New to UK Airband/Scanning

[DonutUK]

Hi,
I am looking at getting into airband and other listening, and am looking at a Baofeng UV-5RH to get started. Is this a good starting point? I know that there are mods that can be done to it that will potentially improve what it can do.

Would this be a good starting set up? Are there other recommended starting set ups?

 

[Ubbe]

If you don't want to spend much money then it's better than nothing, but Baofengs usually has terrible receiver performance and you will pay extra for its 10W transmit features.

A receive only Uniden BC125 will be miles better but will also cost more.

These are analog receivers and besides airband most other transmissions will probably be digital. You can get a $25 USB SDR dongle and a computer to evaluate what digital transmissions you have in your area and if you need a portable receiver you then have to look at what digital formats and system, there might be simulcast ones that require a Uniden SDS scanner to monitor them or use that $25 dongle, that would need you to look at scanners that supports those systems.

/Ubbe

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Welcome to the RR forums. Steer clear of Baofeng for air monitoring if at all possible, they're prone to intermod & overloading. If you can acquire one in your area I'd go with a Uniden UBC125XLT

 

[EAFrizzle]

I have to agree with W3JMC; a Baofeng is not going to serve you well for airband. The FM receiver is plenty sensitive for weak signals, with associated overload, but the AM recieve is terrible on all of them. It's only there as a function to upsell.

The Uniden 125 or even the 75 will make a much better airband scanner that you will enjoy much more. My 125 is an outstanding performer on on Civil and Military airbands.

 

[Minus1]

Hi,
I am looking at getting into airband and other listening, and am looking at a Baofeng UV-5RH to get started. Is this a good starting point? I know that there are mods that can be done to it that will potentially improve what it can do.

Would this be a good starting set up? Are there other recommended starting set ups?

UBD125XLT is best low cost Option. If your budget support it, an Icom IC-R15 or Alinco DJ-X100 will do a much better job as they support 8.33 kHz channels better.

 

[DonutUK]

Thanks for all the replies, looks like I am going to spend a little more for the 125XLT. Have seen 2 versions on Moonraker, 1 coming "pre loaded" for an additional £50. Is that worth it, or is it easy enough to do myself?

 

[EAFrizzle]

It's easy to program yourself, even if you do it manually. Try the 30-day trial of ProScan, it makes programming the 125 a breeze.

 

[Minus1]

You'll never learn how to make the best of it if you don't do it yourself. Most VHF & UHF air freqs are published in the AIP and Military AIP.
NATS AIS eAIP
UK Mil AIP

 

[Ubbe]

You have a nice programming software here: Scan125 Control Program

The UBC125 covers from 25MHz to 950MHz including military air and has one of the best receivers for air frequencies. It can search the whole VHF air band in 8 sec using 25KHz steps, not too bad, and when you hit a frequency you can program it to a channel memory. The Scan125 program can log and save all hits so it will be possible to let it run unattended when you are not actively using the scanner to catch all frequencies you can monitor in your area. If you invest in a SDR dongle it can search the whole VHF air band in 2 sec, and then program its findings in the scanner.

For VHF air it would improve reception a lot if using a bigger antenna. A 1/4 wave antenna for VHF air are 50cm long and there are telescope antennas that can be extended to that length. A full size discone antenna are perfect to monitor both the civil and mil air band and connect that with a RG6 coax and you'll have the best possible setup.

Frequencies to enter from the start are those at 123MHz that are used for intercom between aircrafts and also to ground people when helicopters do special lift operations. At 131MHz band there are the companies internal frequencies where they report of problems and issues. There's also an intercom frequency at 121.100MHz where pilots chit chat unfiltered with each other at high altitudes.

/Ubbe

 

[DonutUK]

If I upped my budget towards the ICOM Icr15 am I stuck with using Icom's software at £75 to program it? Is that something similar that is as good?

 

[G7RUX]

If I upped my budget towards the ICOM Icr15 am I stuck with using Icom's software at £75 to program it? Is that something similar that is as good?

No, both Butel and RT Systems do software to program the R15 so you should be fine with that.

the R15 is a fine receiver but the Uniden 125 works very well indeed for airband and costs a lot less. Granted, it’s not as fancy but it’s a very good receiver and pretty straightforward to drive. It also has the advantage of having a numerical keypad which is something the Icoms don’t have.

if you want something smaller, the IC-R6 is a decent receiver but is fiddly to program due to having rather few keys, although it is very pocketable for discreet listening using a pair of earbuds as an antenna.

 

[Minus1]

You have a nice programming software here: Scan125 Control Program

The UBC125 covers from 25MHz to 950MHz including military air and has one of the best receivers for air frequencies. It can search the whole VHF air band in 8 sec using 25KHz steps, not too bad, and when you hit a frequency you can program it to a channel memory. The Scan125 program can log and save all hits so it will be possible to let it run unattended when you are not actively using the scanner to catch all frequencies you can monitor in your area. If you invest in a SDR dongle it can search the whole VHF air band in 2 sec, and then program its findings in the scanner.

For VHF air it would improve reception a lot if using a bigger antenna. A 1/4 wave antenna for VHF air are 50cm long and there are telescope antennas that can be extended to that length. A full size discone antenna are perfect to monitor both the civil and mil air band and connect that with a RG6 coax and you'll have the best possible setup.

Frequencies to enter from the start are those at 123MHz that are used for intercom between aircrafts and also to ground people when helicopters do special lift operations. At 131MHz band there are the companies internal frequencies where they report of problems and issues. There's also an intercom frequency at 121.100MHz where pilots chit chat unfiltered with each other at high altitudes.

/Ubbe

121.1 is NOT used as chit-chat in the UK.