Handheld Transcievers

"tjd" wrote in message
ups.com...
I recently had the same question (also considered the Vertex Pilot
III) and for all the research I did, it seems like pretty much a toss-
up. In the end I got an A24, and I've been happy with it. BTW, you
can get the A24 with Li-Ion as well though it costs more. Battery
life hasn't been an issue but I've only used it for checking ATIS on
the ramp and listening to the planes flying over my house - its
primary purpose is just as a backup but I haven't yet tried it in-
flight. I also bought the battery pack that you put standard AAs in
(of which I have plenty in my flight bag) in case I ever need it but
forgot to charge it.

If you can find a shop where you can play with both of them, I'd do it
and see which one you like better. I still have never seen a 710 in
person. I think the A24 is reasonably easy to use - I'd change a few
things if I could but no major complaints. But, in general I don't
think you can go wrong either way; if they were the same price I'd
have flipped a coin but the A24 was a bit cheaper so it won out.

todd.

One thing to be aware of if you plan on using it in flight in conjunction
with your headsets. You need a $10 push to talk switch if you want to use
your headset's microphone.

KB

On Mar 5, 7:53 pm, "Kyle Boatright" wrote:
One thing to be aware of if you plan on using it in flight in conjunction
with your headsets. You need a $10 push to talk switch if you want to use
your headset's microphone.

At least on the A24 that is not true; I just tested to make sure.
With a headset (and its mic) connected via the adapter, the behaviour
is the same as it is without a headset attached - you push the PTT key
on the unit to transmit. I don't own the external PTT switch but it
would appear to just be in parallel with the builtin one - possibly
more convenient but not required.

todd.

On 5 Mar 2007 22:22:27 -0800, "tjd" wrote:

On Mar 5, 7:53 pm, "Kyle Boatright" wrote:
One thing to be aware of if you plan on using it in flight in conjunction
with your headsets. You need a $10 push to talk switch if you want to use
your headset's microphone.

At least on the A24 that is not true; I just tested to make sure.
With a headset (and its mic) connected via the adapter, the behaviour
is the same as it is without a headset attached - you push the PTT key
on the unit to transmit. I don't own the external PTT switch but it
would appear to just be in parallel with the builtin one - possibly
more convenient but not required.

Hmmmm. I was fiddling with an ICOM IC-A5 a while back. I found that when you
used the radio-mounted PTT switch, *both* microphones were live...the one in the
headset, and the one on the radio itself. With the external PTT switch, only
the headset microphone was live.

Don't know if the A24 is the same, but it would be worth testing out. The
radio-mounted microphone won't be noise-canceling like the headset mike.

Ron Wanttaja

On Mar 6, 2:10 am, Ron Wanttaja wrote:
Hmmmm. I was fiddling with an ICOM IC-A5 a while back. I found that when you
used the radio-mounted PTT switch, *both* microphones were live...the one in the
headset, and the one on the radio itself. With the external PTT switch, only
the headset microphone was live.

that's an interesting point, I didn't check that in my test, but
opening both mics would make it a lot harder to xmit cleanly. I will
give it a try when I get home, plus it looks trivial to make your own
external PTT switch so I'll try that too.

Well, better late than never, right? I finally got around to playing
with this and what I said was wrong, Ron was closer to right (although
he may well be correct for the IC-A5, I have an IC-A24). Here's what
I found:

- The PTT switch on the radio only opens the built-in mic on the radio
- The external PTT switch only opens the external (headset) mic.

Pretty simple, right? I was initially fooled into thinking my headset
mic was live when pressing the radio PTT switch when it was actually
the radio mic picking up my voice. This time I was a bit more
rigorous about my experiments and also used an external PTT.

So, you do pretty much need an external PTT if you're planning to use
a headset... why don't they just include it?

todd.

PS: while my plane was in getting some avionics work done I had them
install a connector to let me hook the handheld up to the external
antenna... looking forward to doing some comparisons vs. the whip
antenna.

On Mar 6, 4:02 pm, "tjd" wrote:
On Mar 6, 2:10 am, Ron Wanttaja wrote:

Hmmmm. I was fiddling with an ICOM IC-A5 a while back. I found that when you
used the radio-mounted PTT switch, *both* microphones were live...the one in the
headset, and the one on the radio itself. With the external PTT switch, only
the headset microphone was live.

that's an interesting point, I didn't check that in my test, but
opening both mics would make it a lot harder to xmit cleanly. I will
give it a try when I get home, plus it looks trivial to make your own
external PTT switch so I'll try that too.

tjd wrote:

PS: while my plane was in getting some avionics work done I had them
install a connector to let me hook the handheld up to the external
antenna... looking forward to doing some comparisons vs. the whip
antenna.

I think you'll be impressed. In my Cherokee, the external antenna is the
difference between being heard from 4 miles away, and being heard 40 miles
away.

It won't do anything for the nav funtion. It'll still wobble without a
horizontally polarized external antenna. When I replaced my old KX-99
handheld navcom, I just bought the IC-A6. Same as the -A24, but without the
nav band.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

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