t I

1 Vol. 16, No. 7 ~

**********************************3-DIGIT 535 1.1.1 ... 11 .. 1.1 .1.1 11 ...... 111 111 .... 11 .... 1.1 .. 1.111 ... 1 p

Sl65/47if

Reaction Tune

Another Receiver

Another radio to tune. another reason to purdmsl' the Sco ut.

0 toL\fl . Until miw the AOR ARS000/2700 were the only hand held scanners to take use th~\ef pcon\f06\'f\ advantage of the Scout 's Patented Reaction Tune function. The Scout can now

10f coro~cot-J\ \C-f>."\ tune the new ICOM IC-RI 0 hand held scanner (shown below). Connection is tne S"\'2.9.00 / _ easy: o modifications required - No custom cable:-, to buy - Just plug and

,. r f J ,~ -. :-~., I !.?-!: ""i~_, play . . . : . : ."~~~'\ .

c0 mputer ;\ot Included Scanner hobbyists and communication professionals benefit from the Scout's unique function s. Whethl!r you' re searching for new frequencies in your nl!ighborhood. or testing for interference. the Scout is the ultimate communications Looi.

Armed with a 400 frequency memory register, Lhl! Scout docs not record duplicate frequencies. instead it coordinates repealed fn:quem:ics into a hit register storing up to 255 hits per frequency. Allach it LO your belt and begin your day. the Scout wi ll alert you when a signal is received " bv its beeper or vibrator function. ~"\~i1c .. ,,,,.,

.. ~'~~ ,}~~ .; ~~ You won' t miss a thing with Reaction Tune. The Scout's CI-V compat-ible output allows it to interface to the AOR AR2700/AR8000. ICOM R7000. R7 100. R8500. R9000 and now the new IC-RIO (shown oposite). The Sc11111 captures the frequency. then sends the serial data to the receiver and tunes the :-,canner to the frequency for instant monitori ng in less than one second. Recorded frequencies can be downloaded to a PC using the opt ional OptoLinx uni versal interface

SPECIFICATION S .,.. I OMI 11. - I .4GHz frequency coverage .,.. Sto1\:s and 1\:co1tls -l(Xl h\:quencics in memrny with 255 hils for each

00 0 -i:

.,.. lnlcrfacc IO a l'C for frequency download using optional OplULinx PC interface c z

.,.. Distinclivc beeps indicate frequency hits. pager style vibrator for discn:ct J\:co11ling

.,.. Automatic EL backligh1 for night operation

.... 16 segment RF '>ignal stn:ngth barg:raph

.,.. F1\-'tlucndc~ ;u\: au10111atically ~l\'ed when unit is turned off

.... R.:action Tune th

~nitpring Times

Vol. 16, No. 7 July 1997

Cover Story

Phantom in the Desert By Larry Van Horn

Area 51 - ls this e lusive airbase a figment of the public s over-active imagination? Very far from it! The areas of Nellis Air Force Base dedi-cated to Special Projects are home to some of the world 's most highly guarded military secrets.

The area is also a Mecca for mili-tary communications enthusiasts. A year and a half of research have gone into this repm1 on the agencies and frequencies being used in this high desert area northwest of Las Vegas. Much as the military may protest that it is just a phantom, and contrary to a recent magazine story regarding its projected closure, Area 51 is very real and very active. But let the story starting on page 8 con-vince you : we don 't advise you try to go there.

CONTENTS

A Change is in the Air ......................................... 14 By Laura Quarantiello

A lthough mil itary aviati on re mains a li ve ly inte res t among monitors , budget cuts and base closings are ma king a very real impact in what's to be heard in a given area. The author should know: she Ii ved in the shadow of the Top G un fi ghter school , which pu lled o ut last year.

As a hobby ist. don' t despair: a variety of new targets have re placed the o ld and made 111onito1ing fun again . Meanwhi le, around the country-even Brasstown - monitors are enjoying mi litary comms they ' ve never heard be fore .

Monitoring Private & Commercial Aviation ............... 20 By Bill Mauldin

There is a lot to learn in order to under-stand everything heard on the aero bands, but even a nov ice can d iscern when a communica-tion is out of the ord inary. Exci tement, drama, and humor a re a ll to be found when li stening to the aviation bands. and these po inte rs by a commercial pilo t will help you ge t started.

~~Junk-Drawer'' Antenna ....................................... 24 By Ed Muro

A ft e r spending big bucks on better an te nnas fo r hi s handheld scanner. the most e fficie nt solution turned out to be a homebrew design by Henry Brown, built from parts and pieces around the house .

Racing Freqs: a la CARTe ....................................... 26 By Mike Bryson

If you want to blow the lid o ff racing, go to a " topless" race - These " Indy cars" are speed demons, and they s ure aren ' t stock! Here are the schecl-

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF TliE PPG CART WORLD SERIES

ule, drivers and teams, and freq uenc ies to watch for C hampionship Auto Racing T eams (CART).

Reviews: The big news this

month i~ the arrival of the BC235XLT TrunkTrackcr scanner. Bob Parnass found that. despite its simi lar appearance. it incorporates a number of improve-ments over the non-trunking 13C230XL T. The trunk-following functions worked as adverti sed. and images and intermod were virtually non-ex istent. Sec page 94 for the full review. including measured sensitiv ity on VHF/UHF and VHF air band.

lcom's IC-R8500 general coverage receiver is tough. loaded with goodies. well-designed. and pleasant to listen to. says Magne. on page 92. It may well tempt the '" I want it all in one box enthusiast who is convincl.!d that four figures isn' t too much to pay for a radio ...

DEPARTMENTS

Letters ................................................ 4 Communications ................................. 6 PCS Front Line .................................... 28

The Race is On Scanning Report ................................ 30

More New Portable Scanners Utility World ..................................... 34

Monitoring HF Aero Bonds Global Forum .................................... 38

HOB Must Move Antennas Out QSL Report ........................................ 42 English Lang SW Guide ...................... 43 Propogation Conditions ...................... 63

Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Beginner's Corner ........... .......... ......... 64

Nontraditional sources for radios Below 500 kHz .................... ............. 66

Who Lurks in the Basement? American Bandscan .......................... 68

Digital News Outer Limits .................................. ..... 70

Another Superpowered Pirate On the Ham Bands .......... ................... 72

Looking Forward DeMaw's Workbench ........... ............. 74

Build a Handy Battery Tester

Plane Talk ........................................ 76 Tools for a Great Aero Summer

Federal File ........................................ 78 Summertime Skip and Fed Trunking

Satellite TV ........................................ 80 Galaxy 4: One Versatile Satellite

Experimenters Workshop ................... 82 Computer Utilities fOr Radio

Computers & Radio .. ......................... 84 Fresh Freqs and CAT Magic

Digital Digest .................................... 86 Digital Resources Roundup

What's New ..................................... 88 Magne Tests ..................................... 92

/com /C-R8500 Scanning Equipment .......................... 94

BC235XLT Trunk Tracker Antenna Topics ................................. 96

Where's Ground in a Groundplane? Special Events/Club Circuit ................ 98 Ask Bob .......................................... 100

Painless Trunk Tracking Stock Exchange ............................... l 02 Closing Comments ........................... l 04

Farewell to a Friend

MONITORING TIMES (ISSN: 0889-5341) is published monthly by Grove Enterprises, Inc ., Brosstown, North Carolina, USA. Copyright 1997. Periodicals postage paid at Brasstown, NC, and additional moiling offices. Short excerpts may be reprinted with appropriate credit. Complete articles may not be reproduced without perm ission.

Subscription Rotes: S23.95 in US; $36.50 Canada; and $55.45 foreign elsewhere, US funds . Label indicates lost issue of subscription. See page 103 for subscription information.

Address:

Telephone: Fox: Internet Address:

Owners Bob and Judy Grove

Publisher Bob Grove, WA4PYQ

Editor Rachel Baughn, KE40PD

Assistant Editor Larry Von Horn, N5FPW

Art Director John Bailey

Design Assistant Belinda McDonald Advertising Svcs.

Beth Leinbach (704) 389-4007

Business Manager Kelly Davis, KE4TAM

P.O. Box 98, 7540 Highway 64 West, Brosstown, NC 28902-0098 (704) 837-9200 (704) 837-22 16 (24 hours) www.grove.net (web) or mt@grove.net (email) Editorial e-mail: mteditor@grove.net

Postmaster: Send address changes to Monitoring Times, P.O. Box 98, Brosstown, NC 28902-0098.

Disclaimer: While M onitoring Times makes on effort to ensure the information it publishes is accurate, it cannot be held liable for the contenh. The reader assumes any risk for performing modification or construction projects published in Monitoring Times. Opinion or conclusions expressed are not necessarily the view of Moniloring Times or G rove Enterprises. Unsolicited manuscripts ore accepted. SASE if material is to be returned.

Editorial Staff Frequency Manager . . Gayle Von Horn Frequency Monitors ... David Datko, Loyd Von Horn

Program Manager .. . Jim Frimmel Beginner's Corner ... T.J. Arey, WB2GHA

K.l.S. Radio ... Richard Arland, K7SZ Plane Talk ... Jeon Boker, KIN9DD

Scanning Report .. Richard Barnett Computers and Rodie .. . John Catalano

Below 500 kHz ... Kevin Corey, WB2QMY Experimenter's Wkshp ... Bill Cheek

Propagation ... Jacques d' Avignon DeMaw's Workbench .. Doug DeMaw, Wl FB

Digital Digest ... Bob Evom Federal File ... John Fulford, WA4VPY

SW Broadcasting .. Glenn Houser On the Hom Bands ... Ike Kerschner, N31K

Mogne Tests ... Lawrence Mogne

Communications .... Lorry Miller What's New? .... Lorry Miller

Scanning Equipment .... Bob Parness, AJ9S Satellite TV .... Ken Reitz, KS4ZR

Antenna Topics .... W. Clem Small, KR6A American Bandscon .... Doug Smith, W9WI SW Broadcast Logs .. .. Gayle Van Horn

QSL Corner .... Gayle Von Horn Utility World .... Lorry Van Horn, N5FPW

PCS Front Line .... Don Veeneman Outer Limits .. .. George Zeller

Correspondence lo columnists should be mailed c/o Monitoring Times via emai/ {mt@grove.net) or via post office. Any request for a personal reply should be accompanied by an SASE.

