SOFTWARE FOR ACARS RECEPTION
ACARS is short for ' aircraft communications addressing and reporting system ' there nothing special required for the reception of acars other than a vhf scanner receiver covering the air-bands and your computer and the software, you just need to make a connection from the scanner audio output to the soundcard mic / line input jack.
ACARS is also used on the h.f bands and is easy to copy, but you will need the pc-hfdl programme. You will also need a decent stable ssb receiver as you need to accurately tune the receiver to within about 100 Hz of the transmission
There are probably a lot of programs out there but the four below I have used. The fairly new VDL 2 protocols can be decoded by MULITPSK (the data from this program can be passed onto plane plotter) VDL 2 can also be decoded using a Raspberry pi
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Decoding ACARS with a Raspberry pi
VHF ACARS
A screen shot from the airnav ACARS de-coder programme Ver 2-1
AIRNAV AND RADAR BOX ACARS messages can be displayed in the radar box program but you must have the AIRNAV ACARS program. I must say that I cannot get THE AIRNAV ACARs program VERSION 1 or VERSION 2.1 to display ACARS messages in RADARBOX anymore Although the software is still sold its really quite old now and I can only think that there is a compatibility issue between the later version of radar box and airnav acars that never been addressed or there is an issue with the computer os. you can try changing the compatibility to vista or xp in the airnav .exe, but it does not make any difference nor if you run it as administrator - starting acars first then radar box or the other way around and it still will not display correctly – There are much better software programs around and would not recommend this one now
ACARSDECO2 - FOR WINDOWS
Above is a screen shot from the acardeco2 program ( freeware ) - this shows the data screen - there is also a log screen and a flights screen The
program can be downloaded from here - follow this link for Raspberry pi ACARSDECO2
for windows download here edit the .bat file - it's flexible and can be tailored for your requirements - below is how I did things - run the program by clicking on the batch file and then open your browser and type 192.168.1.87:8080 ( replace this address with your own pc address ) - read the readme file that comes with the program to get the most out of it acarsdeco2.exe --gain 49 --freq-correction 64 --freq 131550000 --freq 131725000 --freq 131825000 --freq 131525000 --http-port 8080 --vrs-url http://192.168.1.290:8081 --outconnectudp pp:192.168.1.87:9742 --pictures http://192.168.1.290:8081 --silhouettes c:\data\silhouettes --db c:\data\basestation.sqb --frdb c:\data\flightroute.sqb --banners c:\data\logos create a folder called acarsdeco2 on your c drive and install the program there create a folder called data on your c drive and place your logos, silhouettes folders there along with a copy of your base station.sqb file and flightroute .sqb ( i did it this way because it makes it easier to update the files from the main pc ) As I run vrs
on a raspberry 24/7 on 192.168.1.290:8081 ( use your rpi
ip address ) I pulled the pictures and other
required vrs info from there ( you must
have vrs running somewhere on your network ) view results on the main pc 192.168.1.87:8080 ( use your
i.p address ) output to plane plotter 127.0.0.1:9742 ( pp running on your main pc ) or a better idea is to install the program on a raspberry and view the results in your browser across the network this is a good update over the original program and makes acars reception a lot more interesting and all you need is a cheap SDR RTL dongle ( don't forget to install the zadig driver if its not already on the computer ) and a homemade ant - my vdl2 ant will work fine if you do not have virtual radar server - install acarsdeco2 as above but modify the batch file to reflect the below and everything will be run from your pc - output will be to plane plotter running on the same pc - but you will be missing out on a lot more information that vrs could supply
