Was curious if there is an appreciable difference in the reception quality between a scanner and a dedicated aviation radio such as one of the Icom handhelds to monitor commercial air traffic? Thanks for any feedback.
Aviation Radios
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DPD1
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Typically the commercial equipment (or even ham equipment) does have better receive. It's easier to make a radio hear well in one area, and not so easy to make it hear well across a large portion of the spectrum. Lots of railroad listeners prefer ham or commercial radios.
Dave
-DPD Productions - Custom Scanner, MURS, & GMRS Antennas-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/
Dave
-DPD Productions - Custom Scanner, MURS, & GMRS Antennas-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/
In a general sense I figured that was the case. I know I've heard that the VX-150 is popular with rail monitors. I guess it really depends on how dedicated a person is to one particular segment of scanning (such as aviation, railroads, marine, etc.), as to whether the added expense of a dedicated radio is worth it.
I know from my past experience, I have been less than satisfied with scanners when it comes to air traffic monitoring. It's much like the deal with the wideband receivers. You have to give up some performance somewhere when you operate over such a wide range of frequencies.
I know from my past experience, I have been less than satisfied with scanners when it comes to air traffic monitoring. It's much like the deal with the wideband receivers. You have to give up some performance somewhere when you operate over such a wide range of frequencies.
Aircraft radios and scanners
What are the best aircraft radios? Also, what are the best rated scanners for aircraft reception?
I use a Bearcat 800XLT and a ground plane about 30 feet above ground and get Atlanta Ops, Washington Center and lots more---are there BASE antennas just for aircraft?
What are the best aircraft radios? Also, what are the best rated scanners for aircraft reception?
I use a Bearcat 800XLT and a ground plane about 30 feet above ground and get Atlanta Ops, Washington Center and lots more---are there BASE antennas just for aircraft?
DPD1
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Bendix King use to offer air band handhelds. They're still big in avionics, but I don't know if they still have handhelds. Icom and Vertex also have air models. Of course, these are transceivers... So obviously you would get in big trouble transmitting. I also don't know if any of them scan. Some of the ham radios that have a wide receive do scan though. I would say that getting a radio like that is fine, if you're into something enough that you're willing to spend the money. But if you want to hear different things and only want one radio, a scanner is best.
I offer antennas for VHF and UHF air.
Dave
-DPD Productions - Custom Scanner, MURS, & GMRS Antennas-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/
I offer antennas for VHF and UHF air.
Dave
-DPD Productions - Custom Scanner, MURS, & GMRS Antennas-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/
The Icom radios don't scan beyond the VHF airband. Most have 200 channels with text tags (6 character). They have models that do NavCom (108-136) and some that do just Com (118-136). Most also have the NOAA weather freqs in them also. Some have VOR functions, some don't. All depends on what bells and whistles you want and how much money you want to pay. The newer models from Icom also have a voice recorder that you can use to record transmissions if you would want to.
Vertex (Yaesu) also has a few models out. Their top of the line VXA-700 also is a fully functional 2 meter ham HT, and is water immersable. It runs close to $400 though. Reviews I saw weren't too glowing.
You can check out some of the available units here www.avionicswest.com to get an idea of whats available, prices and specs. Also this site www.soarmn.com has put together a neat comparison chart for the Icom and Vertex models. One thing I've found in checking this stuff out is that many pilots hardly use their handhelds. They only keep them in their flight bags as a backup. And it seems they show up on Ebay fairly often in great shape and sometimes for a decent price.
Vertex (Yaesu) also has a few models out. Their top of the line VXA-700 also is a fully functional 2 meter ham HT, and is water immersable. It runs close to $400 though. Reviews I saw weren't too glowing.
You can check out some of the available units here www.avionicswest.com to get an idea of whats available, prices and specs. Also this site www.soarmn.com has put together a neat comparison chart for the Icom and Vertex models. One thing I've found in checking this stuff out is that many pilots hardly use their handhelds. They only keep them in their flight bags as a backup. And it seems they show up on Ebay fairly often in great shape and sometimes for a decent price.
TeRayCodA
Member
I have the Sporty's JD-100 UHF/VHF air scanner(discontinued) that I LOVE.
The sensitivity is excellent,as is the audio(loud and clear without distortion).The band swath is 118-143Mhz(civillian/military AM air traffic)220-400Mhz(military AM air)
The programming is a little awkward at first,but once you get the hang of it,it's not too bad.Plus,you can select to leave the display light on.
It's my favorite airshow scanner.As of this writing there are two of these on ebay,one has only had a couple of hours of use.
These used to retail (new) for around $180.00
The sensitivity is excellent,as is the audio(loud and clear without distortion).The band swath is 118-143Mhz(civillian/military AM air traffic)220-400Mhz(military AM air)
The programming is a little awkward at first,but once you get the hang of it,it's not too bad.Plus,you can select to leave the display light on.
It's my favorite airshow scanner.As of this writing there are two of these on ebay,one has only had a couple of hours of use.
These used to retail (new) for around $180.00
I looked at those on Ebay. The first one says its in excellent shape, but the pic makes it look kinda ratty! lol Maybe its just the pic. I see it only has 20 channels. Thats a shame, but it seems an interesting piece of gear.
Anyone use the Yupiteru MVT-7100 for VHF/UHF air? How is it?
kf4lne
Member
if you are really insanely hard core into Aviation monitoring, check out the $419 Yaesy VXA-700. Its a Air TX, 2M TX and a wide coverage receiver all in one. I wouldnt buy it, but I am sure there are some that are insanely hard core about air monitoring
kf4lne said:
Yeah I saw that, but I'm not that insane! lol I checked the reviews on Eham and they weren't too glowing either. The idea is interesting though, to combine the two because it's certainly not unheard of for pilots to be hams!
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