|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
| Reviews Summary for Yaesu VX-3R |
|
Reviews: 102
|
Average rating: 4.2/5
|
MSRP: $199
|
|
Description: A micro-sized dual band entry from vertex/standard...With 1.5 watts output
on 2 meters, and 1 watt on 440... With 13.8 vdc power jumps to 3 watts on
144, and 2 on 440...Has wide band rx, and NEW ferrite bar antenna for AM
broadcasts... 1000 ma/1 amp lithium -ion battery
|
|
More info: http://www.yaesu.com
|
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this review.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
|
You can
write your own review of the Yaesu VX-3R.
|
KO4MH
|
Rating: 2/5
|
Jun 6, 2009 11:52
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Transmitter failed
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
This was a good little radio, as other reviews have mentioned. In my case, "was" is the operative word. Now I have no output.
I looked at it on one of my spectrum analyzers and the signal is there, fully modulated, but it is about 50 dB lower than it should be. My best guess as to the failure is that the final output transister has died.
I thought about replacing the final myself. I was able to find the full service manual on the web (Kudos to Yaesu for that).
Unfortunately, while I have been able to successfully disassemble the radio far enough to see the final transistor, I stopped at that point, as I cannot find any vendor who sells the RQA0003DNS mosfet device. Hence there is no reason to start unsoldering the densely packed boards from one another - assuming I could do that without damaging things.
Perhaps I'll send it to Yaesu if I can figure out if it is still under warranty. Otherwise, it'll become a nice little RX and scanner ;-)
|
|
NP3WH
|
Rating: 5/5
|
May 10, 2009 07:03
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
PROBLEM MAY BE SOLVE !!!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I just pick up my second VX-3R,and there seems to be an inprovement on the Rx between 76 Mhz to 108 Mhz,I compared it to my VX-2R and the VX-3R did much better.So for those of you that want a radio to take anyware the VX-3R is the perfect choice !!! S#-8K241754 PRICE 149.95 PLUS S&H...
|
|
YU2SRB
|
Rating: 4/5
|
May 6, 2009 09:11
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
City rig !
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I purchase this little thing 2 months ago. It have so many things packed inside. I just couldn't believe it what everything have, transmit is OK, but it needs to be much more sensitive than it is, the guy bellow who said that Sony Walkman pick up FM signals better was right about it.
Perfect rig for the city crowd and it looks very cool too, even girls like it very much and everyone of them wanna to touch it.
Incredible RX improvement when I install Diamond SRH 536 antenna, which is about 40 cm long..
Reccomended as a backup rig only.
73
YU2SRB
Marko
|
|
W2EJG
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 27, 2009 06:39
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Neat little rig
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
Won the VX-3 at Club party. Replaced my trusty Icom W-21. Bought spare battery off E-Bay for
$5.50: what a bargain. Dual band antenna left over from the ICOM, BNC adaptor from a ham in NJ. Interconnect cable and programing software from chaps in G-land. Wow! Can zip in frequencies and power changes in seconds.
Lots of fun in my shirt pocket.
|
|
K1WJ
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Mar 27, 2009 04:21
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Decent Low Pwr. HT
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Had HT a few days.
Back battery cover does not seem to fit just right, slightly moves & a noticable gap. I am going to look at closer, to see if I'm not doing something right.
Real nice Audio with Mic gain at 5 (factoty default). May try other setting soon.
Sub-RX feature is really neat, listen to FM music station & monitor repeater, nice....
Stock antenna works ok, just ordered Smiley 270A SMA antenna - should improve upon stock duck.
Did hear one SW AM station on 40m, HF receive & AM receive are poor - antenna main cause I would assume.
Hit one repeater in Lowell MI from 40 miles away on 1.5w - repeater gets most of the credit.
Overall not too bad - menu has lots of cool features - other than back battery cover fit & HF/AM receive limits. Nice, fun little HT.
73 K1WJ
|
|
KV4BL
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Feb 21, 2009 11:12
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great LIttle Radio
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
I have had mine for about 6 months, now. Ordered it from Burghardt and it is a great way to have ham communications and V/UHF monitoring in a small size that fits in your shirt pocket with room to spare.