POSFIX |
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Maybe not so much interest shown in this program now. It shows plots from AIRNAV ACARS on a map. Also hfdl plots and info from Plane plotter can be processed. don't forget to calibrate your chart using the information in the text file posfix can be downloaded from here
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VHF ACARS Frequencies
131.550 mhz |
primary channel worldwide |
129.125 mhz |
additional channel for usa & canada |
130.025 mhz |
secondary channel for usa and canada |
130.425 mhz |
additional channel for usa |
130.450 mhz |
additional channel for usa & canada |
131.125 mhz |
additional channel for usa |
131.450 mhz |
primary channel for japan |
131.475 mhz |
air canada company channel |
131.525 mhz |
european secondary |
131.725 mhz |
primary channel in europe |
136.700 mhz |
additional channel for usa |
136.750 mhz |
additional channel for usa |
136.800 mhz |
additional channel for usa |
136.900 mhz |
european secondary |
136.925 mhz |
arinc european channel |
136.850 mhz |
sita north american frequency |
136.750 mhz |
new european frequency |
131.850 mhz |
new european frequency |
H.F ACARS
H.F ACARS GROUND STATIONS FREQUENCIES
STATIONS |
Frequencies in kHz |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
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01 |
San Francisco |
21934 |
17919 |
13276 |
112378 |
10081 |
8927 |
6559 |
5508 |
4672 |
2947 |
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02 |
Molokai, |
21937 |
21928 |
17934 |
17919 |
13324 |
11348 |
11312 |
10027 |
8936 |
8912 |
6565 |
5538 |
5529 |
5514 |
5463 |
3900 |
3019 |
3001 |
2947 |
2878 |
03 |
Reykjavik, |
17985 |
15025 |
11184 |
8977 |
6712 |
5720 |
3900 |
3116 |
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04 |
Riverhead, |
21934 |
21931 |
17934 |
17919 |
13276 |
11387 |
8912 |
6661 |
5523 |
3428 |
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05 |
Auckland, |
21949 |
17916 |
13351 |
11327 |
10084 |
8921 |
6535 |
5583 |
3404 |
3016 |
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06 |
Hat Yai, |
21949 |
17928 |
13270 |
10066 |
8825 |
6535 |
5655 |
4687 |
3470 |
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07 |
Shannon, |
11384 |
10081 |
8942 |
8843 |
6532 |
5547 |
3455 |
2998 |
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08 |
Johannesburg, |
21949 |
13321 |
8834 |
4681 |
3016 |
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09 |
Barrow, |
21937 |
21928 |
17934 |
17919 |
11354 |
10093 |
10027 |
8936 |
8928 |
6646 |
5544 |
5529 |
4687 |
4654 |
3497 |
3007 |
2992 |
2944 |
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13 |
Santa Cruz, |
21997 |
21988 |
21973 |
21946 |
17916 |
13315 |
11318 |
8957 |
6628 |
5660 |
3467 |
2983 |
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14 |
Krasnoyarsk, S |
13321 |
10087 |
2905 |
2878 |
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15 |
Al Muharraq, |
21982 |
17967 |
13354 |
11312 |
10075 |
8885 |
5544 |
2986 |
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16 |
Agana,
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17934 |
17919 |
13339 |
13312 |
13276 |
11306 |
11288 |
8936 |
8927 |
8912 |
6661 |
6652 |
6634 |
6550 |
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17 |
Telde, Canaries |
21955 |
17928 |
13303 |
11348 |
8948 |
6529 |
5589 |
2905 |
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The above list is probably not 100% accurate but most
frequencies are still active but check this list out [all frequencies were active in 9th January/march 2019 (not a
complete list thou)
To decode H.F ACARS you will need the PC-HFDL program, plus a good stable H.F. receiver capable of turning to within about 100 Hz of the transmission. The PC-HFDL program will also interface with plane plotter. Multipsk will decode hfdl transmissions on its own.
