Radio Reviews
Here are some reviews of radios that have been used to decode ACARS. Please note that the environment in which a radio runs can make the difference between good and bad reception. Our reviewers have given as much detail about their environment as possible. Choose a radio from the following manufacturers:
Bearcat Radio Shack Others
Bearcat BC350A
Made By: Uniden Corp. Reviewer: SB Price: $129 US
Environment: Car/boat radio used at home with attic mounted discone antenna.
Comments: When I saw this small unit on the shelf in the local pilot shop, I really didn't expect it to be very useful in the ACARS reception arena. When I listened to 131.55 in the shop however, I immediately noticed that the sounds of the bursts were clearer than anything I had heard previously. After connecting it up at home, I found that I had stumbled on the one of the best performing ACARS radio I had ever used, as the number of error free decodes had improved by over 50% from my Pro-2006 !!!
Over the next several weeks I continued to use the unit and came up with much larger files than I had ever recieved from any of the other radios I had ever tried. Fearing this was a fluke, I had a couple of other people try the unit and their findings were the same. The BC350A was clearly one of the best performing radios for decoding.
The radio is designed for mobile use in a car or boat. It comes equipped with the brackets and power connections for a car, as well as the power adapter for the home. total setup time was about 5 minutes in my house, and I was off and running. The unit is fairly small, and is easy to disable and put in the car.
If I had to find one fault, it would be with the ergonomics. The unit is awkward in selecting frequencies, and is only capable of storing 20 channels, so it quickly became dedicated to ACARS. Learning the panel is not intuitive, and takes a little time to learn.
Based on the price point and the ACARS performance, I would highly reccomend this unit.
Bearcat BC3000XLT
Made By: Uniden Corp. Reviewer: TO Price: $329-369 US
I remember how anxious I was to get a hold of this radio to use for ACARS! I read many reviews of just how great a performer this unit was, with great audio quality, sensitivity, and triple-up conversion. With 400 programmable channels in banks of 20 channels each, I was eager to try it out. When the radio arrived, I literally tore open the package, and immediately went at setting it up for ACARS. Much to my surprise, however, when I hooked it up to the Airmaster unit, nothing appeared on my screen. I adjusted and readjusted the volume to no avail. I unhooked the audio cable and listened for the familiar ACARS bursts, and they were there, with excellent albeit a wee bit bassy for my liking audio quality. Even with 320mW audio output, this thing could not drive the ACARS decoder!! The BC3000XLT has found a niche in my shack, however, as my primary voice monitoring radio, and does an exceptional job with that side of the aeronautical listening hobby.
Bearcat BC9000XLT
Made by: Uniden Corp. Reviewer: SB Est price: $379 US.
Environment: House base station with attic mounted discone antenna.
Comments: The BC9000XLT is probably one of the best radios currently available. The reception capabilities and ergonomics of this machine are extremely hard to beat. Featuring storage in up to 500 channels, the unit allows text names to be entered and displayed for each channel which makes for quick identification of the station that has been tuned. Either direct channel entry, direct frequency entry, or rotary dial selection can be used when tuning/selecting a station.
For ACARS reception, the unit was located about 12 feet from the decoding computer (P120 desktop) and performed with excellence in the number of clean decodes it produced. The unit seems to reject a lot of interference from the computer thus minimizing the impact of having one or more PC's operting in the vicinity. An attenuator switch is supplied but was not generally necessary and when engaged reduced the reception to an unacceptable level for ACARS. The unit has not yet been tested with the screw mount antenna supplied with the unit.
When using the Lowe Airmaster software, the unit performed at its best with the squelch completely off, and the volume set at maximum.
It is worth noting that the unit is slightly vulnerable to overmod from what appears to be local commercial broadcast stations, and other utility stations. The problem is not severe enough to cause a noticable degredation in decodes.
Radio: Radio Shack PRO-26
Made by: Radio Shack/Uniden Reviewer: TO Price: $199US
Environment: Home base using a variety of antennas.
