palmerjrusa
Member
Yep, I preordered it weeks ago from HRO...
Just checked with a sales rep., it's coming from their Sacramento outlet...
Yep, I preordered it weeks ago from HRO...
Just checked with a sales rep., it's coming from their Sacramento outlet...
Hope you can return some or you, too will have drawer of not so useful antennas🤪😃
Lol…I think I might be joining that club…Drawer full of under performing antennas…
Question for @xms3200 - The FA-B02AR antenna is the stock antenna for the ICOM A25C which can only transmit on 118 to 137 and receive on 108 to 137 - I am guessing it is "tuned" to some degree for that range - have you had a chance to test it on the UHF frequencies (225 to 380) to see how well it can receive in that area? Thanks
I have tried to pick up UHF mil air…no success yet…all the military aircraft passing overhead CLE and even not that far away, are transmitting on VHF air..including a Boeing E4B (doomsday 747), so I am quite happy to stick to VHF scanning.
G7RUX
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2021
- Messages
- 507
Tell me about it, I have loads!
I realize a bit off topic, but we should organize a club whereby we have everyone with the antenna drawers take one antenna per month and send it to another member. That way we can keep them circulating and everyone gets to experience the joys of all over priced, non-working antennas!
"The Antenna Swappers Club"....Where one man's under performing antenna is another man's high gain, low noise ATC quality antenna!!!
I'm confused about the VSC (Voice Squelch Control) setting, When I toggle it on, it doesn't hold, either on particular memory channels or during a scan. And when I edit a .csv memory channel file and specify that it's on, it doesn't work. I know it is said to work only for FM and FM-N, but I can't get it to work at all. Has anyone successfully enabled it?
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
It's actually tuned this way:
119 - 137 megs == < 4:1
121 - 136 megs == < 3:1
126 - 134 megs == < 2:1
130.5 megs == 1.2:1
There's a very small sliver of matching around 332 megs but it's so narrow it's pointless. It should definitely not be used for UHF mil-air.
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
I received my R15 from Moonraker today. Interesting that ICOM changed the box to their usual brown color. My unit also came with firmware 1.02 already installed. I'm charging up the battery now so I'll comment on its performance later. From what I've seen for the first 30s, the audio sounds great. I also love the screen -- very crisp and clear -- which these old eyes appreciate.
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
What do you believe this feature to do? My understanding is that it is suppose ignore digital noise. Are you saying it doesn't do that?
Thanks devicelab for the info on the Icon FAB02AR, I will try the Signal sticks dual band for UHF mil next time.
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
I swept the factory antenna. Very disappointing. It has a VERY narrow sliver around 148 megs @ 1.1 SWR. Then its next match is around 460 megs @ 2.0 SWR. From 400-500 it's generally under 3:1 but definitely not good for full coverage.
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
FWIW, I tried a few other antennas. It's going to nearly impossible to find a broadband rubber ducky antenna that covers 118-470 megs.
My Remtronix REM-842B is not bad but it's very thick and fairly large for the R15. They do sell a SMA version. That will get you tuned VHF Air, VHF Biz, UHF Mil-Air and UHF Biz bands.
(The REM-842B works quite well for other scanners -- trunking, etc. Just note that it's not a small antenna.)
My best antenna recommendation is this:
There's a clone of the Diamond telescopic on Amazon for $16 but I have no experience with that model.
With the Diamond fully extended, you'll get VHF Air and UHF Mil-Air. If you collapse the first top section, then you'll shift up a bit in frequency which brings in VHF HAM/Biz/Marine & RR. This does shift the UHF Mil-Air to the upper portion -- like 280-380 megs.
The overall point is that with the thin, telescopic whip you will have a tuned antenna for anywhere on 118-470 megs. It also has the tilty-flippy mechanism so that may be a good selling point too.
PS. Watson also makes a telescopic whip but I don't have that model. I do own both 881 whips and they're OK but again, not broad enough for full coverage.
My Remtronix REM-842B is not bad but it's very thick and fairly large for the R15. They do sell a SMA version. That will get you tuned VHF Air, VHF Biz, UHF Mil-Air and UHF Biz bands.
SMA VHF/UHF/800 MHz REM-842S REMTRONIX Triband antenna | Scanner Master
SMA VHF/UHF/800 MHz REM-842S REMTRONIX Triband antenna
www.scannermaster.com
(The REM-842B works quite well for other scanners -- trunking, etc. Just note that it's not a small antenna.)
My best antenna recommendation is this:
There's a clone of the Diamond telescopic on Amazon for $16 but I have no experience with that model.
With the Diamond fully extended, you'll get VHF Air and UHF Mil-Air. If you collapse the first top section, then you'll shift up a bit in frequency which brings in VHF HAM/Biz/Marine & RR. This does shift the UHF Mil-Air to the upper portion -- like 280-380 megs.
The overall point is that with the thin, telescopic whip you will have a tuned antenna for anywhere on 118-470 megs. It also has the tilty-flippy mechanism so that may be a good selling point too.
PS. Watson also makes a telescopic whip but I don't have that model. I do own both 881 whips and they're OK but again, not broad enough for full coverage.
Makes total sense since the Icom specs on the factory FA-S270C list it as 144- 148 VHF & 430 -450 UHF
It does not. And the "VSC" flag appears on the top right corner of the screen for a moment and then disappears.
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
Fair enough. I'll play with it and let you know what happens on mine. What digi are you trying to bypass -- DMR/NXDN ?
Yes, those modes plus junk noise like GPS bursts from survey crews on itinerant freqs, plus burps from mesh devices on MURS, etc.
Yes! Exactly what I was trying to say in my post #173 above…good advice with some good recommendations !FWIW, I tried a few other antennas. It's going to nearly impossible to find a broadband rubber ducky antenna that covers 118-470 megs.
My Remtronix REM-842B is not bad but it's very thick and fairly large for the R15. They do sell a SMA version. That will get you tuned VHF Air, VHF Biz, UHF Mil-Air and UHF Biz bands.
SMA VHF/UHF/800 MHz REM-842S REMTRONIX Triband antenna | Scanner Master
SMA VHF/UHF/800 MHz REM-842S REMTRONIX Triband antennawww.scannermaster.com
(The REM-842B works quite well for other scanners -- trunking, etc. Just note that it's not a small antenna.)
My best antenna recommendation is this:
There's a clone of the Diamond telescopic on Amazon for $16 but I have no experience with that model.
With the Diamond fully extended, you'll get VHF Air and UHF Mil-Air. If you collapse the first top section, then you'll shift up a bit in frequency which brings in VHF HAM/Biz/Marine & RR. This does shift the UHF Mil-Air to the upper portion -- like 280-380 megs.
The overall point is that with the thin, telescopic whip you will have a tuned antenna for anywhere on 118-470 megs. It also has the tilty-flippy mechanism so that may be a good selling point too.
PS. Watson also makes a telescopic whip but I don't have that model. I do own both 881 whips and they're OK but again, not broad enough for full coverage.