Download the program from here pc-hfdl from charles brain
The sorcerer program works well - it’s a multimode decoder and can be downloaded from here - http://www.kd0cq.com/2013/07/sorcerer-decoder-download/
Also check this site http://hikeofyourlife.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-to-display-correct-hfdl-ground.html which is self explanatory
Always be careful when editing the
registry - if things go wrong (i.e. the program not running anymore) delete all
references to sorcerer in
The registry ( 1
folder) and re-install things
Numbers showing
instead of frequencies? See my
note here
Above is a screen shot from sorcerer
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Above is a screenshot from The HF ACARS program - PC-HDFL
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Plotting aircraft in contact with canaries ( plotted using COAA plane plotter ) - the Canary islands on 11.348 MHz and 17.928 MHz are quite busy ( January 2019 )
If your Target receiver signal 'jumps' around and basically has become un-usable for decoding even RTTY and H.F ACARS is absolutely impossible, before you bin it or start to get to involved in trying to fix it, the first thing to do is pull out the 'clarifier' 3 pin connector, clean it and reseat it, maybe it will be fixed with just doing this If this does not fix the problem, you could re-solder the connections to the 3 pin connector on the main PCB and replace the clarifier control itself after that check voltages are stable and maybe replace D3 ,but as its a real old model maybe at this stage do the below and except the limitations or bin the receiver. Down load the receiver diagram by clicking on the receiver picture above One sure way of getting the receiver stable again is to disconnect the 3 pin connector completely, the clarifier control is now redundant and your receiver will now tune in 1 Khz steps. The receiver was never really suitable for receiving C.W and whereas I have successfully used it for decoding H.F ACARS it was very fiddly to tune the signal in, but it will now be totally ok for decoding RTTY and FAX signals using a program like FLDIGI. However resolving SSB will also become a problem and maybe some A.M stations, maybe its time to buy a new receiver ?
Display launcher will make it easier to view the data received by PC-HFDL - it also has a separate window to view ACARS messages it will display logs from jaero, multipsk and acarsdeco2 etc and also plot positions using the dx atlas program if running display launcher and plane plotter together and plane plotter fails to display positions then run two instances of PC-HFDL and set the log file path up appropriately for both programs
pp data grid is a bit out of date now but does the job - see the above screen grab displaying HFDL info from PC-HFDL/PLANEPLOTTER - it only interfaces with plane plotter to download pp data grid click here |
VOLMET FREQUENCIES
( WEATHER FORECASTS FOR AIRCRAFT )
SHANNON VOLMET |
3.413 MHZ |
5.505 MHZ |
8.957 MHZ |
13.264 MHZ |
RAF VOLMET |
5.450 MHZ |
11.253 MHZ |
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ARCHITECT |
4.540 MHZ |
4.742 MHZ |
5.714 MHZ |
6.739 MHZ |
ARCHITECT |
8.190 MHZ |
9.031 MHZ |
11.205 MHZ |
13.257 MHZ |
ARCHITECT |
15.031 MHZ |
18.018 MHZ |
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NEW YORK |
3.485 MHZ |
6.604 MHZ |
10.051 MHZ |
13.270 MHZ |
UN-ASSIGNED |
2.998 MHZ |
6.580 MHZ |
11.378 MHZ |
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H.F AIRLINE COMPANY R/T FREQUENCIES
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3007 3010 3013 3494 3497 4654
4687 5529 5532 5535 5538 5541 5544
6637 6640 6643 6646 8921 8924 8927
8930 8933 8936 10027 10030 10033
10069 10072 10075 10078 11342 11345
11348 11351 11354 13324 13327 13330
13333 13336 13339 13342 13345 13348 13351
17916 17919 17922 17925 17928 17931
17934 17937 17940 21940 21943 21946 21949
21952 21955 21958 21961 21964
21967 21970 21973 21976 21979 21982
21985 21988 21994 21997 KHZ |
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL FOR THE ATLANTIC ETC
SANTA MARIA |
8.825 MHZ |
SANTA MARIA |
11.336 MHZ |
SANTA MARIA |
13.354 MHZ |
NORTH ATLANTIC |
6.628 MHZ |
NORTH ATLANTIC |
8.831 MHZ |
NORTH ATLANTIC |
8.891 MHZ |
NORTH ATLANTIC |
11.309 MHZ |
NORTH ATLANTIC |
13.306 MHZ |
NORTH ATLANTIC |
13.291 MHZ |
NORTH ATLANTIC |
17.946 MHZ |
LUTON / BRITANNIA |
5.610 MHZ |
EUROPE |
5.661 MHZ |
EUROPE |
17.961 MHZ |
S.AMERICA |
17.907 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
4.675 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
5.616 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
5.598 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
5.649 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
6.622 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
8.864 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
8.879 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
8.906 MHZ |
SHANWICK |
11.279 MHZ |
These frequencies can be quite busy at times - you will hear aircraft as well as the ground station