On the heels of the disappointment I experienced with the Uniden BC300XLT, I decided to blow part of my tax return this year and buy a Radio Shack PRO-26 to try. This receiver, also made by Uniden, garnered some good reviews in the scanner hobby press, so I was expecting good things when I brought ithome from the store. Ha! That really turned out to be quite a joke! Perhaps I received a lemon unit, but this radio is deserving of the dustbin in my opinion. I tried monitoring ACARS with four different antennae, a Watson W-881 Super Gainer (which works very well in the aeronautical bands with my other scanners), an Austin Condor whip, the antenna provided with the radio, and my three-element yagi in the attic. On ALL antennae, and in different areas in and around the house, I could barely hear the aeronautical traffic for the country music which over modulated onto most all channels!!! Of all the scanners I've ever owned, the PRO-26 was the most susceptible to horrendous over mod, and given it's impressive-looking specs, it was absolutely astonishing that this radio performed as abysmally as it did! Please note that I have never experienced any over mod from fM radio stations on any of my other scanners before. Before you buy this model, please beware! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention this: it also failed to produce an ACARS decode, even at different volume settings.
MAIN SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Coverage: 25-1300MHz (No Gaps)
200 Memory Channels
Fast scanning at 50 Channels per second
Fast Searching at 100 Steps or 300 Steps per second(5Khz step size only)
Switchable AM, NFM & WFM modes
Selectable Increment Steps 5, 12.5, 25 & 50KHz (50KHz is restricted)
Sensitivity:
RS Figures - 20dB S/N with 60% modulation for AM; 3kHz deviation for
NFM; 30dB S/N with 22.5kHz deviation for WFM.Radio Shack Pro-46 receiver
Made by: Radio Shack, Ft Worth Tx. Reviewer: TO Est price: $350 US. (used, as the model is no longer in production. If you are lucky,however, you may still find these in Radio Shack stores for under $80 in the bargain bin.)
Environment: Handheld sitting on chair with an attic mounted three-element yagi antenna.
Comments: The Pro-46 was the first receiver I used for ACARS, and it was an excellent performer indeed. With fairly good audio quality and good selectivity, the PRO-46 is recognized by enthusiasts as a good all-round performer for the $$ With 100 programmable channels in 10 banks, this is a very user-friendly radio.
Specifications:
Frequency Coverage:
Ham................................................29 - 29.7 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)
VHF-Lo.............................................29.7 50 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)
Ham....................................................50 - 54 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)
Aircraft...............................108 - 136.975 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
Government...................................137 - 144 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)
Ham.......................................,,,,,,...144 - 148 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)
VHF - Hi..............................,,,,,,,....148 - 174 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)
Government.................,,,,,,,.......406 - 420 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
Ham.......................,,,,,,,..............420 - 450 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
UHF-Lo..........,,,,,,,.....................450 - 470 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
UHF-TV..,,,,,,,............................470 - 512 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
UHF-H.....................806.0000 - 823.9375 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
.......................................851.0000 - 868.9375 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
.......................................896.1125 - - 956 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)Channels of Operation..........................Any 100 channels in any band combinations (10 channels x 10 banks) and 10 monitor channels
Sensitivity........................ (20 dB S/N with 60 % modulation for AM:
.................................................. 3 kHz deviation for FM):
29 - 54 MHz......................................................0.5 microV
108 - 136.975 MHz................................................1.6 microV
137 - 174 MHz....................................................0.7 microV
406 - 512 MHz....................................................0.7 microV
806 - 956 MHz....................................................0.8 microVLimit Search Speed/Band Search Speed..........................19 Steps/Sec.
Scan Speed.................................................14 Channels/Sec.
Priority Sampling.................................................2 Seconds
Delay Time........................................................2 Seconds
IF Frequencies.........................................10.8 MHz and 450 kHz
Audio Power..................................220 mW Maximum
Built-in Speaker...................1 - 7/16-inch (36mm) 8-Ohm, Dynamic Type
Power Requirement....................................+6 VDC, 4AA batteries, or a suitable 9-volt adapter (negative ground only)
Dimensions...............................5 7/8 x 2 5/8 x 1 1/2 Inches (HWD), (151 mm x 66mm x 37mm)
Weight......................................................7.76 oz (220 g)For optimum ACARS reception, my PRO-46 was situated in my bathroom, around 10-15 feet away from my PC. When connected to the three-element yagi in the attic, the radio enabled extremely clean capture rates due to the very good audio quality and output of the unit. Given that my antenna is hardly installed in a rofessional manner, i.e. it is duct-taped to a beam in my attic as high as possible, I was extremely pleased with the radio's performance.