Bearcat Intercepts Trunked Radio ~ ~OMMUNICATIONS .. ELECTRONICS INC. New ... radio club member savings For over 28 years, thousands of radio opentors have depended on scanners, digital voice loggers, Ham/ CB/GMRS transceivers, weather forecasting equiP" ment and more from Communications Electronics. To get your free fax-on-demand catalog. call 313-663-8888 from the telephone handset on your fax machine and follow the recorded voice prompts. Bearcat 3000XLT-A Radio scanner Mfg. suggested list price $699.95/Spedal $329.9S nBB Celt1 ...,,,..111':l100H#MyJ>ld, 11 $41.jj ..U.. .-.. .'!" '*" 11 -..UU JDOOUT. Bwry ... 'tffer ..,_ 1/Jlf'1. 400 Channell 20 banlu Twin Tltrbo Seardl/Scaa

P~uency Tranaler VPO Control Aulomallc: Stott 10 Priority Channela Selectable Mode Data Skip

F~utncy tlqt ruoludon 5, ll.5 a 15 KH%. Siu: 2-3/4" 11'1de s 1-1/l" Deep s H/8" Hlab ,,.pncy eo--.,.: 25.()()().549.995 MHz., 760.()()().,1?3.995 MHz., 849.0125-868.995 MHz., 894.0125-1.300.000 MHz.

The llean:2l 3000XLT Is the lde2I handheld radio SC21\ller for communlcatlons professlollJ.!s. This band held scanner scaru 11 100 chlllllds per second and searches at a rate up to 300 steps per second. A selectable

:anenuator eliminate3 annoying lntermodulatlon from adjacent frequencies In hfghly populated areas. ~=~ .... Selectable AM, 'l'lde FM and Narrow FM modes

allow you to change the default m:elving mode of the BC3000XLT. for mutmum san-nJng plnsure, order the following opdonal

accessories: UA50l Cigarette lighter power cord for temporuy operation from your vehicle's cigarette lighter S 14.95; LC3000 Deluxe swivel leather carrying case $34.95; llP2500 recharge. able nkkel-cadmlum battery pad for up to five hou13 of dependable use $29.95; ANTMMBNC Magnetlc mount scanner antenna with BNC lack and 12 feet o( cable $29.95. ANTSGllNC G'bss mount scanner antenna with BNC cable S29.9S. The BC3000XLT comes with AC adapter, belt clip, flesJble rubber antenna, eaJllhone, owner's

man1121 and one yeu limited UnJden WllTilllty. Onler today.

Bearcat 9000XLT-A Radio Scanner Mfg. suggested list price S769.95/Spedal S344.9S SOO Channels 20 banks Alpha numeric display Size: lG-1/2" Wide 11 7-1/2" Deep 113-3/8" High ~em-ox: 25.()()().549.995MHz.,160.oooan.99s MHL, 849.0125-868.995 MllL, 894.0125-1,300.000 MHz.

The Bean:a1 9000XLT Is superb for lnterceptlng communla-lions tnnsmlssions with features like TurboSearch"'to search VHF channels at 300 steps per second. This base and mobile sanner Is also Ideal for lntellJgence professionals because It has a selectable anenuator 10 help eliminate annoyln~ lnlermodulation from adjacent frequencies In highly popuJatet0101,711TI 01"7~~1&

For credit card orders call 1-800-USA-SCAN Communications Electronics Inc.

Emergency Operations Center PO Box 1045,AnnArbor, Michigan48lo6-J045 USA For lnformatloo call 313996-3888 or FAX 313-663-8888

L E T T E R S

E-mail Energizes the Hobby What s your pka,urc ' A \' iation monitor-

ing"' Li, ten ing to military or federal agenc ies and exercises> Mediu rmvavc DXingJ Or have you just purchased a TrunkTracker scanner and need lo connect with other users in your area to fi gure out the subflects and their codes'7

Grove Enterprises. our publisher. has been offeri ng a free scrvico.; to the hobby by estab-1 is hi ng a nu111ber of topic-spcci fie e-mai I l i ~ts. 1-k rcs how it works. Let s say you 're inter-ested in the milcom li 't - one of the most productive exchanges by acti ve moni tors to re,ide on any 1 mernct set"\'er.

Tu get un the list (,ub,cribe1. send an e-mail 111es,agc to 11wjordo11w@grore.11e1. ln the body of the 111cs,age. type two words: .rnbscrihe 111ilco111. T urn oil your signature (or type end on the ncxt line) : Send the message. Within minutes you should rcc.:eive a wel-come 111cssagc (if you have done everything correc tl y). Whenever anyone posts a message to 111i/cm11 0\r.;r111t .11e1. it is automatically shared with al l subscribers to the li st. A reply 10 that 111essagc will also go to the entire li st.

Whcncver I 00 messages have been logged in. the server automatically produces a .. di-gest." If you prefer not to rece ive ind ividual e-mail mcs,ages a' they are generated. you can ask to rccei vc only the digests when they arc produccd by typing subscribe 111ilco111-d(i.:es/ in your mc,sagc.

You can perhaps begin to imaginc what can he acc.:ompli,hcd by se\'cral listeners in different sec.:tions of the count ry_ monitoring an unidentified ' hortwavc ut il ity signal and pooling the ir observations and speculati ons in near real-ti rm:. Larry Van Horn and numer-ous rcgula rs in this group will vouch for the mysterics they have uncovered. The same results ho ld true for the wel l-established World wide Utility News c lub (WUN). and arc antic.: ipatcd fnrthe newest li sts now on line - fcdcom. amfmtvdx. and trunktracker.

13y the way. unlike most internet newsgroups these lish are pri \'ately "owned" and managed by ,oluntcer;, . "'Flaming" is not tolcratcd. and nil-topic di~cus, ions are gen-eral ly nipped in the bud. You ' ll find it a pleasant change and a great place to sharc radio infonnalion.

Herc i;, a li st of the groups curren tl y being hosted on the Grove site ancl open to anyone:

acars AC A RS -on decoding avia-tion data

4 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

am fm t \"ll x

code .1.0u \C rs codc31 ist

fed corn hcarsat -1

rnilcom

scan-de

\\'Ull

r'\M/FM!fV long-di;,tancc ri.;ccption Hoka Code 30 users Hoka Code 3 and Code 3 Gold users Fcderal l:orrn nunications HcarSat-1 (rcc

You may not know our name ...

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Pictured Rig/Jt: 7~1e /IX 1000 was a popular scanner

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Play Owl Darts at the Tavern

Logger to Lager?

Sig Fun!

Oregon State Lni ,cr,it) biologists had captured and collared a young northern spot-ted owl 11 ith a radio tran-,mi ttcr. Shortly after they rc leas..:d th..: ..: ndangcred bird. they lost track of ih ' ignal. Deeply concerned that the little lkdgl ing might have been captured or ki ll..:d. a ma,si,e man- (or rather) m1/-hunt was launched.

Concern mounted a~ the signal remained e lusive. The 'earch was wid..: ned into neigh-boring Washington ' tat..:. Four months after the littl e owl was rcleas..:d. biologists once again began picking up the signal. Alarmed because the signal was coming from the Oa'i' Ta1ern in Skamoka\\'a. federal law enforcement agent' "..:re ' ummoned.

Probably imagining the little nonhern spot-ted 011 I chained to the bar. forced to perform cheap trick, for guffawing loggers. a raid wa,organizcd. When the group arri l'ed at the Oa, is. however. no owl was 10 he found. The radio ' ignal disappeared again - until one or the own..: rs turned on their e lectronic game,. The .. owl .. turned out to be coming from an electronic dart board using the same fre-quency as the rad io co llar. The missing north-ern spotted owl remain' on the run.

Reach Out lor $2.8 Million The la' t coun try in the \\'orld \\'ithout

telephone ,n,icc ha' now made its fi rst call. Tokelau. a tiny i,Jand nation of three coral atoll-, locatl'd 1.700 mile, off the coa't of

cw Zealand. 'pent 52.8 mill ion for the privilege of being able to reach out and touch ' omeonc. Prior to the i11'tallatio11 of phone lines. the island, 1.500 residents had to communicate th rough a noisy shortwave ra-dio link nr wai t for the mail ship. which arri ved unce every fi v..: weeks.

The fir' t phone call was from Presidelll Aliki Faipulc Falime Tcao to cw Zealand Prime Mini , t..: r Jim Roiger. Faipule Falima Teao thanked Bolger for anteing up S I mil-lion of the mom:y for the phone,.

6 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

COMMUNICATIONS

New Generation Samaritan When 12 year old Sean Redden saw the

:-.ob and .. pain .. messages flashing onto the ser..:cn ofhi~ computer. he wasn t sure whether it wa' real or part of a game. Redden was in an Internet .. chat room" cal led Glen Shadows Tavern. where visitors play m;ike-belicve. when a new character entered the room and 'aid . .. Hc llu. help me ...

Everyone e lse ignored the character but Sha\\'11 . The young man typed. "What' s the matter'' .. The woman responded that she was an a'thmat ic college student in Finland who had ,tavcd late in the computer lab. gotten !oded in and was hav ing trouble breathing. She said she was getting worse by the minute and gave details including her name and ad-dr..:ss.

.. It wa' too real to be a joke: Sean told the /)a/las M orning Nell's. He summoned his nwther who called police. Shcritrs dispatch-ers enl isted a telephone operator who made the connection to Finland. Finnish operators then contacted local police. Eventually. an amhu lance crew was sent to the school.

Meanwhile. the Finnish student was say-in" that it was gettinl! worse. The last mes-,a~e wa' that sl~c cm~ld hear the paramedics in ~the hall\\'ay. That' s how it ended. until rec..:ntl). "hen a fax arrived at the local police 'tation from In terpol.

.. Mi" Laitinen. a 20 year old business , tudent. got the medical attention she badly needed a~1d is now doing well ...

