Solent area now has a 'listening squawk'

Aviation General

Solent area now has a 'listening squawk'

FlyOnTrack 02/02/2010, 11:20 AM
Solent Area Listening Squawk started Thursday 28th Jan 2010 - the squawk is 0011, the frequencies are 120.225 MHz and 119.475 Mhz and if you want to read more about them around the country or how to use them, please go to either the hot news item on the home page or the links page on flyontrack http://www.flyontrack.co.uk

If you are east of a line from Stoney Cross / Lymington / Yarmouth IOW then recommendation is 120.225 (Solent Approach), west of it, Bournemouth approach 119.475. Usual rules, you are not getting a service, you must not enter controlled airspace, you just listen out on the frequency, set the squawk 0011 with Charlie if you can, do NOT announce yourself, just listen in. When moving out of the area or just as you change to another frequency, set something else relevant eg: 7000-C.

If you do want an airspace crossing or a service, this scheme is not for you, call them in the normal way.

Re: Solent area now has a 'listening squawk'

fuzzy6988 16/04/2010, 7:04 PM

Hello,

What are the advantages of a listening squawk (vs. obtaining a Basic Service) besides relieving the pilot and controller of doing any R/T work?

If a couple of planes are flying in close proximity to each other near a CAS boundary, all using listening squawks, and if the controller wants to establish communication with one plane for some reason e.g. an alleged infringement:

- The controller doesn't know who's who
- The pilots don't know who the controller is trying to reach
- The pilots could even all respond back at the same time and jam up the frequency, so they all have to re-transmit again, one by one
- If the frequency doesn't jam, will there be a lot of R/T needed to identify who is who?

As we don't yet have a complete mode-S environment, I would guess it might be safer for pilots to get a Basic Service, if offered, to make themselves known while flying near any boundary of CAS?

Re: Solent area now has a 'listening squawk'

FlyOnTrack 21/04/2010, 9:58 PM
As you say, the listening squawk frees up busy frequencies from calls where the pilot doesn't really want anything in particular, but is quite happy to be called should the controller feel the need. The listening squawk scheme has prevented or quickly mitigated many infringements - that helps everyone, especially the pilot as the problems can often be solved quickly enough to avoid any post infringement follow up. And a basic service itself doesn't mean you are always being watched on radar.
As for deciding which is which, it happens - the controller could for example just call anyone in an approximate position on a certain heading (and altitude if mode c was showing) to call in - there won't be that many with that combination - suppose there were still 2, they could be given a real squawk or ident to distinguish. It works though, ATC who use it like it, and pilots who were warned before a mistake got serious like it. There's a radar replay (no 8) on flyontrack about it problem solved in under 30 seconds with no follow up.