Yaesu Does it Again!

For those of you who fell in love with the Yaesu VX-5R and the VX-5RS and chose it for your hand-held of choice, will be happy to know that Yaesu is not going to allow their competition to get very far.  Here is a sneak-peak of the new Yaesu VX-7R!  Yes, it's a Quad Bander! They have opened up the receiver, and added 220!  And if you look carefully, you will see the word SUBMERSIBLE!

 

Yaesu VX-7R Quad-Band Transceiver   Specifications Vintage 2002 FCC Cert'd March 7 Type Handheld HT, 6m/2m/220/440 Range 0.500-729 800-999 MHz Channels ??? main 31 Smart Search 12 Home 10 One-touch 10 Hyper 10 Weather Banks 10 Search Bands 20 Steps 5/9/10/12.5/15/20/25/50/100 kHz Modes AM, FM & WFM Priority 1 channel Conversion Double (AM/FM) Triple (WFM) IFs 1=47.25 MHz (AM/FM), 45.8 MHz (WFM) 2=450 kHz (AM/FM), 10.7 Mhz (WFM) 3=1 MHz (WFM) Sensitivity As listed in the manual: 0.5 - 30 = 3.0µV (S/N AM) 30 - 50 = 0.5µV (SINAD FM) 50 - 54 = 0.16µV (SINAD FM) Selectivity As listed in the manual: AM/FM = -6dB @ 15kHz -60dB @ 35kHz WFM = -6dB @ 200kHz -20dB @ 300kHz Scan ?? channels/second Search ?? steps/second Audio 200mW @ 7.4V 400mW @ 13.8V Current 150mA single band, Rx 200mA dual band, Rx 55mA single band, quiet 100mA dual band, quiet 25mA single band, saver 50mA dual band, saver 400µA APO Power 7.2 - 13.8 V, Lithium-Ion (FNB-8LI) 2 x AA (FBA-23) DC Size 60(W) x 90(H) x 28(D) mm 2.4(W) x 3.5(H) x 1.1(D) in Weight 250g (8.8oz) Interfaces SMA, earphone/SP Antenna SMA, 50 ohm, unbalanced Accessories Antenna Quick-draw belt-clip Manual Handstrap NC-72B/C AC charger 1300mAh LithIon battery Circuit diagram --- Optional CSC-88 Soft Case Optional FBA-23 2xAA battery case Optional SU-1 Barometric Sensor Features Dual receiver DCS/CTCSS decode/search Power saver (5 levels) Backlight (keys and LCD) Rotary Rx light (4 colors) Alpha-tags (8 chars) Auto-store (Smart Search) Preprogrammed weather Weather Alert (optional?) Spectrum Analyzer (± 60 chan) Freq counter (± 100 MHz) Attenuator (20dB) Auto power-off Memory mask and skip Preferential memory scanning Dual watch (mem/mem or mem/VFO) Auto backlight on scan stop Battery voltage indicator Time of day clock Time of day on/off timer Adjustable display contrast Adjustable backlight dimmer Internal temp readout Radio-to-radio cloning Set Mode (73 settings)

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The Mobile Base.  The preferred Deck

 

IC-706MKIIG - Base/Mobile Transceiver

Could things get any better?  I'm sure somewhere, somehow, someone has a complaint about this radio, but I've not heard it, yet.  Other than possible the display is not in full color?
Ultra compact HF/6 meter/2 meter/440MHz transceiver. Built-in DSP (Digital Signal Processing) too! The perfect rig for base OR mobile operations! This proven performer is the 3rd radio in our revolutionary 706 series.

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Okay, another popular radio.  The Yaesu FT-8100R.  It seems to be a great companion to the VX-5R right now.  

Well, I don't like to give negative reviews, so I will temper this one a bit.

The Radio is fantastic.  It performs well, the cross-banding and scan speeds are great.  There is a problem with the microphone or mike circuitry.  Alternator noise can be injected into the transmission though the microphone, not the power lines.  So, all the filtering you use just won't help.  Work on your car first.  Make sure your alternator / regulator / and diode trio is working. Next, the audio band-pass is less than perfect.  This is not a fault of the radio, just the mike.  If you like audio with no bass and top end clipped off a bit then you might just like this radio's mike.  I have listened to about a half a dozen or more 8100's on the air from quite a variety of voices.  If you have a higher pitched voice, tenor or female, then this mike would work well.

Next, this radio is a few years old.  There are a few features this writer would like to see.  To put it simply, I would like to see a mobile version of the VX-5, but a true dual-VFO.  Text-labels, voltage monitoring, auto response systems.  And we would still like to see an ESN.

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A Site to Behold

Okay, yea I had to put in a new photo.  Here is a web-site to check out for the VX-5.  The purpose is the VX-5 and just about everything about it.  Click the photo to go there.

 

If you are looking for one of the best hand-held radios on the market, then you have found it!  The VX5R operates on 6meters, 2 meters and 70cm.  With lotsa bellz-n-whistles this little guy is a great performer.  Mil-spec case, Li-On battery, back-lit keypad, text lables, HF reception.  Aircraft, weather, police, and more.  There are other triple-band radios, and even a quad, but if you put them side-by-side you'll see what the fuss is about.

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TARC's RDF Files

These RDF files were created with the idea of usage in Hillsborough County.  Though they contain some frequencies that are generic to region they should be considered a Tampa set.

VX5 RDF file.*     (Viewable format)
VX1 RDF file.*

 

Other RDF files of interest: (Provided for listening purposes only.)

Tampa AM/FM/TV     FRS                GMRS    The "Cape"    SWL   
Tampa Fire/Police     Blue Angles   Marine    Trains     Thunder Birds

* RDF files require the use of the ADMS program from RT Systems.

Don't have a computer? Or just want someone else to do it?  Bring your radio to the TARC clubhouse.  We'll be glad to load the radio for you.  We will save your current file, if you want, so you can always go back to it!  What a deal!

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A Bunch of Links

Sometimes we need to find Larsen or Diamond or even compare against everyone else's antennas.  Well here is a compile set of links for antenna manufactures, so enjoy:

AAE Bandmaster Quads AEA Alpha Delta Antennas Aluma Tower Company Antenna Specialists Antennas & More Array Solutions Barker & Williamson Belden Wire & Cable Butternut Antennas C3I® Antennas Cable Experts CCT Radio Champion Radio Products Comet Antennas Cubex Quad CushCraft Antennas Davis RF Co Delta X-Ray Antennas Diamond Antennas DuneStar DX System Radio EUR-AM Ventennas Force 12 Antennas GAP Antennas GB Antennas Gem Quad Glen Martin Engineering Gladiator Low Band Antennas) High Sierra Antennas

Harbach Electronics Heights Tower Systems Hy-Gain IIX Equipment Ltd KLM Antennas KMA Antennas Larsen Electronics LDG Electronics Lightning Bolt Antennas LMR M2 Antennas Max Gain Systems MFJ catalog Mosley Antennas Nemal Electronics International Penetrox PolyPhaser Corp. Radio Works Raibeam Antennas International R.F. Connection Rohn and Unr-Rohn Norm's Rotor Service - SGC World Sommer Antennas Texas Towers Titanex Top Ten Devices, Inc Tri-Ex Tower Corporation Vectronics Wilson Antennas WireMan Inc

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