When using the Lowe Airmaster 3.0 software and a homebrew decoder, the PRO-46 was best kept with the squelch completely off, and the volume set at 75% of maximum. The unit also scanned the various ACARS frequencies successfully with good results.
Radio Shack Pro-51 portable receiver
Made by: Radio Shack, Ft Worth Tx. Reviewer: SB Est price: $199 US.
Environment: Close proximity to major airports using antenna supplied with unit.
Comments: The Pro-51 is a nice, light, compact unit that is well suited for listening in a mobile environment. Excellent ergonomics, and a wide frequency coverage make this an ideal scanner for those on the move. The unit allows frequency storage in 200 channels with all the typical features expected of a base scanner. The unit can run on AC power or batteries, which seem to last a lot longer than most other radios I've ever owned.
For ACARS reception, the unit was tested in a room on the 10th floor of a hotel located 2 miles from Los Angeles Int'l Airport. It was connected to a portable P120 PC located about 4 feet from the decoding computer (P120 laptop) and performed with excellence in the number of clean decodes it produced. The unit had no trouble receiving uplinks and downlinks (not surprising given the distance to the airport). The pro-51 was heavily succeptable to interference from the computer, but the close proximity allowed the signals to "burn through" most of the noise.
When using the Lowe Airmaster software, the unit performed at its best with the squelch completely off, and the volume set at about 3/4 of max volume . Pushing the volume any higher seemed to result in degradation of performance.
As a side note: The hotel was kind enough to supply the extension cords required to power the radio and the PC. They also supplied scotch tape to secure the electrical switches "on" to avoid the cleaning lady killing the power (she took one look at the set up when I was leaving one morning, looked horrified, and never went near it for the rest of the week !)
As a final note, the radio has disappointing performance when connected up in my home and even when rigged to an external antenna. Decodes were not nearly as numerous as on either of my Bearcat's or my Pro-2006. While the receptions seems fine in the proximity of the airport, the radio falls down when the distance starts to build even a small amount.
Radio Shack Pro-2006 receiver
Made by: Radio Shack, Ft Worth Tx. Reviewer: SB Est price: $399 US.
Environment: House base station with attic mounted discone antenna.
Comments: The Pro-2006 receiver is one of the all time greats that have been on the scanner market. Although discontinued, these units can still be found new at some distributors and are readily available on the used market. The receiver can store 400 channels, and has excellent reception capabilities and excellent ergonomics.
For ACARS reception, the unit was located about 12 feet from the decoding computer (P120 desktop) and performed above average in the number of clean decodes it produced. The unit was heavily succeptable to interference from the computer which degraded its ACARS performance. The attenuator switch reduced the interference when engaged, but the reception was also reduced, to an unacceptable level. The screw mount antenna that was provided with the unit rendered it virtually useless for ACARS due to the interference.
When using the Lowe Airmaster software, the unit performed at its best with the squelch completely off, and the volume set just slightly below maximum.
Yupiteru VT125-II
Made by: Yupiteru. Reviewer: Tigger Est price: 150 UKP
Type: Handheld scanner. Dedicated civil airband
Comments: The VT125 is one of the best dedicated airband scanners around. It performs excellently with very clear audio. Around 12 hours use with the supplied ni-cads and very compact build make it a good mobile choice.
For home ACARS use the scanner was posiitioned approximately six metres away from the pc and used a roof mounted homebrew discone. Scanning the two European frequencies is easily acheived ( contrary to several authorities this is perfectly possible with several radios - VT125, Win108, VT225, MVT7100, Air-8 ). For best results put the two freaks in alternate memories and then scan with minimal squelch ( yes, squelch helps ).
Specifications:
