Yaesu VX-8r Review

[Moleculo]

I'd imagine that VFO B has the full 6/2/220/440 tuning range? The specs didn't quite say.

If so, this is great news and I'm sold on this ht!

Yes it does. However, you have to use VFO A for the broadcast radio and special banks (WX, Marine, etc.).

 

[Kent Goldings]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This had been driving me crazy as I've been learning the ropes on my new VX-8R. I knew there had to be a way around it.

APRS AF DUAL

While you're in the APRS menu settings, there is an additional setting called APRS AF Dual. Here's what it does: If you are listening to AM/FM broadcast and also have VFO B on an APRS frequency (144.390), if the APRS Modem is ON, it will temporarily mute the AM/FM broadcast and play the APRS sound, which sounds just like a modem. Most people aren't going to want to hear all the APRS garbage, so you will turn the APRS MUTE setting to ON. If APRS MUTE ON is set, the APRS AF DUAL setting doesn't do anything. However, if APRS MUTE is OFF, then the APRS AF DUAL setting behaves similarly to the AF DUAL functionality. If APRS AF DUAL is ON, then it plays both the AM/FM broadcast and APRS audio at the same time. If APRS AF DUAL is OFF, then it interrupts the broadcast for a few seconds to play only the APRS sound.

 

[helio666]

Hey im new to this site and to Ham I just got my tec call sign a few days ago and went out and got the VX-8r, because yall spoke so highly of it and im out doors when i need it the most but I cant seam to get the range out of it yall talk about and I was wondering if theres something im not doing right. Im spending most my time in the 2 meter range and it just is not getting any distance at all. Ive been testing its range with a friend and I can hear well even when he drops to 5w but he cant hear me. Is this an Antenna issues or im i not getting the full 5w i should be? Thanks!

 

[BE_Mike]

Hello guys,
I'm new to this forum, and i want to say first thanks all for all your reviews.
They made me buy this radio. I saw you can mod the vx8r but since I live in Germany I have the VX8E. I was wondering if this mod would also work on this unit. I already saw that the small transistor is in the same place.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[Moleculo]

Is this an Antenna issues or im i not getting the full 5w i should be? Thanks!

The only way you'll know if you're getting full power out of it is to hook up a small power meter into a dummy load. I would suggest picking one of those up anyway if you plan on ever doing any installations on mobile or base installs.

The stock antennas on these HT's are never very good. You'll notice that a lot of people replace them with other antennas like the Diamond SRH320A, which is a much better antenna.

 

[Moleculo]

Hello guys,
I'm new to this forum, and i want to say first thanks all for all your reviews.
They made me buy this radio. I saw you can mod the vx8r but since I live in Germany I have the VX8E. I was wondering if this mod would also work on this unit. I already saw that the small transistor is in the same place.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

I think I read somewhere that it works the same, although the TX range is a little different. You can also try this software version of the mod here:

http://www.worldwidedx.com/radio-ra...su-vx-8r-mod-first-internet-3.html#post149977

 

[helio666]

Thanks!!

 

[w3CUM]

if you can afford it I think its a great radio for a new Ham. It may not be the easiest to work with at first which could be a little discouraging, but it is a great radio to really give you a taste of different parts of the spectrum and aspects of ham radio. whether its APRS, all the different bands, sat work or even low power contact stuff...

Others may or may not agree... I am kinda a new Ham myself

 

[Railham]

I wonder if this radio is recommend for a newbe to get there feet wet in Ham Radios ?

 

[ChrisNelson]

Mole,
I just passed my Tech & General test last night and have been drooling over this radio for some time now. I am so close to buying it but I have read many reviews that say it is weak on the receive side and the internal speaker is not very loud. Are any of these findings accurate? Should I maybe go with the FT-60 instead for a first radio?

 

[kc0zps]

Mole,
I just passed my Tech & General test last night and have been drooling over this radio for some time now. I am so close to buying it but I have read many reviews that say it is weak on the receive side and the internal speaker is not very loud. Are any of these findings accurate? Should I maybe go with the FT-60 instead for a first radio?

I haven't had any issues with the receive side and the internal speaker, to me, seems quite loud. Of course, I guess it depends on where you are using it. I actually own both the FT-60 and the VX-8R and the speaker on the FT-60 actually seems more quite than the VX-8R.

I did install the external mic on the VX-8R and it isn't as loud as the internal speaker, though.

As I mentioned above, I own both the FT-60 and VX-8R... I don't see why you shouldn't go with the VX-8R if you can afford it. Lets face it... the VX-8R with the external mic and GPS is quite expensive. The funny thing is that I've spent more on the radio than I have on my iPhone. The FT-60 is a nice solid radio, but the VX-8R offers more. The features that I use the most that the FT-60 doesn't have is APRS, the 6 meter band, and FM radio. The battery life sucks on the VX-8R, but the unit is also less bulky than the FT-60.

