WOW ! Very impressive review ! You taught me a lot about a radio I've had for awhile.. I'm probably going to watch this a few times I went on here to find programming on it as it been awhile since I had it out.. but came across your channel... probably going to just down manual to figure it out.... years ago I programmed it through computer .... thanks for the review ! 73's N7ZXG
when you use the non-stock antenna with the radio, do you loose the "waterproofness" of the radio? I'm thinking about getting the Vx-6r while it's still available commercially but I worry that if I change the antenna that has a BNC connector.
You would have to look into the build of the antenna or connector. I have a VX-6r, and the water tight seal is on the body of the radio itself, a small raised rubber ring where the antenna meets up with it. The waterproofness of the radio if used with an aftermarket antenna/connector, would at that point more than likely depend on the waterproofness of the antenna/connector and less on the connection point between the two. If water can make it through the BNC adapter I would imagine it then could make it through the SMA connector and into the body of the radio. I'm not sure without looking at a schematic of the connector, but it is possible. I had mine in a rainstorm with a SRH77CA just yesterday with no issues, but that is very different from submersion of course.
I would recommend it to someone who is an intermediate as the menu front end programming is a bit difficult to learn. there is a program called vx7r command you can use to program this radio but i always suggest you learn how to program your radio on the fly so youre not relying on a computer. I would recommend this for you still because it is rugged, does more than one band and has a wide reception range as well. the vx6r is also something i would recommend. In summary. for a beginner i would not recommend it, for you however i would because you have an interest in prepping and seem to care about knowing your gear.
@@TheFossilChannel thank you. I appreciate your help in this area and I’ll be sure to keep in touch with you. Looking forward to getting a lot more involved in ham radio.
Nice review. Considering buying one soon. I have one question, the manual say "Dual In-band Receive (V/V and U/U) lets you keep track of two active frequencies". Can you set vfo A to VHF and vfo B to UHF frequency and be able to actually listen both transmissions at the same time? In other terms do V/U or U/V simultaneous dual receive works? Thanks.
Have you ever had a ceramic filter fail after being replaced? Meaning, does the repair from Yaesu fix the bad filters for good or are the replacement filters susceptible to the same issue?
They are susceptible to same issue. The design flaw ive read is that the dc port tends to break the ceramic filter if its used alot. I use drop in chargers even in the field
Just got one of these used. Following instruction manual, I can only change bands through 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm. Cant get it to go into the RX only bands such as air band, weather, am and fm broadcast radio, etc... How do you get into the RX only bands? Following the manual, choosing the main band, and pressing band to cycle through the bands, only cycles through those 4. Even tried a factory reset, same thing.
im not sure im understanding. you want to monitor fm broadcast weather am etc? i usually push the vm button and punch in the frequency of the disired band or specific station and turn the vfo knob up or down the band. there is also a special sequence for the weather band you pus the function key once and them 3 to access weather bands only
you can also press function and 9 on the pad to access special memory banks of pre selected "channels" or memory registers with coverage on marine and sw broadcast stations. be aware though youll need a good antenna to hear those stations. a 2 meter, 1.25 and 70cm wont be good enough to hear those stations unless youre on top of a mountain. a 6 meter antenna might be better but youd need a proper reception only antenna to make the most out of it.
That’s kind of the issue. With factory default settings, on the main band, both in dual receive and in mono band, I press MONI then 3/WX, but nothing happens and I get 2 beeps. Again, if I’m on the main band, and I press BAND, each time I press it, it will cycle through 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm bands, but never pulls up AM and FM broadband, Air Band, etc... like I can’t even tune to those frequencies to listen, it’s like it’s locking into 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm only.
