BEST HANDHELD TRANSCEIVER

[MtnMarcus]

I am a student pilot hoping to have my PPL by years end looking for a good handheld transceiver. What is a good brand that I can plan on having for awhile, and what options/features should I be looking for? Thanks

 

[Sac Arrow]

Icom is good. As for features, get one with a built in VOR, transponder, GPS and ADF.

 

[denverpilot]

ADF? What handheld has that?

 

[Sac Arrow]

Older ones.

 

[Ghery]

Get one that runs on AA batteries, unless you know you'll keep it charged. Otherwise, when you need it the battery will likely be dead and you won't have a spare.

 

[Sac Arrow]

In any case, if you don't go with the AA battery route get one powered by a lithium ion battery. My ICOM has a Nicad and those don't last very long. I'm sure the new ICOM's have lithium ion batteries in them.

(I was joking about integrated GPS, ADF and transponder. But some do have a Nav VOR function on them. Mine does, and it was cool to play with it at first but I've never actually used it in the air and probably never will.)

 

[BillTIZ]

Get one that runs on AA batteries, unless you know you'll keep it charged. Otherwise, when you need it the battery will likely be dead and you won't have a spare.

I have an older ICOM on its third battery. It's that old. A22
I replaced the original NiCD when it died, with NiMH and was able to increase the original 1200mAh to 2000mAH.

I use it every weekend, so it gets charger time every Friday night.
I also have the AA battery case, loaded and ready to go in my flight bag.
I've found that the AA battery pack will only last about one day in regular use.

We have the newer ICOM A6 in the club, NiMH and LiON battery packs.

 

[NineThreeKilo]

Icom or vertex. I've had my vertex for about a year now, it's the new nav/com one, the rechargeable batt, magnesum body, submersible and made in Japan aspects were what sold me, it also picks up NOAA weather and am/fm radio stations.

One word of advise the nav feature is somewhere between gimmick and emergency only use, in terms of usability.

 

[CT4ME]

I LOVE my vertex 220. Loud, small, sturdy, water resist, & good features. MyPilotStore has it with free Alkaline battery case and 12v plug-in.

 

[GauzeGuy]

I am a student pilot hoping to have my PPL by years end looking for a good handheld transceiver. What is a good brand that I can plan on having for awhile, and what options/features should I be looking for? Thanks

I have an ICOM with VOR. Its a great back up, the other thing I like is being able to pick up wx / ATIS before engine start. Saves a little on the hobbs...

 

[sdpilot]

I'm not sure what you want to use it for but if it is for backup or emergency use I'd take a look at the SP-400. I've never use it personally but looks feature rich. Probably not good for primary nav/com use though depending on battery life.

http://www.airventure.org/news/2010/100725_sportys.html

 

[4CornerFlyer]

Do you really need a transceiver? If you just want to listen on ATC frequencies and don't need an emergency transmitter, you can get many scanners that cover air band plus a lot more for a third of the cost of the transceivers discussed above.
Jon

 

[Pilawt]

Do you really need a transceiver? If you just want to listen on ATC frequencies and don't need an emergency transmitter, you can get many scanners that cover air band plus a lot more for a third of the cost of the transceivers discussed above.
Jon

I had occasion to use a handheld IFR once when the airplane's audio panel failed, and again VFR when an alternator quit. Both times I was grateful for the transmitter.

 

[NineThreeKilo]

I've only had mine a year or so. As a CFI I use it for students. However I've used it a few other times too

Electrical failure

Landing off field, gave my buddy the radio, He kept it on, when it was time to go I hiked back to my plane and told him to wrap it up from the onboard radio

I keep a charged GPS and Nav/Com in my flightbag, this gives me nav and comm redundancy from the aircraft. Now I only bring my flightbag on long x-countries, especially in unfamiliar aircraft & areas, but it's a nice thing to have.

 

[Marauder]

I have a Vertex and really like it a lot. The only downside is that there are multiple of layers of functions on the keys and since the unit is so small, the labels are very small -- with some of them being in yellow! As was mentioned earlier, look into the alkaline battery pack in addition to the Lithium. I find the Li works a really long time, but I always like to carry fresh batteries in the alkaline one.

I have used mine in flight and find that with the standard antennae it will transmit far enough to be able to communicate within reason. On my KI-99, I had their optional comm switch wired into my Comm antennae. When you plugged the cable into the King it would allow you to use the airplane's antennae to communicate. I have not found this as an option for the Vertex, but I would consider one if it was available.

