How busy is that CTAF?

EdFred

EdFred

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The Skydiving Airport Thread went off into the weeds about frequency congestion.

This is VERY crude, but it should let you know how many times a frequency is being used within a certain radius of an airport. I haven't done anything fancy for checking input so if you put in 122.900 it won't return anything, but it will for 122.9. So if you put in a frequency that you know is out there and nothing comes back, futz with how you put the frequency in.

http://sidnaw.org/frequencies/radius.php

I can set it up to list the airports and distance but for now this is what I have. This also includes private use airports if they report a frequency usage on the 5010 data.
 
EdFred said:
The Skydiving Airport Thread went off into the weeds about frequency congestion.

This is VERY crude, but it should let you know how many times a frequency is being used within a certain radius of an airport. I haven't done anything fancy for checking input so if you put in 122.900 it won't return anything, but it will for 122.9. So if you put in a frequency that you know is out there and nothing comes back, futz with how you put the frequency in.

http://sidnaw.org/frequencies/radius.php

I can set it up to list the airports and distance but for now this is what I have. This also includes private use airports if they report a frequency usage on the 5010 data.
Click to expand...

Crude is as Crude does:rofl: That must have taken awhile to do. I plugged in fingers. It said there are airports using it
 
@EdFred , does it include the originating airport in the count of airports using that CTAF?
 
Bill said:
@EdFred , does it include the originating airport in the count of airports using that CTAF?
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Yes it does.

Edit, added the ability to list the airports.
 
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Pretty cool Ed, next step would be to list them out... or maybe not.
 
"There are 26 airports using 122.8 within 100nm of KAFP"

thanks ed. I will sleep better tonight. actually I won't, that freq is just SLAMMED around here.
 
eman1200 said:
"There are 26 airports using 122.8 within 100nm of KAFP"

thanks ed. I will sleep better tonight. actually I won't, that freq is just SLAMMED around here.
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That’s a lot and I see a whole lot in an even tighter range. I can see it getting slammed. Start a grassroots movement. Complain. File ASRS reports. Seriously. The Los Angeles/San Diego are has been pretty cleaned up. 6 different CTAFS and no duplicates very close to each other
 
luvflyin said:
That’s a lot and I see a whole lot in an even tighter range. I can see it getting slammed. Start a grassroots movement. Complain. File ASRS reports. Seriously. The Los Angeles/San Diego are has been pretty cleaned up. 6 different CTAFS and no duplicates very close to each other
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There are 81 airports using 122.9 within 100nm of GRR

Granted a lot aren't busy airports, but on a nice Saturday morning, 122.9 is nothing but squeals.
 
eman1200 said:
"There are 26 airports using 122.8 within 100nm of KAFP"

thanks ed. I will sleep better tonight. actually I won't, that freq is just SLAMMED around here.
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Damn, we're only at 5 within 100nm.
 
Bill said:
Why does the FAA do things like that?
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That's the FCC.

Talk to the affected airport's airport manager. They are the ones who could apply to the FCC for a change in their UNICOM/CTAF frequency.

EdFred said:
There are 81 airports using 122.9 within 100nm of GRR
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122.9 is multicom. It is the default for an airport that doesn't have a UNICOM or other CTAF assigned. Each airport manager would have to go through the process to get a UNICOM/CTAF frequency for the airport.
 
EdFred said:
Still doesn't reduce the Saturday morning squeal.
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To solve a problem, you must first accurately define what the problem is.

To reduce the number of airports that use Multicom for CTAF, the individual airport managers must request a UNICOM/CTAF assignment from the FCC.

To reduce congestion on existing UNICOM frequencies, the individual airport managers must request a change in their UNICOM frequiency to one that is less congested.
 
Pretty cool Ed, but I’m gonna assume it doesn’t include Canada? That’s pretty much all I hear from my home drome (but it didn’t return any), and those guys LOVE to hear themselves talk…
 
tawood said:
Pretty cool Ed, but I’m gonna assume it doesn’t include Canada? That’s pretty much all I hear from my home drome (but it didn’t return any), and those guys LOVE to hear themselves talk…
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Correct. US airports only. Canada, as far as I can tell, doesn't have free downloadable data. If someone finds the data, I can add the info.
 
Good work! I hear quite a bit on 122.8 and have to listen carefully as a nearby airport (18 NM) that uses the same CTAF also has a 5/23 runway.
 
Larry in TN said:
That's the FCC.

Talk to the affected airport's airport manager. They are the ones who could apply to the FCC for a change in their UNICOM/CTAF frequency.
Click to expand...

The manager needs to hear about it from pilots, since a non-pilot airport manager may not be aware of the problem. Listening from the ground, they may not hear traffic for other fields.
 
122.8 and 122.9 are miserable in my area. 123.0 is dead. They need to balance it out better.
 
GaryM said:
The manager needs to hear about it from pilots, since a non-pilot airport manager may not be aware of the problem. Listening from the ground, they may not hear traffic for other fields.
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Exactly! I should have said that as well.

Talk to the airport managers at the airports where frequency congestion is a problem.
 
Daleandee said:
Good work! I hear quite a bit on 122.8 and have to listen carefully as a nearby airport (18 NM) that uses the same CTAF also has a 5/23 runway.
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That's definitely our problem here in OK. Probably 90% of the airports in OK have either runway 18/36 or 17/35. So, on any given CTAF, generally all of the nearby airports have the same or close runway numbers.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
122.8 and 122.9 are miserable in my area. 123.0 is dead. They need to balance it out better.
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Except that you'd have to change freqs that have been in use for decades, and someone with an outdated chart or A/FD will run into someone because they are trusting that they are on the right frequency. It's happened twice that I can recall, with deadly consequences.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Except that you'd have to change freqs that have been in use for decades, and someone with an outdated chart or A/FD will run into someone because they are trusting that they are on the right frequency. It's happened twice that I can recall, with deadly consequences.
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So? There's been plenty of CTAF changes over the years, even at the fields I trained at. Don't capitulate to the lazy.
 
In my area, there’s “Clare Municipal” on 122.8, and 10 miles to the north “Clare County”, also on 122.8…to add to the confusion many pilots just say”Clare”. It’s annoying if not dangerous.
 
If you go Nordo, you won't hear all that noise;)

Or fly like you own the place 121.5 and squawk 7500 ... and you might get some "high speed airborne friends" to fly formation with you to the nearest field:confused::p
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Except that you'd have to change freqs that have been in use for decades, and someone with an outdated chart or A/FD will run into someone because they are trusting that they are on the right frequency. It's happened twice that I can recall, with deadly consequences.
Click to expand...

So it would be no different than someone joining the pattern NORDO.
 
I meant from the perspective of anyone else in the pattern already.
 
Yes, but the NORDO pilot isn't making transmissions that he incorrectly thinks people are hearing.
 
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