Well, if you just want to listen, I recommend getting a receiver only
instead. You can get a pretty nice scanner with airband at RadioShack
for $100.

That, however, won't solve your reception problem, though if you were
to go throug the trouble of putting a larger antenna on your roof, that
might.

My experience with a ground-based transmitter (the tower) is that 5 nm
away may be too far. However, you should be able to hear the
transmissions from the radios in aircraft in the pattern just fine.

-- dave j


Robert Barker wrote:
The airport where I'm a student is pretty busy and I'm still getting used to
the high volume of radio traffic. I was wondering about getting a handheld
radio to listen to at work and at home and get used to the patter and that I
could also use later as a backup. I bought an I-COM IC-5 Sport but couldn't
hear anything from my house so I took it back. I'm about 5nm from the local
tower but line of sight might be an issue. I was wondering if anyone had
any suggestions...