Do carry a portable radio for backup?

[omega708]

First attempt at a poll...

 

Just curious how many folks out there carry a backup portable radio.  I don't currently own one but have considered picking one up to listen to the local CTAF as well as for a backup should I lose comms while flying, especially in IMC.

 

 

 

[FlyTester]

$200 is cheap insurance.  By all means get one!  Both my partner and I each have one.  In fact we used one of them just last week when we had a generator failure at night in IMC.

[omega708]

  On 2/24/2013 at 8:22 PM, FlyTester said:

$200 is cheap insurance.  By all means get one!  Both my partner and I each have one.  In fact we used one of them just last week when we had a generator failure at night in IMC.

 

That is pretty much my thought.  I've heard that they are much more effective when used in conjunction with an external antenna...  Not sure what it would take to install an interface for that.

[scottfromiowa]

Needed it once when generator failed on trip around Chicago to Lansing. Other plane communicated to tower on my behalf. Tower could not pick me up. Uneventful end to what could have been a mess.

[PilotDerek]

I recently got one for two reasons. 1) comm backup in case of power failure 2) most my flying is over the desert where there is limited or no cell service and I wanted comm in case of an off field landing.

[omega708]

  On 2/24/2013 at 9:33 PM, PilotDerek said:

I recently got one for two reasons. 1) comm backup in case of power failure 2) most my flying is over the desert where there is limited or no cell service and I wanted comm in case of an off field landing.

 

Hadn't thought about this, but definitely an added benefit.

[OR75]

I have an icom

Mostly use it in the hangar to listen to the ATIS

Never had to use it in flight and I do not carry it anymore

If you get one, you will need to manage the power ( make sure it is charged or have batteries when you need it)

They discharge quick

[Awful_Charlie]

Have it for the dreaded lost comm, but also handy at big airports to pick up the ATIS and call for a start clearance.  If the time comes that I have to get into the liferaft, I'll try to take it with me too!

[aviatoreb]

  On 2/24/2013 at 10:44 PM, OR75 said:

I have an icom

Mostly use it in the hangar to listen to the ATIS

Never had to use it in flight and I do not carry it anymore

If you get one, you will need to manage the power ( make sure it is charged or have batteries when you need it)

They discharge quick

 

I use the Sportys SPD200 since it takes standard double A batteries - I like that since nicads are always worrisome if you will have charge when you want it.  I trust my copper-tops shelf life and I can quickly and easily replace them on need - I carry a 20-pack of extra batteries in my flight bag too for my handful of electric toys (zaon, bose x, sportys radio, o2d2).

[wishboneash]

I have an old Icom A-22. It came with NiCd batteries. I have replaced the batteries 3 times already and don't hold a charge for more than an hour after the last replacement. I finally bought the alkaline battery case adapter as I got tired of replacing the NiCd cells. The case has cracked over the years. I keep it in my hangar to listen to ATIS, TWR for the fun of it and don't take it on flights any more. I guess I could throw it in the back seat as cheap insurance.

[DrBill]

I had an ICOM Nav/Com for 6 years.  Never used the nav portion. Suddenly it only worked on the AC charger. No battery pack either Li Ion or Alkaline would work. 

I gave it away and picked up a new Vertex.  Works great.

BILL

[moodychief]

I have used mine twice when flying non-Mooney aircraft during alternator failure both times. I bought the antenna extension for my Sporty's radio that has suction cups to affix it to the windshield or side window.

[MARZ]

Mines a vertex, I bought it when I saw it working in a glass of water at Oshkosh...  I have the NiCad back and the double a back as well. Carry it in the plane all the time.

[Marauder]

  On 2/25/2013 at 3:03 AM, Mike Ropers said:

Mines a vertex, I bought it when I saw it working in a glass of water at Oshkosh... I have the NiCad back and the double a back as well. Carry it in the plane all the time.

I have the same radio. Other than the print being small on the radio (and in yellow for some functions) the radio has been solid. The alkaline battery pack stop working. Although the lithium pack is working fine, I wanted a backup battery. I was able to locate a China supplier for these batteries on eBay. I think most of the pilot shops want somewhere around $60 for them. I was able to get them for $22 each including shipping! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[201er]

On my first night cross country (with instructor), the alternator was on its way out (unknown to me and apparently to the incompetent instructor). We were having trouble with the electrics but managed to make it back to our uncontrolled airport. At the moment of touchdown everything went dark. For a moment I thought we crashed. Then I realized all the lights and radios went out. The alternator had died a while back, we had been running off the battery most of the flight and it coincidentally died right as I landed.

 

The thing it made me realize was that if the battery died just a few minutes sooner, we would not have had the radio available to turn on the pilot controlled lighting. I didn't have a handheld but the incompetent instructor didn't either. That was when I went ahead and bought a handheld that I always take. I'm far less concerned about loss of comms, there are procedures for that and frankly at that point it's someone else's problem much more than mine. It's more for lights, an accident, or just to monitor a freq when I'm out of the plane.

