Vulcan XH558

The Vulcan will be flying around the UK tomorrow - 27th June 2015.  It has not got its own assigned frequency so will use a common CAA show frequency or the Airfield A/G frequency when displaying at a show.
XH558 is a private civilian aircraft and nothing to currently do with the RAF but has been known to use RAF Linton On Ouse UHF approach frequency in the past when in that area.  It may use the standard airfield tower and approach frequencies.  Route map is below.

Times are UTC.
27/06/15 Slot 1.
DONCASTER AIRPORT-0930
ELVINGTON AIRFIELD-0940
SCARBOROUGH-0953
SUNDERLAND-1013
EAST FORTUNE AERODROME-1038
CARLISLE AIRPORT-1053
MANCHESTER BARTON AERODROME-1130
WOODFORD AERODROME-1139
RAF COSFORD-1153
EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT-1207
NEWARK-1215
RETURN DONCASTER AIRPORT-1228

Times are UTC.
27/06/15 Slot 2.
DONCASTER AIRPORT-1200
ELVINGTON AIRFIELD-1210
SCARBOROUGH-1223
SUNDERLAND-1243
EAST FORTUNE AERODROME-1308
CARLISLE AIRPORT-1323
MANCHESTER BARTON AERODROME-1400
WOODFORD AERODROME-1409
RAF COSFORD-1423
EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT-1437
NEWARK-1445
RETURN DONCASTER AIRPORT -1458

Times are UTC
28/06/15 slot 1.
DONCASTER AIRPORT-1200
BRUNTINGTHORPE-1217
COVENTRY AIRPORT-1225
WELLESBOURNE-1234
HENDON MUSEUM-1300
DUXFORD AERODROME-1308
SOUTHEND AIRPORT-1326
NORWICH AIRPORT-1353
RAF MARHAM-1405
RAF WADDINGTON-1425
DONCASTER AIRPORT-1437

Times are UTC
28/06/15 slot 2.
DONCASTER AIRPORT-1500
BRUNTINGTHORPE-1517
COVENTRY AIRPORT-1525
WELLESBOURNE-1534
HENDON MUSEUM-1600
DUXFORD AERODROME-1608
SOUTHEND AIRPORT-1626
NORWICH AIRPORT-1653
RAF MARHAM-1705
RAF WADDINGTON-1725
DONCASTER AIRPORT-1737

Scanning Books

What scanning and radio books do you have on your bookshelf?  Here's my collection of reading material:

2014 Scanning Bible (Amazon)
25 Simple Indoor and Window Aerials *Babani Electronic Books)
Air Band Radio Handbook 6th Edition (PSL)
Air Band Radio Handbook 8th Edition (Sutton Publishing)
Air Band Radio Guide 6th Edition (abc)
Aircraft (Observers)
Aircraft (Michelin)
Air Traffic Control 4th Edition (abc)
Airwaves and Callsign 2015 (Photavia)
CB Radio - A Handbook (Star)
Civil Aircraft (Selecta))
Civil Aircraft Markings 2011 (abc)
Civil Aircraft Markings 2012 (abc)
Civil Aircraft 1907 - Present (Amber)
Guide to ACARS (Seldec)
Military Aircraft Markings 2011 (abc)
Passport to World Band Radio (Passband)
Scanners 5 (SI)
Scanners 7 (SI)
The Pocket UK & Ireland Airband Frequency Guide 18th Edition (Seldec)
UK Scanning Directory 2015 CD ROM
World Radio TV Handbook 2014 (WRTH)
World Radio TV Handbook 2015 (WRTH)

Battle of Britain Memorial Flypasts

The Battle of Britain Memorial flypasts are taking place this weekend.  The Spitfire will be flying from Conwy to Burton on Trent between 13:10 and 13:35 today (Saturday) so it may be possible to pick it up in Northwich (If it flys in a straight line it will go over Crewe).

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight discrete frequency used when en-route to and from displays is:

120.800

The flypast schedule is on the Royal Airforce website.

