Handheld Transceivers - Which one to buy?

[Skywarrior]

Hello, All -

Need help picking a handheld radio. Opinions? Recommendations? Models to avoid?

 

Thanx,

Chuck M.

[carusoam]

Have you seen the sporty's hand held with the ILS?   http://sportys.com/pilotshop/product/14807

It's not as cool looking as some of the other radios, but it is the only one with ILS that I know of.

A portable waas GPS and the Sporty's radio / ILS looks like a good back up system to me.

Keep in mind that these items are for situational awareness only, and are not the primary plan for IFR navigation.  Both are better than a 1/2 full water bottle on the glare shield....

 

Best regards,

 

-a-

[Barry]

Aviation Consumer says that the Sporty's 400 is tops ...

[OR75]

Battery (rechargeable) life of the ICOM 20 is very poor and makes the unit unreliable.

I have not tested it using non-rechargeable batteries.

Unit looks good however

[Hank]

I have Sporty's 200, with the overpriced extra battery case. Then went to the local big-box store and bought an EverReady quick-charger with AC and cig lighter cords and some 2500 mAh batteries for a fraction of what Sportys wants for theirs. Works very well, and lives in my flight bag with Duracells in the extra case. Left it in the hangar the one time I needed it, on a local training flight. Now it's in the plane all the time.

[Mooney65E]

Quote: Skywarrior

Hello, All -

Need help picking a handheld radio. Opinions? Recommendations? Models to avoid?

 Thanx,

Chuck M.

[Royski]

I'm very happy with my Icom IC-A14.  The lithium battery seems to last forever.

[eaglebkh]

I have the Sporty's 200 as well and really like it.

[DonMuncy]

I have the Sporty's 200 as well. It is big and clunky, but my thought is it is only for 2 things. One is listening, or talking while outside the plane (like at a fly-in). The other is for emergency electrical failure. For these uses, I figure cheap (as long as it works reliably) is the way to go. Therefore, I'm quite happy with it.

Don

[Skywarrior]

I had eyed the Icom AC-14. I saw it for $200.

Looked like a lot of bang for the bux, and it had glowing reviews on the site.

Anyone else heard anything about it?

 

Chuck M.

[Jerry 5TJ]

I carry an antique Terra TPX-720 in the Mooney. It has full size headset and microphone connectors, which is convenient.    But my post is about batteries, not radio type: 

I keep alkaline batteries in the handheld, and rotate them out every annual.

Alkaline battery shelf life is several years.   Rechargeable battery packs tend to discharge a few percent per week, even with no use, and it is hard to tell when the pack's capacity is diminished.

 

[Royski]

The Icom IC-A14 displays battery voltage when you turn it on.  I haven't charged it in months, yet surprisingly the rechargable lithium ion battery is still showing plenty of voltage.

[DrBill]

I too am looking for a replacement to my ICOM A23.  It's battery live was horrible until I got the Alkaline case and put 6 AA batts in it. Now the radio itself died.  Will work on the charger but not on battery.  It's not worth sending it in for repair and I took it 1/2 apart and it's a bear to get to the area of problem.  Maybe when I retire...

SO.. Looks like I'll go look at the SPORTYs 200.  I like to use it around the airport.

Dr Bill

 

 

[MARZ]

I bought the Vertex VX 300 - I usually don't read directions for anything I buy.....  not true with this purchase.  Not real intuitive BUT once I did read the directions it made sense.  That said the thing that really sold me was the guy repeatedly dropping the radio on the concrete and then dunking it in a pail of water.  In fact they had one in a jar of water turned on and working......  I really like the compact size as well.

[jetdriven]

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[flhelo]

Ok, The did not look at name when signing in got me. That is my comments using Jetdriven log in??? Sorry. But the Spoty 400is a handy piece of equipment as backup

[DaV8or]

Seems like if you're going to get a hand held com radio, the Sporty's 400 is the one to get. Just wondering though, how far do these radios actually broadcast and would they really be of any use to talk to ATC or get you into a controled airspace? I'm sure that listening is fine, but talking? The ILS feature is pretty neat. I guess a combo of the Sporty's 400 and a handheld GPS could actually get you out of the clouds and on the ground in the case of a total electrical failure.

In reality, I suspect that these types of radios serve the function of listening in at airshows, listening in on the pattern just for fun, picking up the ATIS and having something to give/get at Christmas time. I'd be curious to know how many of these radios ever saved anybody's life, or got somebody a landing clearence at a towered airport.

