Listen to ATC online

[chris-h]

On my scanner from home i can pick up the local aircraft but not the Tower/Approach etc

wouldn't it be nice to listen to your local ATC online, It seems that many
other country's don't mind this but the UK has a spanner in the works as per..

[maxred]

Chris, exactly how do you manage to listen to ATC on line in other countries?

I have assumed 'live'.

[maxred]

Have just read the next thread and they give LiveATC.net.

Have not tried it but they quote 'live audio feeds'

Whatever next:oh:

[chris-h]

Liveatc.net and plenty more websites / Iphone app's

[maxred]

I'll get my son to download the app:hmm:

[noblue]

The iPhone app is great. I used it to listen to the Chandler AZ ATC before I went there for my IR. Made my transition to US radiotelephony a snap (as they might say).

[L'aviateur]

It's probably not sensible talking about an activity which is technically illegal in the UK. Maybe better to pretend your not doing it Chris!

[chris-h]

Well im not doing it, Thats my point

[Miroku]

Details for live ATC are:

Europe Airport Feeds | Live Air Traffic Control Audio Feeds | LiveATC.net (http://www.liveatc.net/feedindex.php?type=international-eu)

But limited coverage

[blueandwhite]

It's probably not sensible talking about an activity which is technically illegal in the UK.


Is it illegal?

I thought it was OK to listen to any transmision, as long as you didn't act on it. Or something like that.

[Ultra long hauler]

The iPhone app is great.

What is the exact name of the app please……….I only find ATC games.

Cheers,


###Ultra Long Hauler###

[Miroku]

I thought it was OK to listen to any transmision, as long as you didn't act on it.


Anyway, most of the contributors to this forum will have RT licences.

[noblue]

The iPhone app is called LiveATC.

[Ultra long hauler]

Cheers Noblue,

it doesn´t work where I live though………


Cheers,


###Ultra Long Hauler###

[reportyourlevel]

The legality (or otherwise) of listening to ATC communications in the UK has been covered ad nauseum on here. The best place to start reading is this thread (http://www.pprune.org/atc-issues/206063-listening-uk-atc-communications-law.html) on the ATC forum.

[chris-h]

But answering the question, No it isnt illegal to listen

[HurriRV7]

In Canada, it's not illegal to listen, but you are required to keep private all transmissions (i.e. not record & publish) except for those that are directed to All Traffic (and one other type which I should remember but cannot).

In Live ATC you are not recording, so it would appear that in Canada that it's legal?

What I have been unable to find is a live feed of ATIS, so I can learn how to record it quickly. I find it slightly embarrassing to have to listen to it three time to write down all the details (though my instructor doesn't make me feel embarrassed thankfully.....)

(I believe that a live feed of ATIS is not available because the continual transmission takes up a lot of bandwidth?)

Regards,

Steven in Winnipeg.

[BillieBob]

But answering the question, No it isnt illegal to listen
Or, to answer the question accurately, Yes it is illegal to listen:

48 Interception and disclosure of messages

(1) A person commits an offence if, otherwise than under the authority of a designated person—(a) he uses wireless telegraphy apparatus with intent to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of a message (whether sent by means of wireless telegraphy or not) of which neither he nor a person on whose behalf he is acting is an intended recipient.
An R/T licence does not help as it only permits the holder to operate radiotelephony equipment in an aircraft, not a scanner at home.

[Jan Olieslagers]

Sorry if it has been discussed before, but this seems like one more UK peculiarity. If a pilot's R/T license only entitles using a transceiver while piloting, what license is required for the instructor who, from the ground, controls a student, like mine did most actively on my first solo? Round here, the license allows using ALL licensed apparatus, whether in an aircraft or not. But I don't think it would be easy to get a scanner licensed that covers more bands than just aviation.

[IO540]

This reminds me of 1960s Czechoslovakia, where my parents had to be very careful listening to BBC World Service, Voice of America, or (the ultimate sin) Radio Luxembourg... had I spilt the beans on them e.g. at school, they would have been in big trouble.

Must work the same way here in the UK, with listening to ATC :ugh:

[mrmum]

With regard to ATIS, so do a few UK airports, check the AIP.

Also have a look here for the legal situation of listening to transmissions of the Aeronautical Mobile Service in the UK.

http://www.pprune.org/atc-issues/206063-listening-uk-atc-communications-law.html

Admittedly, it's four years old, but as it's a sticky thread by one of the ATC forum Mod's, it's probably still relevant.

