I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both the
airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.

--
Will
westes AT earthbroadcast.com

On Sat, 5 Jun 2004 14:25:57 -0700, "CHANGE USERNAME TO westes"
> wrote:

>I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
>pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both the
>airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
>airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
>improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
>antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
>standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.


My radio guy swapped out a loran antenna for a VHF antenna when I had
some radio work done. He ran a wire up to the cockpit and put it in
the map pocket. If I ever need it he's told me it will work almost as
well as a regular radio with that set up. Haven't tried it out yet,
but I do trust his judgement.

HTH

z

It's not just ICOM. The rubber ducky antennas that come with the handheld
units are almost, but not ntirely, useless. Getting a good signal in or out
of a metal enclosure is tough...you have to hold the unit near a window and
keep it vertical for best results.
If you are a renter and can't go for an installed antenna, talk to your
local avionics shop about getting a better antenna.

Bob Gardner


"CHANGE USERNAME TO westes" > wrote in
message ...
> I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
> pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both
the
> airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
> airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
> improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
> antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
> standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.
>
> --
> Will
> westes AT earthbroadcast.com
>
>

An external antenna is essential. I had an occasion to use it airborne
after an electrical failure in IMC. It had a range of 20-30 miles at
5000 ft. I was able to talk to ATC al the way to the airport. My
external antenna is on the belly sine I figured I would be transmitting
down to the radio antennae's.

Michelle

CHANGE USERNAME TO westes wrote:

>I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
>pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both the
>airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
>airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
>improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
>antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
>standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.
>
>
>

--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

All very true, but I think the original poster was referring to reception on
the ground (next to the airport or under the plane), not inside a cockpit.

Rod
"Bob Gardner" > wrote in message
...
> It's not just ICOM. The rubber ducky antennas that come with the handheld
> units are almost, but not ntirely, useless. Getting a good signal in or
out
> of a metal enclosure is tough...you have to hold the unit near a window
and
> keep it vertical for best results.
> If you are a renter and can't go for an installed antenna, talk to your
> local avionics shop about getting a better antenna.
>
> Bob Gardner
>
>
> "CHANGE USERNAME TO westes" > wrote in
> message ...
> > I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
> > pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both
> the
> > airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
> > airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
> > improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third
party
> > antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
> > standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.
> >
> > --
> > Will
> > westes AT earthbroadcast.com
> >
> >
>
>

In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
westes > wrote:

> I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
> pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both the
> airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
> airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
> improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
> antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
> standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.

If you are on the ground, outside the airplane, you can purchase a
metal, 5/8 wave, telescoping antenna to replace the standard rubber
duckie.

Don't forget, VHF is line of sight. On the ground, you won't get much range to
another ground station regardless of how good your antenna is.

EDR wrote:

> In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
> westes > wrote:
>
> > I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
> > pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both the
> > airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
> > airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
> > improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
> > antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
> > standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.
>
> If you are on the ground, outside the airplane, you can purchase a
> metal, 5/8 wave, telescoping antenna to replace the standard rubber
> duckie.

--
--Ray Andraka, P.E.
President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc.
401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950
email
http://www.andraka.com

"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin, 1759

Rod Madsen wrote:

> All very true, but I think the original poster was referring to reception on
> the ground (next to the airport or under the plane), not inside a cockpit.

Several years ago, I went to a ham radio shop and had them cut an roof mount
antenna for my ICOM 21. I believe I had them cut it for 128 MHz and 3/4 wave
length. I got awesome performance from my car. I could hear the ATIS and talk
with ground control five miles from the airport on the freeway. I could drive
along I-5 on the coast and talk with LA Center's RCO on Catalina Island.

EDR wrote:

> In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
> westes > wrote:
>
> > I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
> > pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both the
> > airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
> > airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
> > improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
> > antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
> > standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.
>
> If you are on the ground, outside the airplane, you can purchase a
> metal, 5/8 wave, telescoping antenna to replace the standard rubber
> duckie.

Right, I think my antenna is 5/8 wave. Makes it awesome with a roof mount.