[Jerry 5TJ]

To work at all well in the airplane you need to connect the handheld to an antenna mounted on the outside of the airplane.  The little flexible "rubber duck" won't work well at all.

I mounted a third VHF comm antenna on the "C" when I pulled off the Loran antenna last year.   The antenna cable ends in a BNC plug that mates directly with the Terra Handheld's antenna port.   That combination tends to get good reports from ATC even with the handheld in low power (1/2 watt) mode.

    

 

[John Pleisse]

I have the Icom...the batteries don't last. I bought third party batteries to no avail. Using rechargables in a AA insert isn't enough power to transmit far. However, my avionics guy mounted a remote belly antenna to a connector on my panel. This improved range significantly.

[Carl S]

I have an old Icom that I used for stand by. I second the notion of an external antenna. Worked much better for me.

[jetdriven]

Do you resally need a handheld comm?

 

[DrBill]

 

No, not really but it's nice to have in the bag while walking around the airport.

N4352H  what Icom model do you have ?  The A14s looks like a good one from all reports.

Dr Bill

[Dale]

I purchased the Vertex VXA-300 and have been very happy with the radio.  It has 5 watts of power, 250 memory channels, has a back-lit keypad and display which can be dimmed, has a 1 touch emergency frequency access, it is submersible, has a built in battery saver (which works great as I have only have to charge the radio every other month and I use it every weekend when I fly & sometimes during the week to listen to the tower), it is incredibly rugged (mine has been dropped on the pavement a couple of times and it still works perfectly) it is very compact, the radio gets very clear reception and has very good transmission qualities (I did a radio check on it), it also has a nice scanning feature built in that is easy to use, and to top it off it has a very nice VOR Navigation system and display built in.  It also comes with a car plug recharger in addition to the regular electrical charging station, so if you have a cigarette receptacle in the plane and the radio is low on juice you can plug in the radio to the cigarette receptacle and recharge it while in the air.  I got mine at Sun N Fun for just over $200.  They have a lot of specials on radios at the big airshows.  I thought it was a great buy and the radio offers great utility and peace of mind.

The Vertex has a lot of features, which is why it comes with a book.  However, if you just want to use is as a Comm you just punch in the frequency and listen.  It is that easy.  If you want to use the VOR system you just punch in the Nav frequency, listen for the nav identifier and use it just like a VOR for navigation purposes.  It is also that easy.  Nothing strange to push or read to use the Nav/Com on this radio.  If you want to learn, or use, the other hundreds of features this radio has, then, of course, you need to read the little book.  Once you actually read some of the book you say to yourself, yes, that is very understandable and easy to do.  You can program your favorite frequencies, scan for active frequencies, use it as a PA system, attach an external antenna to it, use the VOX (voice-actuated transmit/receive switching), hook up your headphone to this handheld radio, use the stop watch and count down times built into the radio and many, many other features that you may, or may not, ever use.  However, it is very, very easy to just use the Nav/Comm and never open the book.  You just turn on the radio, punch in the frequency and listen, transmit or receive.  It is that simple.  If you want to learn about, or use, some of the really great features this compact handheld radio has, then you need to spend the 30 minutes or so it takes to read the little booklet or look at the quick reference guide that comes with the radio.

My instructor always carries a handheld radio in his bag, and feels it is a great item to have and use all the time.  He had a Vertex-VXA-300 and recommended it to me.  I have been really happy with the radio.  I always use it on my way to the airport to pick up the NOAA weather channels and to listen to the ATIS.  When I get to the airport I continue to monitor the ATIS while I do my preflight.  It is invaluable and it is a time saver while on the ground.  I have not had to use it in the air but my instructor had to use his and told me that the reception for this particular unit in the air was quite good (without an external antenna) and you could hear it clearly outside the airport traffic pattern, however, to transmit to the tower clearly (without an external antenna) you had to be within a few miles of the airport or just outside of the airport traffic pattern.  However, in case of an emergency radio failure in the plane, you can use this unit, without an external antenna, to communicate with the tower and notify them of your situation and get landing instructions.  Additionally, he indicated that you could clearly communicate to other aircraft in the air or in the airport traffic pattern that can relay your message and situation to the tower.  Also helpful to know if you have a communication failure enroute and need to have another airplane pass on your situation to Center.

Overall, I really like the Vertex VXA-300 and would not fly without having it with me.