If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Handhelds?
The airport where I'm a student is pretty busy and I'm still getting used to
the high volume of radio traffic. I was wondering about getting a handheld radio to listen to at work and at home and get used to the patter and that I could also use later as a backup. I bought an I-COM IC-5 Sport but couldn't hear anything from my house so I took it back. I'm about 5nm from the local tower but line of sight might be an issue. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions... |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Well, if you just want to listen, I recommend getting a receiver only instead. You can get a pretty nice scanner with airband at RadioShack for $100. That, however, won't solve your reception problem, though if you were to go throug the trouble of putting a larger antenna on your roof, that might. My experience with a ground-based transmitter (the tower) is that 5 nm away may be too far. However, you should be able to hear the transmissions from the radios in aircraft in the pattern just fine. -- dave j Robert Barker wrote: The airport where I'm a student is pretty busy and I'm still getting used to the high volume of radio traffic. I was wondering about getting a handheld radio to listen to at work and at home and get used to the patter and that I could also use later as a backup. I bought an I-COM IC-5 Sport but couldn't hear anything from my house so I took it back. I'm about 5nm from the local tower but line of sight might be an issue. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions... |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Just listen to the various ATC that broadcast over the internet. With
a handheld, you'll get hardly anything, especially at work. http://www.liveatc.net/ |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Hi Bob...
FIRST, I would find an airband HT that I like and buy it. I had a friend who lost comms in the pattern at TOL on his first solo; pulled his HT out of his bag, and saved the situation. Point made... I was an airband scanner listener for many years...that did help a little for me. In my experience, an airband HT will receive "as good as" and usually much better than scanners. The scanners have more features conducive to listening, tho; that's why I have both. At your house, you should have heard the planes just fine. If not, you might have a bad radio, or you had the squelch adjusted too tight. It should be set to 'just quiet' the radio. The ground station (ATC) is another story. VHF comms are 'line of sight' and the antennas ATC use have little "downtilt"-they want to talk to the sky, not the ground like a police or fire dispatch. Also, the antennas are probably on 60-100' towers, not the several hundred (or thousand) feet your local PD/FD may use; so the ground reception range will be less. You may be further from the ground station than you think. 2 miles North of OKC airport, I could not hear the ground side on my HT. I found out later that the transmitter site was well South of the airfield. A simple outdoor or even attic antenna for receiving will greatly improve your reception. I would suggest a desktop style scanner for home They are much more convenient to use. --Don Don Byrer Electronics Technician/Friendly but Sarcastic Pilot FAA Airways Facilites/Tech Ops, RADAR/Data/Comm @ CLE Amateur Radio KJ5KB Instrument Pilot Commercial Student PP-ASEL 30 Jan 2005 "-IA" 25 Mar 2005 |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 21:48:06 -0600, "Robert Barker"
wrote: I bought an I-COM IC-5 Sport but couldn't hear anything from my house so I took it back. I'm about 5nm from the local tower but line of sight might be an issue. I'm surprised you didn't do better. Sporty's sells a radio for just this purpose. Whether it would work better than the handheld, I don't know, but it would be cheaper. You should at least be able to hear the pilots in the air. No? Sometimes when I am running down the battery in my handheld, I just leave it on the desk tuned to 128.8. I hear a lot of stuff, but it's all airborne. -- all the best, Dan Ford email (put Cubdriver in subject line) Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com the blog: www.danford.net In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"Robert Barker" wrote in message ....I bought an I-COM IC-5 Sport but couldn't hear anything from my house so I took it back. I'm about 5nm from the local tower but line of sight might be an issue. How high is the tower antenna? What's the terrain like? |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 21:48:06 -0600, "Robert Barker"
wrote in :: I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions... Back when Jim Weir was more helpful than cantankerous, he offered this information: http://www.google.dk/groups?selm=356...utput= gplain http://www.google.dk/groups?selm=37d...utput =gplain I recall another of his articles with even better instructions for air-band antenna construction in about 1999, but couldn't locate it. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Cantankerous? MOI????
I only get my spineys up when being argued with something I truly believe to be false. Be that as it may, I just scanned all my articles from 1998-2000 and didn't see anything. Are you perhaps referring to the j-pole (plumber's delight) that I did back in 1988 and referenced by date in a 1999 article on how to make a base station? I'll be happy to try and post either a description here or upload the drawings (if they still exist) onto the website. Just tell me the basics of what I am looking for. Jim Back when Jim Weir was more helpful than cantankerous, he offered this information: http://www.google.dk/groups?selm=356...utput= gplain http://www.google.dk/groups?selm=37d...utput =gplain I recall another of his articles with even better instructions for air-band antenna construction in about 1999, but couldn't locate it. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
RST Engineering wrote:
Be that as it may, I just scanned all my articles from 1998-2000 and didn't see anything. Are you perhaps referring to the j-pole (plumber's delight) that I did back in 1988 and referenced by date in a 1999 article on how to make a base station? Speaking of which... what became of the project to reformat an upload to your website the post 2000 articles? |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Cub Driver wrote: On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 21:48:06 -0600, "Robert Barker" wrote: I bought an I-COM IC-5 Sport but couldn't hear anything from my house so I took it back. I'm about 5nm from the local tower but line of sight might be an issue. I'm surprised you didn't do better. It's very dependent on the terrain and any obstacles between you and the tower antenna. My handheld and scanner both pick up the tower and ground at PHX (4.5 miles away) loud and clear. I can even hear the airliners on the ground. When I'm actually at PHX there are some locations on the airport, such as behind some hangars, where I can't get either tower or ground very clearly. John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180) |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Vertex Handhelds | Jeff Franks | Piloting | 20 | November 28th 04 02:10 PM |
What's next for Garmin handhelds? NEW 296 | MichaelR | Piloting | 3 | March 19th 04 12:50 PM |
What's next for Garmin handhelds? | Mike Rapoport | Piloting | 13 | March 6th 04 03:58 PM |
Handhelds and alkaline batteries | Ross Richardson | Piloting | 44 | August 10th 03 12:17 AM |