Inexpensive HT to listen to airband

Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
29
I have an SDS100 and while it’s great for digital it’s not great for my county airport. Planes can be just overhead and still miss part of the transmission or it’s just not clear.

Do I just get a BC125AT to listen to air?

What I was considering was a cheap HT like a Radtel RT-470x or a Talkpod A36Plus.
I know these are cheap but would they give me any better enjoyment listening to air over my SDS100?
Reading some other posts showed some good results with the RT-470. I saw a post saying the RT-890 was safer than the Talkpod but I’m not looking to transmit.

Thanks
 

dispatchgeek

Complex combination of diodes, marbles and valves.
Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
226
Location
Between the cornfields and the pastures, Michigan.
Spring for the BC125AT. I've heard very mixed reviews on the cheap HTs and their AM performance. I've got two BC125ATs, one which was previously dedicated to Civil and MilAir. It did a heck of a job in a challenging RF environment. I've run my SDS100 and BC125AT side by side for airshow traffic-The 125 blew the SDS100 out of the water on AM.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
29
Thanks @natedawg1604
I just had a thought. I have an old BC235xlt. I don’t know how good they are on air. It just has a dead battery. I’d have to source a new one.
So new, small and purpose specific unit or try to reuse what I have.
The BC125 is small and light I think.
 

SA_tx_88116

Rather listen than to stream
Joined
Apr 2, 2023
Messages
297
Location
Cibolo, Texas
I have an SDS100 and while it’s great for digital it’s not great for my county airport. Planes can be just overhead and still miss part of the transmission or it’s just not clear.

Do I just get a BC125AT to listen to air?

What I was considering was a cheap HT like a Radtel RT-470x or a Talkpod A36Plus.
I know these are cheap but would they give me any better enjoyment listening to air over my SDS100?
Reading some other posts showed some good results with the RT-470. I saw a post saying the RT-890 was safer than the Talkpod but I’m not looking to transmit.

Thanks
I’ve seen a video where boy and a scanner tried the sds100 with a metal whip antenna and it worked great antenna link:https://www.amazon.com/outstanding-Telescopic-Antenna-Section-Connector/dp/B07D32NNKF/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=373RPA5J1KN2Y&dchild=1&keywords=sma+telescopic+antenna&qid=1600478246&sprefix=sma+tele,aps,254&sr=8-3&linkCode=sl1&tag=dajwoleanea08-20&linkId=aca3b66addc84b84c7fa26762dfc390b&language=en_US
 

jaspence

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
3,042
Location
Michigan
The BC125AT is one of the best choices for the money. The Icom IC-R6 is also very good and small, but the lack of a full keypad complicates easy use compared to the125.
 

tvengr

Well Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
8,535
Location
Baltimore County, MD
I just had a thought. I have an old BC235xlt. I don’t know how good they are on air. It just has a dead battery. I’d have to source a new one.
So new, small and purpose specific unit or try to reuse what I have.
The BC125 is small and light I think.
The BC235XLT does not cover the military air band. The BC125AT does.
 
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