In the < $200 range?
What's a good airband scanner
- Thread starter dmoore12345
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For base/mobile, Uniden's BCT15X. Street price new about $150.
bigcam406
Member
Uniden BC125AT
prcguy
Member
For handheld the Yupiteru MVT7100 hands down.
prcguy
prcguy
Turbo68
Member
Portable:,Uniden 125,Uniden 396T,Yupiteru 7100
Base:Uniden BCT15X,Uniden BCT780
Regards Lino.
Base:Uniden BCT15X,Uniden BCT780
Regards Lino.
DHAS12
Member
Uniden BC125AT for about $100 or for $75 there is the BC75XLT, which is the same as the BC125AT just without alpha tags and pl tones, and a couple other little features. Both are fantastic for air-band use.
byndhlptom
Member
Air band scanner
Sporty's marketed several handhelds and a t least one base scanner that were dedicated airband only, They usually can be found for less than $100
$.02
Sporty's marketed several handhelds and a t least one base scanner that were dedicated airband only, They usually can be found for less than $100
$.02
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How about the bcd396t
How about the bcd396t is a good air band Radio
How about the bcd396t is a good air band Radio
The Uniden 780 is/was known for its' excellent airband performance... if you could find one.
John
John
Radio Shack
PRO-2035 (no computer interface)
PRO-2042 ( " " " )
PRO-2052 (has RS232 serial port)
PRO-2035 (no computer interface)
PRO-2042 ( " " " )
PRO-2052 (has RS232 serial port)
RadioJonD
Exalted Nabob
BC125AT gets my vote as well. It's inexpensive enough for airshow/event listening without the huge worry of loss or damage.
The main aeronautical difference between the BC75XLT & the BC125AT is that the BC75XLT does not include the military air band. That's what made my decision.
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milcom_chaser
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First off, if you want the UHF Mil band full coverage, then stay away from the 125AT as it's coverage is clipped from 380 Mhz to the upper edge of the band (399.975). While this section of the band was reallocated to LMR, It's still being used for Military coms... Also, you cannot create custom systems, your stuck with the old school arrangement of "Banks" of frequencies which wastes memory space.
So, moving forward:
BCD 396XT, BCD 325P2 (larger, easier to read display) if you wanna go handheld.
15x, 996XT, 996P2, if you wanna go mobile.
Stay away from Whistler products, as you cannot select custom search step size or mode (very disappointing)
5 cents worth.
So, moving forward:
BCD 396XT, BCD 325P2 (larger, easier to read display) if you wanna go handheld.
15x, 996XT, 996P2, if you wanna go mobile.
Stay away from Whistler products, as you cannot select custom search step size or mode (very disappointing)
5 cents worth.
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Great info, thanks! Being that I have all three, 15X, 996XT, and 996P2, does any one of those excel over the others on the UHF MilAir band?
milcom_chaser
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You would probably need to look at receive sensitivity specs for comparison.
The old Yupiteru line of scanners had exceptional sensitivity, signal to noise ratio, and audio quality
thru an external speaker, sounded HiFi.
Aircraft voice comm is all good ol' analog AM. All you really need is a basic receiver. Handheld BC125AT or base BC365CRS will do the job just fine and is well within the OPs price range. Save your money for what nobody mentioned... the antenna. A discone or simple 1/4 wave ground plane up as high as you can reasonably get it will greatly enhance your listening experience. You may even hear the ground side of the conversation and the ATIS if you are close enough to the airport (Cincinnati CVG). Feed it with some RG-6 coax which is cheap and readily available. (Of course, observe all antenna installation safety practices).
DHAS12
Member
Ah yeah, I forgot that the 75xlt doesn't get Mil air. The 125 AT gets 225-380 MHZ so that covers the mil air band. I used to be able to pick up a nearby MOA with my 125AT. If the OP wants Civil air + Mil air the 125AT is hard to beat IMO.
Best Air band scanner
I'd have to say I like my BCT-15x ( I have 2 actually) but my favorite is the Pro-2042. Having said that IMHO any scanner with an FM trap in between the antenna and the scanner is a good airband scanner.
I'd have to say I like my BCT-15x ( I have 2 actually) but my favorite is the Pro-2042. Having said that IMHO any scanner with an FM trap in between the antenna and the scanner is a good airband scanner.
I've put my BC780XLT up against pretty much everything made since 2005 on milair and it beats all of them at pulling in weak signals. I understand that the BC785 is right there with it, though I haven't confirmed that. In my testing, the newer Uniden and GRE scanners may have similar sensitivity on paper, but they can't pull in the weakest signals like the BC780XLT can, though of course YMMV.
All who "really" need full Mil Air coverage above 380 MHz, you can purchase overseas version of BC125AT = Uniden UBC125XLT frequency coverage from 25-88MHz, 108-174MHz, 225-512MHz and 806-960MHz with 5/6.25/8.33/10/12.5KHz frequency steps or Aus /NZ version UBC126XLT with the same coverage.
milcom_chaser
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too bad it lacks 25Khz step size...
Interesting idea, although he could easily buy a 396XT for a little over $150, and get full coverage,
and the correct step size selection choices for Commercial and Mil Band...
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