UK DMR (MOTOTRBO) AMATEUR REPEATERS LIST

There are a lot of new DMR repeaters popping up which is good news to many, D-Star has been too expensive for most due to Icom running the show and their gear being expensive which has led to a kind of exclusive club as far as D-Star goes. DMR and Mototrbo radios are growing in popularity and DMR is an open standard, not only for business users but also for private users including hams.
Below is a list of current DMR repeaters in the UK.

UK DMR REPEATERS

GB7AA BRISTOL - THORNBURY, BRISTOL, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.6750 INPUT: 430.6750

GB7BS BRISTOL - BATH, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.1625 INPUT: 430.1625

GB7DD DUNDEE - SCOTLAND
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.6625 INPUT: 430.6625

GB7DR POOLE - DORSET
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.4250 INPUT: 430.4250

GB7HX HUDDERSFIELD - WEST YORKSHIRE
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.5750 INPUT: 430.5750

GB7TD HUDDERSFIELD - WEST YORKSHIRE
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.1625 INPUT: 430.1625

GB7JB MERE - WILTSHIRE
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.4625 INPUT: 430.4625

GB7LP LIVERPOOL - MERSEYSIDE (DUAL-MODE)
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.4000 INPUT: 430.4000

GB7NS CATERHAM - SURREY
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.1625 INPUT: 430.1625

GB7SD DORCHESTER - DORSET
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.4125 INPUT: 430.4125

GB7TP KEIGHLEY - WEST YORKSHIRE
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 1 - OUTPUT: 439.6875 INPUT: 430.6875

GB7CT TRING - WENDOVER, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
70CM DMR REPEATER - COLOUR CODE 3 - OUTPUT: 145.6375 INPUT: 145.0375

UKSAR & MOUNTAIN RESCUE Callsigns

CALLSIGN...........USER
ALPINE HOTEL Reserved
ALPINE KILO RAF Kinloss MRT
ALPINE LIMA RAF Leuchars MRT
ALPINE SIERRA Reserved
ALPINE TANGO RAF Leeming MRT
ALPINE VICTOR RAF Valley MRT
ARRAN Arran MRT
ARROCHAR Arrochar MRT
ASSYNT Assynt MRT
AVALANCHE SARDA (Wales)

BLACKS Longtown MRT
BOLTON Bolton MRT
BRAEMAR Braemar MRA
BRAVO Western Beacons MSRT
BSAR Buckinghamshire SAR
BUXTON Buxton MRT

CAIRNGORM Cairngorm MRT
CALDER Calder Valley SRT
CAMSAR Cambridge Lowland SAR
CANINE SARDA (South Wales)
CAVER Derbyshire CRO
CEESAR Cheshire Lowland SAR
COCKERMOUTH Cockermouth MRT
COMRU COMRU
CONISTON Coniston MRT
CRAGDALE Cave Rescue Org. Settle Base
CRO Cave Rescue Org.
CURLEW Northumberland Nat. Park SART

DART Dartmoor RG
DERBY Derby MRT
DERWENT Edale MRT
DOG SARDA (Scotland)
DOG SARDA (Southern Scotland)
DORSET Dorset Search and Rescue
DRAGON West Brecon CRT
DUNDONNELL Dundonnell MRT

EKSAR Kent SAR
ESCROW Scottish Cave Rescue Org.
ESSEX Essex SAR
EXMOOR Exmoor SRT

FELL Upper Wharfdale FRA

GALLOWAY Galloway MRT
GLASLYN Aberglaslyn MRT
GLENCOE Glencoe MRT
GLENELG Glenelg MRT
GLENMORE Glenmore Lodge MRT
GLEVUM Gloucestershire CRG
GLOSSOP Glossop MRT
GWENT Gwent CRT

HANTSAR Hampshire SAR
HARLECH South Snowdonia SRT
HELIMED Air Ambulances
HOLME VALLEY Holme Valley MRT
HUNTER Mendip Rescue Org

