Thread: Adding a handheld as a 2nd radio--no audio panel..

Has anyone added a handheld as a 2nd radio?. I do not have an audio panel. Have a Flightcom 403 intercom and would like to add a handheld as a 2nd radio. Does anyone know of a inline switch that can be put between headset plugs and the panel that could be switched to a handheld radio....This could be aircraft, ham, public service....ect.. I could change out the intercom to a 2 radio intercom but thought adding something portable would save a lot of paperwork...
Thanks,
Brian

a good option is to use a radio with a monitor option like the sl-30,40.

it is close enough to having 2 radios. i still keep a handheld but for backup only

Charlie Tango...Good answer BUT I am looking to try to talk into my HAM Walkie Talkie via my headset while still listining to ATC on my Icom 200 and the intercom.... Someone is sure to make a external switch that is able to pass thru audio to the intercom and then the aircraft radio or swith to transmit on the external radio....any other ideas anyone??

There are a couple ways to do this, depending on if you just want to monitor or if you want the ability to switch between transceivers.

One way is to just connect the mini-pin out from the handheld to the stereo music input on the intercom. Or, if you just add in an audio mixer, you can also monitor any other audio source, including a 2nd radio. Aircraft Spruce has a couple audio mixers available for that purpose:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/a ... omixer.php

Or, if you want to be really simple, you could do something like this:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/a ... player.php

If you want to also transmit, and need to switch between transceivers, you could combine an audio mixer with a dpdt switch, as shown here:

http://www.vx-aviation.com/documents/AMX-2A_install.pdf

If you want a single comm radio that will give you a second frequency to monitor, then there are three radios available to do that which are already approved by FD:

SL-30 (expensive, but has dual nav/com and gs)
SL-40 (expensive, but has no nav)
ICOM A210 (inexpensive, and has no nav)

If I had known about the ICOM A210 when I had my radio installed, I think I might have gone with that since it does the same thing as the SL-40, but at nearly 1/3 the price.

I just thought of another way you could add a 2nd radio, either aviation or ham, and use it simultaneously with your existing radio and intercom, that would be completely portable:

http://flightcell.net/_moebiumcom/Libra ... _Nov07.pdf

Its a bit pricey at $700, and you would need to specify your handheld so they could create a special cable to enable PTT.

Or, you can order the older model for $350, but the cell phone feature is very limited.

Originally Posted by n3081x

Charlie Tango...Good answer BUT I am looking to try to talk into my HAM Walkie Talkie via my headset while still listining to ATC on my Icom 200 and the intercom.... Someone is sure to make a external switch that is able to pass thru audio to the intercom and then the aircraft radio or swith to transmit on the external radio....any other ideas anyone??

I'd suggest a low-cost audio panel and dedicated antenna. Audio panels are kind of overkill in my mind, but they offer TX and RX pushbutton switching as well as indications of which radio is active. We used modified audio panels in our CAP vehicles to integrate two aircraft COMMs, two VHF COMMS, a HF COMM and an intercomm line to the incident command system. We were trying to get $$ to go to the more sophisticated NAT system that is used in medevac and military birds. This is certainly overkill for your application.

Anyway, a low-cost audio panel is $700 or so. PS Engineering and NAT make good ones.

As for an antenna .... I'm not sure what and where I'd mount it. You might try installing a half-wave in the lower dorsal fin, but the polarization would be wrong. Installation of anything sticking out into the slipstream would certainly require approval from FDUSA and your DAR.

Doug

Thanks all for the input..The flightcell is along the line of what I had in mind... Like you said a little pricey!!!
Receiving both is not the problem. Its switching the transmit...I need help with
Thanks again
Brian