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Reviews For: Yaesu VX-6R

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Yaesu VX-6R
Reviews: 137MSRP: $275 USD
Description:
144/220/440 Triband Handheld Transceiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001374.4
W9JOL Rating: 2006-04-09
Great Price to Feature ratio! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
A while back, in a fit of temporary insanity, I sold off my VX-7R and bought a couple of older 2m radios. I decided that I wanted a rugged dual-bander for a primary HT, but didn't need all of the features of the VX-7. I found that the VX-6 fits the bill nicely!

The VX-6 has plenty of useful features, and has the same rugged, waterproof features as the 7, for about $100 less!

So far, the radio has worked better than expected. If you are looking for a good tradeoff of price vs. features, the VX-6 will not disappoint!
N4VIO Rating: 2006-04-08
LCD Problems Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First handheld I've ever owned. Bought it brand new and within the first 10 days of owning it the LCD started to and is continuing to fail.
The one thing I know for sure is "something" in this radio is low temperature sensitive. Called the dealer & Yaesu and they are aware of the problem, but don't know how to fix it. Japan's engineers have been notified. In the mean time, I have to be patient and guess which frequency I'm on. I bought this radio as a means of emergency communications and the reviews posted here. All I can say at this point is, I'm glad I have a cell phone. If we have any visually challenged hams with this particular radio, I'd love to know how you do it. This review will continue as we see how well Yaesu handles the problem. Otherwise it's a good little radio :)
KC4UBR Rating: 2006-04-03
VX-6R software Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
based on the information I read here, I just purchased a VX-6R. Now I am seeking information on software that is available, and what people that have used it think. One more query. I purchased the VX-7 rotating belt clip based on what I read on here about the factory VX-6 clip. Are there others that work better, and where can I purchase one? Thanks for everyone’s reviews of the radio.
KC9IMT Rating: 2006-03-22
Almost Perfect Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
First radio I bought once I was licensed this past fall. I was going back and forth between this and the 7R, but being a college student, $$$ was an issue. But, I have absolutely no regrets.

Pros:
- Can handle outdoor weather being submersible
- Large easy-to-read display
- Shortcut keys are great, but learning them took a couple weeks
- Range is extraordinary, great for listening to air traffic, race track communication, weather, etc.
- Talking and receiving on simplex has good range too and is very clear
- Great battery life

Con:
- I'm not sold on the 220 band yet. I'd rather have the 6R do 6 meters.

Overall, I love the radio!

73,

Chris - KC9IMT
KC4FOX Rating: 2006-02-09
Well priced, good versatile radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had several Yaesu VX radios, and none of them held my interest; my first experience with Yaesu hand-helds was with the original 727 ("battery gobbler") and 470.
This one... This one is different, better. It doesn't approach the utility of my 530, but then again, it's only a multi-band radio, not a dual bander. It is also a heck of a lot less expensive than the 530 was, originally.
First, the basics.
The radio is wide-band receiver, with the ability to transmit on two, 1.25, and .73 meters (and six, if you know how...)
It's more memories than I know with what to do.
It scans quickly.
It doesn't have birdies that affect me that I've yet noticed.
It's waterproof.
Here's what it does better than the other VX series radios:
It hasn't yet locked up on me, unlike the two (!) VX-7's I've owned.
The audio doesn't screw up when the radio gets warm, unlike the two VX-7's I've owned.
It transmits with over a watt on 220, a useful band for me.
Intermodulation isn't nearly as bad as with the VX-7 AND VX-5.
In other words, this is a good rig to use as a successor to the mentioned VX series radios.
Problems? Only one noted so far- and that is that the radio seems to have trouble with battery voltage- even when the rig is fully charged, the battery indicator sometimes comes on. Battery voltage also indicates low on the radio when it gets in that "mood," and restarting the radio doesn't fix it. On the other hand, once the battery is removed and re-installed, voltage suddenly reads in the more appropriate 8 volt range, and the radio is back to "normal."
It gets a four- it's a good radio.
Wish-list?
5 watts on 220.
Key layout more like my 530/470's- so I don't have to learn everything all over again.
BIG Wish List?
Yaesu would come out with another true Dual-Band radio- capable of dual receive and full duplex transmit/receive operation. The 530's and 51's were great radios.
KA3SEI Rating: 2006-02-04
Excellent Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Perfect performance on all 3 bands, but the real exciting part is the receive! I use it for everything, even TV audio. Only reason I don't give it a 5 is because I believe they could have done better with the battery life. Overall, this is my favorite HT of any that I have owned.
KA3BWP Rating: 2006-01-29
Great Little radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my first "new" handheld, have an old IC-2AT. The radio is very sensitive, even with the supplied antenna. I am able to receive WBCQ and many far distant AM broadcast band stations easily from my Virginia QTH. My only complaint would be that that a SMA to BNC adapter should be included with the rig. I have some trouble hitting a nearby (within 3 miles)2 meter repeater from inside my home. I also purchased the ADMS programming software kit, make life MUCH easier. Was able to program various repeaters/names much faster than the keypad method. I read the manual a few times, then would note various keystrokes for programming functions that I use. Overall this is a very nice radio with great audio output.
NY6Z Rating: 2005-12-29
Vell done Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I sold my vx-5r and bought the vx-6r. No mistake here. This is an excellent transceiver. It looks great, feels great and works perfect. Now I have the right one. Best operation with 17" antenna.
K2SDD Rating: 2005-12-14
K2SDD REVIEWS THE YEASU VX-6R HAND HELD XCVR Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.

