Noted in Passing

Tuning around the VHF & UHF bands with a wideband receiver, heard two things of interest:

• TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) communications on 412.6125 MHz at 16:20 UTC. ID as "CCIS".
  
• Air Canada Flight 359 in contact with Toronto Pearson airport on 132.8 MHz at 16:40 UTC.

Update for July 2010

In addition to the things I've already posted about for July, here are some of the highlights from my radio logbook for July 2010:

1. 128.8 MHz, July 5 at 0225 UTC: Logged Toronto Pearson Airport Departures - Air Traffic Control working aircraft departing the airport.

2. 132.8 MHz, July 5 at 0232-0240: Heard various aircraft in contact with Toronto Pearson Airport. This is a frequency for incoming aircraft.

3. Logged W1AW, the ARRL HQ station in Newington CT, transmitting Morse code practice bulletins on several frequencies. July 9 at 0249 UTC on 3581.5 kHz, July 13 at 0245 UTC on 1802.5 kHz, July 14 at 0222 UTC on 7047.5 kHz, and July 15 at 2346 UTC on 14047.5 kHz.

4. Logged various amateur stations on the HF bands.

5. Heard various shortwave broadcast stations. Nothing new.

6. Heard a pirate radio station on 6925 kHz on July 14 at 0240 UTC. He was playing music, but no ID was heard and he disappeared after a few minutes.

7. Heard New York Radio (air traffic control for NYC) on 6586 kHz working various aircraft. This was on July 14 at 0415 UTC.

8. On July 24 I managed to hear CBC Radio from Kingston, 107.5, on my car radio. This was in the morning when I was down at the Lake Ontario shore.

9. Did some listening for local utility communications on VHF.

Pearson Airport Arrivals - 132.8 MHz

One thing I like to do with radio is to explore new types of signals - discovering new things to hear on the radio bands. I haven't spent much time on the frequencies above 30 MHz, except for the FM and TV bands. But there is another VHF band that many radios include, the VHF air band that runs from 108 MHz (right at the top end of the FM broadcast band) to 137 MHz. On July 4 I spent a few minutes listening to 132.8 MHz, which is one of the frequencies that aircraft use to communicate with Toronto's Pearson International Airport when they're approaching the airport. If you sit on this frequency you can hear different flights checking in with the airport. Between 2215 and 2223 UTC I heard three flights contacting the airport here, Exec Jet 937, Air Canada 590, and Eagle 4441.

Air Band Loggings

The Grundig Satellit 800 includes the VHF air band (118-136 MHz), but I've almost never listened to it. But I started exploring it and made my first four loggings on this band. Mode is AM. I might start spending more time on here - interested to hear what's available.

1. CYKZ, 127.1, Buttonville Airport, Buttonville / Markham ON, 2009-07-28, 12:20-12:32, ATIS- Weather and aviation conditions repeated about once a minute.
2. CYHM, 128.1, Hamilton Airport, Hamilton ON, 2009-07-30, 11:25-11:34, ATIS - Weather and aviation conditions.
3. CYYZ, 120.825, Toronto Pearson Airport, Mississauga ON, 2009-07-30, 11:40-11:44, ATIS - Weather and aviation conditions.
4. CYTZ, 133.6, Toronto City Centre Airport, Toronto Islands ON, 2009-07-30, 11:45-12:00, ATIS - Weather and aviation conditions.

I got the callsigns from a site on the web. ATIS is Air Traffic Information Service, I think. Dates and times in UTC.