Technisonic TIL-92-SC

[theking888565]

Hello. I don't know much about transceivers or ham radios but was thinking about getting into it. I recently inherited this Technisonic industries TIL-92-SC transceiver. It appears to power on. Is there anything that I can actually use it for or way to communicate through even locally? Sorry I know nothing about this stuff.

 

[prcguy]

It would make a great VHF air receiver but its a single channel at a time radio, you have to program it for the single frequency. Older versions had to be opened up and jumpers moved to select the frequency. Newer versions can be programmed via USB with the factory programming software but still one channel at a time.

You might be better off selling it on fleabay and buying something more user friendly. These can sell for over $1k if working properly.

 

[K4EET]

Here is some documentation on that radio:

https://til.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/92re125L_TSC-4x00-1.pdf

Try Googling "Technisonic TIL-92-SC" and you will find several manuals of different revisions. Not sure which one applies to your radio unless you can find a manufacturing date somewhere on the unit. A picture of the Serial Number label may shed some light on that.

From the referenced manual above, a description of the radio is found:

The Model TiL-92-SC Transceivers are simplex, single channel, fixed frequency transceivers operating over the frequency range of 117.975 MHz to 138.000 MHz. These units are intended for base station operation in an air traffic environment. These systems can operate from AC power or external DC power in local and remote operating modes.

Since it is for communicating with aircraft, whatever you do, don't transmit on it as you might cause serious interference to an airport tower or an aircraft.

I agree with what @prcguy said in the post above:

You might be better off selling it on fleabay and buying something more user friendly. These can sell for over $1k if working properly.

Let us know what interests you might have in radio communications.

 

[theking888565]

Thank you both so much. I don't really plan to let it go as it has sentimental value. It doesn't have anything else so looking at the manual looks like I would need some remote control and mic and antenna or something to actually use it. I'll have to read through more.

Was hoping to like set it up for my nieces to be able to listen to transmissions or use it for like their playhouse and be able to talk through a walkie talkie or something. That's mostly what interests me about it and I read how people used them during hurricane etc. to help save lives which I thought was honorable.

 

[redbeard]

Was hoping to like set it up for my nieces to be able to listen to transmissions or use it for like their playhouse and be able to talk through a walkie talkie or something. That's mostly what interests me about it and I read how people used them during hurricane etc. to help save lives which I thought was honorable.

Definitely do not try to do that, it's meant to talk to aircraft and the last thing pilots need is some kids on their radio while trying to aviate.

 

[mmckenna]

and be able to talk through a walkie talkie or something.

Not an appropriate or legal use. There's zero reason why a child needs to be transmitting on this kind of radio.

If they want to play with radios, get these:

Amazon.com

If you like this radio, put it somewhere safely on a shelf, or maybe hook it up for receiving only. But do not transmit, even if you think it's an emergency.

 

[K4EET]

Definitely do not try to do that, it's meant to talk to aircraft and the last thing pilots need is some kids on their radio while trying to aviate.

Yes, @theking888565, like I said above, “Since it is for communicating with aircraft, whatever you do, don't transmit on it as you might cause serious interference to an airport tower or an aircraft.” That radio is not a toy! And even in a life or death emergency, it is not the correct radio to seek help on. Just two of many reasons why you or your nieces don’t want to use this radio are:

1. You or your nieces could cause one or more aircraft to miss a crucial message and cause a major airline disaster killing 100s of people!

2. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) levies hefty fines (say $25,000) and hefty jail time (say 10 years) to individuals like yourself for disrupting communications!

This is a very serious matter and must not be taken lightly.

 

[theking888565]

Thanks so much everyone. Had no idea about any of this stuff so appreciate all the help.

Not an appropriate or legal use. There's zero reason why a child needs to be transmitting on this kind of radio.

If they want to play with radios, get these:

Amazon.com

If you like this radio, put it somewhere safely on a shelf, or maybe hook it up for receiving only. But do not transmit, even if you think it's an emergency.

If I was to hook it up for receiving only how would I go about doing that?

 

[mmckenna]

If I was to hook it up for receiving only how would I go about doing that?

It'll need power.
It'll need an antenna
It'll need programming. Since it's single channel, you'll need to figure out which frequency you want to listen to. Maybe a local airport?

I don't know how those are programmed, so maybe someone else can assist.

It's a cool looking radio, but single channel devices like that are kind of limited in use.

 

[theking888565]

It'll need power.
It'll need an antenna
It'll need programming. Since it's single channel, you'll need to figure out which frequency you want to listen to. Maybe a local airport?

I don't know how those are programmed, so maybe someone else can assist.

It's a cool looking radio, but single channel devices like that are kind of limited in use.

Thank you.

 

[theking888565]

Anyone here know what kind of antenna i would need to just listen to the transmissions?

 

[mmckenna]

Anyone here know what kind of antenna i would need to just listen to the transmissions?