 

[SCCutler]

If you come across the Rexon RHP520 (also marketed as the JRC JHP 520), you'll note a whole lot of capability for a modest price. Don't fall for it. It's junk.

 

[poadeleted21]

I bought a refurbed IC-A6 from PCA here http://www.ebay.com/itm/261096688186?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

I don't see the point of paying extra for one with a VOR/LOC on it.

 

[Sac Arrow]

I bought a refurbed IC-A6 from PCA here http://www.ebay.com/itm/261096688186?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

I don't see the point of paying extra for one with a VOR/LOC on it.

Certainly, not if you have an iPad and a backup iPhone you can use for GPS nav. But I got mine before that stuff was available.

 

[4CornerFlyer]

I had occasion to use a handheld IFR once when the airplane's audio panel failed, and again VFR when an alternator quit. Both times I was grateful for the transmitter.

And I used mine after an alternator failure at night in NY Class B airspace, so be assured I see the value.

However, the original poster is a student pilot, and it will probably some time before he is doing that kind of flying. For his immediate needs, an $80 receiver will do it.

Jon

 

[John Baker]

You don't need the "best", you need one that will do what it was intended to do, transceive. Forget all that built in VOR locator's and such unless you plan on flying very old tube and rag machines that need a hand prop to start. Even then, all you really need is a chart and a kerosene compass.

I have been using a very old Vortex Standard for years. It has made itself more than useful at least a few times. It is very tough, the rechargeable battery last one heck of a long time between charges, and it will pick up the ATIS at my home which is twelve miles from the airport. If I remember right it cost around $250.00

-John

 

[Wingsofglass]

I'm not sure which one I have, but I hate my ICOM. The only battery indication is a flashing light that comes on when you are almost out of power. When you plug it in to charge it, there is no indication that it is charging or any indication that the charge has completed. This seems like such a basic feature that it really makes me wonder what other design deficiencies exist. I will never buy another ICOM.

I second the motion of getting a second battery pack that uses AAs. I always fly with extra AAs and it's nice to know that if you ever really needed a backup radio, it would have at least power.

 

[NineThreeKilo]

...... Forget all that built in VOR locator's and such unless you plan on flying very old tube and rag machines that need a hand prop to start. ....

Por que?

Funny all the times I've had avionics go TU on me, have been in spamcans

Or are you talking about no electrical system planes?

 

[John Baker]

Por que?

Funny all the times I've had avionics go TU on me, have been in spamcans

Or are you talking about no electrical system planes?

I was talking about no electrical system planes. My handheld has saved me more than a few times in my spam can, but I never needed an additional navigation aid beyond my portable GPS, two VOR indicators, and the tried and true, watch, chart, and compass.

-John

 

[\__[Ô]__/]

I'm not sure which one I have, but I hate my ICOM. The only battery indication is a flashing light that comes on when you are almost out of power. When you plug it in to charge it, there is no indication that it is charging or any indication that the charge has completed. This seems like such a basic feature that it really makes me wonder what other design deficiencies exist.

My ICOM is the same way. In my experience, the low battery indicator doubles as a "not transmitting" indicator. When power gets that low, it stops transmitting. It acts like its transmitting and sometimes sends a carrier, but no voice goes out (seen this on multiple ICOMs). It continues to receive without problems.

In addition to not indicating when it's done charging, there's no indication of the current charge. The status is either:
a) low battery, will stop transmitting at any minute.
b) not low battery, could be fully charged or could be seconds from low battery (about to die) status. you just don't know.

This is rather frustrating as you really have little way of knowing if it's usable except by guessing based on when you charged it last. And problem is even worse as the battery seems to get damaged from over charging (and it's hard to tell if you're overcharging it).

It would be a nice unit if that significant design flaw was fixed. This is the only thing that would prevent me from recommending this unit to someone else. But it's such a big issue that I'm not sure I'd buy another ICOM if mine died. It's bizarre that it made it through testing with such an obvious problem.

 

[brcase]

I'm not sure which one I have, but I hate my ICOM. The only battery indication is a flashing light that comes on when you are almost out of power. When you plug it in to charge it, there is no indication that it is charging or any indication that the charge has completed. This seems like such a basic feature that it really makes me wonder what other design deficiencies exist. I will never buy another ICOM.

I second the motion of getting a second battery pack that uses AAs. I always fly with extra AAs and it's nice to know that if you ever really needed a backup radio, it would have at least power.

While I agree this is a deficiency with the ICOM's I have used, I haven't used any others enough to have observed any radios's that work any better. So what radio would you recommend that works well and has a decent battery indicator?

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL