input on handheld comm gear

[eric_ocean]

i was wondering if , anyone could help...id like to purchase a handheld comm....any help on quality and price , would be apreciated....thanks ....eric

 

[AdamZ]

I have the Sporty's brand. I think its called the SP200. Not a bad radio and the price was the best of the lot. FWIW I also think Icom is an excellent brand.

I use mine for getting AWOS, ATIS etc. Clearances and taxi instructions when needed. Overtime it may save you a few clicks on the hobbs. You should not expect clear communications with Approach unless you have an external antena hookup. These things just arent that strong. I'd say if your within 10nm of the tower you could probably communicate ok but if your at 8K in the goo in the middle of nowhere don't expect it to be johnny on the spot.

I have two suggestions actually three.

1) Get the Headset adapter. This is a MUST. Imagine yourself at 8K in the goo and dead radios. Its loud, bumpy and a little anxiety provoking perhaps. YOu have one hand on the yoke and the other is on the hand held, the throttle and writting crap down. All the while trying to listen to a voice through static on the handhelds tiny speaker. Being able to plug the handheld into the head set can make you life so much simpler . I think the have PTTs for this as well but not sure how they work.

2) Get the alkyline battery pack ( Sportys and some brands have it as standard some its an extra cost) If your on a long X/C and your rechargable drains you need the charger to recharge it. That takes time and extra space in your bag. Also the longer I use the rechargables the less charge they hold. Newer tech may have solved that but I don't know. If your AAs die you just pop in new ones. No waiting to recharge.

3)Think about that external antena hook up unless of course if your a renter.

As for price www.joepilot.com has the best prices I have seen.

BTW not sure where you are in your rating. Are you a pp, IR rated , student. If ya don't have the IR yet and $$ is an issue ( its always an issue LOL) I'd lean toward getting a good handheld GPS first. But perhaps your planes have GPS already.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

i was wondering if , anyone could help...id like to purchase a handheld comm....any help on quality and price , would be apreciated....thanks ....eric

Icom's always been great for me as handheld NavCom.
I charge the internal batteries about 2-3X/year unless using alot and of course, carry sets of alkalines for backup.

 

[SJP]

I have the Sporty's brand. I think its called the SP200. Not a bad radio and the price was the best of the lot. FWIW I also think Icom is an excellent brand.

I use mine for getting AWOS, ATIS etc. Clearances and taxi instructions when needed. Overtime it may save you a few clicks on the hobbs. You should not expect clear communications with Approach unless you have an external antena hookup. These things just arent that strong. I'd say if your within 10nm of the tower you could probably communicate ok but if your at 8K in the goo in the middle of nowhere don't expect it to be johnny on the spot.

I have two suggestions actually three.

1) Get the Headset adapter. This is a MUST. Imagine yourself at 8K in the goo and dead radios. Its loud, bumpy and a little anxiety provoking perhaps. YOu have one hand on the yoke and the other is on the hand held, the throttle and writting crap down. All the while trying to listen to a voice through static on the handhelds tiny speaker. Being able to plug the handheld into the head set can make you life so much simpler . I think the have PTTs for this as well but not sure how they work.

2) Get the alkyline battery pack ( Sportys and some brands have it as standard some its an extra cost) If your on a long X/C and your rechargable drains you need the charger to recharge it. That takes time and extra space in your bag. Also the longer I use the rechargables the less charge they hold. Newer tech may have solved that but I don't know. If your AAs die you just pop in new ones. No waiting to recharge.

3)Think about that external antena hook up unless of course if your a renter.

As for price www.joepilot.com has the best prices I have seen.

BTW not sure where you are in your rating. Are you a pp, IR rated , student. If ya don't have the IR yet and $$ is an issue ( its always an issue LOL) I'd lean toward getting a good handheld GPS first. But perhaps your planes have GPS already.

^ What he said.

I have the Sporty's one too - excellent for the ground type stuff...transmit sucks (like most of them) in the air without the external antenna...

That said...we did have a complete radio out just after takeoff from PTK one summer weekend - Tower could understand us well enough to know what was going on, and we could hear Tower perfectly. Sure, we could have gone NORDO...but with DTW Class B to the south, FNT Class C to the north...and Blackhawks anytime you dont expect them...is a nice thing to have in the flight bag

 

[eric_ocean]

Thank you sirs, for the replies....Adam Z i think your right, thats a great idea to think about....the plane i fly doesn't have a GPS....thats a great sugestion aswell for the batteries , headset plug in, etc....as for the GPS ? are there any handhelds that are FAA certified?

 

[AdamZ]

are there any handhelds that are FAA certified?

Not for IFR. Use hand helds to assist with situational awareness and as a back up to your other VFR nav aids such as VORs, pilotage etc.

 

[ScottM]

I had a JRC JHP-500 and that was a real good radio. I upgraded to a Vertex VXA-700 because I also wanted all the ham band functions but I owuld not recomend that for non-hams. It is not an easy radio to use. The Icom ones look great and I have owned lots of Icom gear for ham radio and alway had good experience with them. Do get a headset adapter, it will make you life so much easier. Read what is included in each radio many come with that in the box already.

 

[silver-eagle]

I have an ICOM A23. It replaced a KING KX99 which I sent to a guy on the old AOPA board. It's never been used as a comms radio but I do use it to pick up weather, ATIS, and situational environment.
There was an Ercoupe flying out of 3B2 for awhile that used an ICOM (A22 I think). They used a headset adapter in it which all seemed to work out okay.
Unless it was wired in to an external antennae, using the rubber ducky might not work well.

 

[ejensen]

I have a Vertex but if I was buying now I'd get a Comm only Icom. And put the nav money in a portable GPS. I had to use mine after an alternator failure and it worked great but I had a headset connection and an external antenna hookup. I talked to TUS approach from 50 miles out with no problem. Really could not tell much difference from my panel mounts. Other than that I use it for calling the gas truck and working fly-ins.

 

[Shipoke]

I have a Icom A-5 comm only and love it. dont need nav option i have a 196 GPS for that .i should also tell you i'm partical to Icom being a Ham Radio operator. Dave G.

 

[Steve]

I have an Icom A-22. Now that I have a handheld gps my next handheld transceiver will be comm only. The new Icoms are nice. Save the $100 or so and skip the nav feature. Rarely used.