Something like this would be an inexpensive option:

Larsen BSA118B

Manufacturer Larsen Product Description 122.800 2.5dB Base Station Antenna Product Narrative 118-121 MHZ, 2.5 dB gain antenna 3.0dB gain, 200 watt. Direct UHF female term. Includes mounting hardware. Specific Freq. (MHz) 118-121 MHz Tuning Method: Factory Tune

theantennafarm.com

 

[K4EET]

Anyone here know what kind of antenna i would need to just listen to the transmissions?

For receive only, just about any antenna will receive airband signals (118-136 MHz and 225-400 MHz). However a tuned antenna, one that is specifically made for airband, will be more efficient and receive signals from further away. @mmckenna made a good suggestion for a tuned antenna.

 

[theking888565]

Something like this would be an inexpensive option:

Larsen BSA118B

Manufacturer Larsen Product Description 122.800 2.5dB Base Station Antenna Product Narrative 118-121 MHZ, 2.5 dB gain antenna 3.0dB gain, 200 watt. Direct UHF female term. Includes mounting hardware. Specific Freq. (MHz) 118-121 MHz Tuning Method: Factory Tune

theantennafarm.com

Thank you.

 

[theking888565]

For receive only, just about any antenna will receive airband signals (118-136 MHz and 225-400 MHz). However a tuned antenna, one that is specifically made for airband, will be more efficient and receive signals from further away. @mmckenna made a good suggestion for a tuned antenna.

Thanks again. On the backside what would these two ports be used for and the phone line connection?

 

[K4EET]

Thanks again. On the backside what would these two ports be used for and the phone line connection?

I referenced a document in Post #3 above but it is not identical to your radio. The rear panel, from what we can see in your photo, is different. To be absolutely sure what those connectors are for, a document for your radio would need to be found.

Somewhere on that case, there should be a label that gives the model number and serial number. I know a model number appears on the front panel but I would like to verify that, if there is a label somewhere, the model number is the same or has added some extra characters. Maybe take a picture of any nomenclature that you see and provide a picture of the entire back panel like you did for the front panel.

Aside from putting it up for sale since the radio has sentimental value, I would put that radio on the shelf for display and invest in a scanner. A scanner would be much more useful since a scanner would be like having hundreds of that radio. You would be able to listen to so much more.

If you give us a general idea of where you are located, the Radio Reference database would show you exactly all that you could monitor on a scanner. As it stands now with your radio, you can monitor a single channel whereas with a scanner, you could monitor 25 to 50 channels of aircraft traffic. That is not to mention, that with a scanner, you could monitor hundreds and hundreds of other channels like public safety, public works, commercial businesses, railway, etc. There is a lot going on in the airwaves and your radio monitors just one channel when in fact there are thousands of channels floating through the air. But you need a scanner to monitor the other cool stuff that is out there. Let us know if you think a scanner would be something that you might want to explore.

 

[redbeard]

That's not a phone line...you should probably either read the manual or shelf it as the more you play with it the more likely you will end up interfering with aircraft communications. The radio may start transmitting as soon as it powers up if you have it wired up improperly, such as plugging in a telephone where it's not supposed to go simply based on the connector type.

Enlist an expert, or shelf it.

 

[theking888565]

I referenced a document in Post #3 above but it is not identical to your radio. The rear panel, from what we can see in your photo, is different. To be absolutely sure what those connectors are for, a document for your radio would need to be found.

Somewhere on that case, there should be a label that gives the model number and serial number. I know a model number appears on the front panel but I would like to verify that, if there is a label somewhere, the model number is the same or has added some extra characters. Maybe take a picture of any nomenclature that you see and provide a picture of the entire back panel like you did for the front panel.

Aside from putting it up for sale since the radio has sentimental value, I would put that radio on the shelf for display and invest in a scanner. A scanner would be much more useful since a scanner would be like having hundreds of that radio. You would be able to listen to so much more.

If you give us a general idea of where you are located, the Radio Reference database would show you exactly all that you could monitor on a scanner. As it stands now with your radio, you can monitor a single channel whereas with a scanner, you could monitor 25 to 50 channels of aircraft traffic. That is not to mention, that with a scanner, you could monitor hundreds and hundreds of other channels like public safety, public works, commercial businesses, railway, etc. There is a lot going on in the airwaves and your radio monitors just one channel when in fact there are thousands of channels floating through the air. But you need a scanner to monitor the other cool stuff that is out there. Let us know if you think a scanner would be something that you might want to explore.

Here is a photo of the entire backside that many ports arent referenced in the manual unfortunately. Any idea what they are for?

Right now my time is split between Reno, NV and sacramento, CA. I would be interested in learning more about a scanner.

 

[theking888565]

That's not a phone line...you should probably either read the manual or shelf it as the more you play with it the more likely you will end up interfering with aircraft communications. The radio may start transmitting as soon as it powers up if you have it wired up improperly, such as plugging in a telephone where it's not supposed to go simply based on the connector type.

Enlist an expert, or shelf it.

I am not playing with it just asking questions here from the experts trying to find out more about it.

 

[K4EET]

<snip> I would be interested in learning more about a scanner.

Scanning 101 - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com