Hand Held Radios (Com + Nav)and GPS...Help?

Hi All!

OK.. we are tricking out our new (to us) 172...

Looking at/comparing the ICOM IC-A23, and the Vertex Standard
VXA-210.

ICOM is more $, but a known quantity/quality.

Completely unfamiliar with Vertex quality/service..

Any experiences you would share with us?

And....

GPS....

The GARMIN 196 seems to be a fav, but we are attracted to the
features/screen size of the Lowrance Airmap 1000.

Short of "holding out" for a Colour 196 we are asking for
advice here as well..

Any owner/user comparisons/recommendations?

Thanks in advance....

Dave

Looking at/comparing the ICOM IC-A23, and the Vertex Standard
VXA-210.

I've got the ICOM. I've owned ICOMs since the early '90s. They are simple,
bullet-proof devices -- which is what I want in a back-up radio.

Jim Weir will tell you that the Vertex radios do some astoundingly cool
things, though.

Short of "holding out" for a Colour 196 we are asking for
advice here as well..

Any owner/user comparisons/recommendations?

I spent DAYS testing all of the GPS's at OSH '03. (Well, the Lowrance
Airmap 1000 was just "vaporware" at that stage -- but I ruled Lowrance out
for other reasons.) It was hell, but someone had to do it... ;-)

The best GPS on the market, hand's down, is the AvMap. It's a few more
bucks, but it's TWICE the GPS of any competitor. We've been very happy
with ours, and can honestly say it has changed the way we fly the plane.

See an on-line demo at http://www.avmap.it/index.php?sec=1&sub=45&lang=en
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I'm going through the same process of elimination. I had my ICOM A22
and Lowrance Airmap 100 stolen from my airplane two weeks ago. I am
looking at the same replacements as you are considering for your
airplane. Here's some random thoughts I've had... I liked the Airmap
100 because I'm a vfr pilot and it had the obstruction database. It
was a good unit that I used for 6 years without trouble. I'll
probably purchase the Airmap 500 or 1000 unless someone that owns one
of these units and doesn't like it changes my mind . It seems they
are the best bang for the buck for the vfr pilot.

I liked the IC-A22 as well, but I also had the alkaline battery pack
for it. I didn't like the hassle of keeping the NiCad charged. Do I
need an alkaline pack if I get the A23? Are they even available? I
believe the A23 has a nickel metal hydride battery pack while the
Vertex has the NiCad. Is NiMH a hassle to keep charged? I have
little experience with it? I may go with the Icom A5 and save a $100,
as in my experience, the nav feature on the IC-A22 has limited range
and usefulness, (at least with the supplied antenna).

wrote in message
...
Hi All!

OK.. we are tricking out our new (to us) 172...

Looking at/comparing the ICOM IC-A23, and the Vertex Standard
VXA-210.

ICOM is more $, but a known quantity/quality.

Completely unfamiliar with Vertex quality/service..

Any experiences you would share with us?

And....

GPS....

The GARMIN 196 seems to be a fav, but we are attracted to the
features/screen size of the Lowrance Airmap 1000.

Short of "holding out" for a Colour 196 we are asking for
advice here as well..

Any owner/user comparisons/recommendations?

Thanks in advance....

Dave

I own a VXA-210 and love it. Haven't had any problems with it and use most
every time I fly as I like to monitor CTAF as I preflight or check AWOS. My
only nit is that the antenna is an SMA connector and not BNC...which means
you have to buy a special adapter should you want to plug into an external
antenna. Best price I found on the VXA-210 was he
http://www.radios.org/index.htm

No experience with ICOM but folks I know that have them love them too.

Something to consider when comparing is to add up any extras that may come
with the radio. When I bought my VXA-210, I was comparing with a Sporty's
model (glad I went the route I did) and when considering the extras that
were part of my VXA-210 package (headphone adapter, nicad battery), the cost
difference wasn't all that significant.

Wish I could help on the GPS front...but haven't ventured into that arena
yet as I'm fortunate to rent planes that have built in GPS.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 01:55:50 GMT, wrote:

Completely unfamiliar with Vertex quality/service..

It was formerly sold under the brand name Yaseu.

After a couple years I got fed up with my Sporty's nav-com and
replaced it with a Yaseu radio. It looks the same as the current
Vertex but had 3.5 watts transmitting power instead of the current 5
watts.

It's a splendid piece of gear. I use it as my only radio. I know
nothing about service, because I haven't had any service requirements.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (requires authentication)

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

On Fri, 20 Feb 2004 21:02:29 -0600, "JJS" jschneider@REMOVE
SOCKSpldi.net wrote:


I liked the IC-A22 as well, but I also had the alkaline battery pack
for it. I didn't like the hassle of keeping the NiCad charged. Do I
need an alkaline pack if I get the A23? Are they even available? I
believe the A23 has a nickel metal hydride battery pack while the
Vertex has the NiCad. Is NiMH a hassle to keep charged? I have
little experience with it?

if you charge up a nicad it will retain the charge for quite some
time.
a NiMh battery by comparison will self discharge in about a week.
they charge quicker but need to be fully charged just prior to use for
the best effect.

(from my experiences with laptops)
Stealth Pilot
Australia

JJS wrote:
I liked the IC-A22 as well, but I also had the alkaline battery pack
for it. I didn't like the hassle of keeping the NiCad charged. Do I
need an alkaline pack if I get the A23? Are they even available? I
believe the A23 has a nickel metal hydride battery pack while the
Vertex has the NiCad. Is NiMH a hassle to keep charged? I have
little experience with it? I may go with the Icom A5 and save a $100,
as in my experience, the nav feature on the IC-A22 has limited range
and usefulness, (at least with the supplied antenna).


If you are going to purchase a new handheld with rechargeable battery
pack, also purchase the drop in charger. It is easy and quick, usually
recharging the battery pack in an hour.
NiMH have a self-discharge rate of 3-5% per day. If you are going on
extended trips, purchase an alkaline battery pack.

OK.. we are tricking out our new (to us) 172...

"Tricking out"? I love it! Are you an ex-motocrosser or something?
Didn't think that euphamism was used in these here environs....

Looking at/comparing the ICOM IC-A23, and the Vertex Standard
VXA-210.

Well, I'll throw out that my JRC JHP-500 works great and is a good bit
cheaper than the ICOMs. I have no complaints.

ICOM is more $, but a known quantity/quality.

Completely unfamiliar with Vertex quality/service..


That's just you. Vertex has been around for years now - and they are
getting rave reviews. Check out Aviation Consumer or Avionics West, for
example.

Same for the Lowrance.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Jay,

It's a few more
bucks,


Ahem! But I see that your self-rationalizing-mechanism works really
well.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)