airtraffic

Author Topic: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown  (Read 57349 times)

Offline bluecrewfan08

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KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« on: January 03, 2010, 06:35:53 PM »
Unfortunately, for the next 7-8 weeks or so, I am going to have to bounce back and forth between living in Los Angeles , and living/working on a construction project outside of San Jose del Cabo, Baja Mexico.
  I can not commit enough time to keeping the feed up consistently, while being away from my home most of the week. Between internet issues, computer problems, stuck ATIS and many more issues, it just won't stay up by itself(unattended).

If anyone is able/interested in feeding KLAX in the interim, or for good, please step up. It is a great airport to monitor, and the people of this site deserve it.

Rob



Offline ARMEDnPISSED

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2010, 07:36:36 PM »
Aw man, that's  a shame.

Thanks for hosting it for the time... hope to listen to it soon.

Amsterdam/JFK, here I come.

Offline Squawk 7700

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2010, 10:50:26 PM »
Thanks Rob for providing LAX. It was a pleasure listening to all the air traffic Los Angeles tower handles. I understand the maintenance of such feeds is sometimes difficult and your efforts were much appreciated! Good luck in your ventures!
Ken  :-)

Offline bleyton

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2010, 12:30:24 AM »
I would love to host an LAX feed, but have not been able to get it working to my satisfaction.  I have what I think is a great location just north of 24R on Sepulveda Blvd., but the laptop I was using to test the feed just puts out too much noise.  Even without the laptop plugged in, the sound on my scanner is not nearly as nice as what Rob's feed sounded like.  An outdoor antenna and/or a different laptop would probably solve the problems, but I don't see any way to set up an outside antenna, and that laptop is all I have available.  We have very limited space in our store, so I need to keep the footprint as small as possible, while at the same time, the scanner needs to stay where it is, because we leave it on for our customers to hear.  I have tried a couple of homemade antennas with no significant improvement.

It could also be that my old Radio Shack scanner isn't doing so well any more.  Maybe someone could lend me a decent scanner that I could test with to see if that would help.

If anyone could step in with some technical advice and/or equipment, I'd be happy to give it another go.

Brian

Offline ARMEDnPISSED

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2010, 03:16:50 AM »
I have a spare Uniden Bearcat BC350C that might as well be brand new that I'm willing to lend though I'm a bit uncomfortable giving something that cost me about $100 to a stranger on the internet  :|

Offline lameduck

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2010, 02:46:28 PM »
Rob,

thanks for providing LAX for such a long time. It was a pleasure tuning in. Good luck for your job! 

lameduck

Offline bleyton

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2010, 04:19:35 PM »
I have a spare Uniden Bearcat BC350C that might as well be brand new that I'm willing to lend though I'm a bit uncomfortable giving something that cost me about $100 to a stranger on the internet  :|

Well, I would feel the same, though the scanner that's now running the KBUR feed is one that was given to me by a friend I met on a DXing list and have never met in person  :-D

At this point I am really just looking to test out another scanner to see if it would produce better results than the one I have, and maybe some help with antenna experimentation.  If the new scanner worked better, then maybe we could work something out.  I am not in a position myself to buy anything right now, but maybe Dave or other people interested in the LAX feed could help out.

Brian

Offline joeyb747

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2010, 02:57:32 PM »
Thanks Rob for the great feed...truly one of my favs... :cry:

Offline uplink

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2010, 10:18:09 PM »
Brian, get your hands on an old Radio Shack PRO-136, best airband receiver out there, and less than $100 bucks! out-performs the more expensive scanners in selectivity and sensitivity on aircraft, Uniden built it for Radio Shack and it's hotter than heck for aircraft.   Just build a simple 1/2 wave dipole will work best, 22 inches on each element.  No balun needed if you use 75 ohm coax (such as RG6 Quad Satellite Coax.)  You have a great location, you can do it!

I would love to host an LAX feed, but have not been able to get it working to my satisfaction.  I have what I think is a great location just north of 24R on Sepulveda Blvd., but the laptop I was using to test the feed just puts out too much noise.  Even without the laptop plugged in, the sound on my scanner is not nearly as nice as what Rob's feed sounded like.  An outdoor antenna and/or a different laptop would probably solve the problems, but I don't see any way to set up an outside antenna, and that laptop is all I have available.  We have very limited space in our store, so I need to keep the footprint as small as possible, while at the same time, the scanner needs to stay where it is, because we leave it on for our customers to hear.  I have tried a couple of homemade antennas with no significant improvement.

It could also be that my old Radio Shack scanner isn't doing so well any more.  Maybe someone could lend me a decent scanner that I could test with to see if that would help.

If anyone could step in with some technical advice and/or equipment, I'd be happy to give it another go.

