So, my old scanner died... and I'm looking for a new one.

What one do you guys suggest to be able to listen in on the team's freqs?

And is there a new list of the freqs for this year?

Thanks!

Is it legal to listen to the team's comms?

If so, is there a scanner than can record the sound?

It is legal, however, most performers (for safety reasons) do not want the general public to have access to the frequencies. If someone had a transceiver (not just a receiver), they could potentially put the entire formation and crowd at danger by blocking or transmitting over the radio. Most military teams use UHF, and you'll need a scanner that picks up UHF-bands... besides UHF transceivers are very pricey, so that eliminates most average Joe's from trying to interfere with the radio comms of a jet demonstration team. Some air shows (typically military bases), don't allow you to carry scanner equipment on base with you either, so there are some hoops you need to go through to be able to listen in...

You should check out the links in the top post of the Air Show Frequency Guide thread for more information on scanners and "How To" etc. In the wishes of the performers and for obvious safety reasons the frequencies aren't published openly. One has to do a little research and thereby narrowing down the people and specifically the "kind of people" who may be listening in.

The RadioShack PRO-97 is a cheap scanner (receiver) that picks up VHF/UHF. The quality isn't the greatest, and it's only a hand-held, but it gets the job done without costing you a small fortune.

As far as recording, most scanners have a line-out/headphones jack. You'll need to hook up a recorder of your choice (mp3 recorder, camcorder, tape etc).

Lawndart wrote:Check your PM's!

I'm still ready to buy a scanner for airshows freqs... can you suggest some portable models?

I'd suggest a Pro-97 from Radioshack, although there might be a newer model by now. It is a pretty common scanner at shows and can pick up military frequencies.

Ryan

Tomcatboy48237 wrote:I'd suggest a Pro-97 from Radioshack, although there might be a newer model by now. It is a pretty common scanner at shows and can pick up military frequencies.

Ryan

Thank you for the tip...
I went to a radio dealer in my town today I bought an ICOM IC-R5 scanner... It seems to be optimal, I have tried some functions.
Now I have only to find military freqs to hear some from the F-16 crews that are 5 km near my home.
What do you think about this scanner?
I paid 189 euros for it, range 0,15 MHz - 1,310 Ghz, very portable.
I'll try to hear some freqs in next days and in the next airshow I'll use it!!