gerrychuck
Well Known Member
I currently have a Becker 4201 2 1/4" round comm in my plane. This radio has worked flawlessly in the 4 years I have had the plane. Only problem is that it is my only comm, and lacks any capability for monitoring the standby frequency. Since I will be doing some cross country this summer, with other aircraft, I would really like to be able to have the radio on an air to air frequency but still be monitoring atc. I am in the process of upgrading my panel, installing a GRT HX screen and a 406 elt, and started thinking this would be a good time to address the comm issue as well. I could add a second radio, again probably a little round one, or I could replace the Becker with a newer unit with the dual scan capability, which for the sake of simplicity is the way I'm leaning. Although there is room in the subpanel I am redoing for a flat pack type comm, which obviously would open up the possibilities considerably, anything that tray mounts and has to be attached/braced at the back end of the tray wouldn't work well in my application.
There appear to be several options: the Becker 6201 would be the simplest, hooking directly up to the same connector as my current 4201, but is also by far the most expensive; $1000 Cdn more than the next closest option. Next in order of cost would be the Dittel KRT2 and the MGL V6, which are very comparable in price, and finally the Microair M760 which boasts very similar function to all the others at about 1/2 the cost of the Becker. I guess the Xcom would have to be included in the list too, although I haven't really heard anything about that company. If I was adding a second radio, I would also consider the Flightline radio, but wouldn't on its own as it doesn't have dual monitoring.
So...I am looking for advice and experience with these radios and would appreciate any insights. I would also be very interested if anyone knows of a flat pack comm with similar capabilities that front mounts directly to the panel the same way the round units do. Thanks in advance for any knowledge you're willing to share!
There appear to be several options: the Becker 6201 would be the simplest, hooking directly up to the same connector as my current 4201, but is also by far the most expensive; $1000 Cdn more than the next closest option. Next in order of cost would be the Dittel KRT2 and the MGL V6, which are very comparable in price, and finally the Microair M760 which boasts very similar function to all the others at about 1/2 the cost of the Becker. I guess the Xcom would have to be included in the list too, although I haven't really heard anything about that company. If I was adding a second radio, I would also consider the Flightline radio, but wouldn't on its own as it doesn't have dual monitoring.
So...I am looking for advice and experience with these radios and would appreciate any insights. I would also be very interested if anyone knows of a flat pack comm with similar capabilities that front mounts directly to the panel the same way the round units do. Thanks in advance for any knowledge you're willing to share!
