No matter how well you equip the panel of your kit, there’s good reason to invest in a portable comm transceiver. Whether it’s for belt-and-suspender backup or for fetching clearances and listening to the airport weather, it’s no surprise that the portable comm soldiers on. Sporty’s is selling a new one—the PJ2—and it has some smart features and an attractive price. KITPLANES avionics editor Larry Anglisano has been putting the PJ2 through its paces and prepared this field report video.
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While having the ability to plug headset connectors directly into the portable transceiver is a worthwhile improvement, it could further improved if these transceivers had Bluetooth capability,. This would not just simply avoid the need to plug in headset cables, but would allow both pilot and co-pilot to hear and communicate on the device. Additionally, Bluetooth capability would be very convenient outside the cockpit by connecting to headsets and in-ear devices commonly used with mobile phone.