Van Nuys

[gfdfireman]

I just wanted to thank whoever put the Van Nuys feed up. I grew up hanging out at that airport. Now when I'm not able to make it down there I can still get my fix by listening to the tower.

Thanks Again, Scott

[jmx53]

I'll add my thanks.  Can't go wrong having a feed for the busiest general aviation airport in the US!

I remember eating at a restaurant that overlooked the runways and had headphones near the tables with feeds from the tower but can't remember the name, anyone know?

Also, I recently saw the documentary about the history of VNY  "One Six Right"  Was excellent!  For anyone interested in this airport, it is a must see! 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475994/

[beckerm13]

I remember eating at a restaurant that overlooked the runways and had headphones near the tables with feeds from the tower but can't remember the name, anyone know?

94th Aero Squadron Restaurant  ??

[Squawk 7700]

Actually when you mentioned "fix", there is a scene in "One Six right" where a "red line fix" was mentioned. A great DVD on Van Nuys. A must see for aviation enthusiasts.

[jmx53]

94th Aero Squadron Restaurant  ??

Thanks Beckerm13

[pato]

I just wanted to thank whoever put the Van Nuys feed up. I grew up hanging out at that airport. Now when I'm not able to make it down there I can still get my fix by listening to the tower.

Thanks Again, Scott

Your very welcome. With a lot of help from a couple of friends, and some perseverance I managed to get my first attempt at something like this working fairly well. I'm just a mile north of 16R and the signal is strong and I managed to get it pretty clean. I'm glad you enjoy the feed.

patO

[uplink]

I'll throw in my thanks too.  (and it's not just because Pat's my co-worker    I fly out of KWHP and KVNY, and Pat's feed is awesome.  The audio is very nice and the signal is great.  (I use the same homebrew 1/2 wave dipole in my attic, and they work great.)  Great job!   

[mbundy]

Would it be possible to seperate  VNY (119.3, 120.2) and WHP (135.0) into seperate feeds?

[uplink]

Would it be possible to seperate  VNY (119.3, 120.2) and WHP (135.0) into seperate feeds?

This would require another scanner, and sound card.  Any volunteers out there live near WHP?    It's nice having WHP to hear, it fills in the gaps nicely and most prop GA traffic has been moving to WHP anyway, as jets are making more money for VNY, and rent is getting to high for the little guys.   The old man at WHP can get pretty hot under the collar,  when people don't follow the rules, he can be entertaining to listen to, it's getting busier there every year.

[Squawk 7700]

Yes, you will need another radio if you plan to do separate feeds.
As for sound card solution, I can recommend the Behringer UCA202 or Griffin's iMic USB audio device. They are easy to use and offer great sound quality. Oddatc will see the Behringer as "USB Audio CODEC" and the iMic will show up as "Mic USB audio system" when configuring oddatc. I use them in my feeds.
http://www.behringer.de/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/
Good luck!

Ken

[Pilot3033]

Would it be possible to seperate  VNY (119.3, 120.2) and WHP (135.0) into seperate feeds?

This would require another scanner, and sound card.  Any volunteers out there live near WHP?    It's nice having WHP to hear, it fills in the gaps nicely and most prop GA traffic has been moving to WHP anyway, as jets are making more money for VNY, and rent is getting to high for the little guys.   The old man at WHP can get pretty hot under the collar,  when people don't follow the rules, he can be entertaining to listen to, it's getting busier there every year.

WHP is like HHR, I don't think either field's radio equipment has ever been upgraded! Love that AM sound!

WHP really is one of the most underrated airport in SoCal.

[Lon]

What kind of radio do you use? I ask, because
(1) it's giving you a very clean no-static feed (it must have a good squelch), and
(2) if I correctly understood the comment about a separate feed for WHP, the radio receives two separate frequencies at once.

My radio (a Kaito AirWave) will jump between frequencies easily when I push its "Memory" button. But by itself, it will monitor only one frequency at a time. Also it has no squelch control at all, so between transmissions, it produces very loud static -- so loud, that the radio is barely useful.

[Pilot3033]

What kind of radio do you use? I ask, because
(1) it's giving you a very clean no-static feed (it must have a good squelch), and
(2) if I correctly understood the comment about a separate feed for WHP, the radio receives two separate frequencies at once.

My radio (a Kaito AirWave) will jump between frequencies easily when I push its "Memory" button. But by itself, it will monitor only one frequency at a time. Also it has no squelch control at all, so between transmissions, it produces very loud static -- so loud, that the radio is barely useful.

UPGRADE! Any decent scanner should have squelch control and the ability to scan multiple frequencies. The handheld scanner I keep for the hobby (as opposed to the NAV/COM handheld I use as a backup) can scan several frequencies at once, and will jump when there is chatter, stick around for a second or two afterwords and then keep scanning. It's pretty basic functionality . Remember that the antenna and proximity to the transmitter play a role as well.

[Lon]

Pilot 3033,

Do you use Sporty's Air-Scan VII Portable Scanner? And if not, what brand and model do you use?

The Sporty's Air-Scan costs three times what I paid for my Kaito ($150 vs. $50), but it turned out to be a foolish economy for me, because the Kaito has no squelch.

I considered (hoped, actually) that lack of proxmity was my problem; but it wasn't. I took my scanner to the Long Beach Airport (where I'm taking flying lessons); and even when I'm on airport property and have unobstructed line-of-site to the tower, I still get very loud static between transmissions.

A proper squelch would be worth a hundred bucks to me. And the ability to automatically jump between transmissions would have been icing on the cake.

[Pilot3033]

For scanning, I consulted a scanning enthusiast friend of mine for a suggestion on an entry level, handheld scanner that had some power behind it. He suggested the UNIDEN BC-246T Compact Hand Held Scanner, and that's what I currently use. (I forget the details on the NAV/COM I use, I bought it off a CFI on the cheap). I also replaced the antenna from the standard rubber-y one to an extendable metal one I bought a Radio Shack for $10.

The Uniden has been reliable, rugged, and durable, and served me well as an Air band scanner, police scanner and I've even used it in the New York City Subway system.

That said, the Uniden was $250, new. I'm sure there are a few on ebay or craig's list, but it's a pretty big jump from $50.