As others have noted, the battery cover on the back of the radio IS kind of flimsy but if you handle the radio with a degree of caution and care, you should do just fine. One solution that might be made for this is to make a larger battery that would better fill out the back of the radio and give higher capacity. If they do this, it would be great if the battery pack came with a sturdy belt clip attached. That is one thing this radio could really stand. Yeah, I have the leather case, but it adds much bulk to the package and just isn't the same.
Also, why not add external charging contacts (as on the larger, sturdier battery idea, and sell a drop-in charger or do like Alinco did with one of their micro-talkies and make a "snap-in" wall wart charger that holds the whole radio. These changes would make this little radio perfection incarnate!
|
|
PE1RLN
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Feb 5, 2009 04:52
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Quite good
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Let's say sufficient for the job. I does what it has to do, with a lot of fancy features you'll probably never use, but it doesn't exceed expectations.
Little radios also mean: compromises. Otherwise they would make everything smaller, which they obviously don't. Smaller means less, less means not so good. However, in this case, the compromise it good enough.
Pro's:
- Wide receiver coverage
- Handy radio-button
- Pre-defined memorybanks with i.e. marine-radio, weather channels etc.
- Small
- Locking rotary knob
- Li-Ion battery
- Dualband
Con's:
- Low power
- Too many functions so you have to learn the manual by heart
- Reception is not as good as one would want
- No volume-knob
- Low audio
- No belt clip
- SMA antenna that sucks big time
I bought the radio because of the small size, power is sufficient for my local repeater, it has a wide receiver-coverage, LiIon battery and ofcourse it has a cute design.
The price is very low: I bought it for € 145,- and that is quite cheap, given the price of other dualbanders and the receiving range.
I was surprised by the features however it didn't last very long because of the difficult procedures for some functions.
My advice: buy an SMA to BNC adapter (the good one that fits to the chassis), a better antenna and you're good to go for the money you paid.
Why do I give it a 4 instead of the usual 5? For G*d sake Yaesu, build a decent antenna for the amateur-range and I'm your man!
|
|
K2DER
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jan 26, 2009 13:22
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great little Dual
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
A nice little radio for the ham bands,receive audio quality is clear.
|
|
M3CNG
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jan 9, 2009 08:08
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Much better than the VX2
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
My girlfriend brought me the VX3 because I love my VX2 so much but I have just about worn the pore little thing out! I thought the VX2 was good but "wow" the VX3 is so much better that’s why Iv given it a 5!
These little radio's go everywhere and do just about everything a VHF/UHF handy can do. yes, ok it only has a couple of watts output but don’t let that fool you. I had a contact on 2mtrs simplex yesterday from my home (Daventry) to Southam, witch is a distance of about 15 miles over some fair size hills. I will say that the build quality is not AS good as the VX2 but still ok. there are 94 different menu functions, half of witch, most UK users wont ever need but the mores tutor is excellent for anyone who wants to learn. I haven’t had any probs with the broadcast receive as some have mentioned. Yes you may want to invest in a better antenna for better receive when scanning but having said that, for local work and listening to your local town cctv, the stock antenna will do the biz! If you do want one, then go for it, you wont be disappointed, just don’t expect to TX long distance. Good job Yeasu. 73's and enjoy.
|
|
ZOULAS
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Dec 28, 2008 04:28
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Nice Little Radio
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
When critiquing any product or service, you have to look at the big picture and not zero in on one thing alone. Restaurants for example are rated on many things, one of which is the food. I paid $129 for this radio and its worth every penny. It has so many bells and whistles, you cannot imaging. You can really have a lot of fun with it. The reception is quite acceptable. Transmit is fine. I bought the Diamond SRH519 and the Maldol MH-511. Both work fine and are much better than the stock unit.The Maldol MH-511 is my preferred choice as its only 4 inches and works 98% as well as the dimaond which is twice as long.The battery charges in two hours and lasts very long time. Replacement batteries are CHEAP. The unit is made very well althogh its not metal, its tough plastic. I bought this radio for the price , the size, the performance. Its meets all the criteria with flying colors. Great Product, Great Quality, Way to go YAESU!!
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
