Best radio for Air band?

[michaelscoofield]

Hello folks,

Could you hint what is the best radio for Air band long distance reception please? I mean sensitivity / selectivity/ breakthru immunity / scanning…

Many thanks,

-m

 

[N6JPA]

It really depends on the Antenna that you use. If you have a antenna 20 feet above your home then a BC-15X is good. If you are using a hand held radio such as a BC125AT with a whip then most antennas will be fine for the 144 MHz range of frequencies. YMMV. IMHO.

 

[michaelscoofield]

Hi,

Many thanks for your help.

I have prepared colinear vertical for 120/300MHz (civilian/military bands) with 3.4/5.5dBi (5/8, 2x5/8 in 1.7m length) from Diamond mounted at 12m height on the house roof.
I am planning to add the air-band BPF filter and preamp close to antenna and H400 Ultraflex coax feedline and optionally FM band-stop filter.
Looking for best solution 😉

(But unfortunately, I am not millionaire 🤷🏼)

Many thanks,
-m

 

[G7RUX]

The Diamond antenna is a good bit of kit, although you may find that the band pass filter will reject the UHF military air band.

Regarding receivers specifically for airband, many general VHF/UHF comms receivers and scanners will work very well for you. As has been mentioned the BCT15X is a decent set and not terribly expensive. Quite a few good receivers are available used at decent money from a number of manufacturers so it really depends how much you are comfortable spending.

That said, you have sorted a very competent antenna and feeder setup so I would be surprised if the BCT15 wasn’t pretty much all you need…except perhaps a couple of them might be nice for multi-channel monitoring.

 

[michaelscoofield]

Many thanks.

Regarding the BPF, I am working on homework, the BPF filter for military airband. If it will be needed then I would switch between filters remotely.

Well, so BCT15X sounds good. In fact I am not so experienced with receivers in terms of their FE performance so better to learn from some experienced users here…

Multi-channel monitoring would be great but have no idea which receiver has this capability. I hate black boxes routed to PC and mouse instead of classic, legacy radio with tuning knob and buttons…

Thank in advance for any ideas and tips. Until now I had AOR3000 and R&S EB100 but surprisingly both were pretty bad in terms of selectivity and overloading immunity with large antennas. When I connected them to 8el. Big Wheels collinear system for VHF, both radios died due to low overloading immunity…😕

-m

 

[G7RUX]

Many thanks.

Regarding the BPF, I am working on homework, the BPF filter for military airband. If it will be needed then I would switch between filters remotely.

Well, so BCT15X sounds good. In fact I am not so experienced with receivers in terms of their FE performance so better to learn from some experienced users here…

Multi-channel monitoring would be great but have no idea which receiver has this capability. I hate black boxes routed to PC and mouse instead of classic, legacy radio with tuning knob and buttons…

Thank in advance for any ideas and tips. Until now I had AOR3000 and R&S EB100 but surprisingly both were pretty bad in terms of selectivity and overloading immunity with large antennas. When I connected them to 8el. Big Wheels collinear system for VHF, both radios died due to low overloading immunity…😕

-m

Oh, I had an EB100 for some while and found it a fine DF receiver, although it was never really designed for base station use!

Regarding multiple receivers, you could use a splitter or multicoupler at the bench to feed two or more receivers rather than trying to find multi-VFO radios. This would likely work pretty well as you indicate you are intending using a head amp with the antenna...this way you could have a BPF in line for each, one for milair and one for civil air.

 

[michaelscoofield]

Many thanks. Great idea with splitter. I will think about it.
-m

 

[michaelscoofield]

So, it looks like BCT15X is out.
I found some reviews (incl. my local club friend’s experiences) which says this radio has pretty bad selectivity and low sensitivity…
So my search continues.
-m

 

[rf_patriot200]

Hello folks,

Could you hint what is the best radio for Air band long distance reception please? I mean sensitivity / selectivity/ breakthru immunity / scanning…

Many thanks,

-m

I use a Yaesu FT70D with a Signal Stick on it for Civilian and Mil Air, and it's probably my best performer next to my Uniden 780 Xlt.

 

[michaelscoofield]

Signal Stick ?? 🤔

 

[rf_patriot200]

Signal Stick ?? 🤔

It's a Unbreakable whip about 19" long made from a special steel that retains its shape. it can be tied into a loop without damage. It's made by signalstuff.com They can be had with the connector of your choice too.

 

[michaelscoofield]

Many thanks. I have FT-70 here. The question is how it will survive the big antenna which I have on the roof…😉

 

[rf_patriot200]

Many thanks. I have FT-70 here. The question is how it will survive the big antenna which I have on the roof…😉

Take a look at their website, they have other options too. If you break one of their antennas, they'll replace it Free !

 

[G7RUX]

Using a HT on that antenna setup has two disadvantages. Firstly if you manage to Tx through it then you’ll probably do something a mischief and secondly whilst a fine receiver it really isn’t designed to be used with such a significant antenna system and you may well run into issues. I know my FT2 doesn’t do that well on a rooftop X50 here.

I do have to say that I disagree about the BCT15X in that I have found it to be a decent performer for the money; give it a decent antenna and perhaps some extra band filtering and you’ll get good performance out of it.

 

[G7RUX]

I use a Yaesu FT70D with a Signal Stick on it for Civilian and Mil Air, and it's probably my best performer next to my Uniden 780 Xlt.

You’ll get even better performance if you make your own signalstick for the correct frequencies; the 2/70 one is somewhat too short and you lose a good 15 dB through mismatch loss on VHF airband alone.

 

[rf_patriot200]

You’ll get even better performance if you make your own signalstick for the correct frequencies; the 2/70 one is somewhat too short and you lose a good 15 dB through mismatch loss on VHF airband alone.

I have one CUT for 118-136 on my FT70 which I'm licensed to use, which DOES NOT transmit on civilian or MIL Air !

 

[G7RUX]

I have one CUT for 118-136 on my FT70 which I'm licensed to use, which DOES NOT transmit on civilian or MIL Air !

I made one myself as I have a supply of nitinol and it is significantly better for receiving VHF airband than a standard SignalStick, unsurprisingly. I have had a surprising number of people tell me that a standard 2/70 SignalStick is “great on VHF air.”

 

[SigIntel8600]

Portable operations with an Icom IC-R15 and a Diamond SRH-77CA antenna can't be beat IMHO.

 

[rf_patriot200]

I made one myself as I have a supply of nitinol and it is significantly better for receiving VHF airband than a standard SignalStick, unsurprisingly. I have had a surprising number of people tell me that a standard 2/70 SignalStick is “great on VHF air.”

Thank you !! I was racking my head trying to remember the name of that material used for the whip, and couldn't ! I have two of the signal sticks, one with a Male SMA, and a Female to cover most of my portables.

 

[rf_patriot200]

Portable operations with an Icom IC-R15 and a Diamond SRH-77CA antenna can't be beat IMHO.

Mine broke at the base, after a week !