HF Radio Services

Airlines

We need to send our colleagues this info!

Operational Message Relay

General
Departure
Position Reports
PRD / RDA

We relay various types of messages such as: Position Reports, ARR/DEP messages, Re-dispatch/Acceptance messages, etc. Individual templates with pre-defined addresses can be stored in the system and retrieved for quick and safe transactions. Additional addresses can be easily included as required. Messages are relayed via: TYPE-B/AFTN, Email, fax or phone.

From certain stations, where ground network is known to be slow, it is often a better alternative – or a complement – to have crews send Departure Messages via HF radio to us for onward delivery.

We forward position reports to give the airline updated information on the progress of the flight for an accurate Flight Watch. Any technical malfunctions could easily be included to give Maintenance an early warning to reduce the risk of unwanted extended ground stoppage time

The exchange of PRD and subsequent RDA are handled in a quick and reliable manner.

Or you may elect to go one-stop-shopping and have all of your messages go through us. After all, our only objective is to see to it that communications for our customers are handled in a rapid and reliable manner. Ground handlers at various stations have many other duties to attend to, which in some cases might affect the flow of information.

If provided, our system will store addresses to which all Air-to-Ground messages are forwarded for each individual company. This means a message will reach its destination just a few moments after a positive read-back, delivered by TYPE-B, AFTN, fax or e-mail.

By applying communication routines as outlined (i.e. the flight crews monitoring one of our frequencies on SELCAL), the airline can also make the necessary arrangements to allow for quick response times on requests from Operations or other ground support facilities.

Call home base/head office

Operational Phone Patches

HF equipped aircraft can connect to any telephone subscriber in the global telephone network through STORADIO. These phone patches are often used whenever the need arises for consultation by direct voice communication between Flight Crews and Ground facilities or vice versa. Usually our customers provide us with company phone numbers that they will use most often, and we store them in our system for quick auto-dial purposes. This expedites quicker phone patch transactions on the air and reduces human error.

When operating within our Service Area we encourage crew to always establish contact with us at the beginning of the flight and remain on SELCAL guard throughout the flight. This will ensure that you do not have any delays due to establishing communications with STORADIO. See also Communicating with STORADIO.

Medical Advice from your medical support/back-u

Medical Phone Patches

Medlink by Medaire
Medaire and SOS International.

In order to facilitate the decision making of the Pilot In Command in case of a Medical situation on board, we can connect Phone Patches to any of the facilities that are specialized in providing Medical Advice, or to a Physician appointed by the individual airline.

Typical providers of Medical Advice are MedLink by Phone Patches will be connected either directly to the providers or via the Airline. (STORADIO charges apply). The medical consultation will be charged according to agreement made directly between the airline and the MED organization consulted.

What kind of weather do we have?

MET Information

As a value-added service, we provide Flight Crews with MET Info with virtually no retrieval delay. Our system carries Actuals and Forecasts for all major stations within our Service Area and beyond.

At the time when crews give a position report, or when they establish SELCAL guard with us, they can also request us to read out the weather for their destination or En Route Alternate. This can reduce the cockpit workload a great deal as crews do not need to remember the exact time for the VOLMET transmission or wait for VHF range for ATIS.

As an added bonus, establishing and maintaining contact with us will lead to a situation where chances are much greater for successful Ground-to-Air traffic.

Mandatory SELCAL checks

SELCAL

General
Check of two radio
Frequency to guard

SELCAL (Selective Calling) is a system designed to give Flight Crews a possibility to guard a certain frequency without actually having to listen to the audio and the noises an HF radio received normally makes. The system comprises a Ground based SELCAL encoder and an on-board decoder. Each SELCAL equipped aircraft is assigned a four-letter SELCAL code. Each letter represents a tone and the SELCAL code consists of the tones of the first two letters followed by the tones of the last two letters in the code. The on-board decoder will detect the tone combination and will sound a chime and illuminate a light in the cockpit if the SELCAL decoded matches that of your aircraft.

The distribution of the SELCAL codes is administered by Aviation Spectrum Resources Inc. Maryland US.
www.asri.aero/selcal

SELCAL check of two radio installations can best be performed using the following procedure:

Select the same frequency on both radios. Call STORADIO on Radio #1 and request a SELCAL check. The transmitted code should trigger both SELCAL decoders. Acknowledge receipt of the SELCAL check using Radio #2.

SELCAL is the key factor ensuring Ground-to-Air traffic is handled in a timely manner. When not in conflict with ATC requirements, flight Crews are encouraged to maintain SELCAL guard with STORADIO at all times on a suitable frequency while operating in our Service Area.

The frequency to guard depends upon time of year, time of day and aircraft position. Our Propagation Forecast will offer crews a rough guideline for selecting the best frequency. Better still is actual pilot experience. Pilots are encouraged and welcome to call us as often as they wish, to check out the most suitable frequency. Please, bear in mind that the frequency you checked your SELCAL on early in the flight may not be the best frequency for the latter part of a long-haul flight as distance and time differences affect the optimal frequency. Note: When En Route, with dual HF installations, we recommend that you select two different frequencies on the two HF sets for SELCAL guard, to overcome the changes in the propagation that may occur as time and location change.

I need to call home

Personal Phone Patches

Since private phone patches cannot be connected on the monitored ICAO allocated frequencies, crew members are requested to advise us in the initial call-up that they wish to make a personal call. A suitable discrete non-aeronautical frequency is then assigned.

Crew members wishing to utilize this service will be assigned a Personal Billing number - or Stockholm Radio Account Number. We will then store the name and credit card number in our system in order to simplify future transactions.

Note: To keep costs to a minimum, crew members will not receive statements for any calls made. Application for a private STORADIO Account Number is simple. All we need is your:

• Credit card number
• Expiry date
• Full name of card holder
• Full address (optional)
• Airline/Company name and/or ICAO-code (optional)

to be sent to our email-address hf@storadio.aero (or by phone: +46-86017910 H24). We will promptly return your Account number for future use when calling us for private phone patches. This service is not available for corporate accounts. See: Corporate Account Fees for details.