Handheld Radios

Skyrys62 said:
Any updated PIREPS on these?
I'm getting a $300 gift from my place of employment for 30 year anniversary.
I'd like to get one of these two models: Yaesu 550L or ICOM IC-A24
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$10 a year. Hope that's not your pension!
 
Right!
I've decided moving forward, I'll make sure I give them their money's worth. :)
 
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I'm getting a Yaesu FTA-750L soon. Earlier in this thread people said you will never use NAV and maybe some of the other features. I hope I never need to use the COMM feature either. I thought the idea of a handheld is for safety/redundancy, no? I've got 2 COMMS, 2 VORs, and a GPS, all powered by the plane. The handheld would be there in the event of a complete electrical failure. What am I missing?
 
Finally got to fly today. Bitterly cold, so no volunteers to fly safety seat, sniveling little wretches.
I have a new Yaesu FTA-750L.
The Comm functions were fine. I have an external antenna hook up, and I was pulling in 122.80 from airports 50 miles or more away.
I used the GPS and Nav functions, and they both worked fine.
I got about 30 miles out, with the GBR unicom freq in the radio, selected the appropriate Nav function and just "flew the ball", the little dot that appears. When it's on the nose of the plane on the display, you are headed for it.
It was too cold to risk ILS and Glideslope today. They both worked but I didn't have the nerve to do any low rpm, low altitude work because the engine hates to run in the cold. It quit running on final. Again.
I actually used the Nav function "for real" on the way back to GBR. I came over the mountain about 7 miles away from the airport and flew into a snow squall. I just flew the ball until I came out the other side.
I give the radio Two Thumbs Up.

Here endeth the PIREP.
 
My QT halos have a port that I can connect a phone, iPod, etc. with a 3.5mm cable.
Am I crazy thinking this:

Using a Yaesu (or Icom) handheld, with the adapter for headset attached.
Add the below cable between my QT halo port and the handheld adapter, which would allow me to hear both the panel mounted com, and the handheld at the same time? (Mic not included in scenario)

upload_2018-1-18_21-29-20.jpeg
 
Hi,
I am not a pilot (yet), but I stick around in the NYC airport grounds watching t/o and landings.
I wish I could listen to the ATC communications while seeing them there. liveatc.net doesn't work for me.
Will a Handheld do the job? and if it does, can anyone recommend one that is good for "ground operations"?
Thanks in advance.
 
Block Time said:
Hi,
I am not a pilot (yet), but I stick around in the NYC airport grounds watching t/o and landings.
I wish I could listen to the ATC communications while seeing them there. liveatc.net doesn't work for me.
Will a Handheld do the job? and if it does, can anyone recommend one that is good for "ground operations"?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Just resist the urge to meow
 
Block Time said:
Hi,
I am not a pilot (yet), but I stick around in the NYC airport grounds watching t/o and landings.
I wish I could listen to the ATC communications while seeing them there. liveatc.net doesn't work for me.
Will a Handheld do the job? and if it does, can anyone recommend one that is good for "ground operations"?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

In your case, you don't need to transmit, so you can use just about any radio that receives the VHF aircraft band...a lot less expensive than a handheld transceiver. Something like this will do what you want for barely $100: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00772MR0K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_BN2GH82F2PFK1FYT1ZRV. Of course, if you're on the path to being a pilot and you're thinking ahead of having two-way communications in the cockpit as a backup to your panel-mounted radios, then maybe you do want to spend 2-4 times more on a transceiver. If so, Yaesu is what I use, but plenty of folks like the Sporty's and ICOM products.
 
Vince R said:
In your case, you don't need to transmit, so you can use just about any radio that receives the VHF aircraft band...a lot less expensive than a handheld transceiver. Something like this will do what you want for barely $100: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00772MR0K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_BN2GH82F2PFK1FYT1ZRV. Of course, if you're on the path to being a pilot and you're thinking ahead of having two-way communications in the cockpit as a backup to your panel-mounted radios, then maybe you do want to spend 2-4 times more on a transceiver. If so, Yaesu is what I use, but plenty of folks like the Sporty's and ICOM products.
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Thanks! this is very helpful. Didn't even know that it exist a device with receiving capabilities only.
Will go for it.
 
Block Time said:
Thanks! this is very helpful. Didn't even know that it exist a device with receiving capabilities only.
Will go for it.
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Again, unless you live very close to the airport or an ATC facility, it's of dubious worth. Getting a signal from a ground station on the ground doesn't work very far away.
 
flyingron said:
Again, unless you live very close to the airport or an ATC facility, it's of dubious worth. Getting a signal from a ground station on the ground doesn't work very far away.
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Tnx. As I said, I am hanging around on airport grounds in close proximity to the tower. liveatc is great from home, but outdoor, hmmm...
 
Vince R said:
In your case, you don't need to transmit, so you can use just about any radio that receives the VHF aircraft band...a lot less expensive than a handheld transceiver. Something like this will do what you want for barely $100: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00772MR0K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_BN2GH82F2PFK1FYT1ZRV. Of course, if you're on the path to being a pilot and you're thinking ahead of having two-way communications in the cockpit as a backup to your panel-mounted radios, then maybe you do want to spend 2-4 times more on a transceiver. If so, Yaesu is what I use, but plenty of folks like the Sporty's and ICOM products.
Click to expand...
I wonder if Uniden's user interface and documentation have gotten any less user hostle.
 
I have a Yaesu FTA-450L. It's a great radio. I have the version that has both the Lithium rechargeable battery and the AA battery tray so if the rechargeable is discharged, I can use AA batteries. I use it to listen to ATIS, Ground and Tower while I preflight. The interface is really easy to use. I can also listen to Hudson River CTAF 123.05 2 miles away.
 
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