I read that FAQS but im a bit slow!!

[slyguytoo]

Hi all I’m sorry to bother with this question but i don’t learn fast i was reading the faqs about buying a scanner I’m still not sure what to do.. I assume buying a scanner to feed over the internet is a bit costly so I want to work myself in that direction... I wanted to start off with a cheap hand radio but something still good enough to get a clear transmit ion as well as pick up from a fair distance... what’s the capability of these things, I’m 20 miles from the air port, can I hear from home?  Can I listen to multiple channels at once? Example: tower, ground, clearance? thank you all in advance..

[MathFox]

In fact, there are several LiveATC streams that are fed by a portable scanner.

However, what you will receive depends on your location. VHF radio waves propagate "line of sight" and when you are in a valley, you'll only get the occasional overflying plane. However, when you are on the hilltop there is a lot more to receive. A thing that influences the quality of the reception is the presence of electromagnetic noise... staying away from power cables, computers and fluorescent lamps will improve the clarity of reception. (The nice thing of a portable scanner is that you can try it easily at different spots, and even take it to a parking spot near the airport.)

[slyguytoo]

uh thanks that didnt help answer my questions so much, but it was useful info.. any one else have any ideas?

[tyketto]

uh thanks that didnt help answer my questions so much, but it was useful info.. any one else have any ideas?

Actually, it helped a fair bit. With line of sight, especially for tower communications, it helps to have line of sight with the actual ATC Tower. If you're 20 miles away from the airport, you won't have line of sight with the tower to hear their broadcasts (ATC is limited by range as well), like you would if you parked near the airport. A couple of examples:

1. My parents live in the western suburbs of Omaha. KOMA is 11 miles east of them. I wouldn't hear the tower with my portable scanner from their house. The TRACON is 17 miles southeast of them, at Offutt AFB. I won't hear their communications either, unless I am higher elevated, as the higher I am, the better line of sight I will have with both of those locations.

2. My apartment in Las Vegas is 12 miles NW of KLAS. Both the tower and TRACON are located at KLAS. Although I am about 200ft higher than them, I can barely hear the TRACON (because of their range), and have no direct line of sight with the tower. However, my apartment is 3 miles from KVGT, and 7 miles from KLSV. I can hear KVGT Tower from my scanner. The closer to the field I am, the better my chances are of hearing the tower.

3. My house in Sacramento is 20 miles from KSMF. I won't hear the tower there. However, it is 3 miles from KMHR, and half a block east of KMHR is NorCal TRACON. I can't hear the tower, but I can hear the TRACON's broadcast for the Sacramento region, because of its range, and becaues I've augmented the range of my portable scanner with a rooftop antenna (giving me better line of sight with the TRACON).

For right now, I'd start off with the portable scanner; one of the $80 guys from Radio Shack or something like that. Put in the frequences you want to scan, and it will scan them for you. It can only cycle through one frequency at a time until the frequency is clear, then it moves on to the next. Hearing them all at once will get you nothing but garbled transmissions that you wouldn't be able to filter out from eachother.

BL.