ICE DELTA Aberdeen MRT

KENDAL Kendal MSRT
KERNOW Cornwall RG
KESWICK Keswick MRT
KEY North of Tyne SRT
KILLIN Killin MRT
KINDER Kinder MRT
KINLOSS RESCUE ARCC Kinloss
KINTAIL Kintail MRT
KIRKBY Kirkby Stephen MRT

LANGDALE Langdale Ambleside MRT
LOMOND Lomond MRT

MIDLAND Midlands Cave Rescue Org.
MIKE Duddon & Furness MRT
MIKE BRAVO BRAVO Cumbria Constabulary
MIKE BRAVO DELTA Lancashire Constabulary
MIKE CHARLIE KILO Greater Manchester Police
MIKE LIMA BRAVO Northumbria Police
MIKE MIKE PAPA Metropolitan Police
MIKE NOVEMBER PDMRO Controllers
MIKE QUEBEC PAPA Avon & Somerset Constabulary
MIKE WHISKY ALPHA North Wales Police
MIKE X-RAY WHISKY West Yorkshire Metropolitan. Police
MOFFAT Moffat MRT
MOORJOCK Scarborough & District SRT
MORLAIS Central Beacons MRT
MSAR Midshires Search & Rescue Org.

NAVY RN HMS Gannet (Training)
NESRA North East Search & Rescue Assoc.
NEVIS Lochaber MRT
NEWSAR North East Wales SAR
NORCON Northern Constabulary
NORFOLK Norfolk Lowland Search & Rescue

OBAN Oban MRT
OCHIL Ochils MRT
OGGI Ogwen Valley MRO
OLDHAM Oldham MRT
OSCAR OB Wales SART

PATRICK Patterdale MRT
PENNINE Penrith MRT
PERIS Llanberis MRT
PHOENIX Cornwall Mines Rescue Org.

QUEBEC BRAVO CHARLIE Devon & Cornwall Constabulary

REIVER Borders SAR UNIT
RESCUE RN HMS Gannet (Operational)
RESCUE RAF 22 Sqn (Operational)
RESCUE RAF 202 Sqn (Operational)
ROSSENDALE Rossendale & Pendle MRT

SARA Severn Area RA
SCEPTRE Avon & Somerset SAR
SEARCH DOG SARDA (England)
SEBEV SEBEV SAR
SECRO South East CRO
SIERRA ROMEO DELTA RAF 22 Sqn (Training)
SIERRA ROMEO GOLF RAF 202 Sqn (Training)
SIERRA ROMEO WHISKY RAF HQ SAR Wing
SKYE Skye MRT
SNOWFLAKE Snowdonia Nat. Park Wardens
SPELEO Devon Cave Rescue Org.
STAFFS Staffordshire SART
STRATHPOL Strathclyde Police MRT
SUFFOLK Suffolk Lowland SAR
SUSSAR Sussex SAR
SWALE Swaledale FRO

TAY CIV Tayside MRT
TAYPOL Tayside Police MRT
TEESDALE Teesdale & Weardale SRT
TORRIDON Torridon & Kinlochewe MRT
TROUGH Bowland Pennine MRT
TWEED Tweed Valley MRT

VIKING Cleveland SRT

WASDALE Wasdale MRT
WEST MIDS West Midlands Ambulance Service
WILSAR Wiltshire SA

