Hand helds
 

Anyone recommend a basic hand held transceiver? Just for those 'radio gone dead' moments? Not interested in bells and whistles, just two way comms.

Google Icom IC-A6
We bought one recently for our syndicate, but haven't had a chance to use it yet.

I use an Icom A6 as GA backup, and microlight primary.

Spend a bit more to get the interface cable and PTT for your headset, but it works very well indeed.

G

A6 as primary and backup in my microlight (yes yes, I carry two of them). Works ok, but it seems I have to look into the antenna and its ground plane. Do NOT rely on the rubber thingy supplied as the standard antenna.

Vertex are well known in the radio game outside aviation and they produce high quality kit at good prices.

I have a Vertex Pilot 111 and it's quite excellent. I see from the link to it (below) that there's an updated model available, which has a BNC aerial connection so you can use an external aerial.

Standard-Vertex VXA-300 Pilot III Avionic Transceivers at £199.94 | Ham Radio

Thank you chaps.

+1 on the Icom/iCom/ICOM. Whatever...works good...lasts a long time.

looks good, but alas:

Still that Yaesu seems a good bargain at 230 quid. No idea of the quality and ease of use, though.

I've got one. Around £160 including postage. Nice bit of kit.
Yaesu FTA-310 Airband Transceiver Radio air aircraft helicopter pilot w/ Display | eBay?

You will need an in-line PTT to use it with a headset.

As a backup I use an Icon IC-A20 which is still on the original battery pack - bought early 1990 I think - certainly not later than January1991. I find the rubber aerial give enough range.

The trouble is that the yaesu only receives on 8.33. It does not transmit on the new grid and therefore will become useless in the medium term.

To buy anything without 8.33 is an unwise investment !

A&C, I know the argument has been done to death, but I am not convinced. All official sources I have consulted confirm that, for the next five years or so, 8,33 will only be required in upper airspace, above FL150 or so, where I won't come anyway with my non-turbo engine and insufficient payload capacity to carry oxygen bottles.

As more upscale pilots switch to 8,33, I see a plethora of 25 KHz equipment coming available secondhand and I do hope to find a nice panelmount transceiver in that bunch.

Regarding the Yaesu: I wonder a lot what could be the use of being able to receive 8,33 specific frequencies while unable to transmit there - is the developer completely nuts or did I miss something?

I've got a Vertex. Works a treat. Got it used from AFORS for £100 as the radio in the glider is cr*p.

For £100 I can afford to throw it away when it becomes obsolete in a few years.

"The trouble is that the yaesu only receives on 8.33. It does not transmit on the new grid and therefore will become useless in the medium term. "

They have a new version of the Vertex 220 which recives and transmits on 8.33 spacing. I think its called the 230. Have a check on ebay there was a few on there last time I checked.

Yes new version is FT-230, the VXA - 220 is also a great handheld, rock solid piece of kit, I have 2 of them, but with the limitation allready mentioned.
Dave, don't get the -300 that someone mentioned earlier, they have well known problems including picking up TV broadcasts