"W P Dixon" wrote in message

Practical? No. I have been in the radio business all my life and I would
not
even consider it, probably not even a kit.

Absolutely agree! I've got a couple of receiver protos I've lashed together
and have been playing with. Great fun but not very practical. There are a
few cheapo kit receivers out there (e.g. Ramseyelectronics.com,
Hamtronics.com...) but not exactly "industrial" - and not adequate for
aircraft use. You could build something much better but the search for
decent components is a real hassle.

Possible? Yes.

Certainly possible (as noted above) but for a one-off you'll have way
more than the $1000 in it when you're done (and that's counting your
time at a mere $0.50 per hour 8-)....... Even then, you'll probably be
disappointed in the result.

Legal? I don't think so.

And this is the major rub. You can build receivers all day long and
pretty much do whatever you want with them (most of mine will
become paperweights!)... but then there's the transmitter! You'll need
lots of expertise and *FCC approval* - which is where the whole concept
comes to a screeching halt. Licensed hams can build their own
transmitters *for use in the ham bands* - but the FCC and FAA are
understandably concerned about what happens in the aviation bands.

The only "kits" I've ever seen were from RST and I actually built one
some 20 years ago. BUT - it stopped being a kit when you finished
the construction because, to be *legal*, it had to be returned to RST
for alignment, checkout and - most importantly - provision of the FCC
label that was then attached. Maybe Jim can enlighten us as to how he
managed to pull this off - and how much hassle it was...........8-)

Use a portable. Fasten it on the side of your cockpit and use a
headset.
I have flown gliders for hundreds of hours with a tiny portable on a light
lanyard around my neck, but that may not work well over engine noise.

A reasonable "kit" might be something that made the handheld more
"permanent like" (tied in to the intercom, better audio, clean power, etc.)
but it would no doubt have to involve NO modifications to the portable
(or you're back to the FCC certifcation problems)...

Bill