Scan s glad everything worked out for the bes t. "To be honest. I'm kind of embarrassed. Not that I helped her but that all of this I publ ici ty I happened ... Remember when sto-ric:-. like that were common. but the mode was ham radio and not the internet?

Ham O' The Year Leo Mcyer:-.on. WOGFQ. of Omaha. Ne-

braska. "a' 'cheduled as the Day to n I lamV..:ntion .. Amateur of the Year: A ham for 69 year,. WOGFQ founded \Vorld Radio I.ab" and """ a manufacturer of countless 1ran,111i ttcr~ and rece i ver~. including the Globe Scout and the Globe King:

J\ t 8(1. Meyerson. who sti ll plays tennis on w..:c kcnd~ . made the trip to Dayton to accept his award.

Beacon Dud Four climber~ were ' trandcd at the 9.500

foot level of Mt. Hood. Wi th a blizzard clos-ing in around them. a woman and three com-

panions took refuge in a snow cave, then acti vated their emergency locator beacon. Forty hours later. no rescue team arrived -although all four survived.

on~ci als say that they were monitoring the emergency unit ' s frequency. But when the emergency locator beacon was tested, it was found to be audible for a distance of only 20 feet. Scott Russell , president of the Moun-tain Signal Memorial Fund says that every conceivable safeguard he been built into the cigare tte-pack sized units. The locators cost about $400 each and are built to withstand 30.000 G-force. (Russell says that two big-horn ,hccp bulling heads only generate 20,000 G-forcc.)

Additionally. the units are so waterproof that to change a battery. the manufacturer has 10 use a bandsaw to open the case. "We're going to do a complete investigation to get to the bottom of it.'' said Russell. "Somehow, something didn' t come out right.''

Congressional Freebie Broadcasters' "Go ahead,

political contribu- Congressman, pick a tions - more than card, any card ... " 59.5 mil lion over the last decade -and their power to ' ha pc the news. he lp them influ-ence policy-mak-ers. according to a group that monitors campaign fund rais-ing.

Common Cause asserted that the big con-tri butions - political action committee con-tribu tions - tocongressional candidates and soft money to the republican and democratic parties from ABC. CBS , NBC. Fox , and their corporate parents and the National Associa-tion of Broadcasters. made it easier for the law' to be changed in the broadcasters fa-,or.

Recent legislative changes have made it po,:-.ible for companies to own more TV and radio stat ions. Congress also decided to give broadtasters new digital TV licenses worth an estimated $70 bill ion dollars at a time when other frequencies arc auctioned off for millions of dollars.

The report says that broadcasters are par-t icu larl y effective lobbyists because they have the .. power to report and shape the news" and .. control how. and if. members of congress appear on television.''

Scanner Listener Saves a Lile A cross-country phone call heard on a

scanner apparently put an end to a murder-for-hi re plot. Two men, one from the Seattle area and the other in Maryland, were on the phone work ing out detail s on how Todd Rogers could "take care of or kill" Aaron Lee Lord's friend, Andre Anthony. Lord prom-ised Rogers $20,000 for making the hit.

A neighbor of Rogers overheard the whole conversation - accidentally, no doubt - on his scanner and alerted pol ice. Using the information provided by the scanner li stener, police fo llowed Roge rs to the a irport where he met Lord and Anthony and arrested the two plotters. Rogers to ld detecti ves that he had lived with Anthony for 12 years and wanted him killed because he had sto len $50,000 from him that he had stolen from an A TM machine.

W hen detectives played the tapes for Lord, he said, " lfthat 's what you guys say I did, then I guess I'm guil ty."

Cordless Phone Saves a Lile After all of the anti-scanning propaganda

coming out of Congress recentl y. it 's not surpri sing that a lot of rad io hobbyists have a bad taste in the ir mouths about cordless and cellu lar phones. That 's not to say that the radio-phones are use less. Her's an example .

In Norton Shore, M ichigan. Cecilia Wolcott got trapped inside he r tanning bed . The bed was " lit up and it was getting plenty warm," said Cecilia. A switch malfuncti oned. preventing her from rai sing the lid .

Thinking that she might "burn to a c risp if she didn ' t get some help,"' she rea lized that she had brought her cordless phone into the tanning bed wi th her. She dialed 9 1 I and before long, police and fire fighters arrived. The bed had to be cut apart to free Wolcott.

Italian TV The g lam orous Italian TY hos t was

stunned. When Mara Ve nie r asked the name of pop singer Franco Ca lifano's latest album. the excited cal ler responded wi th Juliet Menyel. That answer was correc t. not for the question that Venier asked but for rhe q11es-1ion originu/ly scheduled b111 canceled

SR-71 Blackbird aircraft (Photo by

_Larry Van Horn)

- :,,

- - ... _.--' - -------.

By Larry Van Horn, Assistant Editor Monitoring Times

he de~erts have always held a certain primal appeal for many people. But there is one American desert that holds a special high-tech fascination for many aviation and radio buffs. Maybe it is the strange lights that appear to dance in the night

skie. over the desert floor or rumors of captured fl ying saucers. Maybe it is the strange looking aircraft that cannot be seen on radar. or the rumbling from aircraft engines that cause earthquake sensors to trigger false seismic alarms. Or, maybe it is just the Cold War ~ec recy that draws our attention to this place.

But the Cold War is over - at least this is what the American public has been told by our government and the media. And (if you belic\'e a recent story in PotJ/i/(lr M eclwnics) . we could be seeing the end of an air force base that is so secret, it doe~1ft exist. It is perhaps the most secret mil itary installation in American history.

8 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

---

This base i~ ne~t led between steep mountains in the evada high dese11. lt is located inside th..: recesses of the off-limits Department of En-ergy (DOE) Nevada T..:st Site. 90 miles du..: north of La~ Vegas. This phantom ai r force base consists of an airfie ld (among the largest in the United States), dozens or aircraft hangars. miscellaneous support bui ldings. severa l satcllit..: dish gar-dens. a control tower. and a hand ful of U.S. Ai r Force 737 aircraft that fly in and out of its airspace daily.

Because its mission is so secret. its existence is not reflected in any federal government budg..:t alloca-tions. It doe nt appear on any U.S. Geological Survey maps. Check a Las Vegas sectional aeronautical cha11 and you won't find this a ir-field on it. In fact. the base doesn"t even have an olfo.:ial nam..:.

But the base that doesnt offi -cially exist is there. and radio hob-byists know thi s phantom in the Nevada desert as Groom Lake or Area 5 I of /11depe11de11ce Day fam!.

I A Step Back in History In April 1955. Lockheed test pi lot. Tony

Le Vier, was sent by his boss, Kelly Johnson. head of the Lockheed "Skunk Works"' (the unofficia l name for Lockhcecl"s special projects division), to search for a remote si te to test the new U-2 reconnaissance spy plane. He found a deserted spot in the central Nevada dese11 right next door to the Nevada Nuclear Test Site.

r gave it a ten plus. Just dandy. A dry lake bed about three and a half miles around . I had some sixteen-pound cast-iron shotput balls with me and dropped th..:m out to see if the surface was deep sand. Damned if it wasn "t as hard as a tabletop," said LeVi..:r.

U2R Spy Reco1111ai.rn11ce aircraft (Lockheed Skunk Wurk.~)

Sev..:ral day~ later. LeVier lkw Johnson and CIA special a~sista nt Richard Bissell. to the site. Bissel l remarked, '"This wi ll do nicely." He even li ked Le Vier's proposed name fort he site ... Paradi~e Ranch.

Johnson decid..:d to place a runway at the south end o r the dry lakeb..:d known to the locals as Groom Lake. Work then began on thi scovi..: rt facil ity under the direction of Ke lly and th..: Lockh..:ed Skunk Works.

Fronting for the C IA under a phony C&J Engin..:..:ring logo. Kelly hired a construct ion comp;111y to put in water well~. two hangars. an airstri p, and a mess hall in the middle of the desert in bl istering 130-degree summer heat.

In his book. Sk1111k Works. Rich Ben writes:

At one point. the guy Ke lly used as his co111rac tor put out a subcont racting bid. One subcontractor wam..:d him: Look out for this C&J outfit. We looked them up in Dun & Brad~treet. and they don1 even have a cr..:d it rating. This ba~e was built foronly $800.000. T II bet th is i ~ one of the b..:'t deab the government wi ll ever get. Ke lly r..:mark..:d to several of us. And he was right.

On August 4. 1955. thc fi rst tl ight of a U-2 spy reconnaissance plane was made al Groom Lake. Of cou rs..:. thi..: rest is history. But the U-2 wa'n t the last senet aircraft lo spr..:ad ih

U.S. Geologic Survey photo of Groom Lake in 1968. The base that doesn 't exist. (Courtesy of the Federation of American Scientists). Below is a close-up of the bottom center portion of the photo.

wings on the dry lake bed of Area 51. In the 42 years since that fi rst llight Groom Lak..: has been the fi rs t horn..: of many top secret ai rcraft first and it is sti ll in use today.

B The Big Picture Groom Lake is only a portion of one of the

hottest areas in the world for military aircraft monitoring-the sprawling three million acre Nell is Air Force Range.

Located in orth Las Vegas. Nevada. the primary mission of Nellis Air Force Base is the training of military aircrews in realistic air com bar exercise . . The vast. Connecticut-sized

ell is Range Compk:x. north and we~t of Las Vega~. i ~ atlached to the base. These ranges co;tain at least two . ecret bases. the afore-mentioned Area 51 and the Tonopah T e~t Range. both u ed for testing of advanced 1ech;10logie,. The DOE Nevada Test Site (fre-quenc ies in Table I and 2)-home to the U.S. government '. nuclear weapon~ le~t ing - is ;lso a larg..: part of the Nell is Range Complex.

