Handheld radio recommendations

[tangocharlie]

Please give me any recommendations on handhelds, or any negatives. Thanks in advance.

Tammy

[the_other_dougreeves]

Originally Posted by tangocharlie

Please give me any recommendations on handhelds, or any negatives. Thanks in advance.

Tammy

None of them are going to work perfectly. They all will have comparable RF performance. Differences will be in audio strength / clarity, interface, features.

I used a Icom A24, which has the built-in VOR rx. It works fine, comes with a decent interface, accessories, etc. It could be smaller, but small radios typically have bad interfaces - buttons are too small.

[grantcarruthers]

I'm happy with my Sporty's but have never used the com transmit, just recieve and the VOR. Works well.

I pick up ground control from the tower 3 miles from my home. Air reception would obviously be much better too but haven't tested it specifically.

[johnp]

i have a vertex. works great. i opted for the model without the vor, 'cuz i have not seen those perform well, and anyway a handheld gps is much better. i was really impressed on how long the vertex battery holds a charge (having had not-so-good performance out of other rechargeables).

i don't think you can go wrong with either icom or vertex. they're both fine radios. if you intend to use it in the cockpit, you would be well-advised to add an external antenna (or a bnc quick-connect to one of the existing comm antennas.) the rubber duckies aren't too efficient.

mho,

john

[cytoxin]

works great, mostly use in the pos 150 i fly in . it will pick up ATIS and approach from inside my house (staticy but usable)which is 12 miles from the airport. the land is flat here. lots of woods.its not a busy airport so i havent heard any other stuff. i really like it but havent used anything else. batteries seem to go a good while. holds 8

[bcondrey]

I've had 3 different models of ICOM (A-22, A-23, A-6). All performed very well on the Comm functions. I've only had one REAL occasion where I needed to use one in flight and using the handheld antenna and headset adapter I thought the reception and transmission was great. VOR/LOC nav functionality was always marginal at best (A-22 & A-23) even within a few miles of the station with clear line of site and a few thousand feet of altitude. I originally "upgraded" to the A-23 because of its size but that was also a drawback - buttons seemed to be too small and close together for reasonable use inflight. I had an opportunity to trade for a brand new, comm only A-6 and took it. The limited testing I've done shows that it's on par with the other units for clarity and range.

Bob
RV-10 #40105

[pierre smith]

This week I had to use my Sporty's JD 200 and it got me into and out of a controlled airport but the range seems to be around 20-25 miles and I couldn't raise Center for flight following but heard him trying to call me since he knew I was coming. Glad I had it.

Regards,
Pierre

[JimWoo50]

Have used an older ic-?? as the only means of communication in my cessna for 15 years and have never had any problems with it whatsoever. This includes thousands of hours of pipeline patrol during which I needed it to talk to various towers. I am not even seriously considering a panel mount radio in my 6.

[lucky333]

Mo' expensive. Much better.

1) ANL - noise limiting is much better. Driving in the car with both, the A-22 is quiet until receiving. The Sporty's unsquelches with any apprciable ignition noise and you get an audible tachometer. Haven't flown with the Sporty's.

2) RANGE - Yakking with the test pilot on a first flight, we all had our radios out. Lost contact with the Sporty's. Spooky. Keyed the A-22 'Tom, you still up there?' Reply: 'Yup!'.
Back when I was flying more than building, I would use the A-22 now and then for a radio test. Rubber-ducky antenna and no headphones, like it would be in an emergency. Center always replied and said comms were OK.

3) UTLITY - Used the A-22 exclusively on the last leg of an Angel Flight into DFW (IFR in VMC) after the poor controllers were getting hammered with a nasty squeal every time I hit the TX button in a renter-beater Cherokee. After begging me to stop transmitting (as in 'Say: cancel IFR') they were happy with the handheld/rubber-ducky.
The problem was a bad alternator condenser; it doesn't take complete electrical failure to make a handheld useful..

Caveat:
Use the Alkaline battery pack instead of the NiCads. Mine failed early as did the ICOM replacement. Cell failure. I had the pack rebuilt by a real NiCad house but don't trust it. The charger is mickey mouse. And NiCads are a lousy choice for a backup application anyway.

Hope this helps.
John

[rv9aviator]

I use an Icom A-24 and love it.