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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
K7WCE Rating: 2005-12-07
Outstanding Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great radio; I was skeptical after reading the post by kb6c Most other posts rate the radio quite well though. I downloaded the manual, read it and proceded to purchase the radio as all of the problems kb6c listed appeared to be due to failing to set the various squelch option and the mike gain option. No dis intended kb6c, the trouble may very well have been living in LA!, but I'm in a RF hot zone too and I'm able to squelch intermod except @ work where is sit in front of 3 computer screens and have I.T. mumbo jumbo and 10 non-ham radios on 24/7.

Hello Yeasu; how about making the software free??? With all the bank options and memory channels avalable, the software really is necessary. That said, there is free software available.

Anyhow, this radio works well on all respects. Memory bank access could be a little more intuitive, but that's why we buy these toys... Half of it is the fun of figuring it out!

I especially enjoy the memory banks. I can enter all my frequencies and set 146.52 (for example) in the Ham bank, the 2m bank, and the simplex bank with a simple check mark. I don't have to enter the frequency 3 times. the 24 memory banks can be named however you like. Local repeaters, places you visit, 2m, 70cm, 222 band, etc.

Audio Tx and Rx is great... There is a mic-gain control, but be careful, most repeaters have input gain and it's easy to overmod if this turn up above 6... default mic-gain is 5. There are also multiple squelch settings including Att which should "squelch" any intermod problems.
N1JGA Rating: 2005-12-03
Love it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my initial review of the VX-6. I have a VX-5R and a VX-7R. Both are actually in for repair at this time but have given great service. Being familiar with their programing make easy to navigate the vx-6.

I performed the TX mod (remove the forth solder blob) and lo and behold 6 meters at 5 watts. Now I have a true quad band ht! I am not sure why Yeasu did not include 6 meters - would love any feedback.

PROS
small size (smaller than VX-7)
great rx audio
pretty fast scanning
large bright screen
VX-7 charger, mike, battery, sofware cable are compatable


CONS
antenna is less than adaquate (get an afermarket one - a must for 220)
single band recieve at a time
alpha numeric display is limited (can't view frequence and alpha tag at the same time)

Overall a great little radio
KE7BZT Rating: 2005-12-02
Quite the Upgrade Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just picked up one of these used, about 2 months old. I've had it for about 3 weeks, and is the first rig that I've owned. It is replacing a Yaesu FT-470 that was loaned to me by a colleague at the police department I work for. It is a huge step up; I didn't know how much fun these things can be.

Pros:
*Small size; at first I wasn't sure if I wanted something this small, but now that I have it, I wouldn't want anything larger.
*Loud Audio
*Battery life seems good as long as it gets its daily charge; power-on voltage indicator is a nice touch.
*Rugged, submersible design; the thing is a tank and built very solid, however I haven't dunked it in water yet.
*Expanded RX; There isn't a band I'd want that I can't hear; FRS, TV, FM, plus all the ham bands
*220MHZ is nice to have in there; it was a major factor as it is the band used by my local ERS group, and I don't like the Alinco radio they gave me. 1.5 watts is plenty for our use.
*Display is bright and easy to read, though a large dot matrix display, as on the VX-5R & 7R would have been nice.

Cons:
*Whoever said the belt clip sucked, was not kidding. Yeasu tottaly missed on that one.
*Accessories are hard to find, especially audio adapters because of the threaded plug.
*AA adapter is only sufficient for RX; I'll have to build an external battery for emergencies and long haul operations.
*Programming & menu is a bit tricky at first, but gets easier over time.

As a whole, I'm very happy with the radio. I spent $230 for the radio, plus speaker mic, SMA UHF dongle adapter, & Cigarette plug, all in mint condition: Worth every cent. It has impressed me over and over already, and I'm confident it will continue to do so in the future. It is a well built radio, as so many have said, and has some great features.

KC9HKN Rating: 2005-11-13
Great Radio, except for LCD Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought this radio when it first came out this year and love it. But for some reason I have lost 3 bars of the 10ths digit(4th one)on the lcd. Thought it had to do with temp change but does it when even radio is at 70 degrees. Have sent it back to Yaesu, hopefully it will come back repaired. This will be the last time I buy something new and wait 6 months. There were others on the Yahoo group who saw the same thing.