For the military monitor. this is Mecca. Nowhere else in the world will one lind a

July 1997 MONITORING TIMES 9

TABLE 1: Department of Energy-Nevada HF Networks ill11Ji.; EACT ERS

Emergency Action Coordination Team Emergency Radio System

ERG Emergency Radio Centers . (All frequencies are in kilohertz and mode 1s USBJ

NetOesiq. ~ NV301 Numerous Ionospheric Sounders

Freguencies (kHz} Various Frequencies 2286.0. 6981 .0, 7839.0, 9114.0, NV302 ERC/EACT/EACT Aircraft

NV306 Aircraft Operational Control Net 2621.0. 3422.0. 6535.0. 8912.0, 10045.0, 13312.0. 17901.0,

NV310 Emergency Radio System (ERS) 21931.0. 0 7 280 2625.5, 3335.0. 4480.5. 4603.0. 4946.5, 5378.0, 693 .5, 4 .. 74640. 7690.5, 8054.5, 10554.0, 10870.0. 11125.0, 11556.5, 12020.5, 13802.0, 14400.5. 15454.5, 16065.0. 18416.0, 20404.0. 23532.0, 25431.0

NV315

SN048 SN297

Pacific Area Emergency Net

Aircraft Air to Ground

4479.0. 8053.0, 91 14.0, 11125.0, 13802.0, 16065.0, 18416.0, 20404 0, 25431.0 4600.0, 4919.0, 8964.0,

Emergency Evacuation Comm Net 8053.0

DOE HE ca11sigos KAL 23 ak Ridge Y-12 Plant, TN KBW 49 Nevada Test Site, NV KLJ 87 Los Alamos National Laboratory. NM KOi 22 Tonopah Test Range. NV KOi 24 Johnson Atoll KYS 6 Nevada Test Site, NV

larger collect ion of mil itary aircraft, military activity, and military radio frequencies. In most places around the country, monitors claim that the 225-400 MHz is like a waste-land on their scanners, but not on the Nellis ranges. Hundreds of frequencies have been cataloged and many more await discovery. A large sampli ng of those frequencies can found in our exclusive list in Table 3.

What fo llows are the descriptions of a few of the more interesting faci lities on the Nelli s Range.

Tonopah Test Range The Tonopah Test Range (TfR) is a 625

square mile area located at the very north end of the Nellis Complex, about 32 mi les south-east of Tonopah. Nevada. First opened in 1957. it has been a major test facil ity for DOE funded weapons programs by Sandia Labora-tories of New Mexico. This fac il ity is heavily instrumented with camera and radar tracking devices that record data from non-explosive aspects of nuclear weapons testi ng such as artillery shell testing. bomb drops. cruise missiles, rocket tests, and para-chute testing.

Tn 1984, TTR also became host to the first F- 11 7 stealth fighter squad-ron. prior to its bci ng moved to Holloman AFB in New Mexico.

There arc three electronic combat ranges located on this north range that provide user-selectable. low-to-high electronic threat environments. These ranges are:

KAL 24 KGO 45 KOi 20 KOi 23 KSJ 87

DOE Headquarters Washington, DC Estes Park (Rocky Flats Plant), CO Hickam AFB. HI Kauai Test Facility, HI Lemont (Argonne National Laboratory). IL

trol radars to simulate a realistic array of enemy signals.

The fo llowing military air ("'milair .. ) fre-quencies have been reported from this range: 253.2. 253.6, 280.0. 284.0, 343.2 MHz.

Tolicha Peak Electronic Combat Range (TPECR) - The TPECR contains long- and short-range strategic threat and associated point defense systems, a long with acquisition and ground control intercept (GCI) radars. The TPECR simulates enemy defense deep interdiction and offense counter air targets. Located on Pahute Mesa about three mi les northeast ofTolicha Peak. it is a smal lerrange than the TECR and is less capable.

The fo llowing mi lair frequencies have been reported from this range: 2:-l:'i.2. 280.0. and 284.0 MHz.

EC South - This is a limited EC range that contains a few electronic threat simula-tors representing both missiles and AAA sys-tems. The EC South range is not tied into the integrated air defense systems of the TECR/ TPECR.

Nellis Area II (Lake Mead Base) Nell is Air Force Base Area II (once known

as the Lake Mead base). is a separate facil ity about a mi le northeast of the main Nell is base. Area II is a munitions storage facility for both conventional and non-conven1ional munitions (reportedly 200 nuclear weapons and air launched cru ise missiles).

Area 11 is dominated by a high-security triple-fence compound encompassing several dozen earthen bunkers. This fence is well-lit at night and can easil y by seen from Interstate 15 and passengerjets on approach to McCarran International Airport at Las Vegas.

In addition to the munitions storage, Area II contains the Nell is Federal Prison Camp. a minimum security prison occupying old air force dorms. The following frequencies are being used at this federal prison: 170.650. 170.875, 170.925. and 409.250 MHz, callsign KVL 331.

It is also the home for the 820th Red Horse Engineering squadron depot. Look for thei r commun ications on 149.1 75 and 149.500 MHz. HF equipped listeners might want to watch 11589.0 kHz (USB) for Red Horse activity.

Department of Energy DOE is a large government player in the

Las Vegas area. Over the years. several DOE civil ian~contractors have been associated with Arca 51. One of the largest players. EG&G, was the prime contractor for the DOE/Nevada Test Site. EG&G also has played a large role in Arca 51 operations.

Additional companies associated wi th NTS operations included Radio Systems of Ne-vada (RSN) and Reynolds Electric Company (RECCO). A1.:cording to an anonymous source

these companies no longer have thei r contracts (except a special segment of EG&G). Those operations have now been taken over by Bechtel of Nevada. It is reported that EG&G is sti ll involved in "special projects'' (Area 51 almost by defini tion). The status of the radio systems that EG&G used to support their opera-tions on the NTS is unclear at this writing. We hope to have a clearer picture in the months ahead. The most visible presence of the EG&G company continues to be at the McCarran International Airport. EG&G prov ides support at the

Tonopah Electronic Combat Range (TECR) - The TECR is the main. manned threat simulator range. It has generated mock electronic threats that include surface-to-ai r (SAM) miss ile sites wi th nlllnerous anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire con- F-117A Nighthawk aircrt~/t (U.S. A ir Force photo)

., Escondido fac il ity forthe daily Janet lli!ahts that ferry personnel to Arca 5 1~ Prior to lhe Air Force taking

10 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

control of the Boeing 737s that rl y north to Groom Lake. a civi lian company. Key Air-lines. had the duty to transpo11 groom Lake personne l. Look for Escondido faci lity radio activi ty on 16-L250 (Security) and 16-U50 (Maintenance support). Air to ground com-municat ions can be heard on 11 8.7 MHz (callsign Gold Coast)

Janet fl ights fl y north from McCarran to Groom Lake and enter R-4808N (Groom Lake a irspace): they contact Dreamland Contro l (Arca 51 approach cont rol) on civilian VHF aeronautical frequenc ies. o ,erthc years. these

TABLE 2: Department of Energy-Nevada VHF/UHF Networks Legend: DOD E~.1S NTS

Net D!lJjg_ NV001 W002 rJ'.'003 WQOJ 'i\1005 ','J006 IJV007 N'.'008 NV009 IN01 IJ'/01 2 NV013 NVOq r;vo5 r,yo15 \\.10 4 7 '.i '/C18

~N02' W025 W026 W028 N\1029 'N030 W032 N\.1034 Nl/037 NVO.JO NV041 NVO.J2 NV044 NV047 ':VO.J9 IJV050 'NOSi t!V053 NV054 NV055 N\1057 lii'067 IW069 ~:V073

NV07~ M:076 r. vo7a W079 IW080 NV095 NV095A NV100

l'N10'. ~JV206 'N307 r.:1/400

IJV40~ 14'!-102 NV.J10

Depanmem of Delense E'Tlergency M~dical Service l\e,vada Test Site

Usage DOE!DOD Operations _ocal Lari Enforcement MuiuJI Ad NTS FirelEMS Rad1allon Safety Net NTS Test Operations 1.0S Alamcs Laos Operations EG&G Ai1as Facility Techff to the Groom Lake tower (again on a VHF civilian frequency ).

Janct flights also fl y up to the Tonopah range and it is reported that some tlighrs originate from Edwards AF B (home o f AFFTC-t\i r Force Flight Tc,t Center).

Area 51

The Air Force Flight Tcst Ccntcr(AFFTC) is headquartered al Ed\\'ards AFB. California. There is ample e\idencc to indicate thar AFFTC operate!> the secre t base at Groom Lake. Thi-. a''umption i' dra\\'ll because AFFT C appear' on many documents regard-ing ba-.c 'cnirity and land u,c . AFFTC is also the logilal ma,tcr. because Arca 51 was fou nded for the testing of secret aircra ft and Edwards i' rc,pon, ihle for that funct ion. Also. Dct :I. AFIT C. i' the organi1.atio11 responsible for 'ccurity at Groom Lake.

In addit ion 10 AFFTC mil itary personnel. Groom Lake i' home lo numcrou' civilian aerospace personnel that arc there to support the testing program. An cyewitnc's of Groom Lake operation' ha' revealed who occupies the va riou ' sect ions or s ites on the base. He re is that cxclu, ive list:

S2 Northrup/Grumman 82 bomber. Tacit Blue. A 12 follow-on

S3 Unknown No air vehicles spotted S4 Lockheed Al 1. U2. SR71 F-1 17

(Have Blue), Darkstar (Tier 3 UAV)

S6 Unknown Several variants of C 135 aircraft sitting around

S7 Seems to be in a caretaker status

S9 Teledyne Ryan Aero Tier 2+ and Tier 3+ UAVs

Since t hc~c arc civi lian companic,, scan-ner cnthu,iasls might want to check VHF/ UHF it inerant frequencies for acti vi ty from the base. Be sure the foll owing frequencies arc loaded into yourscanncr: 151.505. 151.625. 154.570. 15..t .(100. 158.400. 45 1.800. 456.800.

July 1997 MONITORING TIMES 11

464.500, 464.550. 469.500. 469 .550 MHz. You should also have the U.S government itinerants (27.575. 27 .585 , 163. 100, 168.350. 408.400. 4 18.050, 418.075. 4 18.575 ) and a ir-craft emergency ( 121 .500/243 .0) frequencies loaded.

