New gadget for this week is…..

This year I’ve been messing around with the type of scanner I’m using. I started off with an Icom IC-R20 scanner that I had had for many years but soon realised that most radio traffic had moved over to digital modes. So I picked up a digital handheld scanner which was brilliant.

Then, a little while ago I had the opportunity to pick up an AOR AR DV1 digital base scanner and I have absolutely no regrets getting it. It looks good in the shack and it performs fantastically.

The only problem now was that I no longer had the option to listen to radio traffic like air traffic control and marine radio when I went out. To get around this I thought I needed a cheap hand held scanner so I picked up a basic Uniden UBC 125XLTc and away I went.

However! I soon realised that the Uniden while being an excellent scanner but with only 500 channels was quite limited in what it could be programmed up with.

So, I stuck the Uniden on eBay and it sold in literally seconds of going online which allowed me to place an order for the lovely Icom IC-R15. With 2000 channels and duel receivers it is fair to say that it is one of the best “current” hand held scanners on the market.