Ray Andraka wrote:

> Don't forget, VHF is line of sight. On the ground, you won't get much range to
> another ground station regardless of how good your antenna is.

five miles is pretty good. And, since ZLA Catalina's RCO is atop a mountain on the
island, 40 miles works with ease.

writes:
> Rod Madsen wrote:
>
> > All very true, but I think the original poster was referring to reception on
> > the ground (next to the airport or under the plane), not inside a cockpit.
>
> Several years ago, I went to a ham radio shop and had them cut an roof mount
> antenna for my ICOM 21. I believe I had them cut it for 128 MHz and 3/4 wave
> length. I got awesome performance from my car. I could hear the ATIS and talk
> with ground control five miles from the airport on the freeway. I could drive
> along I-5 on the coast and talk with LA Center's RCO on Catalina Island.

Were you really "talking" to these stations? The 108-136 MHz
band(s) is(are) for /air/ mobile operations. Talking to LA
Center while driving on I5 would seem to be illegal.

>>
Were you really "talking" to these stations? The 108-136 MHz
band(s) is(are) for /air/ mobile operations. Talking to LA
Center while driving on I5 would seem to be illegal.
<<

What if you're jumping up and down, and only transmit when you're in the air?

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"Everett M. Greene" wrote:

> writes:
> > Rod Madsen wrote:
> >
> > > All very true, but I think the original poster was referring to reception on
> > > the ground (next to the airport or under the plane), not inside a cockpit.
> >
> > Several years ago, I went to a ham radio shop and had them cut an roof mount
> > antenna for my ICOM 21. I believe I had them cut it for 128 MHz and 3/4 wave
> > length. I got awesome performance from my car. I could hear the ATIS and talk
> > with ground control five miles from the airport on the freeway. I could drive
> > along I-5 on the coast and talk with LA Center's RCO on Catalina Island.
>
> Were you really "talking" to these stations? The 108-136 MHz
> band(s) is(are) for /air/ mobile operations. Talking to LA
> Center while driving on I5 would seem to be illegal.

Just enough to check it out. "Los Angeles Center, this is Piper 38 Charlie, radio
check on 124.75 please."

It was used primarily to listen to ATIS on the way to the airport, then once out of
the car, the rubber duckie antenna was placed on it and I contacted clearance
delivery with my little finger touching the wing of my airplane.

I discuss all of these nuances with an FCC friend one time and guess what, they
couldn't care less, so long as the transmissions do not interfere with air traffic
services. A radio check does not rise to that level.

Where are located when you are using this radio. I am 7 miles from the
airport and I can hear aircraft in the pattern, but cannot hear the tower or
ATIS. The problem is these frequencies are line of sight. If you have
buildings and such in between the antenna and the source, the reception will
be poor regardless of antenna.

jerry

"CHANGE USERNAME TO westes" > wrote in
message ...
> I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its
> pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both
the
> airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the
> airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for
> improving gain and the quality of reception? Is there some third party
> antenna that I could attach to this radio? It looks like it takes a
> standard BNC type connector for the antenna that comes with it.
>
> --
> Will
> westes AT earthbroadcast.com
>
>

How tall was that telescoping antenna?

Does anyone sell an off the shelf 5/8 wave telescoping antenna with a strong
magnetic base?

--
Will
westes AT earthbroadcast.com

"EDR" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
> westes > wrote:
> If you are on the ground, outside the airplane, you can purchase a
> metal, 5/8 wave, telescoping antenna to replace the standard rubber
> duckie.

In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
westes > wrote:

> How tall was that telescoping antenna?

I do not remember how long it extends to.
IIRC, the formula is 468/f(MHz) gives the wavelength. Multiply by 5/8
to get the antenna length in feet. For 123.0 MHz (middle of the band),
the length is 28.5 inches.

> Does anyone sell an off the shelf 5/8 wave telescoping antenna with a strong
> magnetic base?

Just purchase a standard ham 2m mag mount antenna and cut a piece of
stainless steel rod that fits the mag mount to the above calculated
length.