K6LCS Rating: 2005-11-10
Been Workin' Fine! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
>>...on any 400 or 500 meg frequency, I was hearing the output of a commercial repeater...

I couldn't get mine to fail in this manner during a recent week-long trip from Riverside through "the valley," up to Yosemite, and back down to San Diego. I was using 440 amateur repeaters exclusively. I was using a Comet mag mount antenna (rental car).

My VX-6R, overall, works as I expected it would: great performance on 2M, 220, and 440 - and, as the previous reviewer stated, easy to "get to know."

I also own a TH-F6a - but am carrying my VX-6R with me - due to the fact that the font used is more legible to my "older" eyes...

The previous review was intelligent and well-researched...There's definitely SOMETHING weird occurring with his radio. But I do not think it is a widespread problem, else HRO would have a slew of returns - which has NOT occurred.

>>...while receiving a signal on the 800 MHz band with the volume up full, the unit became microphonic...

I think we agree that "perfect" performance at 800mHZ on a $300, 2M/22/440 radio is not to be expected.

Clint Bradford, K6LCS
KB6C Rating: 2005-11-10
Good Radio, But Bad News In Los Angeles Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After owning an FT-50R for a number of years, I figured it was time for an upgrade. Mind you, my FT-50R has been totally flawless, but I was intrigued by the addition capability and features of the VX-6R.

A friend of mine in northern California has one, and gave it two-thumbs up, so I set out to buy one. I played around with it in the store for about an hour or so, and was immediately impressed with its size and feel, and the relative ease of operation before I even looked at the operator manual. I was also impressed with the receive audio level and quality for such a compact radio.

One negative thing I discovered in the store was that while receiving a signal on the 800 MHz band with the volume up full, the unit became microphonic. A high pitch squeal would come out of the speaker. The salesman let me try the same test with his personally owned unit, and the results were similar. Turning the volume down even the slightest amount would eliminate the problem, and since it only occurred on the highest frequencies, I figured this is not a big deal.

I went ahead and purchased the radio along with a few accessories, including the alkaline battery pack. Of course I couldn’t wait to get home to play with my new rig, and anticipating that, I had a couple of AA batteries in my pocket!

During the drive home, I was tuning around to various Ham and non-Ham frequencies, comparing its performance to my trusty FT-50R. Initial impression, very impressive!

Then, when I got a few miles away from the store, thing started going very bad. On any 400 or 500 meg frequency, I was hearing the output of a commercial repeater, loud and clear. It didn’t matter what frequency I was tuned to within that range. This was using the supplied antenna, inside the car. I turned on the attenuator, and it reduced the signal strength, but it didn’t go away. Listening to a local 440 repeater created big heterodynes, so even turning on the CTCSS squelch was not going to be a workable solution. Disappointment was setting in fast.

When I got home, I began scanning the commercial bands with my trusty FT-50R while listening to the nearly constant chatter from the unwanted commercial station, looking for it’s operating frequency. After several minutes, I found it on 472.000 MHz (“T-Band” is used very heavily here in the Los Angeles area). It was a VERY strong signal. Consulting the FCC database, I learned that this frequency was licensed on a nearby mountain, with an ERP of 1000 watts! Since it didn’t matter what frequency I had the VX-6R tuned to, there had to be another signal involved in order for it to be heard. Consulting the specifications, I determined that the first IF of the receiver is 47.25 MHz. OK, I whipped out my calculator and took 472 – 47.25, and got 424.75. Nothing on that frequency. Next, 472 + 47.25, and got 519.25. Wow, SUPER strong unmodulated carrier on that frequency, even audible with the antenna off! Hmmm, this sounds like a frequency in the UHF TV band. Turns out that it is channel 22’s video carrier frequency. Setting the receive mode to AM or tuning it slightly off frequency confirmed this, and the familiar “video buzz” was loud and clear.

The reason I hadn’t noticed this problem in the store is because it is located such that it is blocked from Mount Wilson, the site where most of the Los Angeles area television stations are located.

I quick call to Yaesu, also in southern California, was made, and to my surprise, that had not received any reports of this problem in this area. Not surprisingly, they could not offer any solution to this problem, so back it went. The salesman who sold me the radio was still on duty, and he also stated that they had received no complaints of this nature. I was pleased that the store gave me a full refund with no hassle whatsoever. (I don’t know if it’s OK to list the store name, but it is part of a chain and is located in Burbank, and I’ll be happy to continue to give them my business in the future.)

