Scanner for listening to Gnd/Twr

[Jack7645]

Hi,

I live about 4 miles (3.5nm) from a major airport in Australia and am looking for a suitable scanner to listen to Delivery, Ground and Tower at the same time.  My understanding is that a roof antenna may be necessary?

In your experiences, am I too far from the airport?  If it is possible, what equipment (scanner, antenna) would be suitable?

Many thanks,
Jack

[av8tor172]

There are a lot of good scanners that will do the air band.  Just pick up any that fits your budget and receives at a minimum 118 - 136 MHz AM.

If you're interested in listening to Military Aircraft then you'll also want your scanner to be able to cover the 225 - 380 MHz AM range. Personally I listen to mostly military traffic here in Florida USA.

You're close enough to pick up the ground side of Tower / Approach - Departure / Gnd freqs with a basic antenna, just anything better than the telescoping antenna that comes with most scanners.  I live 10 miles from Daytona Beach International Airport and with a discone antenna in the attic I have a good copy of the ground side of their transmissions.  What you might not hear are the actual aircraft sitting on the ground unless you have a good antenna mounted outside.  At your distance you might hear a few planes on the ground, but probably not all until they get airborne.

Here's a list of the equipment (and pictures) that I use for most of my military / aviation scanning:
http://milaircomms.com/shack.html

Good luck, enjoy and you're close enough that you'll hear a lot of good comms.
George
www.MilAirComms.com

[Jack7645]

There are a lot of good scanners that will do the air band.  Just pick up any that fits your budget and receives at a minimum 118 - 136 MHz AM.

If you're interested in listening to Military Aircraft then you'll also want your scanner to be able to cover the 225 - 380 MHz AM range. Personally I listen to mostly military traffic here in Florida USA.

You're close enough to pick up the ground side of Tower / Approach - Departure / Gnd freqs with a basic antenna, just anything better than the telescoping antenna that comes with most scanners.  I live 10 miles from Daytona Beach International Airport and with a discone antenna in the attic I have a good copy of the ground side of their transmissions.  What you might not hear are the actual aircraft sitting on the ground unless you have a good antenna mounted outside.  At your distance you might hear a few planes on the ground, but probably not all until they get airborne.

Here's a list of the equipment (and pictures) that I use for most of my military / aviation scanning:
http://milaircomms.com/shack.html

Good luck, enjoy and you're close enough that you'll hear a lot of good comms.
George
www.MilAirComms.com

Thanks for the helpful information George.  I'll be sure to check out your website.

[Lukas123]

Hi,

I live about 4 miles (3.5nm) from a major airport in Australia and am looking for a suitable scanner to listen to Delivery, Ground and Tower at the same time.  My understanding is that a roof antenna may be necessary?

In your experiences, am I too far from the airport?  If it is possible, what equipment (scanner, antenna) would be suitable?

Many thanks,
Jack

If you're only a few miles from the airport you should be able to pick up signal without an antenna.  Are you looking for a portable or home scanner? I'd recommend buying the scanner and if the signal is poor you can always add the antenna.  This might be the easiest and cheapest way to go. 

[RonR]

When you say you should be able to pick up a signal without an antenna, I assume you mean without some kind of external antenna...If you don't connect any kind of antenna at all, you might only be able to receive a signal if you happen to be standing right next to the transmitter site.

You will need some kind of an antenna for the scanner to work, whether it's a simple rubber ducky antenna or an outdoor antenna, you need an antenna.    My brother lives about 3-4 miles from KLGA and a rubber ducky antenna will not do the job adequately.  For the best possible results, an outdoor antenna mounted as high as possible would be the best option or like George said, up in the attic.

I hope this helps.

Ron

[Lukas123]

When you say you should be able to pick up a signal without an antenna, I assume you mean without some kind of external antenna...If you don't connect any kind of antenna at all, you might only be able to receive a signal if you happen to be standing right next to the transmitter site.

You will need some kind of an antenna for the scanner to work, whether it's a simple rubber ducky antenna or an outdoor antenna, you need an antenna.    My brother lives about 3-4 miles from KLGA and a rubber ducky antenna will not do the job adequately.  For the best possible results, an outdoor antenna mounted as high as possible would be the best option or like George said, up in the attic.

I hope this helps.

Ron

Correct - external antenna. I was referring to handheld scanners which come with an antenna.  But.... yeah, best possible signal would be from an outdoor antenna.  I was just thinking he might want to try w/o an external antenna to save the time and $.  If it doesn't work - then get the antenna.