[kwlug-disc] listening to the airport

[Matteo Golin]

It is completely legal to listen to ATC broadcasts (just don't transmit on
those frequencies!). There are actually lots of websites that should let
you listen in without having to buy any radio equipment.

What I use personally is the RTL SDR
<https://www.amazon.ca/RTL-SDR-Blog-RTL2832U-Software-Defined/dp/B0BMKB3L47/ref=sr_1_9?adgrpid=1357897093579801&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GINbOorF9bamI8N4_J0T0xvo4tuJKY7MLPqOMBT_vCYTFqQLEFQK0EBUwKjRB1INGmy-MO-QMWUoyk-C8Q-oAgXRWdzIw4IUWYlwzW6qH1IDFXT9LmY3wno4RSOV4YZ-490XG8bPi_zVN9Aw63JR6mW60mIrRHsTg3XaeE9ckihT8ezBTESMWKaiWBMo367-vlZlYSlrA-DGwFDr3yRCgzf5lqRIGVoVBWH0B2yDdTj31EYz-ZylCUse-mSZPKna5IVXUYMHNj_-_wXSNv5mOcyCzFnAFSs5rd8LNQPjkN4.57QJmQkK3kLFDOC1Rd2vQ1OFYC_H-8la1ZYtZUWH15Q&dib_tag=se&hvadid=84868723111792&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=124144&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-84868738382124%3Aloc-32&hydadcr=4517_10135798&keywords=rtl%2Bsdr&mcid=4cecfe3edcce379095be562ea7fb88b2&qid=1779802146&sr=8-9&th=1>
 (https://www.rtl-sdr.com/about-rtl-sdr/) and GNU Radio to decode the
signals. Seems to be a lot more expensive then when I originally bought it
:( It's a receiver only.

On Tue, May 26, 2026 at 9:04 AM CrankyOldBugger <crankyoldbugger at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Wifeski likes it when I take her to the airport on a sunny day so she can
> watch the planes take off and land.  We part on Otter Ct, near the WR
> International.  It's a good spot with a view of most of the runways.
>
> But I was wondering... how does one tune into the chatter between
> the tower and the pilots?  Is there a special radio I need to buy?  I did
> manage to no-AI-DDG (notice I didn't say "google") what frequencies they
> use, and they seem to be way out of reach of my truck's AM/FM radio.
>
> Any radio experts in here have any ideas on what I need to buy?  Is it
> even legal to be snooping on the radio traffic?
>
>
>
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