Will this ATC radio work?

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

will that radio be any good a few miles away form an airport? It’s really cheap!

Its absolutely crap:( What a total waste of money.

Imposible to tune in to the right frequency. Trying to return it. If not I’m flogging it back on Ebay.

If you really want to listen to ATC etc whilst travelling within an aircraft (and don’t happen to be on United listening to their ‘channel 9’ service), have a look at the ‘Ramsey AMB1 Passive Airband Receiver’ from the states. I think you can get them under a different name in the UK from a couple of dealers. Essentially as they have no local oscillator (as all regular radios do), it is impossible for it to generate any local RF whatsoever, so in other words, zero chance of interference with any a/c systems. That said, I still cant see many airlines taking your word for that and allowing its use… but in theory at least, its an option.

Cheers, Graeme.

I was always under the impression that it had nothing to do with radio signals, but rather to do with alertness?
Is this not the case?

It’s both. 😮

Its not a bad little radio for the price, i used to have one. You wont pick up from the airport unless your there but if you are in your house you may pick up a few passing by… Only other thing is you will struggle to get to an exact frequency as it is a dial, if you are looking for specific frequencies a digital display would be better 🙂

Ah, that’s how airband radios used to be – a dial. No such thing as exact frequencies in my youth sadly. But there again, in Scotland there weren’t that many frequencies either.

will that radio be any good a few miles away form an airport? It’s really cheap!

Its not a bad little radio for the price, i used to have one. You wont pick up from the airport unless your there but if you are in your house you may pick up a few passing by… Only other thing is you will struggle to get to an exact frequency as it is a dial, if you are looking for specific frequencies a digital display would be better 🙂

You’re right LB

We tell passengers to switch off electronic items & mobiles etc for the hell of it :rolleyes:

I knew it! 😀

I’ve just bought it…

will that radio be any good a few miles away form an airport? It’s really cheap!

On the subject of turning off electronic items…

I was always under the impression that it had nothing to do with radio signals, but rather to do with alertness?

I thought that the issue was that if people were distracted by ipods during the critical stages of the flight, they would be less likely to hear important safety announcements if, for example, the aircraft got into difficulties?

…A little bit like opening window blinds and dimming the cabin lights to make people aware of their outdoor surroundings in case of an emergency…

Is this not the case?

You’re right LB

We tell passengers to switch off electronic items & mobiles etc for the hell of it :rolleyes:

Well the interfierence can’t be really that bad can it?

Basically, no. No scanners will.

You are in a sealed metal tube which will attenuate the majority of external transmissions. Yes there are windows of course and this will allows some signals in especially if your on the ground, but once airborne in reality don’t expect to hear anything much apart from the strongest of signals.

Being picky you shouldn’t really have your scanner on when the seatbelt sign is on anyway as techincally it is could be classed as a kind of transmitting device along similar lines to portable TVs etc, in that it could have one or more local oscillators within its circuitry which will transmit some interference no matter how good the screening is.