To summarize, I really liked the radio, and it worked very well on two meters. I was very disappointed to have to return it, but I wasn’t willing to give up the use of 440 MHz. It seemed like the only solution was to move out of the area, and that seemed a little extreme! The combination of these frequencies in use in this area that caused the problem would be extremely unlikely to exist in other cities, so, in most any other area, I’m quite sure this radio would by a winner.

Meanwhile, my faithful FT-50R doesn’t get retired yet.
KC2HWG1 Rating: 2005-10-24
YAHOO-YAESU Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Well the boys at Yaesu finally have a winner here...Just wish the 220 output was 5 watts hihi...220 rather busy here in New Jersey....Relatively easy to program, great receive and transmit audio superb....There is a mod for deviation adjustments,should one want to dabble in the service menu????....Decent battery life, reports on audio marvelous, and as good or not better than the vx-5r and 7r radios....pre-programmed shortwave a nice touch....nice accessories too....just get that power up on the 220, heehee....nice feel to it, and buttons nicely laid out...plenty of memories, and menu is alphabetical, so it's a snap,people crying it's hard to program, nah, stick with it it's not too bad!!!!!.....73 kc2hwg Bill........
VA3GAK Rating: 2005-10-06
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had the VX6R for 4 weeks now great little radio better then the VX-5 , FT150, or FT60 as I own all of them. Now to the VX-6R Very good sound quality and adjustable sound and speaker.
The Scan function is great as is the display and pre-programmed shortwave. Called a duel band heavy duty sounds nice should say tribander as it uses 220 never tried this or 6m on the VX-5
As you get use to it get easy to program this.
Down side is that Rubber duck is not bad how ever living in the Greater Toronto Area pop of 3 Million people with all the intermode you need more to get the distant repeaters. I got MFJ-17117s model 144/440 MHz High Gain Dual band Antenna. What a difference now don't get me wrong stock antenna not bad with the MFJ 17117 High Gain it is great and work on many different repeaters.
I used this at ARES function and even being close to the UFH 70cm repeater it really made the difference.
As for the belt clip forget it. I tried the after market snap in and rotate radio to take out to much trouble. I settled for the after market springclip for the VX-5 that was advertised from chap in N.Y. and it works great on the VX-6 also keeps away from the body so you can have longer Highgain antenna.
Over all I give this with the minor add ons 5. It also works in VX5 drop in charger used another aftermarket item using the supplied charger from Yaesu.
My suggestion go down to your local Ham Store and pick one up. Great for ARES work and it is water proof.
73
VA3GAK
Gerald
K3HOT Rating: 2005-09-27
Read More Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have at FT 50D somewhere in the murk and mire of New Orleans. Replaced the lost rig with a VX6. I use it in the Washington DC area and have surprisingly been quite pleased. The bells and whistle review I will leave for another. In terms of RF performance here are some thoughts. 30-50mhz recv: Very good. Surprisingly better than a Radio Shack GRE Pro 96. For State Police and low band fire this works well. VHF (2meters) Excellent even in the high intermod of Washington DC. FM and VHF TV 7-13. Good put prone to overload. Attenuator does an OK job. Local stations fine. UHF (70 cm through T-band public safety) OK but not perfect. DC has the worst environment for UHF. A full power channel 14 analog with a channel 15 full digital in the middle of town (470-482 mhz) overloads all but single band commercial gear. Washington PD operate a 10 site 20 channel 460mhz digital trunked radio system too. But the VX 6, with 10db att. ON works pretty well (surprisingly). 20 miles from downtown with the attenuator off...it is a DX rig. Audio is good and the transmit is good. Battery life fair to good. Construction is solid. I believe the attenuator ON should be the default for urban operation. Greg/ K3HOT
KK8ZZ Rating: 2005-09-05
It's a Winner Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Replaced my FT-60 with this to get better receiver coverage... amazing audio! Pretty easy to program, certainly seemed easier than the VX-7 I had (dumped that ol' dogger....). Antenna seems more versatile than the usual Yaesu dummy-load duck.... haven't considered replacing the whip yet! The new FREE programming software is now available at http://www.kc8unj.com/ -- all you need is the programming cable (when will they make this in USB?). All in all, a great bargain in a very versatile, sensitive HT.