And Then There are the Rumors

One rumor about Groom Lake that many citizens take seriously is that area S-4 is w here the remains of the Roswell flying saucer were taken and where the US government is reverse enginee ring a fl ying saucer. This is all sup-posed to be in an area located south of the base at a secret mountain facility near Papoose Lake.

There has never been an y credible ev idence to support thi s conc lusion and, based on the information above, the author seriously doubts any of these c laims. This is a Deep Black base that supports advanced technology aircraft. but that is all.

I Tal

Red Flag Tonopah Ran9e (Wi ldfire 3) Search and Rescue f raming {SAR): Squadron Common Supervisor of Flying {SOF) 414 CTS-MIG Ops: Supervisor of Flying (SOF) 57 FW-Bullseye Control: TACCS Training: USAF Thunderbirds Flight Oemonstrauon Teams: VHF Air to Air

VHF Search and Rescue (SAR) 414 CTS Command Post (MIG Ops). Othe1 kncwn ac11ve freqs.

!ft/.li_~tJWies !Narrowband EM model ACMI Mam1enance: Airlift Con1rol: Base Paging. Base Police: Base Taxi1Transporta1ion 01spatch: Civil Engmee1s: Comba1 Arms School: Commanders Net Conlingency: Disaster Contigency-Explosive 01d1nance Disposal (EOD) Teams: Fire/Crash: Flighlhne Operations: Flightline Operations {Red Flag): Groom Lake Ground Intrusion Sensors: Groom Lake Securi1Y Patrols: Groom Lake Video Surveillance Cameras: Hazma1 Conligency/Operations: Law Enfo1cemen1 (Security): Maintenance: Medical Net Miscellaneous Tes1 Range: Munilions: Nellis Range Control. POL Dispatch: Ramp Con110VBase Ops. Range 62: Range 71 : Red Flag Maintenance: Red Flag/Green Flag Ma111tenance: Red Horse CE: Security: Security Nellis Area 2 (Weapons Storage): Special Commumcat1ons: Supply Depot Tes1 Flan9e Safety: Umdentihed commumcauons USAF MARS: USAF Thu1de1birds:

McCorran lntetnalional Airfield Ooeralions ~ ATtS: Clea1ance Delivery. Control Tcwer Ground Con11ol: Janet Flighls Air -Ground (Escondido facility) Las Vegas Approach: Las Vegas Departu1e: Las Vegas Class B Airspace: Las Vegas Radio: Unicom:

llmIJ~!ill (/:ITS) (AM..fn.QJ!g) Control Tower: Indian Springs AAF Control Towei: Fire/Crash Flight Support: Flighlline Operations Ground Control: Ground Delense Forces: Helicop1e1 Conlrol: Pilot to Dispatcher (PTO) Range Control (R-4806). Security: Superv1so1 of Flying {SOE): Unknol'ln usage

IMwP.lWJJl/198 Approach Control: Cont1ol Tower Fire Net: Flightline Operations Range Conlrol. Test Range Operations. Watertowr Strip Air to Ground Operations:

46.65. 46.75, 46.85 252.800. 259.000, 392.i75 225.500. 257.100. 264.600. 305.650, 315.800 139.925, 139.975. 303.200 [9]. 304.900 319.300 141.850, 322.950 138.025. 138 100, 138.200, 138.250. 138.275, 138.375. 138.425, 138.750. 138.875. 139.050. 139100, 139.500, 139.700, 139.725. 139.750, 139.800, 139850, 139.875, 139.900. 140.375. 140.400, 140.425. 141.000. 141.150. 141.550. 141.625. 141.675, t41.900, 142.175, 142.525, 143.750, 143.825. 143.925. 148.450. 149.525 138.300 252.100 127.650. 228.500, 228.750. 233.400, 236.500, 238.300, 240.150. 251.200, 252.200. 253.600, 258.250. 275.850. 308.600. 314.300, 325.900, 333.550, ~~:~ 335.800. 335.900, 337.400. 337.500, Rambo 341.500. 349.700, 360.000. Cobra Ops 361.500. 364.000. 364.050, 375.800. 379.550, 385.800,

148.400/150.350. 148.450/150.325 413.300. 413.350 150.200/138.325 Fl 163.4875. F2 163.5875 150.300 173.4125/163.4625. 163.5125/165.0875 413.050 148 325/149.000, Ops-1 173. 150/165.0125, Ops-2 173.5375/165.1125 138.050, 163.5625 149.450 149.750 Tac-1173.5875, Tac-2 173.8375 138.225/140.300, 139.825. 140.675, 141.575, 148.075, 148.175, 148.450, 148.700, 149.200, 149.325, 149.550, 150.125, 164.050, 173.8625 409.025. Fox 2 411.850. 413.275, 415.625 496.250, 496.275. 486.300 141.550 {Unconlirmed), 142.200 210.010 141.725 407.500 163.5375/173.4625 173.5625/168.000 141.775/143.475 149.475 (Flighlline), 165.1875. 413.400 Fox-1 150.225. Fox-2 148.100/150.275, Fox-3 148.2251149.150, Fox 4 148.500/150.175, 148.250/150. 100, 409.025, 412.850, 413.375, 413.500, 413.550 Ne1A148 300. Net B 150.050 148.525 412.950 413.450 142.750 413.225 149.175, 149.500 139.600, 141 .925. 143.875, 162.6125. 163.5375, 166.5625, 170.175/173.7375, 170.500. 170.600. 173.6375 164.500, 163.375/165.0625 "Pickup Conlrol" 142 175 142.125 407.575 138300. 138.400. 138.900. 138.950, 148.050/149.225. 148.475, 149.250, 149.875. 407.550/413.125. 408.400/418.050, 418.075, 418.575 143.775/142.275, 143.450/142.150 Maintenance 413.025. 413.100

Departure 125.600. Arrival 132.400 t t 8.0001379.950 119.900/257.8 121.1. 121.9. 319.950 Gold Coast 118.700 120.450 127.150. 379. 150 Soulh 12591380.050, North 133.9501353.700 353.700. 379.150. 380.050 122.4 {Reno FSS) 122.950

118.700 (shared wilh TIR/McCarran)

118.300/358.3001121 {AM) 173.075/173.9875 (FM) 165.0375 {FM) 165.1375. 409.025. 415.625 {FM) 118.3001275.800 {AM) 138.350/148.550 {FM) 122.900 \AM~ 372.200 AM 138.150/ 41. 00 {FM) 173.4375 (FM) 142.250 (AM) 173.9375 {FM)

B-2 Stealth bomber (U.S. Air Force 124.750. 126.9501338.700 (AM) photo) 126.600, 127.250 (AM) 409.975 (FM) F3 148.200/150.600, 149.425. 173.100/165.0625 (FM) 118.700, 377.800 1151. 239.900. 254.750. 255.950. 256.775, DOE 257.000. 262000, 264.7. 264.750. 266.300, 286.700, 287.300, 297.750. 376.100, 383.300, DOE 384.000. DOE 384.800, 389.100, 399.800 (AM) 407.300/41 2.900. 407.650/413.250. 407.975/413.575, 400.800/414.400 {FM)

297.650 {AM)

July 1997 MONITORING TIMES 13

A Change is in the ...

Homet traffic at NA SD Miramar is increasing due to its upcoming change to a Marine Corps Air Station.

The Departnient of Defense's BRAC Recommendations are closirzg and relocatirzg military bases all across the country, and charzgirzg

the airwave terrain for military aviation monitors.

I the world o r government. its always bout money. forge t ' tars and bars. jets nd tanks - what really mailers to the people on the Hi II arc do I I a rs and eents . In 1990. this simple faet or mmkrn bureaucracy was made pai nfull y clear to us a ll when the United Stutes Department of Defense rubber-stamped a sweeping proposal fo r change a f-fee ting US milita ry bases within the coumry. They ea lled it the Defense Base Closure and Real ig nment Act (BRAC). but many Amcri-eans ea llcd it unth inkable . Forthe fi rst time in memory. the US go\'crnment was planning the ultima te down,i1.ing mon:. a wholesa le s lash and burn job on mi litary in,tallations.

T he rea,on i, really \'Cry 'implc and soi' the math: the Cold \Var i~ o,er and dekrn.e budget' arc ' hrink ing. Pu t two and two to-get her and you eome up with the easy an, wer: if we clo,e. rea li gn and consolidate some of our mi litary ba~c'i. \\ 'C satisfy the experts w ho say we do n t need 'o much mi litary might

14 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

By Laura Ouarantiello

anymon.:. and the penc il -pus hers who say we need to reduce the budget. To the govcrnment, tha t s a w in-win s ituatio n.

The BRAC process began in 199 1. follow-ing Presidential appointment and Se nate ap-

One thing about militm}' monitoring will never change; getting up close and personal is still discouraged. This sharp f ence separates the runways from the public highway.

proval o f an e ight member committee. The Commi ttee heard the recommendations for c losure and rea lign ment transmitted to them from the Secre tary of Defense and made fi nal recomme ndations that we re handed to the Pres ident. T he fina l round of closure and rea lignment reeommendations were signed. scaled. de livered. and finalized by Presiden-tia l approval in 1995.

Dozens of bases have been approved for closure. some have a lready bolted the ir gates and transferred thei r personnel. T housands of p..:ople . both military and c ivilian - not to mention states and entire e ities - have been affected through loss of jobs and revenue. No state has been spared from the sharp gove rn-ment comm ission ax: there are losses from Alabama s Fort M cC le ll an . to Texa s ' Be rgstrom A FB. to W iscons in s N RC Sheboygan. For the military monitor, espe-eia ll y mi litary av iation fans . BRAC means change .

I Unsettled Airwaves As soon as the BRAC Commission began

recommending specific installations for clo-sure or realignment, scanner listeners nation-wide staned to get a bad case of the jitters. Which bases would close? What would hap-pen to the squadrons based there? We aren' t talking solely about small Reserve bases or remote outposts (though smaller installation are on the hit li sts, too). we're talk ing about larger installations like Cal ifornia 's Long Beach Naval Shipyard. March Air Force Base. and MCAS El Toro; Massachusctts NAS South Weymouth; Michigan's Selfridge Army Garrison; and Mississippi' s NAS Meridian. The impact is undeniable and far-reaching for listeners.

