FYI-Range of handheld is aboout 5 miles

Morgan3820

Morgan3820

En-Route
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Messages
4,753
Location
New Bern, NC
Display Name
Display name:
El Conquistador
FYI-Range of handheld is aboout 5 miles. Ask me how I know. Today both navcoms failed five minutes apart! I fly out of a class D so I need a radio. Happily, I had stashed a Yaesu FTA-230 in the plane for just such an occasion. I had intended to check the range in a more controlled manner, but oh well. Makes me think about teeing off one of the external antennas in an attempt to increase the range. Has anyone done this?
 
Yes. We have an external antenna connection and the couple times we used it there was no problem with range.
 
Yeah it makes sense, with the rubber duck antenna you're basically trying to transmit a radio signal through a big aluminum box.
 
I have the FTA-230, used it a few times while troubleshooting radio problems. I just used the supplied antenna with the headset adapter. While getting some panel work I now have a connection to an external antenna, haven't the need to use it yet.
 
I have a plug in the panel for my handheld. If you do this, remember to turn off the radio of the antenna you are using.
 
I had an external antenna installed ,under the airplane,gives better range on the hand held.
 
I've talked with aircraft more than 10-15 miles away using my ICOM and rubber antenna. I'm on the ground in open air, not inside a metal fuselage.

Add a magnet mount antenna to the truck cab roof, with the antenna properly tuned for the freq and 40 miles is easy.
 
Thanks for bringing this up. Birthday coming up. Had no clue what I wanted until just remembering I never bought a handheld. Does anyone have thoughts on one brand / model vs the other? Are any thought to have better range?
 
Code90 said:
Thanks for bringing this up. Birthday coming up. Had no clue what I wanted until just remembering I never bought a handheld. Does anyone have thoughts on one brand / model vs the other? Are any thought to have better range?
Click to expand...

Transmitting power is pretty much the same on all of them. I think there are a bunch of threads on "best handheld", so you can search through those. Best thing to do is to borrow a couple and try them out. Also, download the user manuals and read through them. Some are just easier to use than others.

It's really going to come down to personal preference.

Most people will recommend skipping the NAV features and sticking with COM only.
 
I'm 6nm from the airport and I listen to guys in the pattern with my icom. I haven't tried transmitting yet. I do want to pick up a good external antenna. Any suggestions are appreciated
 
Code90 said:
Thanks for bringing this up. Birthday coming up. Had no clue what I wanted until just remembering I never bought a handheld. Does anyone have thoughts on one brand / model vs the other? Are any thought to have better range?
Click to expand...

With a 1 watt transmitter on one end, a standard whip antenna at both ends, and a relatively common 1 microvolt receiver on the other end, range is a little under 1500 miles with direct line of sight.

The caveats above should be noted ... STANDARD WHIP ANTENNA and LINE OF SIGHT.

Better range is not a function of the brand of handheld but how it is plumbed into the system.

On the other hand, rubber duckie inside of an aluminum can (or as we prefer to call it, a "Faraday shield") violates two of the most important criteria as noted above.

Jim
 
For years I have used a handheld as my primary com in my glider. It is hooked up to an external homemade groundplane antenna mounted inside the wooden fuselage behind the seat. I once had a conversation with another glider pilot (just happened to be the builder of my glider) while he was flying over 200 miles away. In that instance we were both at or above 5000 feet I believe. But another time as I was on base leg for an off airport landing at about 300 feet above ground I made a call announcing my landing that was heard by people at the airport on the ground 40 miles away. I've been pretty impressed with handhelds.
 
I used my ICOM once when I lost the ability to transmit with my only Comm in my old Cherokee in NYC Class B. While I just had the rubber duck antenna, and was not able to reach ATC, an airline pilot heard me on the Approach Freq, and relayed my message. All went well from there, no drama, no issues. They do work. Of course I was squawking 7600 so ATC already knew I had a Comm problem.
 
As to what to get, my Vertex has a built in VOR which I have never used. Check out all the features and get one that meets your needs. Some of the good things are easily programmed freqs and of course a 121.5 button.
Also, check the antenna mounting system. Some use BNC and others use threaded. You'll need to know this when you get (or in my case build) a cable to connect to your panel jack.
I use my radio to check the ATIS during preflight and then remove the antenna and connect the cable I'll need to plug it into the panel and then lay it between the seats. I've only used it once after a power failure but was glad to have it.
 
cgrab said:
I have a plug in the panel for my handheld. If you do this, remember to turn off the radio of the antenna you are using.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of the same solution. Do you have a pic?
 
Code90 said:
Thanks for bringing this up. Birthday coming up. Had no clue what I wanted until just remembering I never bought a handheld. Does anyone have thoughts on one brand / model vs the other? Are any thought to have better range?
Click to expand...

The Icom's do not rate well. I like the Yaesu 230. I wanted to run off of alkaline batts and with the Icoms a alkaline battery tray was an extra. Whereas with the Yaesu, it was included, as was the headset adapter. Every thing I wanted for ~$200
 
After I went light sport I have owned a few including a champ, two Taylorcrafts , a cub and a Luscombe. All had external antennas . I used an Icom and had excellently results in all cases. It's pretty well known in light sport circles that the external antenna is a must for good reception. Otherwise it's a bummer. In all cases, much much further than five miles.
 
Last edited:
Morgan3820 said:
The Icom's do not rate well. I like the Yaesu 230. I wanted to run off of alkaline batts and with the Icoms a alkaline battery tray was an extra. Whereas with the Yaesu, it was included, as was the headset adapter. Every thing I wanted for ~$200
Click to expand...

My ICOM A22 is over 14 yrs old and never a problem. Used every weekend at the glider club. I think I'm on replacement battery 3.
 
The major brands are all fine. All have retarded user interfaces. They try to emulate commercial two way handheld user interfaces, which most pilots aren't familiar with.

Whatever model you buy, make sure you know how to turn it on, do direct frequency entry to any frequency, and do it all with one hand.

See? Told ya that the UI sucked...

121.5 button? That's not the typical usage scenario. The above is.
 
My Icom works for me. I've used Vertex, too. (One of the advantages of being in a glider club that relies heavily on handhelds is that you get to use a lot of brands, and use them hard.)

For me, the UI of the Icom is easier to use than the UI of the Vertex. But guys that like the Vertex think the other way around. That's why I said it's all going to come down to personal preference.
 
There hasn't been any significant tech change in how to cram a reasonable performance AM transceiver inside a small plastic box in many decades.

The specs on the RF portions and basic radio functionality of these radios haven't been significantly different on any aviation handheld in my adult lifetime. That includes "range" and how to hook the silly things to a decent antenna or suffering through trying to use them inside an aluminum box blocking most of your signal.

It's all about the antenna and secondarily the UI.

For UI example, see iPhone vs Android. Neither company makes the RF chipsets for cellular. They shove chipsets and designs from other companies inside and pay their royalty to DVSI for the CODEC, done.

Borrow a few handhelds. Play with them. Whichever interface is the most intuitive to you, buy that one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top