Brian
« Last Edit: January 06, 2010, 10:21:15 PM by uplink »

Offline bleyton

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2010, 09:11:26 PM »
I have actually had 2 offers of scanners, as well as some cash and advice.  I also managed to dig up another PC that I can use, the same kind I'm using at KBUR.  This will work much better than the laptop that was putting out too much noise.  This is not a project that will be completed imminently, but the resources are coming together, so we will give it our best shot.

Our store is rather small, and despite the great location near the airport, it will be a challenge to figure out where to put everything so that it is out of the way, but still works well.

I will try to keep everyone informed of my progress.

Brian
Your KBUR (and hopefully KLAX soon) feeder.

Offline bleyton

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2010, 01:52:24 PM »
Here is the latest update on KLAX:

Yesterday I received a scanner from Rob, so last night I went out to the store to try a few things.  I hooked everything up and the results were not appreciably different from my Radio Shack scanner.  The sound is ok, but there is definitely a fair amount of static in the background of most transmissions.  Listening to this right out of the scanner is not so bad, but in my experience, when you have that level of noise, the compression artifacts will make the feed sound pretty lousy.  I wandered around the store, plugging the scanner in to various outlets (while hooked up to the whip), and the results were pretty uniform.

On the plus side, I brought in the PC that I had set up, and powered it up next to the scanners.  It did not add to the noise, unlike the laptop I was using before, which made things unlistenable.

I tried a few things antenna-wise.  First I tried my twinlead J-Pole.  This antenna simply doesn't work well.  I switched to the small telescoping whip we currently use on our Radio Shack scanner, and it worked better than the J-Pole (though still not great).  Obviously I did something wrong when I made that thing.

I brought my homemade ground-plane antenna with me, but unfortunately the main element broke off when I put it in the car, so I was not able to try it out (well, actually I did try it, but the result was the equivalent of no antenna, which was not unexpected).  Incidentally, as I was heading out the door with the ground-plane antenna, my wife made it quite clear that she did not want that thing in the store.  Aside from the fact that she runs the store, so she does get to make such decisions, she really is right in that we do not have any place to put it - even if it does work well.  Last time I tried it with the Radio Shack, it wasn't much better than the whip.

So here is the bottom line.  I can try feeding what I am able to receive, but I don't think it will sound nearly as good as what Rob was getting.  Of course, something is better than nothing, so we can go forward and see how everyone likes what they hear.  I am starting to believe that our store may as well be a faraday cage.  The windows are all covered with metallic film, and the walls are red brick (likely with rebar embedded inside).  If anyone can recommend an antenna that can be easily hidden, but can pull in the signals better than what we have now, then I'd love to hear about it.  I guess I am really surprised at how little difference my two homemade antennas made compared to the whip.  Now that I know where Rob lives, I am really surprised that he had such a great sounding feed when I am probably 2 miles closer to the airport, and can't get it to sound nearly as good.

Any antenna advice is welcome.

Brian
Your KBUR Feeder

Offline Chananya Freedman

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2010, 02:09:30 PM »
Hey Brian,

Please refresh my memory. You can't put an antenna outside or on the roof? Would the store next door be willing to help with that?

Offline bleyton

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2010, 05:05:27 PM »
We are on the ground floor of a 2 story building.  There is no easy way to put up an external antenna.

Offline Squawk 7700

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #13 on: January 21, 2010, 10:06:39 PM »
For the best signal to noise ratio, an external antenna will be your best bet. There are aviation antennas out there like the indoor antenna by DPD Productions; http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_vhf_air.html#vhfairblade
but I'm guessing if a signal is weak to begin with, such as inside a room, it's not going to improve things very much? You can try walking around the room with your radio in one hand and your antenna in the other and try to find the "sweet spot", but often times it may not be in the most desirable location?

One technique I use for antenna placement and alignment is to monitor ATIS, since it's constantly broadcasting and watch the signal level meter or listen for the best audible signal thru earphones. Just experiment. :-)

Good luck on your quest for good reception!

LAX ATIS 133.8 Mhz

Ken
« Last Edit: January 22, 2010, 12:35:20 AM by Squawk 7700 »

Offline bluecrewfan08

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2010, 05:10:51 PM »
Brian,
  At this point I'm convinced it's just merely your inside location/antenna.

Do you have a wifi connection at your shop?  How about taking your laptop outside and using a hand held scanner, just stand out on the sidewalk. I bet your reception will be MUCH better. I think line of site and a good outside antenna are critical.

Now as to the outside antenna..???  Tough situation. Too bad you aren't closer to the Melody. They have ton's of satellite dish's and antenna on their roof. 

Rob

Offline bleyton

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #15 on: January 25, 2010, 01:38:21 PM »
Brian,
  At this point I'm convinced it's just merely your inside location/antenna.

