"Any Traffic In The Area, Please Advise."

Ron Levy said:
In your midwestern location, it may not be the problem it is where I live in the Mid-Atlantic region, where CTAF's are often shared by several airports all within radio earshot of each other. Those ATITAPA calls clobber the frequency for all those airports when the frequency is already pretty well jammed.
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Amen.

I hear at least 15 CTAFS on 122.8s -- from central PA all the way to ONA (Southern WV) and into OH.

Last night got to hear the discussion about getting a car ready for PAX, how the day went, ad naseum.

Didn't help they used FBO name in the call sign. I'm only surprised the call sign wasn't appended with "Heavy."
 
Ron Levy said:
In your midwestern location, it may not be the problem it is where I live in the Mid-Atlantic region, where CTAF's are often shared by several airports all within radio earshot of each other. Those ATITAPA calls clobber the frequency for all those airports when the frequency is already pretty well jammed.
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122.8 in my part of the Midwest is pretty well jammed, too...
 
Ron Levy said:
In your midwestern location, it may not be the problem it is where I live in the Mid-Atlantic region, where CTAF's are often shared by several airports all within radio earshot of each other. Those ATITAPA calls clobber the frequency for all those airports when the frequency is already pretty well jammed.
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Ron it is a huge problem in the Midwest as well. The flat terrain allows for radio wave at VHF frequencies to propagate like made. We often will hear stations from hundreds of miles aways when you are in the pattern.

Then in urban areas the limited reuse of CTAFs really can suck up all the available capacity on a frequency, hetrodynes and out right blocking is normal mode of operations.
 
Geico266 said:
Ya know, I've even tried that. They came back to me and said: "Stick with me for 3-4 more miles and I'll cut you loose." I guess it may be they can't cut you loose until you leave their airspace, then I have 5 miles to the center of Crete, NE.
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They can let you loose in their airspace, IF there is no potential conflicting traffic. MSN cuts me loose for C29 sometimes when I'm still in the inner ring of their airspace. However, if they're vectoring a jet in that's 8 miles from you and descending to an altitude 500 feet above you, they're probably going to make you wait until that traffic has gone past your path before they cut you loose.
 
> That's a good technique, but unfortunately many of the new audio panels (like
> the Garmin 340) don't allow you to do that.

what?! What possible reason would there for a vendor to have such a restricted
capability?
 
Heard the phrase under discussion the other day - from an FAA flight check plane!!!!!
 
Bob Noel said:
> That's a good technique, but unfortunately many of the new audio panels (like
> the Garmin 340) don't allow you to do that.

what?! What possible reason would there for a vendor to have such a restricted
capability?
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Because buttons vs switches provide for considerably more functionality (and hardly anyone uses the speaker anymore)? AFaIK there isn't an audio panel being made today that has individual speaker/headset selections for each source.


The (discontinued) GNS480 along with the (still in production) SL30 navcom and SL40 comm have the ability to monitor a second frequency while automatically switching back to the primary frequency whenever there's something to hear there.

Another technique that works for me is to select both comms to feed your headset and "ride" the volume control on the radio dialed to the CTAF. When ATC transmits you can easily turn the CTAF volume low enough that ATC comes through clearly, and as soon as you determine that the call isn't for you, you can turn the CTAF volume back up high enough to override the rest of the ATC transmission.
 
> Because buttons vs switches provide for considerably more functionality (and
> hardly anyone uses the speaker anymore)?

Doesn't sound like the buttons provide more functionality (no pun).

>AFaIK there isn't an audio panel
> being made today that has individual speaker/headset selections for each source.

Then, I guess, they can have my KMA-20 when they pry it from my cold dead fingers...
 
>Heck, my airplane doesn't even have a speaker. Hearing protection is important.

Yes, hearing protection is important (I love my ANR). Without a speaker, testing
radios on the ground is a bit more difficult, yes?
 
jmaynard said:
Heck, my airplane doesn't even have a speaker. Hearing protection is important.
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It took me 6 months to realize the speaker in my plane was not working. It does now, but I hardly use it.

I do listen to the CTAF and ATC at the same time. I simply set the volume such that any ATC call will over power the what is on the CTAF, if it is too noisy on CTAF then I will turn it off.
 
I've got a speaker in mine, it's just been difficult finding a Piper approved sub-woofer to go along with it.... ;)
 
Chairboy said:
I've got a speaker in mine, it's just been difficult finding a Piper approved sub-woofer to go along with it.... ;)
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That's the one out front. You know, of course, that the placement doesn't matter?
 
Maxmosbey said:
I listen to the radio all day while I'm at work, and there are quite a few pilots who ask for "other traffic in the area". I can understand students getting mixed up and wondering where everyone is, but I hear it from the corporate types quite often. I think that is because they're closing flight plans and stuff on the way in, and they don't monitor the unicom very well.quote]

In Canada, at least, we're required to call our intentions five minutes before entering the ATZ. Any jet jock is required to do the same, and this would imply that he'd be listening in after that. Paying attention to the destination trafiic, not fooling with other stuff.

Dan
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