| LC2AAT |
Rating:      |
2003-03-11 | |
| Absolutely fun and enjoying receiver. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is absolutely the most fun and enjoying receiver I have own. (And I own quite a few!!!)
In the hands of a person who knows how to use this receiver it will work miracles.
In the hands of a less knowledgeable person, it will yell horrible results.
The selectivity is OK, the sensitivity is good, it's the only broadband receiver in this price range that have good sensitivity above 1 GHz.
For shortwave reception try one of the Wellbrook lopp antennas.
The VR-5000 works best on HF with small antennas as it gets easily overloaded by large antennas.
The manual should definitely be better.
There should be a license or exam to pass to buy this receiver, to avoid stupid people getting disapointed.
BTW: The actual rating is about 4, just gave a 5 to raise the overall rating. |
|
| NWK065 |
Rating:  |
2003-01-28 | |
| dont through your money away |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After just hours of owning the YAESU VR5000 all front panel controlls locked up even the power button so I could'nt even switch the receiver off.I had to pull the power lead out the back.This happened several times so I decided to contact YAESU direct.When speaking to one of the tech men he told be that his never heared of this fault before and to return it where I purchased it from.Also the SMART SCAN did not work,well it's not that it didn't work, the manual was incorrect on how to program the search! Before I finnished the conversation I asked him again if his experienced these problems before, he said he has !!! Hmmmmm what did he say at the begining of the conversation...
I've since sent the receiver back to the dealer and they've sent it to YAESU for repair !
I do like the looks of the VR5000 but thats about it..we all make mistakes but some keep on producing them don't you YAESU
NEVER AGAIN |
|
| VY0HL |
Rating:  |
2002-12-18 | |
| Stay away from the VR-5000 |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Let's be candid here; Yaesu is not a new kid on the block. They have produced some very nice
equipment over the years; the FT-101 series,
several CAT tranceivers, the venerable FT-736
satellite box, and of course the FT-1000 and its
many iterations. What is most remarkable about
the VR-5000 saga is how Yaesu completely missed
the mark with this rcvr.
There are many problems with this radio; the operating manual is missing crutial information,
the user interface is horrid, there is, apparently
no way to program via a pc, there are some
receiver issues, etc., etc. But, perhaps, the most
frustrating experience has been dealing with
Yaesu. It goes without saying that this unit
should have been subject to some sort of recall.
It is my feeling that given the bashing that we
have all given Yaesu over this rig, Yaesu may have
considered that, but discovered that the problems
could not be easily cured. The only other recourse
would be to launch a class action legal challenge.
Those of us who are still waiting for returned
phone calls or e-mails, this may be the only way
to get a response. |
|
| KA5S |
Rating:    |
2002-10-27 | |
| Not SO bad as they say |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I've had mine quite a while. Actually, this is the second one; the first was a repaired unit that had just been returned to the store from Yaesu -- and the pixel part of its screen displayed upside down. THERE'S a problem you don't see often!
Manual? Hard to use. Not quite rubbish - thank God. But still hard to use. The ENGLISH is OK, but content is lacking. How DO you erase a memory?
Performance is... interesting and frustrating. This radio has so much promise that it fails to deliver that it is as if engineering was stopped before the product was ready and it was shipped anyway. (Been there, done that, got the bloody T-shirt.) Its design renders this receiver susceptible to things others are not, and more care should have been taken with them. It down converts to a wide first IF, allowing simultaneous reception within that IF's bandwidth with two independent tuners. But because that IF is so wide, it suffers from RF performance issues which probably would not have arisen if the first IF had been narrower and/or dual receive left out. And there are glitches which could have been made impossible in the firmware. Example: If one selects a SW frequency or net, and ALSO an AM broadcast station, a not inconceiveable and specifically permissible combination, WWV comes in loud and clear even though you're not tuned to it. The front end for MW and below is a lowpass filter which cannot coexist with the switched front ends used in the HF ranges. A couple of lines of code could have been changed and an unuseable feature could have become a note in the manual, isntead of users swearing at the vendor.
The front ends are switched with relays whose RF performance at the upper frequency ranges are suspect. It would in MY opinion have been better to have separate antenna connectors for the gHz-range and upper UHF front ends. And the SO-239 connector is nor only unsuitable for much above 200 Mhz, but is connected to the board and chassis in a way that will further reduce sensitivity in the UHF range and above.
There is a high-impedance terminal for a wire antenna, and it works. But you can't USE it without turning the receiver around and activating a PC-mount miniature slide switch with a small screwdriver, pen tip, etc. That's simply unacceptable. At a MINIMUM, that needs to be a front-panel, processor controlled function. It would have been better to leave it off than implement it as has been done, since it adds cost without being usable.
The calibration is off. This is endemic to such radios, not just the VR-5000. But it would be REALLY nice if 11.175 WAS 11.175 and not 11.17492 or such. LSB and USB are off by different amounts, too, and their adjustments (once you learn what to adjust) don't stay put.
