Are you allowed to talk to pilots flying around?

[squale]

yes good point, this is a bad idea the more I think of it...

I think I will just get something like the BC 780XLT scanner.. you think that's a good one?

[dave]

nice, so do you know when the 780xlt first came out?  I am trying to figure out how long this scanner has been out for?

The 780XLT has been out for several years...it's a fantastic scanner, one of the best ever made.  And thethe fact that it covers the military (UHF) airband is a huge plus.

Dave

[squale]

oh most don't do the MiliAirband?
what is that frequency range?  I wonder if I would even pick up any of that Military stuff in Northern, NJ where I live

[Jason]

The 27 bands it covers and helpful search functions on it made me buy it.  You can try and get it off e-bay.  I bought mine for $315 when it was first released.  It has been the best scanner I have EVER used.  One of the best purchases I've ever made in my life.  Welll worth it.

[Jason]

It has continous band coverage from 25MHz to 1.3 GHz (excluding the cell phone band in the 900's to 1200's)  There are also many adapters and accesories for the scanner, like an extension head, AM radio adapter, its PC connectable with a serial cable...etc

[dave]

oh most don't do the MiliAirband?
what is that frequency range?  I wonder if I would even pick up any of that Military stuff in Northern, NJ where I live

Most actually don't do milair.  You have to check: 225-400 MHz.  And you can pick up plenty in Northern New Jersey.

Look at this site for a lot of great information:

http://www.milaircomms.com/

They also have a Yahoo Group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MilAirCommsChat/

-dave

[KSYR-pjr]

If you have a airband transceiver, and you are sitting in your house, are you allowed to chit-chat with pilots flying overhead?  and can you give them current weather conditions at your house if you have a little home weather station thing set up?  or is this all illegal based on FAA rules?

This is strongly discouraged.  I can't find an explicit guideline in the AIM prohibiting it, but the frequency (CTAF) is really reserved (in practice) for aircraft arriving and departing the airport.  Of course, it goes without saying that you should never transmit on a frequency used by any ATC facility.

Regarding chatting on a US-based air frequency, you won't find information about unauthorized parties using the air frequencies in the AIM because the AIM is not regulatory.  The FAR (Federal Aviation Regulations) is the document that is regulatory but it only deals with "authorized parties."  

Using a handheld transmitter to speak on frequencies designated as air frequencies without an authorized aircraft or ground-based station ID is a violation of FCC (the US govt branch responsible for the frequencies) regulations and fines and penalties are pretty stiff.  

I believe that ground-based stations, such as FBOs, who need to broadcast on an air frequency must apply for a radio license with the FCC.   Pilots who use hand-helds to broadcast from the ground (as in to receive a clearance before aircraft start) are authorized by virtue of their aircraft ID.

To the person who pointed out that there is a lot of chit-chat on air frequencies, you are certainly right.  However, keep in mind that both parties doing the chatting are identifiable by a station ID.  If it were determined that the chat violated some FCC regulation, they would be identified by their station ID and prosecuted.

[squale]

sounds good,,, so I guess the handhelds don't do nearly as many bands as this one does huh?  I was contemplating going for the new Bearcat 246T handheld.. how do you think that compares to the 780xlt?

oh by the way, looking at the specs on the 780xlt I don't see it saying LTR.. it says:

TrunkTracker III - EDACS, MOTOROLA, E.F. JOHNSON

but then if you look at the 796D for instance it says:

TrunkTracker IV - EDACS®, Motorola®, LTR, APCO

I understand TrunkTracker IV comes from having APCO digital as well thus giving 4 trunking systems, but why does it have LTR and the 780xlt has EF Johnson instead and no LTR?

was EF Johnson an older technology replaced by LTR or something?  I must be missing something here..

thanks

[Jason]

To tell you the truth, I do not use the Trunk Tracking.  My Uncle bought his 785D because he wanted to have the Digital Trunking and moniter the CT state police.  Technology is always improving though.  It depends how you want to use the scanner.  If you are going to use it for mostly VHF/UHF it's worth while to get the 780XLT, while if you want the Digital Trunk Tracking capability, the 785D might be your choice.

The 785XLT also has TV band search in the search mode.  I can mute my TV and tune into channel 4 for the audio  

[squale]

this might be a dumb question but can the 780xlt get regular FM radio stations?  how about AM radio stations?

and finally how about CB frequenices so if you are on the road with it you can listen to what all the truckers are talking about?

Thanks

[Jason]

FM = Yes
AM = No, although you can buy an adapter that blugs into the serial port in the back that makes it AM recievable.  I've seen this advertised and sold at scanmaster.com

You can also search the CB and HAM radio bands.  It will search the entire range for ya.

[squale]

cool, what frequencies are AM, CB and HAM anyhow?

so this scanner gets almost ALL frequencies possible huh?  besides digital that is..

Thanks

[Biff]

Here's the FCC regs for those interested:
http://wireless.fcc.gov/aviation/fctsht4.html

MAY I USE MY HAND-HELD AIRCRAFT VHF RADIO ON LAND?

    You may only use your hand-held aircraft VHF radio from your aircraft, or under the authority of an FCC ground station authorization. Ground station authorizations are usually only issued to aviation service organizations located on airports, businesses engaged in pilot training, aircraft manufacturers, or persons engaged in chase-car activities related to soaring and ballooning.

[PHL Approach]

Jason, you can pick up FM? I can't with the Pro-95, yet I pick up enough on the App freqs to be able to say I pick the stations up. j/k that's fixed with the filter now

[Jason]

Yup FYI, these are all the bands covered by the 780XLT:



This is the link for the AM adapter for the 780XLT:
http://www.scannermaster.com/store/01-530758.html?id=Jp93jwtF

Scanner master also has a lot of accessories for the 780:

http://www.scannermaster.com/store/scan/st=sql/co=yes/ml=6/tf=description/se=780%20Accessories/sf=category/va=sortbyc%3dd/va=scat%3d780%20Accessories.html

As for the additional head this is what I was talking about for car instalations:

http://www.scannermaster.com/store/01-690854.html