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write your own review of the Yaesu VX-177.
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UK1
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 24, 2009 08:27
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We need more radios like this!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I can say this is a radio which really does deserve the high rating it has achieved here.
Other reviewers have already explained why it is exceptionally good, so I won't go into a long review. Suffice to say the build is remarkable -- rock solid; and all functions are catered for in a radio which is the perfect size and weight -- something which is a rare in today's lightweight handhelds. This is the one radio in my collection that feels like a proper radio, and is a pleasure to use.
RX sensitivity is very good (a fraction behind my Puxing 777 'Xmas cracker radio' which is otherwise not a patch on the well engineered Yaesu). I have only once experienced TV breakthrough with this (even on external antennas) and it was only brief. You can be pretty sure any signal you receive is a genuine one. I'm quite critical but can't say there's anything I really dislike about the '177.
I bought this after initially buying a Motorola GP68 off an HK eBay seller. On arrival it turned out that radio was defective (I should have known better), and I decided to buy one of these instead. This is clearly a much better radio. I also own an Icom IC-V8 which I'd regarded as unbeatable. Now I'm tempted to sell it and replace it with Yaesu's VHF version (VX-170). That's how impressed I am!
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N0UJQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 30, 2009 20:01
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Solid, Dependable Radio
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Build Quality-
The VX-177 is constructed of very tough plastic and has a very solid, sure feeling. The battery fits tight and the knobs are solid. This radio certainly has the feeling of being a well built commercial duty radio. That said, it's not heavy. It wears on your belt quite nicely. You'll forget you're wearing it. Speaking of which - the snap-on belt clip is a really nice addition to this radio!
The radio is sealed quite nicely against the environment - I wouldn't be concerned at all wearing this radio in a rainstorm or even into the shower if that kind of thing tickles your fancy. Of course it has the Mil-Spec rating, blah blah etc... but this radio actually makes a believer out of you.
Ease of Use-
Programming this radio is relatively simple, although adding Alpha-tags to the channels is time consuming. It's better to get the VX-177 program - which I'd strongly recommend getting the G4HFQ software: http://www.g4hfq.co.uk/ftb177.htm
Performance-
The receive sensitivity is "good", but not HOT to the point of causing intermod or overload issues in crowded RF environments. It really seems quite perfect. (Mine was .2uV for 12db SINAD) A more sensitive receiver would be picking up noise bursts around every corner and this one does not.
The receive audio is LOUD and CLEAR. This radio has lots of audio power in reserve. It really comes in handy when operating in an aircraft - you can actually hear this radio over the engine noise!
I get a full 5 watts of transmit power, and most importantly, the radio puts out a high field strength. Many portable radios made of plastic put out 5 watts into a test adapter but don't actually radiate well - the VX-177 outperforms most other 5 watt radios. (Actually in a real test, it outperformed an FT-8900 and UHV-4 - only using the rubber duck! No joke!)
The transmit audio only gets 3 stars, the mic element is not sensitive enough for everyday use and even though the deviation was hitting 5KHz it just wasn't quite enough audio for casual situations. You need to talk very closely into the radio. The positive side of this is that it eliminates all but the loudest background noise. You could talk on this radio in the middle of a rock concert and the other party wouldn't know.
Time for NIT PICKING-
The VX-177 joins the ranks of the other recent Yaesu radios in one area that irritates me. The CTCSS decoder takes forever to release (or un-decode, if you will). In a situation where the repeater encodes during CAS and drops immediately when the other party unkeys, you'll still hear 1 to 3 seconds (!!!) of repeater tail while the CTCSS decoder makes up it's mind about what it should be doing. The FT-530, FT-51R series radios worked properly. Even when STE (reverse burst) is sent, the VX-177 (and FT-8800, 8900) simply ignores it and you hear the squelch crash. Very irritating especially when compared to the Kenwood TM-V71A or other radios that properly detect reverse burst. Apperently, Yaesu 'fixed' a problem that wasn't broken. One blemish on an otherwise impeccable radio, indeed.
In summary:
Build: 5 stars
Receive: 5 stars
Transmit: 4.5 stars (somewhat weak TX modulation)
Ease of use: 4.5 stars (alpha tags)
Price: 5 stars
-Highly Recommended-
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G0RRL
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 17, 2009 13:36
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a proper radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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bought a tri-band Yaesu VX-7R two years ago .. but to be honest i wasnt keen on the reciever. maybee it was due to the fact it was wideband. too many bells n whistles.
today i decided not to go down that route again. i decided on a monoband transciever .. the VX-177e.
the programming is very intense .. but i guess its not the sort of thing u have to do every day.
the radio is really solid and heavy .. but feels comfatable in the hand. i connected my outside aerial briefly and tried a few local rptrs .. with good results. a very clean reception and quiet background noise. its much too early to add reliablility etc ... but im real happy that i bought this. oh .. the audio is ear splitting too. unlike some modern day HT,s .. which is understandable .. but this sounds powerfull and clear. great. it reminds me a bit of my old FT23R. that was a neat rig. very dated now.
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F4FFD
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 4, 2008 02:15
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Bon Appareil
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Je suis pas déçu du VX177.
C'est un très bon appareil, robuste et "étanche".
L'affichage est assez gros, très lisible donc, et le rétroéclairage et très lumineux. Cela donne un confort de lecture étonnant.
