[Dave Brand]

The standard motorsport frequency is 169.3375MHz FM, but some circuits use different frequencies. Airband scanners will cover the required frequency range.

We have two scanners, an Icom IC-R2 (around £160) & a Maycom AR-108 (£70).

We had a lot of problems with the Icom - it struggled to receive broadcasts with low signal strength, so often you'd only hear one side of a conversation. After twice being returned to the suppliers, the second time with a detailed description of the locations & frequencies it was required for, a different antenna was supplied, which cured the problem; a side-by-side comparison with two identical units showed that the signal strength with the new antenna is up to five times the level seen with the standard antenna. For anyone having this problem with an Icom using the standard antenna, the one that works is part number FA-S57V. The Maycom has given no problems.

Ignoring a lot of features which are not needed for the job in hand, the biggest difference between the two scanners is that the Icom has an auto squelch setting, the Maycom has only manual squelch - not a big problem. In case you don't know, squelch sets a signal level threshold to eliminate the annoying white noise which would otherwise be heard when no local signal is being recieved.

£90 extra for, in this context, nothing more than auto squelch, & poor performance with the standard antenna, makes the Icom look poor value. The only little niggle I've got with the Maycom is that the volume & squelch controls are concentric & rather fiddly, which makes it easy to accidentally change the squelch setting when adjusting the volume; otherwise, highly recommended.