I think you are in restricted mode go in menu and open up or expand settings can ‘t quite remember what it’s called?once it’s ok’d you should be able to access those frequencies/bands
it is analog and does not have the fusion that you can find in ft70r and ft1xdr ft 2dr ft 3rd etc. this radio is a quad band however and can do 300mw max on 1.25mhz and 5 watt fm on 6m and 1 watt 6m am. 5 watts on 2m and 70cm fm. The radio is a work horse with the only common issue is the cf filters need to be replace on them after a couple of years. the rubber parts you can buy from yaesu directly for a couple of cents... gaskets etc. If you want fusion get a newer model radio such as the ft 3rd or the ft70r
depends, how much wattage youre transmitting at, how high the volume knob is up and how much the squech is opening and what band youre transmitting on and the temperature conditiions of the battery and radio unit.
This is not a quad band radio, Yaesu VX 7R is a dual band radio, 50 mhz and 144 mhz are the same band VHF, and 430 mhz is UHF, so only 2 bands. The use of BNC a bad option, for UHF the SMA is a much better connection for high frequencies that’s why so common on recent radios. This transceiver will not work in 1,2 ghz. Please inform your self before making these videos.
Bnc connections are useful as they dont as often as sma and allow for fast disconnects. Sma is good for uhf , but only in certain settings. For example while carrying this outdoors which is it's intended purpose being water reistant to water proof of ipx7 conditions, youd want to have a stronger connection for the antenna point. Sma is way to weak for consideration. I may have made a mistake by saying 1.2fhz in reality its 1.25meters. This radio is capable of functioning in 4 different areas 6meters fm am, 1.25 meters fm , 2 meters fm, 70cm fm. Your opinion on the sma is correct with it being good for strictly energy effciency, but falls flat when faced in reality of use. Thanks for your time
Neat gadget over there!😊 all blinky and flashing..
WOW ! Very impressive review ! You taught me a lot about a radio I've had for awhile.. I'm probably going to watch this a few times I went on here to find programming on it as it been awhile since I had it out.. but came across your channel... probably going to just down manual to figure it out.... years ago I programmed it through computer .... thanks for the review !
73's N7ZXG
thanks. i should make an updated video on this.
Great radio and I have the VX-7 too.
73.G7HFS/PA3IKH
when you use the non-stock antenna with the radio, do you loose the "waterproofness" of the radio? I'm thinking about getting the Vx-6r while it's still available commercially but I worry that if I change the antenna that has a BNC connector.
On the vx7r i havent noticed a loss of waterproofing.
You would have to look into the build of the antenna or connector.
I have a VX-6r, and the water tight seal is on the body of the radio itself, a small raised rubber ring where the antenna meets up with it.
The waterproofness of the radio if used with an aftermarket antenna/connector, would at that point more than likely depend on the waterproofness of the antenna/connector and less on the connection point between the two. If water can make it through the BNC adapter I would imagine it then could make it through the SMA connector and into the body of the radio.
I'm not sure without looking at a schematic of the connector, but it is possible.
I had mine in a rainstorm with a SRH77CA just yesterday with no issues, but that is very different from submersion of course.
Nice radio. Would you recommend this to someone who is just getting started?
I would recommend it to someone who is an intermediate as the menu front end programming is a bit difficult to learn. there is a program called vx7r command you can use to program this radio but i always suggest you learn how to program your radio on the fly so youre not relying on a computer. I would recommend this for you still because it is rugged, does more than one band and has a wide reception range as well. the vx6r is also something i would recommend. In summary. for a beginner i would not recommend it, for you however i would because you have an interest in prepping and seem to care about knowing your gear.
@@TheFossilChannel thank you. I appreciate your help in this area and I’ll be sure to keep in touch with you. Looking forward to getting a lot more involved in ham radio.
Nice review. Considering buying one soon. I have one question, the manual say "Dual In-band Receive (V/V and U/U) lets you
keep track of two active frequencies".
Can you set vfo A to VHF and vfo B to UHF frequency and be able to actually listen both transmissions at the same time? In other terms do V/U or U/V simultaneous dual receive works? Thanks.
Yes you can do that. You can monitor VHF and UHF at the same time.
@@TheFossilChannel Thanks!
Have you ever had a ceramic filter fail after being replaced? Meaning, does the repair from Yaesu fix the bad filters for good or are the replacement filters susceptible to the same issue?