New UKSAR & Mountain Rescue Frequencies

147.4750 UKSAR Search & Rescue (Simplex or Repeater IN) NATIONAL USAGE FM
155.3500 UKSAR Search & Rescue (Simplex or Repeater OUT) NATIONAL USAGE FM
156.0000 UKSAR Ch.0 Emergency (HMCG Primary) NATIONAL USAGE FM
156.1250 UK SAR CALLING CHANNEL 62a ATG/Contact NATIONAL USAGE FM
156.16875 UK Search Rescue HOME (Repeater in) UK Wide FM
156.18125 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
156.21875 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
156.23125 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
157.20000 UK Search Rescue Channel 24a WINCHING UK Wide FM
157.26875 UK Search Rescue (TWC) RAF UK Wide FM
157.28125 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
158.64375 UK Search Rescue (SARDA) UK Wide FM
158.65625 UK Search Rescue (SARDA) UK Wide FM
160.71875 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
160.73125 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
160.76875 UK Search Rescue HOME (Repeater out) UK Wide FM
160.78125 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
160.81875 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
160.83125 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
161.79375 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
161.80625 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
161.86875 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
161.88125 UK Search Rescue HOME (TWC) UK Wide FM
164.05000 UKG Land SAR ALLOCATED UK Wide (Shared UKG) FM
164.06250 UKG Land SAR ALLOCATED UK Wide (Shared UKG) FM

TWC = Team Working Channel
MRT = Mountain Rescue Team
ATG = Air to Ground

New SAR (Search and Rescue) Frequencies

Transmission1 reports that another licence has been granted for SARCOMM Ltd, covering all of Wales (82.7125/69.2125) and large parts of England (see below):
http://spectruminfo.ofcom.org.uk/spectr ... nd+licence

England: Grids (152.5/147.5)
SDa (South Lakes)
SDb (Westmorland)
SEa (North Yorks)
SEb (North Yorks)
SSd (Exmoor)
STb (Bath)
STd (Wincanton)

Norfolk:
TFd (West Norfolk)
TLb (SW Norfolk)
TMa (SE Norfolk)
(No TG grid though, which doesn't seem to make sense)

Welsh border:
SJc (Oswestry)
SOa (Knighton)
SOc (Abergavenny)

If this is the same as other SARCOMM Ltd assignments all you ever hear is codes, so it may be some kind of paging/data system.

New Version of Scan125

Nick Bailey has just announced that version 1.9 of the excellent program Scan125 is now available for download from his website.  This version is compatible with the Uniden UBC125XLT, BC125AT and UBC126AT scanners and allows you to control your scanner from your PC and also upload data to and from the scanner.

NEW in V1.9.0.0
    New - Support for UBC126AT Scanner
    New - Logging of CTCSS and DCS tones used in a transmission
    New - Allow major forms to "Snap To" borders/corners
Fixes in V1.9.0.0
    Fix - Data file load not allowed when in Standalone Mode and model is "Unknown"
    Fix - Duplicate entries being loaded in autosave data between program runs
    Fix - Suppress initial latency warning chime on program startup

I've not had a chance to download and have a look at this latest version yet since I'm not on the machine I use for my radio work but I will certainly check it out tomorrow.

Download Scan125

Brit plods' post-TETRA radio omnishambles comes home to roost

From The Register

The £1.2bn emergency services contract which The Register flagged up as an omnishambles six months ago has now, as predicted, collapsed.
After a year-long bidding process the government had whittled the tenders down to two companies: EE and O2. Now O2 has pulled out as a result of Telefonica selling the network to Three’s parent Hutchison Whampoa.
The network is supposed to start replacing the creaking Airwave TETRA radio system used by the blue light services next April.
There are huge question marks over the suitability of 4G for this with the necessary standards for device-to-device communication and control of groups still in the planning stages, and even bigger issues over equipping emergency services with mobes that rely on 4G for push-to-talk communications when 4G coverage is so patchy.
O2 released the following statement:
    The potential restructuring of the UK telecoms market as a result of current M&A activity affecting several players in the industry raises questions about spectrum (both current holdings and timings of access to future spectrum), network sharing arrangements, and specifically our position in the proposed potential acquisition of O2 in the UK by Hutchison Whampoa.
    We are therefore unable at this time to provide the detail and commitments required to continue into the next stage of the bidding process put forward by Government.
    We have taken the decision to notify the Authority that we will immediately withdraw from the bidding process for ESN so that the Government can consider next steps before the award stage.
This leaves the government the choice between scrapping the whole procurement process and, as we predicted, extending the existing TETRA contract ... or pursing a bidding process with only one bidder.
Since that bidder is being bought by BT, it is unlikely to be the most important thing on EE’s current agenda - and while the contract may be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, that’s only a small part of the company’s turnover.
The Home Office told The Register that if the BTEE offer does not meet the requirements and budget of the emergency services, it will not pursue the process.
O2's decision to withdraw, for commercial reasons, from the procurement process to provide the UK with a new emergency services communications network is disappointing," said Mike Penning, Minister for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Victims.
However, the process to establish a more effective, flexible and affordable network for the UK's police, fire and ambulance services will continue.
"Seven other bidders remain in the running for the main contracts and we look forward to receiving their best and final offers during in June. We hope to sign contracts later this year," Penning added.
Those seven bidders are spread across three lots. Atkins, KBR, Lockheed Martin and Mott MacDonald are competing to be the delivery partners, with HP and Motorola going head-to-head for user services. It’s now a one-horse race for the mobile services.
In February, James Brokenshire, then minister for security and immigration, said the Mobile Services lot had “produced some impressive technical bids combined with the prospect of significant cost savings for the taxpayer”.
If the emergency services are going to move from TETRA to 4G, coverage will need to be improved from being among the worst in Europe. ®

