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User avatar
By Lee Savell
#1415738
Hello all,

With a view to overcoming my RT nerves, I'm looking for someone who might have a handheld in the cupboard/garage (insert other location where the unused bits n bobs go)

I'm not really looking to buy, as I hope I won't need it for long, just long enough to get the hang of things.

So, does anyone have a radio I could borrow for a while? I'd be happy to leave a security deposit.

Many thanks,

Lee
User avatar
By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1415762
If you get yourself a transceiver, then you'll have it for the rest of your flying life as a backup and for calling for things when the master is off, etc.

All singing all dancing 8.33kHz transceiver with VOR facility:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yaesu-FTA-550A-alkaline-VHF-Airband-Radio-With-VOR-And-ILS-Navigation-/252149270118?hash=item3ab5448666:g:puoAAOxyUylTPchi

But in the meantime you can make yourself a receiver for 6 quid.

Google "rtl sdr".

You can also use it an an ADS-B receiver. :D

http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=1222061#p1222061

http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=84832

http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=87929

Though if you want a better receiver, this is currently on sale:

http://www.flightstore.co.uk/pilot-supplies-c1/airband-radio-c51/airband-radios-c700/uniden-ezi-33-xlt-airband-radio-p3439/s3864?gclid=CjwKEAiA9uaxBRDYr4_hrtC3tW8SJAD6UU8Ga_KUE_tXSvkZY_Ns7XSKBxVp2FbmZw9BpVuOOibeUxoCB93w_wcB

Or maybe bid on this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Air-Band-Receiver-AM-FM-FM-stereo-Air-MR-318A-/111808724497?hash=item1a0851be11:g:UE8AAOSw14xWMPeI

My first airband radio when I was a kid was something like this - though choosing individual frequencies isn't really all that hot with something like these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Omega-4997-Black-CB-FM-TV-1-AIR-PB-MARINE-WB-Multi-Band-Radio-New/221840894656?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D62b72de48f734e548463e60484d7738d%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D271905862436
User avatar
By Morten
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1415773
Lee,

I borrowed a handheld from a forumite about a year ago with the same thought you had. It was useful, but not overly so. This was mainly because from my home, the only frequencies I could capture were Heathrow, Gatwick and Essex approach. And a Volmet. Line of sight is poor at ground level... I sometimes heard some pilots (but never ground) on LARS but frankly, most GA pilots are not necessarily great examples to learn from.
Listening in to to the 'big' approaches taught me 2 useful lessons:
- the repetitiveness of everything you hear. The same message, with minor variations, is given and received over and over again. Knowing what to expect to hear before you hear it is 99% of the challenge.
- my ear got slightly better tuned to understanding what was said - driven by the first point above.

But knowing (having forgotten :wink: ) the RT used on approach to EGLL has otherwise not been useful in my flying career so far :-)

I guess what I'm saying is that you may be better off going up to the tower of your local club and spend an hour or so with them and your notepad. Try to record everything which is being said on both sides of the line, and get ready to do the pilot's read back and check it when he gives it. Or even better if you can get to a field with AFIS instead of A/G; or even a full ATC airport. That will be much closer to your actual use (and exam) and is likely to make you feel more confident quicker than spending time at home listening to Monarch371 being fully established...

By all means, one does not exclude the other, but don't get too hung up about finding a radio...

Morten
By vw-dan
#1416248
Hi Lee - I'm only a student still, but I had much the same experience as Morten. My flight school had a scanner in the crew lounge and when I realised how little of it I understood I borrowed one from my dad and took it home.

In flying terms, I'm very close to my home airfield - but all I ever got was the occasional glimpses of the pilot-side of a conversation. It wasn't particularly useful and I gave up in the end.

Added to that - I've found it starts to come very naturally anyway. I've not deliberately worked on my RT, but I was sat in the lounge last week and realised that I could now actually understand 90% of the radio chatter AND start to form that oh so important mental picture.