Since 1990, sixty major bases and I 04 minor facilities ac ross the country from a ll branches of the military have been closed. The 1995 round of recommendations have resulted in the listing of many more fac ilities for clo-sure or realignment. Every facility closure has repercussions. resulting in the disestablishment or transfer of squadrons. detachments. units. and tenant commands. Many personnel and resources are realigned (the militarys politi-cally-correct word for shifting assets) to other installations.

The actual changes wrought by BRAC arc being implemented on a two-to-six year ~cak. a relatively slow arc of relocations and out-right c losures. In some areas the moves arc complete. while in others the changes arc more gradual and the fu ll impact has yet to be felt. Some bases arc already ghost towns. others are or will be taking on new personnel. forcing an increase in activity. Some l i s tener~ have lost as a result of all this shuflling. but many have rea li zed a gai n.

Because so many of t he BRAC closures arc aimed at Air Force Bases and Naval Ai r Sta-tions, military aviation listeners are experiencing more than the ir fa ir share of airwave fluctuations.

In contrast, some states are bearing the negative side of all this downsizing. In Cal ifo r-nia. the slate hardest hit by the 1995 recommen-dalions. prime listening targe ts li ke Castle.

ortun. and George Air Force Bases are already long gone and the 1995 BRAC order~ have slated other top ta rge ts like MCAS El Toro. NAS Alameda. and NAS Moffet t Fie ld for closure. Force shifts arc already in progress and the re-

The military traffic in San Diego i.rn 'tall j ets. sul ts are apparenl on the airwaves.

What does all this mean to the mililary air listener? How do all !he c losures. realignments. losses. and gains affect actual rad io commun ications?

I Bogies and Bandits /\s a long-time California milair ran. l" vc

felt the effecb of BRAC for several year~. but not unti I the 95 recommendations ca111e down from on high did I really scnsc a change in lhc ai r. My location in the San Diego County area nf Southern California is a literal ninana for a mi lair 111onitor. I have acce~s to the co111111u-nitations of several large Na,y and Marine Corps bases and their ac res of n:strictcd areas. as well as one of the large~t military a\' iation playgrounds. Whiskey 191. a warning area which stretches from Santa Catalina Island down past Mexii:o.

Military air communications havc nc\'cr been strangers 10 111y scanner and 1 ve long enjoyed afternoons in front of the speaker. as well as day !rips to NAS Miramar and MC/\S

Camp Pcndlcton ror a litt le fron1-row action. The govcrn111e nt" s BRAC Committee has 1hreatened to change all of that.

In 1993. the Commi ttee seleclecl Marine Corps /\ ir Station El Toro for closure. with re location of all aircraft along with thei r dedi-cated pcrsonnc l. equipment. and support to other naval air stations. Thi~ move resulted in another cdict in 1995: NAS Miramar would bern111c a Marinc Corps Air Station. All of Mirama1 .. s squadrons and related activ ities would hc cjectcd. tak ing up rcsidence at other naval air stations. pri111arily AS Oceana. Virginia: 1\S orth b land. Cali fornia: and NAS htllon. Ne,ada. Thcse pronouncemell!s shook 111any arca mi lair listeners.

Miramar was the Na,y" s wcsl coast master jct ai r ,lat ion. the ho111e or Pac ific Fleet F-14 squadrons. the Top Gun Fighter Weapons School. and Top Dome E-2C School. Traffic rrom the base was high speed and high fre-quency: any time or the day was a good time to llHHlitor communicat ions.

Motorists on 1-15 pass right under the final approaches to Miramar's two runways and jct traffic was com mon and virtu-ally non-stop. More than one driver has ducked at lhe sight of a massive $30 mill ion doll ar jct passi ng over their car roof. landing gear dang ling.

What would happen to all this when the Marines moved in? We worried about the changes for three years.

"' In our rural neighborhood."" says MT editor Rachel Baughn. we ve heard more military ai rcraft commu-nications in the past four months than we have in the previous ten years: In Virginia. listeners arc overjoyed at the growth in communications that have resulted from the transfer of all F-14 Tomcat squadrons from the West Coast. Many listeners are experienc-ing military air ("mi lair" ') communi-cations on a large scale for the firs! time. surprised at the surge of voices on previously quiet frequencies.

Coast Guard 6501, an HH-65A Dolphin, returning from a rescue mission.

Then. in 1995. 1hc comm ission s 91 relommen

Nott~: I lJl)7 ctnd shown. New covt:r 'rt av;1ilahlt- :-itHrn!

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16 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

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MCAS New Rivcr. North Carol ina: MCB 11;"' ai i n' t uncom-mon to find others parked with binornlars and radio,. Both the north and southbound side' of the road ' po11 "No Parking Any Time" sig11' that define the area immediately beneath the approach ends of thc runways. hut parking j ust short of or beyond the ' igns avoids the wrath or pa,~ ing law en forcement.

My fa vori te time of day at Miramar is around 2 pm. when aircraft that have departed prior lO noon for Warning Arca sorries. return

lO the roost. By th is time. any low scud and coastal cloutb ha,e burned off. providing a c lear blue sky fnr viewing. Binoculars are a must for picking out the tiny fast-movers from the sky and a headset is recommended : both the jet and vehicle traffic noise make listening hard at times. A camera is another must-have. and by walk ing up beyond the No Parking ' ign!> you can obtain great photographs. even wit h relat ively short lenses.

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Those jets maki ng PAR (Precision Ap-proach Radar) approaches take the switch from Tower to " Paddles. the PAR controller on 362.6. Plugging in these three freque ncies wil l keep you happy and in the know while at Mira111ar (see sidebar for other base freque n-cies).

It only took one trip for me to diseoverthat Miramar was far from dead. Smoke 19. an F/ A-18 Hornet fro111 VMFA-134. called Atl as for the overhead and came roaring in at over 200 knots. pulling into a hard left break to the downwind. He was followed by two squad-ron mates. Smoke 18 and 20, who flew a beautiful overhead break, peel ing off from each o ther smoothl y. Tower c leared 18 for run way 24L. and sent S moke 20 to 24R. There "s nothing like simultaneous approaches to ge t your blood pumping. Al l three aircraft requested touch and goes.

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Monitoring Private

By Bill Maulden

A s an o ld pilo t once said , son. !lying is a ca re fully balanced mixture of hours of boredom sparked w ith moments of sheer terror and excitement." You could al so apply this statement to the hobby of monitoring commerc ial and pri vate !lying today.

Most aviation band liste ners will qu ickly s tand on their soap box and tell you that when there is some excitement on the aviation band. it can surpass most li s tening catches on the police and fire band by leaps and bounds. I'll have to agree. With over 30.000 hours in the cockpi t myself. I can certainly say that I' ve li stened to more than my share of aviation radio conversations. The fo llow ing trut: story took place severa l years ago when we were passing over northe rn Utah . going to Seattle at 4 1,000 feet. We were be ing controlled by the Federal Aviation Administrati on's Salt Lake Center A ir Route Traffic Cont rol Center (ARTCC). This sector of the Salt Lake ARTCC was no t only worki ng the high a ltitude !lights. but the low altitude ones as wel l.

20 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

As soon as we switched to the frequency, we were aware that something unusual was going on. The freque nc y was a beehive of activity. We quickly checked in and lis tened. Soon , we were aware that the controller in the S alt Lake Center was working a student pi lot or a very low time pri vate pi lo t and there was trouble on the frequency. The pi lo t was doing a cross country so lo fl ight from Butte to Bozman. Flight conditions were not a ll that g reat. From our observation at 4 1,000, it appeared that there was cons iderable lower cloud cover with light snow obscuring mountains. ridges, and probably most airports within our vis ual view ing d is tance . Not a good day for the inexpe rienced to be out ll ying, to say the least.

As the cockpit radio continued to share the plight of the inexpe-rienced pi lo t, we learned that she was at an alti tude just above the overcast. The pilot was not totall y lost. but she certain ly had no idea of whe re she was - a dangerous condition whe n visibi lity is low.

fuel i~ a concern. and the instruments are not working as expected.

We quickly brought up the Bozman airport weather on the A CARS (aircraft com munica-tions addressing and reporting system) screen. The latest observation indicated a ceil ing of I 000 feet and the minimum 3 miles for visua l !light conditions. The pilot wa~ start ing to ind icate panic in her vo ice as she talked with the Salt Lake Center controller. A ll of us "upstairs" just li stened, not wanting to in ter-fere with the controller's e fforts. We also learned that thi s had been going on for a while. and with fue l now starting to become a con-cern. the controller was working hard to get thi s plane on the ground.

The private plane had a single VHF omni range (VOR) rece iver. It was tuned to the Bozman YOR. With VHF aircra ft communi-cations and navigation signals being generally 1ine of s ight." the Bozman VOR was the only navigation tool she had to work with at her altitude. A quick, positive radar identification of the plane and a firm positio n was an abso-lute necessity. The pilot knew this. and so did the controller. As the conversation w ntinued, it was clear that the plane was too low for the Salt Lake Center remote radar site to pick up. The plane had no transponder. In order fo r the cont ro lle r to g ive the panicked pilot a safe radar vector to Bozman. he had to know where she was.

The controller asked the pilot if she had a good signal on the Bozman VOR. S he replied that it was a good signal , and that she must be rt:ally c lose. She could not see the ground. and in her posi tion. was on top of the c lout!s. With no ac tual radar contac t o f the plane. the con-tro lle r was working quickly to determi ne a posi tion .

"What is your bearing to or from the Bozman VOR now. and radia l?" the comrolkr asked. The pilot replied. 1 am on the 360 degree radial and flying to the YOR." Again, you could tell the pilot was very aware that she was in trouble. Winds were strong down low, as was c learly indicated by the cloud~ and the Bozman weather report.

"Hold your headi ng. and give me your radial now: the controller requested. The pilot re plied. 1 am now on a 200 degree heading, flying toward the Bozman YOR."

"Okay. hold that heading and let me know when you pass the Bornian YOR: the con-trolle r requested.