Airwaves and Callsign 2015 - Book Review

Airwave and Callsign 2015 from Photavia Press describes itself as "The complete UK civil and military HF / VHF / UHF aviation frequency and callsign directory" and I can't really argue with that.

Starting off on the inside cover you get a list of all the Airwave and Callsign abbreviations such as MATZ (Military Air Traffic Zone) and SAR (Search and Rescue), a handy list that is easy to get to.  Once you get into the book itself you are presented with all the UK and European Civil and Military area radar frequencies.  Military discrete frequencies are next, followed by air surveillance, tactical and airfield frequencies - the latter is a very comprehensive list covering a number of pages.  VHF/UK frequencies for the UK and NATO military traffic fill a large section followed by world air frequencies.  HF listeners are covered by a large list of HF frequencies along with all the locations indicators and squawk codes in use today.  A selection of maps outline the many air routes and sectors in the UK and we even get a map showing all the UK/VHF transmitter sites. We are now about half way through the book and the rest of the publication has every single callsign, both military and civilian, that you would ever need to know.

All the information is well laid out and easy to both find and read, there is no table of contents though so you do have to flick through the book to find the section you need.    The information itself in the book is very extensive.  According to the publisher 70% of the military callsigns have been added or reconfirmed in the last 2 years and 23% were added in early 2015.  For the 2015 publication an extensive check has been made of the civil callsigns with a number being deleted or added.

The book is spiral bound with 184 pages and measure 21x15 cm.  It's a nice size to easily fit into your radio bag.  I was very impressed with this book because a large amount of this information was new to me.  I do have a number  of radio, scanning and aircraft books which do not even begin to approach the vast amount of content present here.  I would say that the military airband listener would appreciate this book more that most but it's still an important resource for the civil airband enthusiast.  Overall I have no hesitation in recommending Airwaves and Callsign 2015 for all airband listeners.

The bad news is that after being published for 42 years a decision has yet to be made whether publication will continue in 2016, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it does.

Airwaves and Callsign 2015 is published by Photavia Press and is priced at £20 (plus £2 postage).  It can be ordered from their Order Page.

Manchester Airport Frequencies

Manchester Airport is 16 miles from Northwich and many transmissions can be heard including the aircraft which fly over each day.  This is a list of my programmed frequencies.