I disagree with the method described below for calculating a 5/8 wavelenth antenna.
As I recall, the formula you have below gives you the length in feet of
a half wave length antenna (not the full wavelength as you suggest). So a 5/8 ths
wave antenna would be twice as long as you calculated. Also, if you took a 2 meter
5/8's wave antenna, you'd need to lengthen it (not cut it down) to use it as a 5/8 wave
antenna on 123 MHz.
You probably could take a 5/8 wave 2 meter ham antenna and cut it down to a 1/4 wavelength
antenna for use on 123 MHz. The length for that would be somewhere around 22.89 inches.
Max T, CFI (and ham radio operator)



EDR > wrote in message ...
> In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
> westes > wrote:
>
> > How tall was that telescoping antenna?
>
> I do not remember how long it extends to.
> IIRC, the formula is 468/f(MHz) gives the wavelength. Multiply by 5/8
> to get the antenna length in feet. For 123.0 MHz (middle of the band),
> the length is 28.5 inches.
>
> > Does anyone sell an off the shelf 5/8 wave telescoping antenna with a strong
> > magnetic base?
>
> Just purchase a standard ham 2m mag mount antenna and cut a piece of
> stainless steel rod that fits the mag mount to the above calculated
> length.

>>
You probably could take a 5/8 wave 2 meter ham antenna and cut it down to a 1/4
wavelength
antenna for use on 123 MHz.
<<

There's more to it than that. The impedance has to match. For a 1/4 wave
antenna, all you need is 1/4 wave worth of metal. But for a 5/8 wave, you need
a coil at the bottom too, so that the antenna looks like 1/4 wave to the
transmitter, and works like a 5/8 wave to the ether. A ham band (or any other
band) 5/8 wave antenna will already have the appropriate coil, but if you
change the length significantly, the coil will no longer be the right value.

For 123 MHz the difference is probably not all that much, but it might be
enough, depending on your transmitter.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

CHANGE USERNAME TO westes wrote:

> How tall was that telescoping antenna?
>
> Does anyone sell an off the shelf 5/8 wave telescoping antenna with a strong
> magnetic base?

Whatever 5/8 of an RF wavelength of 128.0 MHz is; somewhere around 3 1/2 feet,
or so.

No one sells them off the shelf, because they can cut one for you in about two
minutes. Any decend ham radio store has all the stuff.

"Max T, CFI" wrote:

> I disagree with the method described below for calculating a 5/8 wavelenth antenna.
> As I recall, the formula you have below gives you the length in feet of
> a half wave length antenna (not the full wavelength as you suggest). So a 5/8 ths
> wave antenna would be twice as long as you calculated. Also, if you took a 2 meter
> 5/8's wave antenna, you'd need to lengthen it (not cut it down) to use it as a 5/8 wave
> antenna on 123 MHz.
> You probably could take a 5/8 wave 2 meter ham antenna and cut it down to a 1/4 wavelength
> antenna for use on 123 MHz. The length for that would be somewhere around 22.89 inches.
> Max T, CFI (and ham radio operator)
>
> EDR > wrote in message ...
> > In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
> > westes > wrote:
> >
> > > How tall was that telescoping antenna?
> >
> > I do not remember how long it extends to.
> > IIRC, the formula is 468/f(MHz) gives the wavelength. Multiply by 5/8
> > to get the antenna length in feet. For 123.0 MHz (middle of the band),
> > the length is 28.5 inches.
> >
> > > Does anyone sell an off the shelf 5/8 wave telescoping antenna with a strong
> > > magnetic base?
> >
> > Just purchase a standard ham 2m mag mount antenna and cut a piece of
> > stainless steel rod that fits the mag mount to the above calculated
> > length.

I had mine cut for 128.0 MHz to optimize the VHF voice band. The nav frequencies are less
important. Ham Radio Specialists in San Diego cut it, and had stock to do 5/8 wave length at
that frequency. The whip is much longer than 28.5 inches; somewhere around 40 inches, or so.

> wrote in message ...
>
>
> "Max T, CFI" wrote:
>
> > I disagree with the method described below for calculating a 5/8
wavelenth antenna.
> > As I recall, the formula you have below gives you the length in feet of
> > a half wave length antenna (not the full wavelength as you suggest).
So a 5/8 ths
> > wave antenna would be twice as long as you calculated. Also, if you
took a 2 meter
> > 5/8's wave antenna, you'd need to lengthen it (not cut it down) to use
it as a 5/8 wave
> > antenna on 123 MHz.
> > You probably could take a 5/8 wave 2 meter ham antenna and cut it down
to a 1/4 wavelength
> > antenna for use on 123 MHz. The length for that would be somewhere
around 22.89 inches.
> > Max T, CFI (and ham radio operator)
> >
> > EDR > wrote in message
...
> > > In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
> > > westes > wrote:
> > >
> > > > How tall was that telescoping antenna?
> > >
> > > I do not remember how long it extends to.
> > > IIRC, the formula is 468/f(MHz) gives the wavelength. Multiply by 5/8
> > > to get the antenna length in feet. For 123.0 MHz (middle of the band),
> > > the length is 28.5 inches.
> > >
> > > > Does anyone sell an off the shelf 5/8 wave telescoping antenna with
a strong
> > > > magnetic base?
> > >
> > > Just purchase a standard ham 2m mag mount antenna and cut a piece of
> > > stainless steel rod that fits the mag mount to the above calculated
> > > length.
>
> I had mine cut for 128.0 MHz to optimize the VHF voice band. The nav
frequencies are less
> important. Ham Radio Specialists in San Diego cut it, and had stock to do
5/8 wave length at
> that frequency. The whip is much longer than 28.5 inches; somewhere
around 40 inches, or so.

