Handheld for Monitoring

[retiredgrampa]

Living in San Diego I have been using a scanner to monitor marine traffic. Unfortunately the intermod and adjacent channel interference is driving us crazy. The fact that we can buy a decent handheld marine radio fairly cheap and not have to spend hundreds of dollars for a better scanner that may or may not do the job appeals to us. Our intent is to set the radio on a shelf, turn it on and listen. As it will never be used for transmit, the receiver, its sensitivity and especially the selectivity are of most importance. Also, when we look at radios we see that most have ac adapters and dc adapters but they imply that they are used just to charge batteries and not run the radio without the batteries. We need something that we can connect to a wall wart for power and not worry about batteries. Any ideas, recommendations, or advice is welcome.

 

[DannB]

here is a quik fix

Living in San Diego I have been using a scanner to monitor marine traffic. Unfortunately the intermod and adjacent channel interference is driving us crazy. The fact that we can buy a decent handheld marine radio fairly cheap and not have to spend hundreds of dollars for a better scanner that may or may not do the job appeals to us. Our intent is to set the radio on a shelf, turn it on and listen. As it will never be used for transmit, the receiver, its sensitivity and especially the selectivity are of most importance. Also, when we look at radios we see that most have ac adapters and dc adapters but they imply that they are used just to charge batteries and not run the radio without the batteries. We need something that we can connect to a wall wart for power and not worry about batteries. Any ideas, recommendations, or advice is welcome.

ok for what you want to do ,below is a link to a very basic ,good quality radio. I own one of these and use it often as i work as a fulltime captain. Now , you can leave it in the dropin charger and listen to it but it will use the battery from radio to do this , but as soon as you shut it off it will start to charge the battery. now if you never transmit, you can use this radio for more then one day on a single charge.just charge it when you go to sleep or something but it will get you through a day of listening with no problem..I transmit on mine and get more then one day out of battery ..it also has a sma antenna connection so you could buy a better handheld antenna if you like for even better reception.(diamond scanner antenna works great on mine) take a look below.. $89 bucks cant beat this radio..i love mine..let me know how ya make out

Standard Horizon HX280S 5 Watt Submersible Handheld VHF

 

[krokus]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (Android 2.3.4; Linux; Opera Mobi/ADR-1309251116) Presto/2.11.355 Version/12.10)

You could get a 2 meter ham radio, made within the last 20-ish years, and use the out-of-band receive functions. Most of them will scan decently.

Why are you getting so much intermod? Are you using an external antenna? Maybe that, coupled with being near transmitters?

 

[mmckenna]

As you suggested, most hand held radio chargers are designed to charge the battery, not charge the battery and run the radio. Doing both might work with some charger/radio combinations, others it may not. What will likely happen, is that over time the rechargeable battery will be damaged from constant charging. Once your rechargeable battery goes, you'll have to buy a new one, which can be expensive.

What I'd suggest is to purchase a permanent mount Marine VHF radio and a 12 volt power supply. This will prevent the battery issues and it will give you much better audio. Rather than trying to use a hand held with a small speaker, or using an external speaker plugged into a jack designed for headphones, get the mobile. The increased audio output and better speaker will make for much more pleasant listening. Add an external speaker and it'll sound even better.

Here is one on sale for $97.00 Only slightly more than the cost of the above mentioned handheld. http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|344|2028693|2028953&id=1701917
For the additional cost you'll prevent having to replace batteries every few years, and you'll enjoy better audio.
Of course, you'll need to figure in the cost of a 12 volt power supply. For listening only, I'd suggest something with at least 2 amps output. This is getting beyond what most wall-warts can do. Finding a small regulated 12 volt power supply will take a bit more work. Here is a very basic 12 volt 4 amp power supply: PYRAMID PS2K 10A AC to 12V DC Adapter : Power supplies | RadioShack.com

Of course with a radio like that, you'll need an antenna. Actually, getting an antenna mounted outside the house, will improve reception. Finding a VHF antenna won't be hard. You could get yourself one of the fiberglass white VHF antennas used on boats, or you can use just about any antenna designed for VHF.

Either way, hand held or permanent mount, it should address the inter mod issues, and will have much better sensitivity than a scanner.

 

[retiredgrampa]

Thanks for the replies. I guess about the only way to get around the battery issue is to get a mounted radio so I guess we will check that out.

 

[RohnsRadio]

just another option

just as another option take a look at : Cobra 3 Watt Compact VHF Radio


it is the coba 3 ( just in case link does not work) i have one of these in life jacket, tied to pocket so i cant lose it. fingure if i fall off the boat i can call for help lol