Becker Radios

[Forgotten Field]

Does anybody out there have experience/hearsay/hangar talk about Becker Radios? I've heard great things about them, but haven't talked with anybody who used them for an extended period of time. Specifically, I'm looking for someone who has used one with lots of noise in the cockpit. Thanks,

[Ollie]

We have one in the Focke-Wulf, I think it has been there for at least 25 years! It's running through the Garmin audio panel, and the range is impressive.

I wouldn't do without it when I fly the Focke.

[mas]

I've used the same Becker AR3201 in a variety of airplanes over the past 15 years, including an open cockpit Smith Miniplane homebuilt. I've had very good service out of the unit and have received many comments about the clarity and range of its performance.

[STEARMAN]

Forgotten Field,

I spoke with a guy who had them in a Stearman, and he had very good things to say about them. The signal is clear and the display is easy to read in low light. He had them mounted on a panel low and to the right of the pilots seat.

I also was shown a set-up using MicroAir radios, which are the same size (3.5"?)as the Becker. This set-up was in an open cockpit homebuilt, and the owner spoke very highly of the radios. I believe that they are less money than the Beckers.

Hope this helps.

Greg

[yakdriver]

I had the Becker in a Pitts I flew and didn't like it at all. It was OK as far as reception and clarity but was not very intuitive to use. I have the MicroAir in my CJ6 and it works great. Very clear and great reception. I get comments from controllers on how crisp it is. Very easy to program frequencies. Now I also have the MicroAir transponder and it has a few flaws. The main thing is it doesn't have a bright enough backlight and is very hard to see with the sun behind shining on the instrument panel. Has small buttons and is fidilly to punch in a code, very difficult in any turbulence. Works fine otherwise and there is no problem with center picking up the signal. Don

[bdk]

And never make the mistake of buying a Terra radio...

[Forgotten Field]

Thanks for all the input- I appreciate all of you sharing your experience. For anybody interested, the L5 is extremely LOUD in the rear cockpit- the noise is muffled by the instrument panel in the front cockpit. We need to get past using the hand-held for primary communication; the good ol' ICOM A20 is working okay but it can be real hard to hear in the back cockpit at full throttle (climb-out). We had a misunderstanding with the tower the other day because of this. We don't need that here in the ADIZ, so I am scheming new avionics for the L5. I have heard similar things about Becker and Microair, but Becker seems to have a bigger following than Microair. A friend just bought the Becker because he was impressed with its operating characteristics in an Air-Cam (twin Rotax 912S, open cockpit) and is putting them in his Aeronca Champ. Any comments on supportability/repair/warranty on the Becker? Thanks very much again.

[Ollie]

Our Becker is at least 25 years old, and I don't think it was ever repaired. The light for the frequencies is still working.

Not bad for a back-up radio!