The "5/8 wavelength" is an electrical, equivalent length. This can be
different than a physical length depending on loading coils (inductive) and
"top hat" (capacitive) loads are used. In general you can't cut premade
antennas.

"William W. Plummer" wrote:

> > wrote in message ...
> >
> >
> > "Max T, CFI" wrote:
> >
> > > I disagree with the method described below for calculating a 5/8
> wavelenth antenna.
> > > As I recall, the formula you have below gives you the length in feet of
> > > a half wave length antenna (not the full wavelength as you suggest).
> So a 5/8 ths
> > > wave antenna would be twice as long as you calculated. Also, if you
> took a 2 meter
> > > 5/8's wave antenna, you'd need to lengthen it (not cut it down) to use
> it as a 5/8 wave
> > > antenna on 123 MHz.
> > > You probably could take a 5/8 wave 2 meter ham antenna and cut it down
> to a 1/4 wavelength
> > > antenna for use on 123 MHz. The length for that would be somewhere
> around 22.89 inches.
> > > Max T, CFI (and ham radio operator)
> > >
> > > EDR > wrote in message
> ...
> > > > In article >, CHANGE USERNAME TO
> > > > westes > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > How tall was that telescoping antenna?
> > > >
> > > > I do not remember how long it extends to.
> > > > IIRC, the formula is 468/f(MHz) gives the wavelength. Multiply by 5/8
> > > > to get the antenna length in feet. For 123.0 MHz (middle of the band),
> > > > the length is 28.5 inches.
> > > >
> > > > > Does anyone sell an off the shelf 5/8 wave telescoping antenna with
> a strong
> > > > > magnetic base?
> > > >
> > > > Just purchase a standard ham 2m mag mount antenna and cut a piece of
> > > > stainless steel rod that fits the mag mount to the above calculated
> > > > length.
> >
> > I had mine cut for 128.0 MHz to optimize the VHF voice band. The nav
> frequencies are less
> > important. Ham Radio Specialists in San Diego cut it, and had stock to do
> 5/8 wave length at
> > that frequency. The whip is much longer than 28.5 inches; somewhere
> around 40 inches, or so.
>
> The "5/8 wavelength" is an electrical, equivalent length. This can be
> different than a physical length depending on loading coils (inductive) and
> "top hat" (capacitive) loads are used. In general you can't cut premade
> antennas.

What do I know? I trusted the guy at a ham radio store (which has a great
reputation) and the setup worked great.

>> I could hear the ATIS and talk
>>with ground control five miles from the airport on the freeway. I could drive
>>along I-5 on the coast and talk with LA Center's RCO on Catalina Island.
> Were you really "talking" to these stations? The 108-136 MHz
> band(s) is(are) for /air/ mobile operations. Talking to LA
> Center while driving on I5 would seem to be illegal.

since he was "driving" in LA (I sitting in endless traffic), I highly
highly doubt he was "mobile." Maybe he was on a tall off-ramp so might
have been in the "air."

Gerald

Gerald Sylvester wrote:

> >> I could hear the ATIS and talk
> >>with ground control five miles from the airport on the freeway. I could drive
> >>along I-5 on the coast and talk with LA Center's RCO on Catalina Island.
> > Were you really "talking" to these stations? The 108-136 MHz
> > band(s) is(are) for /air/ mobile operations. Talking to LA
> > Center while driving on I5 would seem to be illegal.
>
> since he was "driving" in LA (I sitting in endless traffic), I highly
> highly doubt he was "mobile." Maybe he was on a tall off-ramp so might
> have been in the "air."
>

North San Diego County isn't exactly LA.