[rusty sparrow]

I can listen to ATC from around the world via my PC (via Listen to Live ATC (Air Traffic Control) Communications | LiveATC.net (http://www.liveatc.net/)). But I can't listen to my UK ATC due to some obscure law dating back over 60 years (Wireless Telegraphy Act 1947?). If other countries don't have a problem, then why does the UK? Why can I listen to movements at New York but not at Elstree?

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Why do people want to listen to the airband?? Why don't they want to listen to roadsweepers, or taxis, or phone calls? How would they like it if they new that people watching and listening to everything they did at work, or were listening to their phone calls...? Many indoor wireless telephones can be heard if you know where to listen...

As for first solo pilots needing instructions from the ground...... I never heard of such a thing and the pilot should be listening to ATC..

[IO540]

As for first solo pilots needing instructions from the ground...... I never heard of such a thing and the pilot should be listening to ATC..

I have no idea if this is common, but years ago there was a TV prog called the Air Show. One of their stunts was to get a (relatively attractive) presenter to do a PPL (as far as going solo, anyway). She was incredibly nervous (maybe for effect?) and her instructor was handholding her with a handheld radio during her first solo.

Back then, me pre-PPL, I thought nothing of it.

Why do people want to listen to the airband??

Why do people walk around airfields, even poking into open hangars, writing down serial numbers? It's a hobby. Same with train spotting.

There is no way to stop it. Everything you say is on tape anyway, open to scrutiny and is stored for ever at some GCHQ warehouse.

[rusty sparrow]

[Why do people want to listen to the airband??]

I find it a useful way to improve my knowledge of RT procedure.

[gpn01]

Why do people want to listen to the airband?? Why don't they want to listen to roadsweepers, or taxis, or phone calls? How would they like it if they new that people watching and listening to everything they did at work, or were listening to their phone calls...? Many indoor wireless telephones can be heard if you know where to listen...

Some people do. There's books, magazines and websites dedicated to just that subject and many scanners are designed to cover a far wider frequency range than just VHF airband! Would I worry if people listen to all of my communications? No. I presume they already are!

[Roffa]

IO540,

There is no way to stop it. Everything you say is on tape anyway, open to scrutiny and is stored for ever at some GCHQ warehouse.

I think you've been watching too many Indiana Jones films.

[tmmorris]

For my first solo the instructor was in the 'tower' (actually sitting next to the A/G operator!) but this wasn't to talk to me - it was in case I 'froze' while airborne and needed a calm voice to talk me down. I believe this is common practice (that's what my instructor said, though perhaps he was just trying to make me feel better..!)

FWIW I was at an RAF station once when someone did their first solo aero sortie in a Hawk. Not only did the instructor go up to the tower; the fire crew were put on standby, too, ruining our plan to take the cadets round the fire section!

Tim

[proudprivate]

Why do people want to listen to the airband??


* Student Pilots, practicing their R/T
* Instructors, when their students solo for the first time, to give feed back after landing on their R/T when they were alone in the aircraft
* The flight simulation community, and other aviation enthousiasts
* The general public, out of curiosity.

In the United States of America, admittedly a more advanced country aviationwise, several airlines offer the main cockpit listening frequency as an audio channel selection to passengers.


Everything you say is on tape anyway, open to scrutiny and is stored for ever at some GCHQ warehouse.


While this might be a deliberate exaggeration, it does underline a point : with the current status of technology, any communication that is meant to be secret, should be protected accordingly. I don't think anyone can argue that civilian ATC VHF communications have any significant strategic value.

[Capetonian]

There's a restaurant just on the airport perimeter at MIA where you can listen to ATC while you dine, and the food's not bad either (at least, last time I ate there it was good, about 5 years ago.)

The 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant

Overlooking the runway of the Miami International Airport, enjoy a fantastic view of the planes taking off and landing at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant in Miami. There are headphones available for you to listen to the air traffic ground control and you can see cargo trains pass right in front of your window while you dine.
The 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant in Miami (http://www.94thmiami.com/)

[Milton1995]

Whilst i do understand it is 'illegal' i believe, unless violations are 'extreme' then no prosecution will take place( otherwise why would scanners be so readily available) . An example of this, whilst spotting at EGKK/LGW london gatwick, i was stopped by the airport and sussex police under section 40 of the terrorism act and they searched my car whilst my scanner was on sitting in the car seat for all to hear. They said nothing to me and it would seem by this that it is not a big deal. Having said this i remember a few months back the spotters that were arrested in pakistan but i believe this was for the use of the Radar Box 3D and photographing Aircraft so really i wouldnt excersise too much caution whilst listening to your scanner.