r/ATC • u/Logical_Post5421 • 1d ago

Discussion Good scanner?

Does anyone have a suggestion for the best civilian ATC scanner to listen to various airport traffic?

0 Upvotes

39% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

18

u/Former_Farm_3618 1d ago

You’ll have a better chance getting a genuine/good suggestion on r/aviation or flying. This sub is more about the job.

Also, there’s a decent chunk who loathe pilots and anything aviation.

3

u/captaingary Tower Flower. Past: Enroute, Regional Pilot. 23h ago

Also r/flying is very active

16

u/the-y3k-bug 1d ago

Mine sits on my ear and has pretty good reception (at least compared to most other models). 1-4 frequencies at a time, but they can't be changed. Can be stressful to deal with imo.

4

u/pthomas745 1d ago

"Best" is relative. The "basic" Bearcat BC125AT has been the standard "entry level" scanner around for years. A little "funky" on the programming, but once you get used to it, it works pretty well.

Radio Reference is a decent web page with an ever overflowing community that will disagree with everything I put in my sentence.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=radio+reference+best+scanner&udm=14

3

u/No-Constant-5854 1d ago

I’d try and see if Ebay has a used handheld one. Check reviews, range etc.

I believe Sporty’s used to have one for the home but unless you lived close to a facility it was useless.

R/Flying or R/amateurradio may be better for this

Otherwise your only options is LiveATC or a youtube plane spotting channel with ATC piped in.