After purchasing several Yaesu radios in the past and finding them to be overly complicated to operate, unstable and unpredictable, and with instruction manuals that were extremely vague, confusing and translated poorly from some foreign language, I have avoided Yaesu products for the past ten years. But when I recently decided to buy and try the tiny Yaesu VX-2R handheld, I found the improvement to be down right startling; it is a wonderful radio. The button sequences have been made so simple and straightforward, and the operator’s manual has been written so clearly and in plain English, that I was able to begin to program in my favorite frequencies only 20 minutes after I had opened the book. I therefore decided to also order one of the new Yaesu VX-6R’s because it offers five watts of power whereas the little VX-2R produces only 1.5 watts and has no touchtone pad. Let me start by saying that the VX-6R may be the best HT that I have ever tried. And I have tried plenty. I shall use my former, constant companion, the Kenwood TH-71A, as my standard for comparison purposes because it is a fabulous radio. The VX-6R, being the size of a pack of cigarettes, is a bit smaller then the Kenwood. Battery life with its 1400 mAh Lithium-Ion battery is nearly as good as is the Kenwood’s 1100 mAh NiMH battery. Monitoring for two solid days is no problem. The power levels for the Yaesu are VHF: 5.5 Watts Hi (0.3 W Lo) and UHF 6+ Watts Hi (0.4 W Lo). The Kenwood is 6+ Watts Hi (.05 W Lo) on both bands. The Yaesu also transmits on the 220 MHz band but at reduced power. Although the radio feels solid and rugged, I am concerned that one day the little plastic clip that hold the battery in place will break off because it seems to be under much tension. If it does break, a trip to the Yaesu Service Department will be necessary, but then perhaps I am worrying needlessly. And so far, so good. Unlike most HT’s that I have encountered lately, the stock rubber duck antenna does a great job over most of the wide frequency spectrum so you will not have to replace it unless you want to. I compared the Yaesu’s receiver with that of the Kenwood’s. For comparison purposes, I replaced the antennas on each HT with identical RD-9SMA’s. Both receivers were superb. The Yaesu may even be slightly better. The Yaesu does cover a much wider portion of the radio spectrum (0.5MHz up to 999MHz) so it would be the radio of choice if you plan to listen to commercial FM broadcast or TV audio. I was unable to tune local TV channel 68 on the VX-6R because it is located too close to the cell telephone segment, which is blocked by law. I can receive it, however, on the little Yaesu VX-2R HT. Although both the VX-6R and the Kenwood TH-71A have nice, strong receive audio, the Yaesu has that sharp sound that you may have heard on police HT’s that accents the voice frequencies and really cuts through background noise. On the other hand, the Kenwood’s transmit audio is much more natural sounding and yet it is just as strong as the Yaesu’s. Both HT’s are easily overloaded by nearby RF signals but this may be the price you pay for so much great receive sensitivity over such a wide range of frequencies. As you tune away from the VHF/UHF part of the spectrum and the wavelengths gets longer, don’t expect miracles from the short little rubber duck antenna. After all of these years, my favorite duck antenna is still the Icom FA-1443B even though I needed to use an adapter to convert its BNC connector to fit on the radio’s SMA jack. I like the fact that if I wish, I can easily make my VX-6R scan only sheriff frequencies or only fire (You just give them all the same first two alpha letters, such as SH for sheriff or FI for fire, when you program in their alpha names.), or only my own two repeaters, or of course, if I wish, I can scan all of the 185 frequencies that I have programmed in. As with its little brother the VX-2R, the 73 menu items on the VX-6R work pretty much the same way so you only have to learn one technique, not 73. And yet the instruction book still tells you exactly how to access each and every one in the event that you do not wish to read the book in the usual sequence from front to back. By the way, not only is the book printed on nice thick paper but it is also entirely in English. And with 73 operating features on the menu, if there is something that you wish that this radio can do, it probably can do it. The engineers who designed the VX-6R must have put a lot of thought into what hams like and don’t like. Although included are plenty of features that do not interest me there are a few nice touches such as a built in battery voltmeter, and even a thermometer to tell you if the radio really is as hot as your hand is telling you. If there are features in which you have no interest you can simply ignore them and they will not cause you any confusion, so having such a “fancy” radio cannot be a disadvantage. In my opinion the $250 price tag is a very fair price for so much radio. It is even scores highly on the “cuteness scale”, and as I always say, nothing sells radios better than being “cute.” You might consider buying one of these pretty little gems even if you do not need it because if you are like me, this can make you happy for a lot less money than a visit to a psychiatrist.
73 de Mike, K2SDD
KG4YJR Rating: 2005-12-11
Not a little brother to VX-7R, maybe a distant cousin Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had the same problem with my display as did KC9HKN. The first number after the decimal disappeared after turning the radio off for a few hours. Universal Radio tested another unit and replaced the defective unit. They paid all the shipping too. Good, honest people to do business with.
My biggest gripe with the radio is the display. Having a VX-7R I'm spoiled with the ability to see the frequency and alpha name at the same time that isn't available with this new model. A step backwards instead of forwards if you ask me. Even the display information with the SU-1 barometer unit is very substandard compared to the older VX-7R's view with the very same part. Again, backwards instead of forward.
Overall, not a bad radio but without the limited 220 band option this radio would have been a complete dud/failure for Yaesu. Why did they go backwards instead of forwards by making the display features on newer models worse and more limited than the excellent features they had previously on the older models? To cut down on quality and costs? Increase their profit margin?

Advice, hang on to your VX-7R or buy one instead. It also has the 220 band @ 500mw.

73
Dave, KG4YJR