Adjust the RTL-SDR tuner gain under the SDRSharp configure button for best reception. The main ACARS frequency is at 131.550 Mhz. Use a bandwidth of around 5-10 kHz, 6 kHz works best for me. Open SDRSharp, and set the output audio device to the audio piping method you intend to use. If you are unfamiliar with ACARS signals, an example of the waterfall produced by ACARS signals is shown on the left. Ensure the audio method you use in SDRSharp is set to the default audio device in the windows recording audio settings. Either first set up windows stereo mix, or download and install virtual audio cable (paid with trial) or the free VB-Cable. You will also need to have an audio piping method set up. If you have not bought an RTL-SDR yet, see the buy RTL-SDR page and then the quickstart guide. We will assume you have bought and set up RTL-SDR with SDRSharp. Tutorial – Decoding ACARS using SDRSharp and RTL-SDR In this video, hamradioscience uses multiple RTL-SDR dongles to add ADS-B and ACARS decoding to PlanePlotter. You can also hear what ACARS sounds like in this video. YouTube user moonfestmadness shows another RTL-SDR video also with SDR# and decoding program acarsd. 
YouTube user Superphish shows a timelapse over 5 hours of ACARS traffic and decoding using SDR# and decoding program acarsd. In this article the focus will be on VHF ACARS, as receiving HF ACARS is a little different. There is also HF ACARS, which is used for long distance communications. Most messages will be unreadable data intended for computers, but you can find out what is flying near you by decoding the flight number and aircraft registration details sent with every message. The messages you can receive will be from nearby aircraft and ground stations.
Standard ACARS transmits at a frequency of 131.550MHz, which is squarely in the receivable range of the RTL-SDR. The RTL-SDR software radio can be used as a radio scanner for listening to these digital messages, and with the help of some decoding software, can be used to decode and display the messages. ACARS is an acronym for Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System which is a digital communications system that aircraft use to send and receive short messages to and from ground stations.
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