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Yaesu VX-8DR Questions

Se7en

Well-Known Member
Jun 27, 2010
4,573
223
73
Ca
I would like a run down of the goods and bads between the VX-8r vs. the TH-F6 by kenwood. i already have the THF6 & have been considering the yaesu for 6m use... How is the alpha tags? scan speed decent? is it truly water resistant/proof? I am a huge fan of Yaesu ADMS software so it looks like programming is a breeze. What quad band Duck antenna do you use with your VX8r? How about the Wideband Receive for SW or AIRBAND and AM cb ? The WB receive on my kenwood isn't that spectacular and it will suffer from intermod with a large antenna however i am able to listen to CW freely and a small bit of SSB on 20m ( don't expect it to be a True SW receiver) with elevation using a 40" pushup bnc antenna. hows the internal speaker? stock battery life? do the buttons have that clickity feel? does the HT feel solid and durable?
 

How is the alpha tags?
The tags work fine. The VX-8's memory management is one of its strongest features and the tags work well.

scan speed decent?
Yep, faster than a lot of other HT's, but I've seen faster. It's good enough for me.

is it truly water resistant/proof?
Check out the video I did:
vx-8r under water test - YouTube
What quad band Duck antenna do you use with your VX8r?
The stock one.

How about the Wideband Receive for SW or AIRBAND and AM cb ?
It works, but as well as you can expect for an HT with an internal ferrite antenna. Hook up an external wire and of course it works better.

The WB receive on my kenwood isn't that spectacular and it will suffer from intermod
WB works great on the VX-8

hows the internal speaker?
OK, could be louder.

stock battery life?
You really need to purchase the extended life battery. The stock slim battery won't last a whole day with any usage.

do the buttons have that clickity feel?
Not sure what you mean by "clickity", but I like the way they feel. I've had HT's with buttons I liked better and HT's with buttons I've hated. These are fine, IMO.

does the HT feel solid and durable?
It's survived my abuse for several years now. It really is pretty durable.
 
The tags work fine. The VX-8's memory management is one of its strongest features and the tags work well.

Yep, faster than a lot of other HT's, but I've seen faster. It's good enough for me.

Check out the video I did:
vx-8r under water test - YouTube
The stock one.

It works, but as well as you can expect for an HT with an internal ferrite antenna. Hook up an external wire and of course it works better.

WB works great on the VX-8

OK, could be louder.

You really need to purchase the extended life battery. The stock slim battery won't last a whole day with any usage.

Not sure what you mean by "clickity", but I like the way they feel. I've had HT's with buttons I liked better and HT's with buttons I've hated. These are fine, IMO.

It's survived my abuse for several years now. It really is pretty durable.

Thanks Tim for the replies. Watched the water video its got me.sold ! 73
 

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