SAFA Skysailor Magazine

33 January | February 2022 SKY SAILOR Changing the settings to input from the headset mic and output via headset speaker had everything up and running but, annoying- ly, my voice was being monitored through the headset whenever I broadcasted. For some reason the default setting is for this to occur and it took me ages to find this ‘side tone function’ and turn it off. After that the trans- ceiver worked seamlessly with the headset with no noticeable lag between keying the mic button and the activation of the helmet mic, a common problem when using plug-in Bluetooth adaptors. Programming my local frequencies into the memory and assigning them names was fairly painless. You can display up to eight charac- ters for each name and there are 200 memory channels available. Operation In the air, I found the IC-A16E to be clear and reliable. My transmissions were all easily received and I had no problems understanding incoming calls. The signal power on this model has been increased to 6 Watts so, presumably, range should be better than the older A15, although I was unable to test this. The buttons were very difficult to operate with cold fingers inside gloves, so having the required frequencies programmed into a group, pre-flight, is definitely a good idea so only the scroll button needs to be used. I spent a day using the radio in a vehicle as a ground station, whilst driving the winch on a tow endorsement course. The antenna has a bayonet fitting and easily swaps to the external lead. The airstrip we were using was quite busy with light aircraft traffic, so we were able to give the battery life a good test. After six hours of fairly heavy use, the battery had dropped to 7.8V from the initial 8.3V suggest- ing that it still had plenty of life. The in-built speaker is excellent, with plenty of volume and a good clear sound. Opinion The IC-A16E is a high quality radio that works well with or without a Bluetooth headset. Mounting it on or alongside the flight deck where you can see the display and reach the buttons makes the lack of a separate PTT less important, but still a bit disappointing for me. Like all quality, legal, and robust radios, this model costs more than some eBay offerings, but for something which can potentially save you from conflict and allows you to communi- cate clearly with CTAFs who are generally very accommodating of our sport, I think $400 or less is a fair price to pay. Will I be upgrading? Well, put it this way; if anyone is looking for a pre-loved A15, feel free to drop me a line !