[Yaesu] RE: VX5R question

[W5HTW@att.net]

Guess it depends a lot on what you want.  It is not a "DX" machine - it is five 
watts maximum into an inefficient antenna.  
Having said that I heard commercial and public safety repeaters on a 
mountaintop 35 miles northwest of me, full quieting.  Ham repeaters on the same 
hill, 5,000 feet above me, are also full quieting and I have no trouble being 
heard on any of them in the VHF range.  On UHF I hear a 440 ham repeater 35 
miles southwest of me (it has no VHF link) and I am apparently good into it on 
the VX5R medium power setting.  
Granted, I can see the mountaintops above, so it is line of sight, though it 
is, to the 147.28 repeater, 40 air miles away.  That one has a slight pop but 
tests show that at five watts I am heard on it quite well, though I have not 
tried it on lower power settings.  

Since my primary goal in purchasing a VX5R was to have a good public safety 
scanner that "incidentally" allowed me ham radio capabilities in transmitting, 
it serves my needs with excellent results.

On direct simplex, though, it is severely limited, even at the 5 watt VHF 
level, and though I have not made any tests to define the distance at which it 
is useful, I'd doubt that, in flat terrain, it would work more than three air 
miles.  It hears better, on 146.52, up to around five miles, but I haven't 
tried seeing who hears me, as I'm not awfully interested in VHF/UHF, and have 
mobile radios that will do 1,000 percent better if needed.  

I find the radio dies at just under 7.0 volts on the battery, which is a bit 
disappointing, as the radio and the battery are new.  Once it dies, it is 
closer to three hours to regain a full charge, not two.  A second battery, for 
anyone who relies upon this radio for regular V/U work, is almost a necessity. 
 My battery has probably been charged about 25 times, perhaps a bit less.   
Since I use it mostly as a PS scanner, and very rarely transmit (and if I do it 
is on low power - the "I" or the "II" setting, or occasionally the "III" 
setting) it remains charged for full-day use for two or three days.  

I don't use it enough to notice a heat problem during transmit.  It is not, 
though, a "ragchew" unit!  It is meant for short transmissions, I'm sure, 
though nowhere in the manual does it say that.  I would not want to key it up 
at 5 watts and hold it keyed for five minutes while I expounded on my latest DX 
contacts. I don't think it is intended for that.  

I haven't heard a signal on six meters either, and I feel the receive range in 
the 40 MHZ area could be better.  It does make a difference to use the 50 MHZ 
antenna, but even then I have heard nothing on 6.  I doubt I listen enough, to 
be honest.  

All in all, for the going price of about $200 bucks it is a very handy radio to 
have.  Easily carried, and mine appears to respond very well in the 160 MHZ 
range, which I use to monitor railroad activity some 25 miles from me (though I 
do not know where their repeater is located.)  

Given the choice, I would much have preferred it cover 220 MHZ instead of 50 
MHZ.  In this rural area I can't imagine ever using it on six meters, but, who 
knows?

The original price of this radio was just over $360, and that would be way 
overpriced - I would never have looked at it twice.  

73
Ed
W5HTW