Originally Posted by
StormyKnight
ACARS location information is transmitted in clear text, i.e. its not encrypted & can be received at home by anyone with a receiver & decoder (software based)
ACARS on HF or VHF may be, but even though you can receive it, can you decode all the "non text" packets to determine what the engines are doing? I don't think so.
You've got zero chance of intercepting a satellite uplink transmission.