"There's something wrong with my navi -gation display!" the pi lot replied.

"What' s wrong?" the controller asked. "I don't know. I am fl ying towards the

YOR. but the radial keeps chang ing' I don't know where I am, ..

I Navigation Nightmare

As the conversation continued, the Federal A vi at ion Adminis tration (FAA) team of con-trollers were on the phone wi th Bozman. Was there an instrument equipped private plane on the field that could get in the air, and if so. was there a qualified pilot who could fly the plane? Experience had alerted the controllers at Sal t Lake to the fact that thi s pi lot was not only in serious trouble, but that panic was now starl-ing to set in. Also. with the ever-changing YOR radial, it was clear that either there was something truly wrong with the planes VOR navigation system, or the pilot was now flying in the "cone of confusion," complicated by the strong surface winds.

Each VOR sends out a navigation signal that makes up 360 navigation radials (a mag-neti c course) to or from the station. Normally, to fly to a YOR, the pilot just tunes in the VOR s ignal. Next, he rotates the navigation instru-ment to get a "to" indication rather than a from" indication, and with some wind cor-rect ion. he centers the needle , reads the "to" radial. and flies that heading to the station.

When navigating with a single VOR re-ceiver and display, often a pilot will get so c lose to a VOR that the radial he is flying will change rapidly because of his position to the YOR. The centered "to" the station needle keeps rapidly changing because radials all come together at the signal source. This is called the cone of confusion.

I No Substitute for Experience A passing airline pilot who was also a

military fli ght instruc tor quickly voiced his opinion and agreed with the FAA cont roller. The pilot must be very close to the Bozman VOR. Weather conditions at Bozman were now ge tting worse. The ceiling was now down to less than 800 fee t. and visibility had dropped to 2 m iles in blowing snow. The re could be a danger of ice on the wings if the private pilot entered the clouds.

On the ground. the Bozman FAA had lo-cated an experienced pi lot and an instrument equipped plane. The pi lot took off and was now in radio contact with the FAA center controller in Salt Lake City. The pri vate pilot was now c limbing to stay in visual conditions, and was given a s uggested heading by the FAA controller. Since the controlle r did not have the private pilot in radar contact, he issued fi rm instructions to the pi lot. oo not fly into any clouds, as there are higher moun-tains in your area! Make s ure you can see where you are going at all times."

Wi th several more radio exchanges, the

FAA guided the instrument qualified airplane in the general direction of the lost private pilot. Soon, visual contact was made. and the private pilot's position was confirmed. She was truly over the Bozman VOR, and had been tryi ng to fix her position in the "cone of con fus ion," too close to the VOR station for accurate navigation. As the two pi lots signed each other, the experienced pi lot and instruc-tor guided the pri vate pi lot to the runway a nd safety landed at Bozman.

I AM Mode for Safety in Aviation Although you don't hear adventures of this

magnitude every day on the aviation band, you do have real excitement possibilities al-most every day. Private and commercial avia-tion has been made much safer today because of modern navigation, the abil ity to communi-cate with towers, approach radar faci lities, and a ir route traffic control centers. Remote radar s ites allow controllers in the ARTCC centers to watch and control aircraft at a density and speed unthought of just several years ago.

The private and commercial planes of to-day use AM as the mode of communications in the VHF aircraft band. This band starts at 108.050 MHz and runs up to 137.00 MHz. The lower portion of the band is used for navigation. For example, if close to a station on the ground. you can receive s ignals of the VOR station or of the instrument landing system ( ILS) in the lower portion o f the band. These signa ls sound like a tone of sorts, and are a ll iden tified with CW (Morse code), to allow pi lots to idemify the station or system being used. Always remember, too, a good, high antenna is a lmost as important as the rece iver you use. VHF ai rcraft signals are to be thought of as "l ine of sight" signals.

Why do aircraft use AM as the communi-cations mode when FM is used by the services just above and be low the assigned aircraft band? The selection o r AM was no accident. In fac t. the Federal Communications Com-mission (FCC) feels so strongly about why the

July 1997

A navigation aid such as a beacon or VOR is indispensable -unless you 're sitting on top of it.

MONITORING TIMES 21

mode was chosen. that this question is included in many FCC radio exam~. The AM mode was selected becau~e of an undesirable characteristic of VHF FM radio signals.

TABLE I: Aeronautical Frequency Allocations the area being covered. WAC . or World Aeronautical Charts. arc also useful and cover a wider area than the Sectional Charts. The maps are not expe nsive and are updated on a regular basis. As you listen, especially during periods of bad weather or thun-derstorms. you will find the five letter names of the ai rway intersections useful and interesting. All of this information is shown in detail on the Sectional Chart.

HF: Upper Side Band, 3 kHz spacing

To explain, do you remember the last time you were traveling in your car and listening to a marginal FM station play-

2850 3155 kHz 3400 - 3500 4650 - 4750 5450- 5730

6525. 6765 8815. 9040 10005. 10100 11175 11400 13200 . 13360

15010. 15100 17900 . 18030 21850 . 22000 23200 23350

VHF -108to137 MHz AM mode: Spaced in increments of 25 kHz ing your favorite music? As your dis-

tance from the station increased and the signal became weaker and weaker. sud-denly another station on that same frequency "captured" your radio. and you could no longer hear your favorite station at al l. yd you knew it was st ill there . This .. covering .. ofthc weaker station and the capturing of the FM radios ability to hear the weaker station is ca lled "capture effect .. by the FCC.

As far as the FCC is concerned. it is okay for one FM broadca~t station to completely cover another weaker stati on. However. when li ves and safety arc a prime considerat ion. the FCC and FAA decided that controllers and pilots needed to know whe n two tran smi s-sions were taking place al the same time. By using AM communicat ions. the signals do not capture. and there is a squeal or other noise to indicate that two people are transmitting at the same time. You11 often hear pilots double with each other or with the controller. and so meone will say o n th e frequ e ncy ... .. blocked!"

It works wel l. And that is why all aircraft communications. both UHF and VHF. use AM mode.

I Making the Most of Limited Bandwidth

Something else ha~ recen tly taken place in the aviation band that you shou ld know about. As the need for frequencies has increased. the FAA and the FCC have packed the frequen-cies closer togethe r. Instead of using spacing that would go from. for example . I 19. I 00 MHz to l 19. 150 MHz. the FCC has tightened the freque ncy spacing down to 25 kl-IL apart.

Even though you hear a cont ro lkr give a pilot a frequency change to 11 9.:n . fo r example. you ll nced to enter the frequency in your scanner as 119.375 MHz. The last num-ber is never men tioned by the controller or the pilot. Some scanners automatically add the additional s for you. but others may not do so. l n airplane cockpits. most radio communi-ca tions control hcads do not show the addi-tional number. either. The assignment or l 19.37 MH z to a pi lot is actuall y a frequency change to 119.375 MHz. but shows on his control head as only 119.37. The deletion of

22 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

th is last number keeps the amount of radio communication chatter clown. and also makes for less chance of a mistake by the pilot.

Most commercial jets and airliners have three VHF communication radios on board. Generally speaking, each radio has two fre-que ncy displays with a switch to allow the pilot to quickly tune and switch frequenc ies on the same radio control head. By keepi ng the old frequency displayed. and entering the new freque ncy in the other position. the pi lot can qu ickly switch back to the old frequency in the event .. nobody is home .. on the new frequency.

One VHF radio is used for air traffic con-trol (A TC) communications. This rad io is normally the .. number one VHF: using the top or best antenna on the plane. The second VHF radio is normally used for A CARS moni-tori ng and transmitting. and the third is used for company or other communications. It is also the backup VHF in the event the # I VHF radio fails. Most business or corporate planes have two VHF radios. Pri vate planes. depend-ing on the wealth of the owner. have eitherone or two VHF rad ios.

l could till this magazine with frequency lists used by VHF aviation. Though that is not the pu rpo~e or this article. we'll give you a broad overview of the bands in Table l. and a look at some nation wide frequencies that shou Id hit the jackpot on your lirsl try in Table II.

Then.: arc many frequency directories that list HF. VHF. and UHr l'requencies. These books also give you more helpl'u l hints on how to listen and understand what you are hearing. We 11 get you started with a few recommended sources avai lab le from Grove Enterprises. Uni ve rsal Radio, and other dealers.

Other Resources If you are a serious a1iation listener. you

should perhaps pay a visi t tu the fi xed ba'e operator 0 11 your local airport. This is the .. general store'' for pilots. Maps. such as the US Government published Sectional Charts . arc always avai lable from the fi xed base op-erations de>k . They arc colorful. large. and packed with in fo rmation and frequencies for

I also suggest (as long as you are visi ting the fixed base operations store), that you ask if they have an inexpensive booklet of ap-proach charts or area charts for your local area. A vi at ion charts are all elated. The infor-mation constantly changes. When the charts go out or elate, it is "illegal" for pi lots to use them. As they are revised. the old charts are just thrown away. Perhaps with some friendly conversation. you can arrange for a small box of .. out of elate .. goodies that would be free. Just a thought ...

There arc many companies that provide aviation materials to pilots. Jeppesen, in Englewood. Colorado. is probably the best known and the most widely used (call 800-621 -5377 or go to the ir www.jcppesen.com web site). If you are a devoted. high dollar, aviation listening buff, you can find ads for these materials in most over-the-counter av ia-tion magazines.

The Changing Nature of Communications

The ACARS data communications up and downlink system could also fill a book. The system is extensive and can be extremely interesting. Many times. airline pi lots will se nd .. confident ial .. messages via ACARS rather than talk to the company radio operator or dispatcher using voice communications. ACARS is used by most commercial airlines and by business aviation.

Keep in mind that ACARS for all ai rlines is normally found on the same frequency, 131 .550 MHz. Although there arc other fre-quencies that are used as a backup in the event l 31 .550 MHz becomes congested. th is is the main frequency for data . You will need a book on ACA RS to understand the message head-ings. although the tex t itsel f is plain and easy to read.