Selectivity, rated by others as less than satisfactory, seems to me comparable or better to the Icom R-7000 and 7100 with which I compare this. (My 7000 has an added upconverter allowing coverage down to about 30 KHz.) Sensitivity in the VHF and HF ranges is good. Front end? Well, it's wide, and lots of things bother it. I use a bandpass filter ahead of the receiver to keep AM broadcast from bothering HF reception. On the Medium waves, there is a constant overload at my QTH from nearby AM broadcasters which no RF tuning option is available to reduce, only an attenuator, and longwave requires a lowpass filter for the same reason. These problems could have been eliminated during design, at little cost in board space or even expense, and SHOULD have been.
There are a lot of features on this receiver which will interest people who have a need for them. One might put all the local repeaters in the preprogrammed array and monitor use for a coordinating group, for example. Others are tantalizingly incomplete. Audio waveform? Great! Can we tell what CTCSS tone it is? No. Can we STORE it? Maybe -- there's an interesting menu entry that hints at it -- but no one will tell us how. Sync is adjustable for this audio display function (undocumented) -- but not sweep rate. Hah?
But I don't rate this a zero, as some folks have done. It has a useful bandscope. The second receiver is often handy to have. Performance, while often marginal, is SUFFICIENT to get use out of it. The scan rate, while slow, is enough to monitor a lot of services. Voice Squelch (VCS) actually WORKS; I can scan through USAF HF channnels and have it unsquelch when a voice note comes up with only a few bleeps from data or ALE. The DSP is functional, though not perhaps as good at removing noise as this radio needs. And it is the lowest cost 2.4 GHz receiver to date.
So it has a lot of drawbacks, and a lot of unmet promise. It looks as if Vertex Standard didn't know what to do with this when they got together, so they SHIPPED it, and hoped problems would not come back to them. Too bad! It could have been a REALLY good radio with another few month's work.
Instead of only "not SO bad as they say."
Cortland |
|
| AA5CH |
Rating:  |
2002-02-20 | |
| and on the 5th day.... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
When I attempted to switch from programmed memory scan mode (PMS!) to memory channel scan, the VR5000 display locked up...no audio output and none of the front panel controls (INCLUDING THE POWER SWITCH) were functioning. I had to remove the dc power plug and wait a few minutes before it would power up normally, but it locked up again after turning the VFO dial. With the assistance of a very helpful dealer rep, I was able to reset the ROM (depress clear button on power up) but of course all memories were lost....
My options...reprogram all the memories and hope that whatever keystroke sequence or software glitch that caused the malfunction never occurs again; return the receiver for warranty repair and wait weeks HOPING that it is actually repaired; or return it to the dealer and apply whatever credit they can give me to an Icom 8500.
It will be a tight fit, but I believe the 8500 will look good on the shelf.
73,
Brad
AA5CH
|
|
| AUSTINTX |
Rating:  |
2002-02-13 | |
| Spend your money wisely. Skip the VR-5000, and by Enron stock! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I am not a ham but I have been an SWL and scanner enthusiast for years. I spend a lot of money on my hobby, and currently own a number of radios. This is the first and last piece of Yaesu equipment for me.
The VR-5000 is horrible. I could go on for pages, but the clincher for me was how Yaesu treated me when I took the time to phone them (on my own dime) to try and get some help on this radio. Perhaps the engineers are tired of getting all the VR5000 calls, but they were rude, unpleasant, and just generally ignorant about their product. Support is always a dicey experience, but this one stands out amoung the worst.
Trust me. Don't go through the pain involved with owning this radio. Buy a Icom 8500, or an AOR 5000, or an JRC NRD 545 (I own all three), save your money, buy Enron stock.... just about anything (well almost) would be a better choice then buying this radio.
Sorry Yaesu, you may have made a few hundred on me this time, but you have lost this customer (an many 1000's) for good.
Mark
|
|
| GOODGUY |
Rating:     |
2002-02-11 | |
| Update |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After writing my previous review on 2/8/02 I have continued testing in the 460 mhz region. I don't know what changed . . . but the receiver now seems to be receiving fine in that general range.
I can't explain why it is now receiving properly . . . the antennas are all the same etc. My only explanation is that my previous test methods were faulty in some way.
However, to balance the good/bad again a new annoying thing has popped-up: the receiver "image rejection" seems marginal. We have several local FM radio (broadcast) stations and they can be clearly heard in several places.
E.g. 98.1 can be heard strongly at 111.75.
104.5 can be heard clearly at 118.150.
The difference in each case is 13.65 mhz, which if not a direct 'image' is some conbination of frequency monkey-motion.
