KSDM ATIS

[NM Doug]

Hi all -

I flew out of KSDM tonight and tuned in the ATIS on 132.35. I received both the ATIS and a controller giving instructions to another aircraft. Is there a 132.35 tower or ground control frequency nearby (I don't have an easy way to look up tower and ground stations by frequency)? Just curious!

- Doug

[Keith Smith]

132.25 is a John Wayne ground frequency. I just looked into a bunch of things and during a re-write of the frequency database, the "prettying up" of some of the position names at facilities with multiple ground positions removed our ability to determine the facility type (ie, delivery vs ground vs tower vs approach vs center), and hence the transmission strength of the facility. The fallback position is to assume a center-level facility type, which has a pretty heft transmitter.

Long story short, in cases where multiple ground facilities exist at a single airport, they're going to be overpowered. Hence, it's possible that you might have been able to pick it up from SDM, even from the ground.

[Keith Smith]

Update: I checked that particular frequency entry, and it doesn't have the problem I described above. It would've been treated as a ground position with relatively limited range. Were you in the air or the ground when you were trying to pick up the ATIS?

Additionally, were you dialing the ATIS on com2 or com1 in X-Plane?

[Alex Stjepanovic]

I see what's wrong. 132.35 was in the system as an additional SDM ground frequency. Because of so many known and unknown frequencies out there, I use any source that has at least some level of validity(Read: Outside of the AD charts, airnav, A/FD, etc), in order to ensure the highest chances of not missing any single one. It's simply possible that one of them may have had this erroneously contained as a ground frequency.

[NM Doug]

Thanks, guys!

Keith, in your reply before Alex's you asked if I was listening to the ATIS on com 1 or 2 - is it possible with the current X-Plane (10.04b1) and the current PE plugin to be listening and talking on com 1 and also monitoring com 2? I seem to recall that this wasn't possible (yet, anyway - I know from another post of yours that full com 1 / 2 support is on your development list). For now, I'm just contacting a destination airport without the ATIS. Since the controllers aren't complaining or asking if I have the ATIS, I'm guessing you're all just giving us some slack to take into account the fact we'd have to ask for a frequency change to get it...

- Doug

[Keith Smith]

Doug, from this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=789#p4814

For X-Plane, it works as follows:
if COM1 is selected, PE will use COM1
if COM2 is selected, PE will use COM1

and

for X-Plane:
- select COM2, tune the ATIS on com2, tune ATC on com1

While you can only interact with ONE ATC frequency at a time on PE (for now), there's nothing stopping you picking up the ATIS (which is NOT a PE feature) on one radio while you interact with ATC on another radio. The technique above shows you how to do that.

[NM Doug]

I remember reading that thread...and now I see that I had *mis*read it . I will give it a go next time!

Thanks!
Doug