What scanner has the greatest sensitivity in 108-136mhz?

[Shortwavewave]

I never was real big in monitoring VHF air (mainly due to the fact that these not a whole lot to listen to here in oklahoma city) , but lately Ive been playing around on my VFO VHF Scanner/Radio and have picked up quite a bit of stuff, one freq was very active talking about engines, and listing off spec for the plane which I thought in my area was in UHF P25 only.

Well I would like to get a scanner deticated to scan VHF Air only, any ideas or help? And maybe some antenna recomed....?

 

[jon_k]

I never was real big in monitoring VHF air (mainly due to the fact that these not a whole lot to listen to here in oklahoma city) , but lately Ive been playing around on my VFO VHF Scanner/Radio and have picked up quite a bit of stuff, one freq was very active talking about engines, and listing off spec for the plane which I thought in my area was in UHF P25 only.

Well I would like to get a scanner deticated to scan VHF Air only, any ideas or help? And maybe some antenna recomed....?

Every scanner I have looked at covers 108-136mhz. Find a scanner that covers these frequencies and you'll be as good off as you need to be.

What will be more important to you for dedicated 108-136 scanning would be an antenna DESIGNED as close as possible for this frequency range. I am unsure if there are antennas available that cover EXACTLY this range, but there are antennas that get close. Shop for a 2 meter antenna. 2 meters technically consists of 144.000 MHz to 148.000 MHz (a popular amateur frequency) but it will pick up 108-136 a hell of a lot better than an "all band" antenna.

When shopping for an antenna you look for one designed for the frequencies as close as possible to what you will be monitoring. A few mhz off won't make a huge difference (especially if you are just receiving!) Antenna design becomes much more critical only when you start transmitting.

 

[prcguy]

A few MHz out of band is not a big deal but 20MHz will put most 2M antennas in the coat hanger catagory on VHF air band.
prcguy

Every scanner I have looked at covers 108-136mhz. Find a scanner that covers these frequencies and you'll be as good off as you need to be.

What will be more important to you for dedicated 108-136 scanning would be an antenna DESIGNED as close as possible for this frequency range. I am unsure if there are antennas available that cover EXACTLY this range, but there are antennas that get close. Shop for a 2 meter antenna. 2 meters technically consists of 144.000 MHz to 148.000 MHz (a popular amateur frequency) but it will pick up 108-136 a hell of a lot better than an "all band" antenna.

When shopping for an antenna you look for one designed for the frequencies as close as possible to what you will be monitoring. A few mhz off won't make a huge difference (especially if you are just receiving!) Antenna design becomes much more critical only when you start transmitting.

 

[jon_k]

A few MHz out of band is not a big deal but 20MHz will put most 2M antennas in the coat hanger catagory on VHF air band.
prcguy

Oops. Then beware of my advice!

 

[ka3jjz]

Shortwave, many of the older scanners - such as the much-prized PRO-200x series (4,5,6) covered the civil air band, and did so very well. Use our wiki, and the cross referenced material on Strong Signals (where Rich does have several reviews of older scanners) for more information.

And as for antennas - heck, any discone or a ScanTenna will cover the civil air band just fine, but why spend money on an antenna when you can build one? A ground plane for VHF air is a snap to build, and cheap....73 Mike

 

[austinscan1]

vhf air

A few MHz out of band is not a big deal but 20MHz will put most 2M antennas in the coat hanger catagory on VHF air band.
prcguy

Not true about the antenna. I have used 2m 5/8 ducks, a diamond rh77, and smiley 270a, (the last 2 are dual band ( 2m/440) and they all work well. As for radioes, try radio shack's pro 82 hh or 2018 base. They are low priced, real good in vhf air, loud, and you have a 30 day return period. Austin

 

[k4njk]

For a dedicated airband scanner the BC895XLT is an outstanding performer. The BC780 is less sensitive but has alpha tags and much better computer control. For an antenna, Larsen makes a 5/8 wave ground plane what works well but it's expensive at around $100 for what you get.

 

[shaft]

Every scanner I have looked at covers 108-136mhz. Find a scanner that covers these frequencies and you'll be as good off as you need to be.