 

Another valuable lesson I learned was that the Lithium Ion rechargeable battery the radio comes with needs to be exercised. It won't just be discharged if it sits a long time, it won't even be capable of recharging. So if you have a handheld you don't use, be sure to use it some and then recharge it. After that happened and I had to buy a new battery, I also bought the AA adapter for it. I keep those Energizer Lithium Ion batteries that are good for 10+ years in the AA adapter as a fall back. Last thing I need is to have the radio and then realize it's a dead battery. Never had to use it, and would like to keep it that way!

[Lood]

I've been flying with one in my flight bag for 9 years without having needed it even once. So I sold it.

[Oscar Avalle]

I bought a VERTEX, I use it to pick up clearance and to listen to ATIS. 

[Hank]

I used to carry one only on trips. Then on an instrument training flight, after descending out of the clouds and beginning a VOR approach, ATC cleared me for the approach, told me I was off radar and call them on the miss. i dropped gear to descend and had a total electrical failure. My handheld radio was safely in the hangar . . . So far, that's the only time I needed my handheld. Made it 30 nm home just following the river, then the inside door handle broke off. Bad day.

 

Now it lives in my flight bag, with the headset adapter plugged in and ready to go. There are NiMH rechargable batteries in it [bought at the local big-box, complete with charger, much much cheaper than $porty$], and a second battery pack with Duracells ready to swap out. From time to time, I will run down the NiMH and recharge them.

[Earl]

I carry a basic ICOM nav/comm and always charge it the night before the flight.  Use it to listen to ATIS and often to get my IFR clearance when it is warm and I don't need to heat up the plane. Never had to use it in flight as I have never had a comm failure.  Would not need the VOR function as I would use my 696 or iPad instead for navigation.  Have been looking at the Sporty's SP-400 for the ILS capability but haven't pulled the trigger as yet.  By the way,  I have never been able to get the adaptor plug to work well with my Bose headsets.  I really need to work on that as I know what I pain it would be to use the thing without it.

[Jeff_S]

I've had a Sporty's hand-held nav/com since I started flying. Only time I actually needed it was one time immediately upon landing at KPDK (towered field) I was having a trouble getting ground control...all staticky.  But through all the static I could barely hear that other people were having the same problem. Turns out I WAS the problem, as my mic had stuck. Once I figured that out I switched to an unused frequency and then got the handheld out and plugged in the headset adapter. Was still getting horrible connection but I managed to communicate well enough to get taxi instructions.

 

Once back at the hangar I figured out that the plugs on the headset adapter had gotten corroded due to general exposure to Atlanta air, so cleaning them off solved that problem. Moral of the story, if you have the headset adapter clean those plugs every few months to avoid further embarrassment!

[Bennett]

Sportys, mainly because it uses AA batteries which are always in my flight bag along with the transceiver itself. In theory you could fly an ILS approach with it, but the most I have used it for was to call for fuel after I shut down the engine, or at air shows. I did buy the radio to headset interface cables, but I have never used them except to make sure they worked. My prior Mooney (and at least one other owned aircraft) had a panel mounted set of jacks to connect the handheld transceiver to one of the com antennas, but I forgot about this idea when I had my new panel made up. I had an early Vertex, and I inadvertently tuned it to 121.5 and it locked there. I had to call their tech support unit to get it unlocked. It now resides in my survival gear bag. I also had an Icon, with two battery packs, but I was always forgetting to keep them charged. My hangar workbench is already full of chargers: iPad, iPad Mini with the lightning fitting, the Dynon D-1 charger, the Dual GPS charger, my laptop charger (for updating Foreflight, and the various avionics databases), a charger for my AT&T LTE hot spot, and a charger for my iPhone. Uses up a whole power strip. This doesn't count the charger for my Robotow, and I have probably forgotten others. Lots of blinking LEDs.

[kmyfm20s]

I have an ICom. I fly over many remote areas and always felt like it would be good to have in the event of an forced landing in the boonies. I mainly use it for clearances, getting the ATIS on the ground, listening to the tower.

[fantom]

I have a ICOM IC-5A that would not charge with the original battery.

 

I bought a new HD BP-200L 9.6 volt 1000mAh replacement nickel hydride battery for it and still no joy

[N201MKTurbo]

I have one, never used it, put new batteries in it the other day.

[Dale]

I use the Vertex. Great little handheld. I liked the fact that it is waterproof and I often take it with me while at airshows and other similar events. I keep it attached to my flight bag and never fly or go to the airport without it. On the ground I listen to the ATIS and also listen to ground or the tower before I start up, if the airport is having a heavy traffic day just to see what I can expect when i am ready to taxi. I have used it in the plane and it gets good reception while aloft if you are not too far away from another plane or the tower. Just an all around good tough little nav/com.