The elec tron ics in the modern airliner is ex tensive . In addition to the VHF radios, ACARS. and the weather radar, you'll nor-mally find two transponders. The transponder is a device that automatically adds useful and identifying information to the image of the

plane on the radar screen. The latest models have an altitude reporting feature; all have a four digit, selectable code. The code. when programmed into the FAA air traffic control system, lets the controller see not only the a irline and flight number, but the altitude, speed , and other useful information - al l displayed on the radar scope.

Normally, there are a lso two or more VOR and ILS receivers. These receivers either dis-play the navigation information directly o r work with the flight management sys tem (FMS) computers to ass ist in navigation for the !light. We could write several books on the flight management systems used today, not to mention the new global pos itioning satellite (GPS) navigation systems that are starting to be used extensively. The interface of GPS nav igation and FMS will make flying less expensive, fas ter, and more navigational ly correct.

Although there are books and articles ev-erywhere these days on ACARS, let me add just a few comments before we leave the subject. ACARS is just beginning to become a primary tool of control and communication. Init ially. when ACARS started, it was used just to send tex t messages back and forth between the pilots and the company. Then, ACARS was tied to the closing of the a ircraft door and the acti vation of the red flashing beacon. When both are acti vated, ACARS automatically sends departure and arrival times - no more hand written pay sheets for pi lots to complete.

ACARS is now being used many airlines such as US Airways and American for weight and balance departure in formation. Compa-nies such as Delta are equipping their A CARS planes to send position reports every two minutes, transmjt eng ine readings, and to get connecting gate information for passengers well before arriva l. Crews are even notified by ACARS if the "personnel representati ve'' is waiting with a drug or alcohol test.

Soon, ACARS wi ll be tied into flight data recorders, the black boxes we hear about fo lowing accidents. These new systems wil l report as many as 50 conditio ns, alerting the airline to any irregular operations of the air-craft during flight.

Monitoring the VHF aircraft communica-tions band can be as cusual or as intensive a hobby as you care to make it. The aero band can truly be one of the most interesting and exciting on your scanner today, especially if you have some insight into what is actua ll y taking place ! The more you monitor, the more you'll get drawn into the drama of the airways over the airwaves.

TABLE II: National Civilian Aeronautical Band Assignments By Larry Van Horn. Assistant Editor. Monitoring Times

Frequencies MHz. 25 kHz soacinq 108.000-117.950 108.100-111.950 118.000-121.400 121.500 121 .600-121 .925 121.950 121.975 122.000 122.025 122.050 122.075 122.100-122.675 122.700 122.725 122.750 122.800 122.825 122.850 122.875 122.900

122.925

122.950 122.975 123.000 123.025 123.050

123.075 123.100 123.125 123.125-1 23.475 123.200 123.300 123.400 123.450 123.500 123.525-123.575 123.600-128.800 126.200 128.625 128.825-132.000 132.025-135.975 134.100 135.850 135.950 135.975 136.000-136.075 136.100 136.125-136.175 136.200 135.225-136.250 136.275 136.300-136.350 136.375 136.400-1 36.450 136.475 136.500-136.875 136.900-136.975

VHF omni-range ILS localizers Air traffic control (towers/centers) Civilian aircraft emergency Ground control (25 kHz spacing) Flight schools Flight service stations (private aircraft) Flight service stations (national flight watch-private aircraft) Flight service stations (private aircraft) Flight service stations (aircraft transmit) Flight service stations (private aircraft) Flight service stations (private aircraft transmit) Unicom (uncontrolled airports) Unicom (uncontrolled airports-private aircraft only) Unicom (private air-to-air fixed wing) Unicom (uncontrolled airports) ARING/Airline company frequency (aero enroute) . Multicom/NOAA severe storms study aircralt/U.S. Forest Service helicopter operations ARI NC/Airline company frequency (aero enroute) Multicom/U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue/U.S. Forestry Service fire cache air operations/Numerous government agencies and military services Multicom (plane-to-plane)/NOAA severe storms study aircraft/NASA research aircraft/ National Park Service aircraft/Numerous government agencies and military services Unicom (controlled airports) Unicom (high altitude)/U.S. Forest Service air operations Unicom (uncontrolled airports) Unicom (helicopters/air-to-air)/U.S. Forestry Service helicopter (helispot) operations Unicom (heliports)/NOAA severe storms study aircralt/U.S. Forestry Service helicopter (helispot) operations Unicom (heliports)/U.S. Forestry Service helicopter (helispot) operations U.S. Coast Guard/Civil Air Patrol search and rescue U.S. Air Force NAVAID flight check Flight Test (Itinerant: 123.125/.150/.175/.400) Flight schools Flight schools/balloons Flight schools Multicom (air-to-air informal) Flight schools/balloons Flight Test (Itinerant: 123.575) Air traffic control (towers/centers) U.S. military control towers/ground controls NASA/NOAA research frequency ARING/Airlines company frequencies Air traffic control (towers/centers) Military airports (ground controlled approach radar) Federal Aviation Administration/U.S. Air Force/U.S. Army NAVAID flight inspection Federal Aviation Administration/U.S. Army NAVAID flight inspection U.S. Forestry Service air-to-ground (wildfires) Air traffic control operations Reserved for future unicorn or automatic weather obseration stations Air traffic control operations Reserved for future unicorn or automatic weather obseration stations Air traffic control operations Reserved for future unicorn or automatic weather obseration stations Air traffic control operations Reserved for future unicorn or automatic weather obseration stations Air traffic control operations Reserved for future unicorn or automatic weather obseration stations aeronautical enroute (domestic VHF) aeronautical enroute (domestic/international VHF)

TABLE Ill: Basic reference materials Aeronautical Frequency Directory by Robert Coburn (Official Scanner Guide) Air Scan by Tom Kneitel (CRB Research Books) Air Waves by Laura Quarantiello (Tiare Publishing) Grove Shortwave Directory, edited by Larry Van Horn (Grove Enterprises) Understanding AGARS by Ed Flynn (Universal Radio Research) The Worldwide Aeronautical Communications Frequency Directory by Bob Evans (Universal Radio Research)

July 1997 MONITORING TIMES 23

The "Junk-

1

Drawer" Antenna

Antenna 25-30" long when extended

Fill opening with epoxy

after seating

\ PL259 Shell

Small Screw (440) +--- Use nut if needed -----+

+--- #16-14 ring terminal. -----+ Remove blue insulation

Align tubular crimp with center of antenna

50239 (Radio Shack

adapter #278-1 20) ~ ts

Using Scraps to Take Your Handheld

to New Heights

24 MONITORING TIMES July 1997

By Ed Muro, Design by Henry Brown F or the past couple of years I have been experimenting with several "Premium" handheld scanner antennas such as the Austin Condor, the Watson-801 , and Diamond RH-77 A. While these high cost antennas outperform the rubber duck that came with my handheld,

it sure has been an expensive experiment. Last year I was explaining my needs to a fellow scanning enthusiast, Henry Brown, when

he told me he had a real cheap answer to meet my needs. Not only was it cheap, but his home brew antenna outperforms some of the more expensive replacements. The fo llowing directions will allow you to build the same antenna that Henry has devised in not too much time at all.

Henry Brown has been a radio hobbyist since 1962. He is a resident of Cape Cod, and monitors primarily Coast Guard and Air Force I Air National Guard frequencies. Henry also maintains the FCC call sign, N 1 SNH. The "Junk-drawer" antenna was devised in an attempt to improve monitoring military and civilian aircraft frequencies, but I have found it works well at all frequency ranges.

If your hand held scanner uses an antenna with a BNC connector, this easily built antenna will greatly improve reception of distant stations over a standard "rubberduckie." Best of all , it can be assembled in a few minutes using parts often found in the junk-drawer of many scanner enthusiasts, or readily available at your local Radio Shack.

Junk parts needed: Before beginning assembly, you will need a male BNC to S0-239 adapter. Radio Shack's

part number 278-120 will do fine. Next, dig in your junk-drawer and find an old PL-259 connector. Remove the shell - that 's the part you'll use! Keep digging, and look for a #16-14 ring terminal (good quality) - the type with a blue insulator.

Then, keep digging! Find an antenna from an old cordless phone base unit - the type with a flat flange at the base (see sketch). The antenna should extend 25 or 30 inches or more.

Next, a small 4-40 x 1/4 inch long or similar pan head screw with nut is required. You may need to vary the size of the screw, depending on the size of the hole in the antenna flange. Keep the length as short as poss ible.

Finally, you' ll need some epoxy adhesive. You will probably use an entire "kit" for this project. Any good quality epoxy will do.

For tools, you wi ll need an X-Acto knife, a small screwdriver, needle nose pliers (if you use a nut). and a popsicle stick for mixing epoxy.

Construction: Start by carefully removing the blue insulator from the ring terminal. The X-Acto knife

should easily accomplish this . Take care not to crush the metal tubular crimp. After removal, test the diameter of the tubular crimp by pushing it into the female socket of the S0-239 connector. It should fit snugly, not overly tight and definitely not loose. If it is loose, you may be able to pry apart the tubular crimp slightly to increase its diameter.

Next, attach the ring terminal to the flange at the bottom of the antenna, using the small screw. T he flange may have a tapped hole; if so, use it. If not, use the nut to hold the ring terminal to the flange. Note that the tubular crimp should be in line with the centerline of the antenna. This centers the antenna when it 's mounted ... By the way, you' re almost finished.

The final steps involve pushing the tubular crimp into the S0-239 socket, and dropping the PL-259 shell over the top of the antenna. Screw the shell firmly down onto the S0-239. Now align the antenna element so it's perfectly straight when viewed from all sides. No part of the antenna/screw/ring terminal assembly can short to the PL-259 shell. Visually check this before filling the cavity with epoxy. Use an ohmmeter if you have doubts.

Next. prepare a batch of epoxy, and you might as well mix the entire kit. Then, using the popsicle stick, carefully spoon the e poxy into the PL-259 shell , filling it to the top. Be sure the antenna element is fully retracted and place the assembly upright on a steady, flat surface to cure. Wipe any excess epoxy from the rim of the shell and be certain epoxy does not seep from the threaded area. That's it, you're done!

This antenna certainly pulls in signals the stock antenna will never receive, and it won