Prank SELCAL call?
 

Today we received a SELCAL call on HF, just after we advanced the thrust levers for takeoff. As we were only doing about 30kt, we aborted - who knows, it could have been a bomb threat or something.

We checked with the company & Stockholm Radio, but neither of them had initiated a call to our code.

Has anyone else experienced this type of thing before? Could it have been a prank call? Is this something that can easily be done?

All might have been, but I have expierenced such unreasoned SELCALs many times on VHF/HF. It is something with false call, because no message followed after reply to call.

You rejected for a selcal call? I could understand if you had someone knocking on your window, but not a selcal call!

All you need is those 4 tones coming consecutively on the HF to set the thing off. They were either strange sounds on the HF, or a mistaken code transmitted, or a code misidentified by your HF box. They were not a prank- I doubt whether anyone is daft enough to transmit various codes on the HF in the hope someone, somewhere might think it was a call for them.

Most concise, informative response of the year and only a few days left:ok:

30Kts? I would have done the same thing. No harm, no foul and like the guys said, it might have been important although you normally expect that kind of message to come from ATC.

Could be your oceanic clearance - you would need to stop so you could both write it down - it is dangerous for both pilots to write things down at more than 30kts on the runway.

@BOAC

Oh, if it was an A340 there would have been time enough to stone hammer the clearence.

Rainboe,

Only two tones but 4 letters!

However, always a good idea to have HF of for take off.

Safe flying,

Happy new year.

Clueless
 

DIX188. I have never heard any reason one would want to have the HF in an OFF position during takeoff and especially if you plan to use it during the flight. Enlighten me on this procedure, if it is in fact a common practice, call me clueless. I've only been doing this for 45 years now and I can recall Constellations with Radio Operator stations. Just pulling your leg a little but I'm sure even old dogs can still learn something. :ok:

Many years ago there was reputedly a pilot on one of the military transport fleets who was blessed with perfect pitch. The story went that he would listen to a SELCAL check and then, once the receiving aircraft had gone onto SELCAL watch, he would just transmit those tones. Apparently many long hours flogging across the pond were enlivened by the frustrated BA etc constantly answering their calls.

What sort of aircraft was it? Selcal alerts (or parts thereof) are inhibited on some aircraft at takeoff thrust.

Rgds.
NSEU

Not sure that any SELCAL alerts are inhibited and even then it would be at a much higher speed.

@MainDude

It would be useful to know where you were taking off from, your primary HF frequency, and at what time UTC. The general area would do. More likely you received the SELCAL co-assigned to another aircraft presumably operating a semi-hemisphere away and transmitted by a similarly remote HF station - more likely around sunrise / sunset.

With the available letters, there are somewhat less than 11k of unique SELCALs.

On the other-hand, how often have you been SELCAL'd in error!

mm43

12 tone SECAL is predicated on the usual geographical area of the position of aircraft,so it is possible that an airplane with the same 12 tone SECAL was in your geographical area.Also more than one airplane can have the same SELCAL.
What you are describing has happened to me

I haven't seen it mentioned above, but with one airline I flew for we used to takeoff with the SELCAL switches in the off position and the HF's on. In the other airline we had the SELCAL's in the usual positions but the HF's off below 10,000'.
This eliminated the chance of getting a spurious SELCAL gong.

what time of day was it
 

Cos it might have been the dinner gong, we always anounce dinner in our residence with the gong.

If it was Queens Birthday, then rogue gongs are quite common.

Seriously does anyone still use SELCAL on VHF.


Hat already in hand.

windy.

If the HF is tuned to a radio station playing music, the SELCAL can be triggered. One airframe I used to fly alway had the SELCAL triggered by the music that preceeded the 'pips' on the BBC world service as the music onviously had two successive tones that were identical to the aircraft's call tones. The SELCAL would always trigger about 15 seconds to every whole hour if the world service was tuned.

Spooky 2.

As a fairly old Freight Dog I am also always willing to learn from others.

You have time over me.

I have 40 years in aviation but only 20 as Flight Crew, and a lowly F/E at that.

However I was told many years ago that HF off for Take Off was good practice for the very reason in post no. 1.

Obviously if you can inhibit Selcal for T.O. then that is good enough, but our old A300s dont have this option. (selecting off freq would be another option)

Fly safe and Happy New Year.

Believe it or not; There are more than one airplane flying with the same selcal code!!!

One is usually too busy setting up a departure under time pressure to have time to even consider what HF frequency is on- selcal is automatically covering HF. I have had at least a couple of incidents of HF selcal going off during takeoff- we just looked at each other and cancelled it. It is not a reject issue and I wouldn't dream of doing so.

Every departure is emergency briefed. Reject up to 80kts for problems is more likely than above 80kts where specific items are reeled off. Faults should be confirmed or backed up by other indications. A take-off reject for a selcal call, even if I had previously checked selcal with a ground station, is not on my list of priorities at all- I would not do it. That is why I was in disagreement. Sorry, but in my opinion, it is daft- nothing less.