Les menus, pour ceux qui sont habitués à du matériel Yaesu sont faciles à manipuler et des raccourcis claviers sont prévus pour les options les plus utilisées.
L'antenne est débrayable et le VX dispose alors d'une prise SMA-Male pour y connecter un adaptateur ou d'autres antennes du même format.
La radio est forte et de très bonne qualité.
La sortie son sur le HP est de très bonne qualité également.
J'aurais à redire simplement mais ce n'est pas bien méchant, que la zone de couverture en RX devrait commencer à 400Mhz au lieu de 409Mhz.
Il lui manque le step 6.25khz pour ceux qui aimerait en disposer pour le PMR446.
Ensuite la pince qui permet de fixer le portatif à la ceinture, n'est pas des plus pratique.
On a vu mieux, notamment sur les portatifs pro de Motorola.
Néanmoins, l'ensemble est correct et je vous le conseille vivement.
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KC9KOW
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 1, 2008 21:10
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Another Flawless HT!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Have had this HT since December of 2007, and have to say that it is an awesome radio! Have traveled cross - country with this radio with great performance. One great experience is that I was able to hit several repeaters in a Cupertino, California valley set between two mountain peaks.
I was also able to use it to hit the same repeaters from a farther distance than where I was already at. Performed great when used from a moving train for repeater QSO's without complaint from anyone.
This radio has been in and out of severe weather in temperatures as cold as 19 below without any performance problems. Battery life is great, and holds a charge without any problems. I have had this radio on for 8 to 10 hours at a time without losing power unless I forgot to charge it after use.
Snow storms and rain have not affected the radio one bit, and it just kept on going strong! One flaw is that Yaesu could have chosen to allow out of band reception to at least 956Mhz instead of 471Mhz.
Other than that, it is a perfect HT to have if you ask me!
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N8XUA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 13, 2008 07:58
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Second to none.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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By far this is the best off the shelf ham radio Ive ever owned. My VX-7 collects dust now since I mainly use UHF only anyways. This rivals most of the Motorola Radios Ive had.(Nothing still beats my Saber). Yaesu finally has a crossover from Vertex. Loud and clear audio on both Tx and Rx. Nice and rugged, doesnt feel like a toy. I cant tell you how many times Ive dropped this radio already. My biggest suggestion is to purchase a tri-chemistry drop in charger (VAC-810B) from a Vertex-Standard Commercial Dealer. This is a REAL 1.5 Hour drop in charger, not the drop in pocket that Yaesu pawns off.
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KB4TPP
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 28, 2007 13:08
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top notch UHF portable
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Have owned a VX-170 (the 2m version) and was impressed by it. When the opportunity arose to pick one up off the QTH swap forum I took it. I am duly impressed by this radio again. I am also glad to see Yaesu building monoband radios for the 70cm band once again. Being an avid 440 user, finding ham gear for the band over the past decade has been scarce. The VX-177 continues the tradition of it's VHF sister radio with no lack of performance.
The radio has impressive receive sensitivity and can hear better than my Motorola XTS3000. No intermod on carrier squelch channels. Battery life is impressive considering the current drain on 5 watt TX is quite a bit more than it's VHF counterpart at 1.8 amps. A full 12 hour shift of heavy use at full power is possible with the 1400maH battery. Nice to know it's waterproof, will have the chance to test it on the upcoming 10K Classic on Labor day.
All in all it's a great radio, easy to program- never cracked the well written manual. Good to see at least one ham manufacturer pumping out LMR quality ham portables at a reasonable price. It's a keeper.
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N7CAS
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 16, 2007 09:58
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At Last
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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At last, at last. A radio that feels and looks like one. And it even turns ON with a knob. These are tools, not fashion statements, and tools used often. It feels like a 5W radio in your hand, and works great, although I dislike this trend with the swivel clips; I need a radio on by belt and close, not sticking out. I just get a neoprene glove for 'em; I don't know why that whole idea took off. They're unreliable in a First Responder scenario. Icom used to be like that in the 80's, solid design. Still have (and use) my IC-2AT (simplex of course). Thus, all my recent transceivers are... Yaesu. And the VX-177 is fantastic. It's the Icom 2AT morphed to 430.
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W2MB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 14, 2007 19:21
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Works Perfectly
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Simply put, this device works perfectly. It's loud, solidly built, easy to program, the battery charge lasts, and it seems to reject off frequency signals very well. If you are looking for a monoband UHF portable, this one would be a good choice.
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WB7ANG
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 16, 2006 12:35
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Microphone issue with Yaesu-VX177
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought my first Yaesu VX-177 few weeks ago and I love it. The range is great and the battery is very good. Well I had some issues the first day when I got it and I nearly send the radio back to the shop. The audio was very quiet and I had to talk very loud with my face on the microphone. First I thought it is something to do with the software and the adjustments and I read the instructions twice carefully, I found nothing. In the end I put the radio under strong light and I noticed that the condenser microphone is covered with something white like paper. I got a small screwdriver and rotate it few times very carefully touching the white surface without pushing it. After that procedure the audio has the crispiest sound you can get from a handheld unit and the microphone sensitivity is amazing. You can talk from a meter distance from the microphone and still to be heard clearly. Well I do not know had that white paper which covers the microphone something to deal with the water resistance of the radio or it is just a minor defect but now I am very happy with the TX audio. Anyway I will never try to deep it in water unless it happened accidentally. I bought second Yaesu VX-177 a week later for my brother.
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