Getting by with a handheld COM

[aftCG]

I know some of you Champ guys do better than just get by - it is your COM radio.

Looking for how you set it up. I've had a Yausu (or however it's spelled) in my bag for a while. When I was actively flight instructing it was common for students to show up proudly with such a device.

Seemed like a great idea until you have to use it in real life NORDO situations.
Then you discover:
-Assuming you haven't lost your headset adapter you now have no intercom with your passenger
-the rubber duck antenna sucks
-you suddenly need more hands

My Narco mk12D has been giving me fits all season. It recieves great, the NAV side works but I get intermittent complaints that I'm garbled and unreadable. Troubleshooting the obvious (and cheaper) items like headset, PTT, antenna connections I always came to the same place.

Research shows my issue with the Narco is common, and requires surgery in the $350-400 range - for an old radio with no guarantee.
I'm possibly the only pilot on Earth who never had a bad thing to say about a Narco radio. Even so, the "fix" will only get me so far and is probably wasting money. It's replacement will be the subject of another thread.

Why I'm here
While I'm pondering my panel upgrade I would still like to at least beat up the pattern. I don't need an intercom for that.

Yesterday I went to my hangar to see if I could devise a way to locate it where I could see the display, reach the PTT and have the antenna as high and vertical as possible.

I failed.

Opinions of the gallery are welcome.

 

[Bob Turner]

These things can work. Best is a whip antenna, mounted on the aluminum skin that connects wing and fuselage. If you can find one, the Comant designed for our com frequencies can be had used for $30 or so. It has a BNC connector, which is great for reducing VSWR. The rubber ducky has the same connector, and can be used, but it really needs a ground plane.

The cable needs to be a properly terminated hunk of RG-58U, or even better, RG-400. Actually, you might consider checking these two components with your old Narco before you trash it.

The next part is a headset adapter with a PTT, designed for the radio you will use.

Finally, you need adequate power. I wouldn't go for less than 7 AH, gel cell. That, at least for Icom lately, means a $50 adapter.

That said, the little Chief I told you about uses an Icom A6, headset adapter, a separate battery powered intercom that actually works, and the rubber ducky antenna taped upside down on the windshield, and nobody complains. Blew me away when it worked - I assumed it wouldn't, and got a telephone clearance through El Paso. Its owners talk to towers between here and Santa Monica, and for a while they were using SoCal as well. Neat - and unexpected!

 

[Bartman]

These things can work. Best is a whip antenna, mounted on the aluminum skin that connects wing and fuselage. If you can find one, the Comant designed for our com frequencies can be had used for $30 or so. It has a BNC connector, which is great for reducing VSWR. The rubber ducky has the same connector, and can be used, but it really needs a ground plane.

The cable needs to be a properly terminated hunk of RG-58U, or even better, RG-400. Actually, you might consider checking these two components with your old Narco before you trash it.

The next part is a headset adapter with a PTT, designed for the radio you will use.

Finally, you need adequate power. I wouldn't go for less than 7 AH, gel cell. That, at least for Icom lately, means a $50 adapter.

That said, the little Chief I told you about uses an Icom A6, headset adapter, a separate battery powered intercom that actually works, and the rubber ducky antenna taped upside down on the windshield, and nobody complains. Blew me away when it worked - I assumed it wouldn't, and got a telephone clearance through El Paso. Its owners talk to towers between here and Santa Monica, and for a while they were using SoCal as well. Neat - and unexpected!

thanks for the write-up Bob!

 

[aftCG]

These things can work. Best is a whip antenna, mounted on the aluminum skin that connects wing and fuselage. If you can find one, the Comant designed for our com frequencies can be had used for $30 or so. It has a BNC connector, which is great for reducing VSWR. The rubber ducky has the same connector, and can be used, but it really needs a ground plane.

The cable needs to be a properly terminated hunk of RG-58U, or even better, RG-400. Actually, you might consider checking these two components with your old Narco before you trash it.

The next part is a headset adapter with a PTT, designed for the radio you will use.

Finally, you need adequate power. I wouldn't go for less than 7 AH, gel cell. That, at least for Icom lately, means a $50 adapter.

That said, the little Chief I told you about uses an Icom A6, headset adapter, a separate battery powered intercom that actually works, and the rubber ducky antenna taped upside down on the windshield, and nobody complains. Blew me away when it worked - I assumed it wouldn't, and got a telephone clearance through El Paso. Its owners talk to towers between here and Santa Monica, and for a while they were using SoCal as well. Neat - and unexpected!

Yes, definitely appreciate the input Bob.

In this case it is temporary (as little as a week), but also it would be nice to have plan in the event all the smoke comes out of my panel mount.

I do have a whip mounted on top of the right side wing joint fairing, and the coax cable which runs down the right side A-pillar. I put my eyes on every inch when I first had an issue. No loose or broken connections and no corrosion. I believe I tested for continuity with my multimeter but that was largely a binary check for the obvious.

Conveniently, there is an inline connection at the right edge of my panel. It has been barely visible until the other day. With some creative use of routing and zip ties it would be possible for me to fish that connection out in flight, break the connection and route to a handheld. I'll just need a short cable to go from that cable to my handheld socket with the rubber duck removed.

I can do better than 7AH since my plane has an electrical system. The AA batteries in the radio seem to last quite a while, but I'm sure transmitting will suck them flat quicker than the service I've put it through so far. Thanks for reminding me that I need a panel power jack installed anyway.

As for adapter/PTT, my radio came with a short pigtail adapter for my headset jacks. I'm okay using the PTT on the side of the radio since I need the display of the radio to be visible for frequency tuning and volume. I just need to work out how to hold it "right there" so I can see and use it, and I'm not finding a RAM mount (yet).

 

[JimParker256]

I bought a RAM mount for my Sporty's SP-400 handheld (also have the headset adapter but no external power source), and use a RAM 'lobster claw' to clamp it to the tubing at the upper left of the cabin. It's very secure, doesn't block much of the view, is easily reachable, and I can read the display without contorting. My plane also has a second COM antenna with a cable that is the perfect length to reach my handheld in the mount. With the external antenna connected, I've talked to Center from well over 30 miles away (and able to hear them from 40+). Local tower prefers my handheld's transmissions over the KX-170's. LOL So far, it's just my "backup" radio, but the good old KX has quit on me in-flight twice while inside the DFW Bravo airspace, so having the SP-400 connected up and ready to go is now "standard procedure" for me.

 

[Bob Turner]

When the Stearman had a Becker, we wound up with just what you are thinking of, every time the Becker went to Florida for a $600 repair.

It is in a box in my hangar - Icom A-21, headset AND PTT adapter, power cord, and Sigtronix portable. I had to wire up a special wye for headset jacks - I don't remember how it worked. I will look tomorrow.

Here's the thing: I do not think the PTT on the side of the radio works real well when the headset adapter is plugged in. I could be wrong, but I think you are asking too much of that little radio.