An air carrier captain reported that 121.5 in the vicinity of sfo to rno was unusable due to static.

Attributes
ACN	886788
Time
Date	201005
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZOA.ARTCC
State Reference	CA
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B777-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 20000 Flight Crew Type 5000
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types

Narrative:

The use of 121.5 in the airspace from oak to rno during climb out to cruise altitude is nearly impossible. There is a constant; loud staccato noise on the frequency. This issue is known by oak ATC; as when reported they acknowledge knowing about it. Consequently; during the first 30-40 minutes of flight we routinely leave 121.5 turned off or down so low as to be unusable as a means to call us. This has been going on for weeks; and is a clear safety hazard.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier Captain reported that 121.5 in the vicinity of SFO to RNO was unusable due to static.

Narrative: The use of 121.5 in the airspace from OAK to RNO during climb out to cruise altitude is nearly impossible. There is a constant; loud staccato noise on the frequency. This issue is known by OAK ATC; as when reported they acknowledge knowing about it. Consequently; during the first 30-40 minutes of flight we routinely leave 121.5 turned off or down so low as to be unusable as a means to call us. This has been going on for weeks; and is a clear safety hazard.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.