 

[Moleculo]

I wonder if this radio is recommend for a newbe to get there feet wet in Ham Radios ?

It's a bit pricey if you just want to "get your feet wet". It does have a lot of features, though. There aren't any other HT's radios that have 6m,2m,220,440,GPS,APRS,Broadcast AM/FM, 1000 memories, and are waterproof. So you do have to pay a little extra for all of that. If you can justify the price, it is a radio that will let you start out with the basics and then move to some of the more advanced stuff like APRS.

As far as it being weak on the RX - that's a fairly subjective opinion unless the individual reviewing it has put it on a signal generator. The stock antenna is lame, but that is normal with HT's. I don't see anything that is much different than any other HT I've ever had.

I have seen some reviews complain about the volume of the speaker also. There is probably some validity to this complaint, BUT you have to keep it in perspective. The built in speaker is the size of a .50 cent piece. How loud do you think it can be with a speaker that size? My Alinco DJ-G7 HT has a built in speaker that is three times that size and is much louder. It's also a bigger radio. Everything is a trade-off and you have to pick and choose which features are important to you.

 

[Codejockey]

FWIW, I just passed my tech and general about 3 weeks ago now. I bought this as my first radio to get my feet wet. Yeah it was pretty pricey. Here is what I Bought:

• VX-8R Radio
• E-DC-5B DC Cable W/ Noise Filter
• CT-136 GPS Adapter
• FGPS-2 GPS Antenna
• MH-74A7A Speaker / Microphone
• Comet SBB-5 Dual Band Mobile Antenna
• Magnetic Mount Base (don't remember the brand off-hand)
• SMA -> SO-239 HT Saver Cable

Now, I have no baseline to compare the receive quality of this radio against; however, I have had no issues whatsoever talking with people / listening. I live in the middle of Dallas / Fort Worth, so that might make a difference.

My observations are that this radio is super easy to use. I had no baseline again since I was just starting out, and I am a computer programmer, so I'm fairly technical anyway. All that said, the manual was fairly easy to understand. I only had one issue, that was APRS, and it was because I fat-fingered something in the setup. Once I reviewed the setup against the manual APRS started working perfectly.

Pros:

• APRS
• GPS
• Waterproof
• Cross-band Repeat
• 1000 Memory Slots
• Quad band transmit
• AM / FM Broadcast (even when monitoring dual bands)

Cons:

• Cost (but not really considering what you get)
• Speaker - I would have to agree that this speaker is slightly underpowered. I have ordered an external speaker for my Jeep because without headphones or an external speaker I have no prayer of hearing this in that monstrosity.
• Controls - What I mean here is that if you intend to use this as a mobile radio, then the controls are not terribly conducive to doing that while driving. It's fairly difficult to adjust the squelch, volume etc. In fact, it really takes two hands to adjust the volume. I would have preferred a slightly larger form factor to allow for individual squelch / volume controls. As a general purpose HT, this is a non-issue. As a mobile radio for use while driving, it's a fairly big one.

Summary:
I really like this radio, I'm glad I purchased it, and it has me playing with cool things like APRS. I have also used it for geocaching, and it works quite well for that. I had no issues finding the caches, so the GPS is fairly spot-on in my opinion. I do use the comet antenna in my Jeep for communications. It works great with it, I'm not sure how the rubber ducky would work, as I haven't done much with it. Despite how much I like it, I am not going to continue to use it as a mobile alternative. This weekend I'm planning to purchase a new mobile radio. The reason for this is safety. I can't afford to take two hands off the wheel to adjust the volume. That is the ONLY reason I'm not making this my primary mobile radio. I'm currently trying to decide on a radio, but will most likely settle on a Yaesu FT-8900. It's more than I wanted to go, but has cross-band repeat, and it is also a quad band radio.

I still ahve a few items to buy for it:

• FNB-102LI Li-Ion Battery (extended life)
• CD-41 desktop charging cradle
• Diamond SRH320A Antenna

HTH!

 

[Luke_C]

The funny thing is that I've spent more on the radio than I have on my iPhone.

For some reason this made me chuckle.

I like my iPhone but it won't do true GPS, AM/FM Rx, tolerate water, listen to my police radio, or get me any type of communication when the power's out or I'm away from a tower.

 

[Luke_C]

Has anyone tried the AA batery pack with this HT? Any thoughts on it as to what is actual power out, run time, etc?

Thanks...