acars

[nortonbeak]

hi there the one somebody told me about and which ive tried is www.nathan.chantrell.net  thanks jeff

I can only find a blog. Is there an ACARS decoding program to download from that site?

[pjm]

I can only find a blog. Is there an ACARS decoding program to download from that site?

There is an OLD, unsupported program there called PDW 110f – Pocsag program for Windows, decodes pagers using sound card (Also does Flex, ACARS, MOBITEX & ERMES) (366k)

I haven't tried it myself

http://nathan.chantrell.net/old-stuff/radio/radio-scanning/pocsag-pager-decoding/

[oldun666]

thanks a lot doug  john and pjm i will try that and have a mess around appreciated.

[GlynH]

ACARS seems to be the long forgotten relative IMHO...

I would recommend AirNav's own ACARS Decoder but it is getting very long in the tooth now and is in drastic need of an update to bring it kicking & screaming into the 21st Century...nice to see photos of the aircraft and nicer to have a hook into the RadarBox software but the applications interface, options, configurability, fussiness about which soundcard you have along with its look & feel outweigh any advantages IMHO.

Regards,
-=Glyn=-

[nortonbeak]

ACARS seems to be the long forgotten relative IMHO...

I would recommend AirNav's own ACARS Decoder but it is getting very long in the tooth now and is in drastic need of an update to bring it kicking & screaming into the 21st Century...nice to see photos of the aircraft and nicer to have a hook into the RadarBox software but the applications interface, options, configurability, fussiness about which soundcard you have along with its look & feel outweigh any advantages IMHO.

Regards,
-=Glyn=-

ACARS is still regularly and heavily used.

The downside is the difficulty in extracting the positional information. AirNav did a fair job with their Suite 4, and Spikey Mikey with his PosFix add-on for it.

ACARSD does download photos. So there is even a freeware version that has that facility.

[John Racars]

ACARS is still regularly and heavily used.

Of course, I totally agree with this!!! Most of all (new) civil aircraft are supplyed with ACARS-equipment this days.

[pjm]

ACARS is still regularly and heavily used.

I really hope AirNav start providing a bit more support for ACARS, updates to software decoders and hardware upgrades to RB.

I note the latest SBS-1er comes with a built in airband receiver!.

[Allocator]

ACARS is still regularly and heavily used.

I really hope AirNav start providing a bit more support for ACARS, updates to software decoders and hardware upgrades to RB.

I note the latest SBS-1er comes with a built in airband receiver!.

Yes it does, but it isn't a scanner and you can only listen to one frequency at a time.  It doesn't decode ACARS signals either, although you can use it to monitor an ACARS frequency and feed the audio into 3rd party ACARS software.

Given a choice of either RB software updates, or hardware updates - I'd rather have the software :-)

[GlynH]

ACARS is still regularly and heavily used.

Hi nortonbeak & John,

I was referring to the ACARS Decoder software rather than ACARS itself!

Most of the programs I have noticed seem more than a little long in the tooth and forgotten about...

Kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

Given a choice of either RB software updates, or hardware updates - I'd rather have the software :-)

I vote for both! :-)

Regards,
-=Glyn=-

[Allocator]

But the software updates have been free :-)

[pjm]

Yes it does, but it isn't a scanner and you can only listen to one frequency at a time.  It doesn't decode ACARS signals either, although you can use it to monitor an ACARS frequency and feed the audio into 3rd party ACARS software

It would be nice to have a purpose built "all in one" receiver. AirNav already have the ACARS decoder software to read from a soundcard, but I was thinking more along the lines of a fully integrated solution that does away with the soundcard and a seperate piece of software, and all communications to the PC would be via the USB (or a network) interface.

It would also be nice to have the option of taking the signal from the ADS-B aerial. While maybe not ideal, and a separate aerial socket for ACARS should still be available, it would be nice as an option.

[GlynH]

But the software updates have been free :-)

Yeah but I would pay good money to have the RadarBox accessible on my network through an ethernet interface for example.

And not to mention software that might work for me also...:-/

Kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

Yes it does, but it isn't a scanner and you can only listen to one frequency at a time.  It doesn't decode ACARS signals either, although you can use it to monitor an ACARS frequency and feed the audio into 3rd party ACARS software

It would be nice to have a purpose built "all in one" receiver. AirNav already have the ACARS decoder software to read from a soundcard, but I was thinking more along the lines of a fully integrated solution that does away with the soundcard and a seperate piece of software, and all communications to the PC would be via the USB (or a network) interface.

It would also be nice to have the option of taking the signal from the ADS-B aerial. While maybe not ideal, and a separate aerial socket for ACARS should still be available, it would be nice as an option.

Well according to Wally & Standoff the UK Distributor it will never happen.

They took another cheap shot at the competition here;

http://www.wsplc.com/acatalog/Radarbox_2009.html

This continued sniping might (should) cost them dearly as I see they also advertise & stock the FlexRadio & WiNRADiO range of computer controlled receivers...bet the manufacturers of those two devices are pleased...NOT!

I am also intrigued as to what this is all about, quote;

"Stand by for a most amazing software update coming end of August. It will blow the competition away!!"

Virtual Semtex maybe? ;^)

Kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

In case the above link does not work (or you are too lazy to click the hyperlink;

----------snip----------
Why we do not recommend the idea of a radio built-into RadarBox.

At the present stage of technology, we have found that the noise generated from most PCs will cause interference to reception, particularly as airband radio operates on AM. This makes the problem even more difficult. And of course, there is little point in buying a system where your radio cannot be used away from the PC. Most enthusiasts want to take their radios out and about. For this reason we advocate a separate radio and can particularly recommend the Black-Box, a radio designed for airband reception that requires no tuning and can even be operated legally inside an aircraft cabin - subject of course to the usual restrictions about operating when an aircraft is taking off or landing.
----------snip----------

Obviously never heard of ACARS then although they do advertise the AirNav ACARS Decoder...