parnass@ihu1h.UUCP (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) (01/17/85)
x New Sony AIR-8 VHF-HI/AIR/AM/FM/LF Scanner Sony, a well known name in the consumer electronics business, has introduced a portable scanner aimed parti- cularly at aviation enthusiasts. Here is the information I have: Frequency coverage includes: - commercial aviation 108 -136 MHz. - low frequency weather 200 - 400 KHz. - vhf-hi public service 144 - 174 MHz. - AM commercial broadcast - FM commercial broadcast There are 10 memory channels in each of 4 bands. Apparently, channels in different bands cannot be inter- mixed. The unit will "scan the entire aero band at the touch of a button in either direction." Appearing as a cross between an ICOM IC02A 2 meter walkie-talkie and a piece of aero nav equipment, the top of the Air-8 contains rotary bandswitch, along with squelch and volume controls. A top mounted BNC connector joins the flexible antenna with the radio. The back lit LCD display on the front displays frequency and prompts. No speaker grille is visible in the picture I have! Selectable delay on a per-channel basis, and priority channel sample are enabled by front panel pushbuttons. The Air-8 also has jacks for earphone and external AM antenna. Power is supplied by 4 AA batteries. The price I saw quoted was $269. -- =============================================================================== Bob Parnass, Bell Telephone Laboratories - ihnp4!ihu1h!parnass - (312)979-5414