At any rate, I still like the little receiver! |
|
| W3PDY |
Rating:   |
2002-02-08 | |
| short commings of the VR-5000 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I find this receiver to have some very basic faults that render it unaccepable. Within 6 days of owning it it went brain dead. Took over 6 hours with power supply unplugged to come out of it's coma. Since then this happened 2 other times that resulted in a complete loss of all programmed memories (about 60 ch). Which brings me to the biggest short comming of this receiver. The CAT interface will not address the receivers memory which means you can not store or modify the programming of memory on a PC. I was amazed that a micro-controlled radio of this price range did have a complete computer interface and command set. Major feature fault!
As for the manual, it is incomplete at best. It's missing a number of feature discriptions and some menus discribed in the manual does not match the receiver's. It's hard to follow, poorly organized and written. On top of all that when I tried to contact Yaesu it took over two weeks for them to responded to my first email. Once they did they could not explain to me how some of the functions were actived or used. The tech support person (Chip) could not answer a number of operational questions and had to research the answers. After about 4 or 5 email exchanges over the past 3 months I still don't have all my questions answered. I find this to be unbelievable and unacceptable support from Yaesu.
I'm now asking the dealer to take it back since the problem with brain death, memory loss and lack of a means to store/restore memory programming render the programming part of the receiver unusable. I didn't pay over $900 for an incomplete or defective receiver.
My suggestion to others looking at the VR-5000 is to look for something else. This receiver needs a lot of work to make it ready for release to the public. I believe the firmware has major bugs that need to be fixed. Oh, by the way it is not field upgradable so even if they fix the code you'll have to send it back for the upgrade. Another amazing short fall in this day and age of flash memory and field/user installed upgrades.
YAESU...you blew this one big time!!!! |
|
| AA9WG |
Rating:  |
2001-11-21 | |
| Absolute CRAP!!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
What's worse is Yaesu's flat out refusal to so much as acknowledge
many of the '5000's defects! (The smart search 'bug' for example, BTW
the 'work-around' [using the clear key] was effective on but a moiety
of the radio's tested) -- Out of curiosity, I have purchased 10
(that's right TEN!) VR-5000s and found each to have its own,
unique 'syndrome' EVEN WITHIN THE SAME FIRMWARE VERSIONS!
(Principally 1u.13)- missing band segments being among the most
egregious!
These radios don't work! Yaesu KNOWS they don't work! - Yet they
continue to foist them upon their long-suffering consumers while
refusing to provide anything vaguely reminiscent of competent product
support!
Guess it all goes to show: "ya get what ya pay for" - Me? I'm
sticking with my IC-R8500 and my AR-5000B! As for the VR-5000s? Well
I could return them and 'eat' a 35% 'restocking charge' OR, better
yet, they would surely be all the rage at the plinking range! ;)
Seriously, Don't buy a '5000! unless gratis beta testing of consumer
products is your thang!
Never again, Yaesu!
With regards
AA9WG |
|
| LISTENER007 |
Rating:     |
2001-04-24 | |
| Things Get Better |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Since adding my first review a while ago, I can justifiably say that this receiver just gets better each time I use it, most likely because I have basically gotten over the "break-in" period for this complex radio, oh! and since the manual hasn't been all that much help (apart from the most basic functions), I have begun to push buttons and choose menu options of my own accord and they are yielding some great results...
This radio is really beginning to grow on me and continues to impress me with its performance. Since I last posted the "first" VR-5000 review, I have lifted my Diamond Discone antenna a few more feet in the air, so it is now a bit higher that the apex of the roof and that has really made a difference, not to the closer stations but to the more distant ones. I regularly enjoy listening to full strength, or at least higher strength than before, stations and its a real pleasure.
I have seen a few of the criticisms of this radio, from others,, and I have had a few myself but to those who speak the loudest, I can only say "own one for a little while and I am sure you will like it". I know this is not a practical way to answer those non-believers as they most likely already have spent their mountains of gold on their choice but I bet they too, will find something to get upset about in their new investment(s) - whether they are honest enough to admit it is another thing though..
I, personally, still class this radio as a "receiver/scanner" as opposed to a "scanner" when all things are weighed up, considered and then compared to others. It does have many or even just about all the attributes of many other scanners but it may not be as fast or have all the bells and whistles that other brands have,, so for that reason, it may be considered to be a tiny little bit behind the eightball in terms of the latest available in "absolute scanning" - You,, can choose the absolute king of scanners for yourselves... The VR-5000 does, however, have a highly configurable menu system (even if it is a little hard to get used to) and lots of hidden features which are now emerging via the little VR-5000 networks that are popping up like mushrooms. Many of the buttons and combinations of, are also being discussed via the "grapevine" too.
I feel confident in saying that this receiver will become either a major talking point or a very popular radio or maybe even, both. From what I hear, the user manual is being reprinted right now but that is only from one source who was supposed to have contacted Yaesu. If this is true then I am sure things are looking up. To my knowledge, this "manual issue" may well have been Yaesu's first big mistake (in terms of non compliance or falling short of the mark) and I am sure they will not let it happen again...
Stay tuned....... |
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