Pros, cons, comments on the Pro 164 for the Airband?

[daniel10263]

Well guys I'm wondering if the RS pro 164 is good for the Airband? Pros, cons, you know sound quality, reception, and range?

Besides, I'm new on the Radio Scanner Hobbie and I have a question, and this question might sound silly, but here it goes: It is possible to listen only to one frequency in the pro 164? for example, I only want to hear the ATC control Tower on 118.1 mhz, does the pro 164 have an option that stays only on this frequency or the scanner continues to scan others?


Thanks!

 

[ka3jjz]

Scanners don't have a 'dual watch' capability such as you describe - however since there are innumerable older scanners out there that cover VHF air, you might have an older scanner sit on the ATC freq while you do other things with the 164. However...

Much depends on the antenna, how far away you are from the tower and the terrain that separates you. Generally a tower antenna drives the signal up and away (a crude approximation would be a flashlight shining towards a ceiling), so it's not always easy to hear tower comms when you are further away - say no more than a couple of miles or so.

The small antenna supplied with most handhelds is quite lossy at airband freqs, so a better antenna would likely be needed. Which antenna would be right for you also depends to some degree as whether you can mount it outdoors (which is best) or indoors, say in an attic (will reduce your range to some degree, but still better than the duckie). We have an antennas forum where that can be discussed in more detail, since that subject is OT here

73 Mike

 

[Zagadka]

You can make your tower frequency the PRIority channel so while scanning, the 164 will check that channel every 2 seconds or so.