What will be more important to you for dedicated 108-136 scanning would be an antenna DESIGNED as close as possible for this frequency range. I am unsure if there are antennas available that cover EXACTLY this range, but there are antennas that get close. Shop for a 2 meter antenna. 2 meters technically consists of 144.000 MHz to 148.000 MHz (a popular amateur frequency) but it will pick up 108-136 a hell of a lot better than an "all band" antenna.

When shopping for an antenna you look for one designed for the frequencies as close as possible to what you will be monitoring. A few mhz off won't make a huge difference (especially if you are just receiving!) Antenna design becomes much more critical only when you start transmitting.

Not all scanners are very sensitive on all the bands. My Pro-95 is pretty much deaf on the airbands, but my 97 is hot on it. Actually the 97 is hot on all the bands. Although my 396 does well on most of the bands, its pretty deaf on vhf-lo.

Depending on the distance you are at, Maldol makes a pretty good airband antenna and the RH77 does well with it too.

 

[RobKB1FJR]

Bearcat 305As are/were popular with the ACARS crowd.

 

[SAR923]

Best air band scanner I ever had was the PRO-43. It was hot on both the VHF and UHF airbands. If you just want to listen to VHF and need a base station antenna, you can either build a simple ground plane or J pole or pick up a 20-176 1/4 wave ground plane at RS. It does a very good job on both VHF and UHF.

 

[N1SQB]

Go with the real thing!

Howdy!
Nothing beats a true aviation portable, nothing! I had the Icom IC-A22 Aviation portable for years. I'm telling you nothing beats a radio made for a particular band, in this case, the aviation band. The sound, the sensitivity, the selectivity are the best you will find.
I had to sell mine due to financial difficulties at the time and I regret doing it. They can be found on ebay really cheap! If you really NEED a base radio then I suggest a BCT-15 which not only lets you do civil air in the service searches but it has a service search pre-programmed for milair as well should you decide to experiment in that area too. The sensitivity on the BCT 15 is an awesome 0.4uV microvolts for both the civil and milair bands. That is UNHEARD of in the scanner industry and a great sensitivity. You couple that with a real good antenna of your choice and you are guaranteed hours of good listening!
Here is a link to an A-22 that I saw on ebay just to give you an idea!


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ICOM...005QQitemZ150253751470QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW


Manny

 

[Shortwavewave]

WOW that is cheap! I thought about a Air Base Radio but geeseeee! 800$ starting price? those must have fetures I know nothing about.


Thanks everyone for your input, well this is my result

I stumbled across a BCT8 today at the pawn shop.....10 BUCKS!! No LIE, the owner thought is was blown, nope it just needed a new fuse in the 12v power cord.

So this will be my Air/VHF Scanner.

As for that antenna how do you know when to use Full wave, half wave or 5/8 wave? I know what the forumlas are BUT what makes a half wave better than a full wave doesnt that seem to confuse us?

 

[zz0468]

Not true about the antenna. I have used 2m 5/8 ducks, a diamond rh77, and smiley 270a, (the last 2 are dual band ( 2m/440) and they all work well. As for radioes, try radio shack's pro 82 hh or 2018 base. They are low priced, real good in vhf air, loud, and you have a 30 day return period. Austin

No, it IS true, with a caveat. With a two meter ground plane, you'd probably be hard pressed to tell the difference. If it's got a matching network like a 5/8 antenna or a dual bander would, it's going to stink compared to one cut for the aircraft band.

 

[zz0468]

BTW, I would strongly advise AGAINST the air band portables unless you're a pilot with a genuine need. If it's a transceiver, there's always the risk of inadvertent transmissions, or a kid getting ahold of it, etc.

I don't think there's a scanner made that doesn't cover aircraft. The performance is more than adequate for that.

 

[Austin4Wyo]

BTW, I would strongly advise AGAINST the air band portables unless you're a pilot with a genuine need. If it's a transceiver, there's always the risk of inadvertent transmissions, or a kid getting ahold of it, etc.

I don't think there's a scanner made that doesn't cover aircraft. The performance is more than adequate for that.

The Uniden BC60XLT and BC80XLT don't carry air band coverage, I do know that. However, those are also 13-15 years old, and only have 30 channels and 50 channels respectively, so I hope there's not much danger of people buying that if they do a modicum of research on a scanner.

