[FedCom] Plattsburg ICE

[Tom Berkshire]

It is my understanding that the AN/APY-2 radar system used in the
AWACS Aircraft is an S-Band system.

Steve WA1YKL (a member of this list) has published articles in
Scanning USA on how to modify Wavecom units for expanded frequency
coverage up to ~3 GHz., as well as information regarding tapping the
IF output of the Wavecom's tuner module in order to hook it up to a
communications receiver or spectrum analyzer.

So depending on where in the S-band the system is operating, it indeed
would be possible to detect and monitor the signals with "commercial
off-the-shelf" equipment.  Those who have played with the Wavecom
units know how they have excellent sensitivity, but poor selectivity,
so even if the system was up on the high end of the band it still
might be a possibility.

Now if my OSINT is incorrect, the S-band is still interesting enough
to play with.