon.

I bit the bullet and ordered the Uniden 125XLT - they pre-programme all the military channels for you for £10 and I went with the bigger aerial in a package deal from Radioworld.
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Its sold now anyway.
 
Years ago (so maybe no longer applicable?) I lived near Woodford Aerodrome where they had an air show each year. As this was a few miles from Manchester International Airport the planes used to fly in using radio coms with the airport's air traffic control, then transfer to Woodford's frequency when given the go-ahead. Rather sad really, as Woodford Aerodrome (ex Avro, Hawker Siddley and British Aerospace) is now in the process of being a housing estate!

However, perhaps this might help the OP in tracking the frequencies at air shows, as it used to give me a good 'heads up' as to what was flying in next. I have a fond memory of the Vulcan bomber going into holding pattern above Alderley Edge to await its display approach to Woodford and its pilot confirming this with Manchester Air Traffic Control... then in a 'cut-glass' RAF accent asking if they could advise him of the latest cricket test score! Give them their due, air traffic control replied a couple of minutes later with the score. Happy days in a simpler world, inhabited by some thoroughly decent people.
 
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This is quite a useful page for air show frequencies, If you follow the links from that page you'll find a lot of other fascinating inforamtion as well.
 
Mr Pid said:
Sorry for late reply - got stuck in a client meeting all afternoon.

I bit the bullet and ordered the Uniden 125XLT - they pre-programme all the military channels for you for £10 and I went with the bigger aerial in a package deal from Radioworld.
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I am considering that package for myself, I would be interested to know how you get on with it.
 
The 125XLT is a very good bit of kit and very popular amongst serious aviation fans. I've got one and have preset all the channels I encounter reguarly. It's a fiddle to program presets using the onboard controls, but otherwise a great bit of kit - and you can plug into a PC to address the former if you find it too much of a hassle. I've retained the original aerial and not had any issue with it. The one and only thing I'd consider essential is a decent set of earphones to go with it. I now use PlugFones, which are ear plugs and headphones in one - great for situations like the Bronco at East Kirkby last year ie. very loud jets or turboprops right on the spectator line where the noise level is uncomfortably loud.

I'd now consider a radio essential for shows. You get advance warning of incoming displays ahead of the rest of the croud, so can grab an optimal position and pilot to pilot comms during group displays helps you understand what's coming next. Conversation between pilots and ground controllers also tends to be very civilised and listening to the chat tends to add an extra dimension to the whole thing.
 
I use a scanner at most shows I attend. I have a bearcat 125 XLT.
Pre programme with tower frequencies either manually or with software eg ARC125. Online sites as above can list them so preload most of them.

Most shows use one of the 6 main airshow frequencies, others a tower & separate display frequency. Main exceptions are Red Arrows & BBMF. Links above will give you most of them but if close call doesn’t come up trumps them you can also just ask others with scanners ‘what frequency are they using today’ and they’ll happily tell you.

The standard rubber duck antenna is a bit fragile so invest in another as suggested above.

John.
 
There are two software options for easy programming, ARC125 and SCAN125 ARC is good as you can send whole banks of frequencies into the scanner in one go, but it lacks the interface to set all the scanner settings, SCAN on the otherhand has the interface to set your scanner up very easy, and I really do mean easily, but the banks of frequencies need inputting individually, I have both and would choose Scan over Arc.
 
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