Buying handheld tranceiver....worth it??

[oilcanbland]

I am considering asking for a handheld tranceiver for Christmas this year. I know that it would come in extremely handy for radio failures, but I was just wondering whether you guys would recommend getting one. Would a handheld GPS be a better investment? Just curious to hear opinions. Thanks.

 

[flywithastick]

get the GPS - no question, IMO.

 

[El Cid Av8or]

Either one is an excellent investment. I have a Garmin GPS III Pilot that I use as a compliment to everything else on the panel. I would like to get an aviation-band transciever but since I have a handheld amateur radio, I haven't really saved up for it. The one good thing about the transciever is that you can listen to air traffic control when you're driving or at home. It's good for "radio training." Don't talk on the aviation-band frequencies unless you're actually in a plane or at the airport getting a clearance. You don't want the FAA to tell the FCC to come find you.

Keep in mind that, as of this day, no handheld GPS is certified for IFR use, only VFR. I guess it would be okay to use it if everything else went down when IFR but the FARs say "no" as far as a primary instrument.

You could get a transciever for Christmas and then spring for a low-end GPS yourself. The Garmin eTrex Legend is nice but doesn't have all the aviation data capabilites. It does have a moving map that you could enter airport and navigation waypoints into though. I did that with my old Garmin eMap until I got the GPS III Pilot.

 

[JCJ]

if you lose your alternator or battery in IMC (which is the "worst case" that either of these devices would be helpful for) the handheld GPS would be much more valuable than a handheld radio IMHO

the handheld radio is fun to listen to atc on close to the airport. if your radio fails in flight don't expect much range out of the "rubber duck" antenna on the handheld - much better if you have a way to hook it up to an antenna on the airframe. there are inexpensive connectors available that allow this

 

[azpilot]

I have both but got the GPS first. I have used my handheld and would have otherwise been grounded in controlled airspace without it. My alternator was on the fritz and it would have been a realy hassle to fly without a radio to get back home. If you fly lots of IFR it is really nice to have both. I use the handheld a lot to talk to Unicom etc.

 

[RJlifer]

I think a GPS would be a lot more usefull to have around. The only thing I ever really used my handheld for was back in my instructing days for monitoring student solos from "the bench". I think I was a bit of an overprotective Papa Duck.