Do you have a wifi connection at your shop?  How about taking your laptop outside and using a hand held scanner, just stand out on the sidewalk. I bet your reception will be MUCH better. I think line of site and a good outside antenna are critical.

Now as to the outside antenna..???  Tough situation. Too bad you aren't closer to the Melody. They have ton's of satellite dish's and antenna on their roof. 

Rob

Yeah, we are just a couple doors down from the Melody Bar but they are in a different building.

I don't have a hand-held but I did wander around the store and plugged in to various outlets to see if I could find a sweet spot.  No luck.

I do have wifi, so I suppose we could remotely locate everything, but access is important in case we need to reboot a PC or whatever.  I was also looking at this antenna for indoor use:

http://www.jpole-antenna.com/2009/10/11/the-airband-j-pole/

But I'm not sure if it would work any better than the ones I have tried.  It is less expensive than the one from DPD.  Has anyone ever used this one indoors?

At this point I'm getting discouraged.  Maybe we should ask Melody Bar if they would host it.  I could donate the PC, and Dave could put the scanner on loan to them.  Then we'd just have to get an antenna and get it all installed (I'm assuming they have some form of Internet access we could tap into - I'm not sure if my wifi would go that far).

Or maybe In & Out would do it in exchange for free advertising.  Their location is even better.

At this point I think I will try to get the PC connected to the wifi so that I can feed what I am getting.  It's better than nothing.  If people are happy with it, great.  If not, I will be happy to help another feeder get things set up in a better spot.

Brian

Offline m50

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #16 on: January 25, 2010, 03:22:15 PM »
Why dont you get in touch with Countryman and McDaniel...they have a building at runway 25 right LAX...they already host two fine webcams from the building giving excellent coverage to  runway 25 achivity.They  might be prepared to help out..m50

Offline highflyyer

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #17 on: January 26, 2010, 09:58:31 PM »
Why dont you get in touch with Countryman and McDaniel...they have a building at runway 25 right LAX...they already host two fine webcams from the building giving excellent coverage to  runway 25 achivity.They  might be prepared to help out..m50
About the webcams..  http://cargolaw.com/lax_webcam.html

Offline bluecrewfan08

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #18 on: January 27, 2010, 08:25:52 PM »
Interesting.  I have always felt that their webcam was  of pretty poor quality, and hardly "live". Not sure what the delay is, but it's substantial.

Rob

Offline highflyyer

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #19 on: January 27, 2010, 08:34:59 PM »
well there is also this cam, which is streaming live 24/7 on LAX. I watch it all the time with ATC and its just awesome. No delay.  :-)

http://media.myfoxla.com/live/lax/

Offline ARMEDnPISSED

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #20 on: January 27, 2010, 10:18:29 PM »
Interesting.  I have always felt that their webcam was  of pretty poor quality, and hardly "live". Not sure what the delay is, but it's substantial.

Rob

Its not really delayed... the camera refreshes every 8 seconds or so. It also gets stuck every now and then but its fixed within a few days.

Offline Unbeliever

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #21 on: January 31, 2010, 01:26:48 AM »
I feed KEMT, I have an external antenna and just picked up another scanner. I may be able to do KLAX as well.

Details at http://www.liveatc.net/forums/feeders-forum/what-other-socal-feed-to-run/

--Carlos V.

Offline Unbeliever

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #22 on: January 31, 2010, 08:41:01 PM »
I can get North and South complex aircraft in the air and on the ground, and North Tower comes in strong.  South tower comes in and is intelligible, but the SNR is rather low.  It must be somewhere else and behind a building from me.

I can also get both halves of:

124.5 Zuma
128.5 Stadium
124.9 Downe

I'm in Altadena and am actually 9.5 miles from the KEMT transmitters, but 1000 feet higher.  For the LAX transmitters (well, at least the tower, I don't know where the transmitters are), I'm 23 miles, 1200 feet higher.

Also, LAX tower seems to swap transmitters.  Saturday, North tower was the good one.  Sunday, it was South Tower.

I can also get 123.025, the Helicopter basin CTAF.

--Carlos V.

Offline ARMEDnPISSED

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #23 on: February 04, 2010, 01:00:51 AM »
Any news/updates regarding the feed?

Offline bleyton

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Re: KLAX will be down indefinetly. Future status unknown
« Reply #24 on: February 05, 2010, 02:35:15 AM »
Any news/updates regarding the feed?
Not really.  I was out of town for a few days, and in any case I still need a wifi adapter to get the PC connected to the Internet.  Someone offered a couple of options and I need to get back to him, but I'm still catching up from the trip.

Hopefully in the next week or two I will have something going.

Brian