They are susceptible to same issue. The design flaw ive read is that the dc port tends to break the ceramic filter if its used alot. I use drop in chargers even in the field
thank you again for the insight @@TheFossilChannel
How do you go about getting replacement parts from Yaesu? contact their service department?
Yes call them.
thank you!@@TheFossilChannel
Do you know how to use frequency counter feature in 7r?
yes i can look when i get back from work but you have to use the f function then one of the numbers on the keypad.
Can you only go on some channels in Wisconsin or can you listen to police and firefighter?
it depends. some frequencies are digital while others contain analog signals. this radio can if they are using analog signals.
Just got one of these used. Following instruction manual, I can only change bands through 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm. Cant get it to go into the RX only bands such as air band, weather, am and fm broadcast radio, etc... How do you get into the RX only bands? Following the manual, choosing the main band, and pressing band to cycle through the bands, only cycles through those 4. Even tried a factory reset, same thing.
im not sure im understanding. you want to monitor fm broadcast weather am etc? i usually push the vm button and punch in the frequency of the disired band or specific station and turn the vfo knob up or down the band. there is also a special sequence for the weather band you pus the function key once and them 3 to access weather bands only
you can also press function and 9 on the pad to access special memory banks of pre selected "channels" or memory registers with coverage on marine and sw broadcast stations. be aware though youll need a good antenna to hear those stations. a 2 meter, 1.25 and 70cm wont be good enough to hear those stations unless youre on top of a mountain. a 6 meter antenna might be better but youd need a proper reception only antenna to make the most out of it.
That’s kind of the issue. With factory default settings, on the main band, both in dual receive and in mono band, I press MONI then 3/WX, but nothing happens and I get 2 beeps. Again, if I’m on the main band, and I press BAND, each time I press it, it will cycle through 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm bands, but never pulls up AM and FM broadband, Air Band, etc... like I can’t even tune to those frequencies to listen, it’s like it’s locking into 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm only.
@@jimmypalmer5422 you have to be in VFO mode to switch to the other bands you’re talking about
I think you are in restricted mode go in menu and open up or expand settings can ‘t quite remember what it’s called?once it’s ok’d you should be able to access those frequencies/bands
How expensive is the altimeter option?
Unknown but some models might have it on ebay if you look and ask around.
Is it digital and used fusion?
it is analog and does not have the fusion that you can find in ft70r and ft1xdr ft 2dr ft 3rd etc. this radio is a quad band however and can do 300mw max on 1.25mhz and 5 watt fm on 6m and 1 watt 6m am. 5 watts on 2m and 70cm fm. The radio is a work horse with the only common issue is the cf filters need to be replace on them after a couple of years. the rubber parts you can buy from yaesu directly for a couple of cents... gaskets etc. If you want fusion get a newer model radio such as the ft 3rd or the ft70r
hows the batterylife on this?
depends, how much wattage youre transmitting at, how high the volume knob is up and how much the squech is opening and what band youre transmitting on and the temperature conditiions of the battery and radio unit.
This is not a quad band radio, Yaesu VX 7R is a dual band radio, 50 mhz and 144 mhz are the same band VHF, and 430 mhz is UHF, so only 2 bands. The use of BNC a bad option, for UHF the SMA is a much better connection for high frequencies that’s why so common on recent radios. This transceiver will not work in 1,2 ghz. Please inform your self before making these videos.
Bnc connections are useful as they dont as often as sma and allow for fast disconnects. Sma is good for uhf , but only in certain settings. For example while carrying this outdoors which is it's intended purpose being water reistant to water proof of ipx7 conditions, youd want to have a stronger connection for the antenna point. Sma is way to weak for consideration. I may have made a mistake by saying 1.2fhz in reality its 1.25meters. This radio is capable of functioning in 4 different areas 6meters fm am, 1.25 meters fm , 2 meters fm, 70cm fm. Your opinion on the sma is correct with it being good for strictly energy effciency, but falls flat when faced in reality of use. Thanks for your time
@@TheFossilChannel I’m with you. Good points. Thanks for your show. ツ