Icom IC-AC20 Air Radio

[OZ_Redneck]

Sorry, the thread title should read "ICOM IC-A20 radio, not AC20.

I recently purchased one through Ebay and I've been playing with it a bit. It seems to receive aircraft through it's rubber ducky antenna better than my conventional scanners do but I havent been game to transmit on the air bands. I really just purchased it to use as a scanner for the air bands, and it's novelty factor over a regular scanner.

The users manual says that these radios are used by pilots, is this true? I find it hard to imagine them using a hand held radio for air to air comms.

Can anyone tell me much about these radios?

 

[trafficdan]

Some of the older aircraft don't have hard wired radios. So that may be true. Pilots like to be able to know whats going on especially in uncontrolled airspaces. (You may see this a lot at smaller airports when there are fly-ins)

I personally carried a handheld radio when I flew and it was setup to use with a headset in the event I needed a backup communication module that was set to go very quickly.

I know the local airport had the re-fuelers using them while in the truck for comms as well.

 

[N_Jay]

I lot of pilots don't trust the radios in rented aircraft.

 

[OZ_Redneck]

Thanks for the info.
It makes sense about Pilots not trusting radios in rented planes.

 

[rescuecomm]

What about ultralights? Do they have wired in aviation radios?

Bob

 

[CLB]

I have an A20 down at the airport. Great little radio.

What about ultralights? Do they have wired in aviation radios?

Bob

Some do, some don't. There's even adapters you can get through Sporty's or similar that allow a standard headset to be plugged into an HT.

I've seen and heard many instances of either a radio or electrical failure in an aircraft that the pilot had to switch over to the HT. Most I know have one in the flightbag as a "just in case" type thing.

 

[SCPD]

I recently purchased one through Ebay and I've been playing with it a bit. It seems to receive aircraft through it's rubber ducky antenna better than my conventional scanners do but I haven't been game to transmit on the air bands.

Please don't - the pilots appreciate that!

I really just purchased it to use as a scanner for the air bands, and it's novelty factor over a regular scanner.

It's a great radio. I owned one for a long time. Someone saw it on the floorboard of my car and decided they needed it more than I. Quickly thereafter I was in need of a new passenger window.

The users manual says that these radios are used by pilots, is this true? I find it hard to imagine them using a hand held radio for air to air comms.

The target consumer audience of this radio is the pilot - both professional and weekend flyer. For a pilot headed to a big airport - they can listen to ATIS on the way. For a small airport they can check the CTAF to get an idea of who's flying (are the parachute jumpers active today)? While at the airport they can request fuel top off and push back.

And yes ... above all they have a backup radio. Pop the master switch to the plane's electrical system - the plane will keep flying (but no lights and no radios). Battery / generator / alternator failure - you can still communicate.

Can anyone tell me much about these radios?

Radio was current production in the early to mid-90's. It will tune the full airband ... I think in 25khz steps. There might be some channels around 136 mhz that it doesn't cover that were added very recently. The older radios did 50khz. It's a NAV and COM radio. You can tune 108 to 118 mhz which is where the radio navigation beacons can be found. Not very useful on the ground but up in the air it can tell you the bearing to any VOR station within reception range (depends on terrain and altitude). If you drive to an airport with a traditional ILS approach (and associated VOR on site), you should be close enough to test this out. The radio will display a three digit number - that's the bearing in degrees. Grab a compass and you'll know the direction to the radio beacon station.

Just beware of the PTT button and you should be fine. Enjoy the radio!

-rick

 

[mancow]

I have one and the VHF 162 Mhz WX stations seem to operate much better than the KX99 I had.

It's a fun radio with great audio and great sensitivity. It's fun to leave 123.45 in the scanlist and see what comes up. I haven't had the chance to try the VOR feature but I seems to be just the same as the KX99.