I've got a BC80XLT that I've used for several years here in (pretty rural) Wyoming which has served me well, but yeah, no air band coverage, which would be something else to monitor out here in the boonies. No worries, though, my stimulus check should come in this week and I'm planning on investing in a BCT15.

 

[N1SQB]

Originaly posted by zz0468

"BTW, I would strongly advise AGAINST the air band portables unless you're a pilot with a genuine need. If it's a transceiver, there's always the risk of inadvertent transmissions, or a kid getting ahold of it, etc. "

I have 3 kids! I had my IC-A22 airband transceiver for 4 years before I sold it. Not ONCE have my kids ever touched my equipment. This by the way was among other radios both commercial and amateur. I have also never had any "inadvertent' Transmittions! This is mainly because my children, as well as anyone else who comes in my home knows that my equipment is off limits . If you guard and control your monitoring equipment, there should never be any accidents. I have been monitoring since the mid 80's and have been a Ham since 1992. Not one single problem. SO if you are careful and you limit access to your equipment, then no radio of any kind will ever be a problem.

Austin4WYO
You will absolutely love that BCT 15. Its a tough learning curve at first ( if you're not used to that type of memory system) but once you spend some time with it, you will love it. Good luck and I hope you get speedy delivery! ;-)

Manny

 

[K4DHR]

WOW that is cheap! I thought about a Air Base Radio but geeseeee! 800$ starting price? those must have fetures I know nothing about.


Thanks everyone for your input, well this is my result

I stumbled across a BCT8 today at the pawn shop.....10 BUCKS!! No LIE, the owner thought is was blown, nope it just needed a new fuse in the 12v power cord.

So this will be my Air/VHF Scanner.

As for that antenna how do you know when to use Full wave, half wave or 5/8 wave? I know what the forumlas are BUT what makes a half wave better than a full wave doesnt that seem to confuse us?

The "base" air radios are basically the same ones that panel mount in an aircraft. Why they are so ungodly expensive is completely beyond me, especially since Icom of all companies makes AM transmit radios for other purposes. Even with FAA certification, they should be a $300-400 product, not 3-4 times that new.

 

[murrayustud]

I'm using my old Pro-2006 and I've owned about every scanner that's ever been made. The Pro-2006 is the best I've ever used hands down! Excellent sensitivity, great scan speed, easily programmable, AND it covers BOTH VHF & UHF Air bands. Another one that's good is the Pro-2021, though you'll only get the VHF band. I'm going to order the D-777 dual band antenna and can't wait to see the results. I also use in in-line Motorola broadband amp when I'm wanting extreme long range UHF reception (and LMR-400 coax).Almost forgot, I'm using a Cushcraft ARX 2b Ringo Ranger, the one with the little ground radials, (135-162mhz) and I have it tuned for 135mhz and it works great, I get airports over 40 miles away and aircraft over 140 miles+ at times depending on band conditions....it's up about 36 feet.

 

[Turbo68]

I been monitoring the Airbands for 30 years + & i am not a technical when it comes to radio specs but if u dont have a decent antenna for the airbands u are not going to get good performance on any radio.I use 3 Icom-AH7000 discones & do a fantastic job on the airbands and i also use custom made antennas for the airbands only with excellent results.

Regards Lino.
ALINCO-DJX2000
2 AOR-3000A/AOR-8200MK3
ETON-E5 HF PORTABLE
GRE-PSR500
ICOM-R3/ICOM-R5/ICO-R20/ICOM-PCR1000/ICOM-PCR1500/ICOM-R2500/ICOM-R9000/ICOM-R500/ICOM-92AD D-STAR
JRC NRD-545
RADIO SHACK-PRO97
REALISTIC-PRO2035
UNIDEN-245/UNIDEN-396/UNIDEN-780/UNIDEN-996
YAESU-VX7R/YAESU-FT8800R/YAESU-VR500/YAESU-VR5000

 

[Septa3371CSX1]

The Pro 97 is a real good choice for the air band. Mine works very well in those regions. As far as antennas I get good reception out of both the standard Pro 97 rubber duck and the Radio Shack Telescoping Antenna I have. The telescoping antenna allows me to listen to distant New York ARTCC communications pretty dam clear.