Frequencies are MHz AM

113.5500    MAN Info
118.5750    Approach 1
118.6250    Tower
119.4000    Radar
120.2500    Barton Info
120.7000    Woodford Tow
121.3500    Director
121.6000    Swissport
121.9750    ATIS Depart
122.0500    Thomas Cook
122.3500    City Express
123.3500    Hawarden
124.9500    Hawarden Tower
127.8750    127.8750MHz
128.0500    Control
128.1750    ATIS Depart 1
129.1000    Scottish West
129.7500    Globe
130.6000    Thompson
130.6250    NTH Exec
130.6500    Aer Lingus
130.7500    Woodford App
131.4000    Cathay Pacific
131.4250    Astraeus
131.4625     131.4625MHz
131.4750    Aviance
131.5000    Operations
131.5500    RyanAir
131.5750    Goldcrest
131.6250    Handling
131.6750    Air Scandic
131.7000    British Airways
131.8500    KLM/Monarch
131.9000    Menzies
132.8625    ATC 3
132.8500     132.8500MHz
133.7000    ATC
133.8000    ATC 2
134.4250    ATC 1
135.0000    Approach
135.2500    London Control
135.5250    Scottish ACC
135.5750    Wirral
136.8000    Air France
136.8750    Ocean Sky
269.1250    Woodford App1
133.3750    LARS Low Level
121.5000    Aircraft Emergency
123.1000    Air Search & Rescue

Scanner Collection

Here is my collection of scanners and radios.  I did possess a couple of scanners many years ago when it was still possible to listen in on the police transmissions and the old analogue mobile phones. A couple of years ago I decided to get back into the hobby and my collection of radios has slowly grown.  All of the scanners (apart from the handhelds) are connected to internal antennas placed in an upstairs window, unfortunately external antennas are not an option at the moment.

Base scanner is a Uniden UBC355CLT.  This was the first scanner I purchased after getting interested in scanning again.  It's a nice compact radio, the only thing I wish it had was alpha tagging as it only;y displays the frequency when received a transmission and I do find it a bit complicated to program - no facility to program it via the PC.

I have two handheld scanners, a Uniden USC230 and a Uniden UBC125XLT.  Both have been fitted with Watson antennas to replace the supplied rubber ducks and they work very well in the house.  Programming for the pair is performed using one of my computers with the Butel software, which also allows me to save all the programmed frequencies to an external file.  Also of use is a control program for the UBC125XLT called Scan125.  This is a free piece of software which allows me to operate the scanner from the PC, well worth downloading.  Why two handheld scanners?  The USC230 was my original choice however when attending the Rhyl Airshow I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't receive the Red Arrow transmissions nor the Valley airbase while at the caravan in Prestatyn since it does not cover the military airband.  The UBC125XLT rectified this as it does receive the military aircraft frequencies (I even managed to pick up Valley one weekend from here in Northwich).

Next up is a collection of dual band radios from Hong Kong suppliers.  A couple of Baofengs and a TYT.  Radios such as these are available on Ebay or Amazon for a very lost cost. These allow me to receive and transmit on the PMR channels and are also great for receiving marine and Search and Rescue (SAR) traffic.  Once again, all have had their standard antennas replaced with third party products.  The Baofengs are easily programmed from a PC using Chirp software though the TYT looks for an RS232 connection and refuses to connect via any USB connection - a pain having to program this one manually!

A couple of CB radios are part of the collection.  An Intek H-520 Plus, Probably the best handheld on the market.  This can be connected to an external antenna, if required.  The CRT S-Mini is designed to be operated in the vehicle, however a cigarette power adapter allows me to use it indoors.

The Target Communications receiver is a HF radio.  It covers 30kHz to 30MHz which I believe is a good range.  A shortwave wire antenna around the room completes the set-up.

Finally I have a number of  RTL chip based SDR dongles.  These are Software Defined Radio dongles which can be connected to and controlled by a PC.  You an visually browse a wide spectrum, complete with waterfall display and are an inexpensive way to get into radio listening.  Using the SDR# and DSD Plus software it is also possible to decode digital transmissions such as DMR.  I listen to the Northwich Shopwatch transmissions as even though this is digital it is not encrypted.  At the moment I'm experimenting with SDR on a Windows tablet, this would make a great portable solution for receiving digital broadcasts.

I am looking at getting a DMR digital handheld radio in the near future.  These are only just coming on to the market at an affordable price (from China, obviously).