Yaesu: New VX-7R owner looking for some help

I picked up a VX-7R after looking at the various options.. the 6R wasn't quite what I wanted, the 8R I couldn't find at the right price, so I picked up a 7R with all of the accessories I wanted in one swoop in an auction for a reasonable price.

But I'm having some issues with some features, maybe someone who has used this radio a lot can help me out? I'd greatly appreciate it.

First off, I can not set date/time. No matter what I do, when I go back to the menu for it, it's reset. I've done it a dozen times, each time exiting with PTT, or the VFO knob, or.. or... etc. No matter what, 2001/01/01 etc. it seems to keep time so far as I can tell, but it's wrong. Like right now it thinks it's 20:08, and as far as I can tell it's keeping time right from that reference, but it's 18:47 right now.. I did a clean factory reset to test if I've messed anything up with programming, it still wouldn't set.

I can not use any Memory Groups. I use CHIRP to program, but I've also manually added channels to Memory Groups. If I hit MONF-9 to go into the Special Memory view, select MR Group and hit PTT it just beeps twice. In fact it beeps twice on all options in this menu, including BC, Marine, etc. I've tried in the main VFO, sub VFO, in memory mode, in VFO mode, etc.. Only option I can pick here is "Off".

Temporary skipping a channel in scan mode... The manual says that you can temporary skip a channel while scanning "during this scanning session" by hitting MONF-V/M on the channel when it's stopped on the channel to be skipped. It does set it to skip, but it's NOT temporary! It sets that channel to be skipped, I have to go into the Set mode and change the channel back to not be skipped.

Does the battery indicator not show on the LCD full time? In the bottom-right corner is where the battery meter is, it's not there at all for me. There is unfortunately one line on the LCD that's not working but it's up towards the top.

And now purely a curiosity.... What is the small hole above the 2/3 keys? The manual doesn't mention it.

Thank you for the help!

I figured out the Memory Group issue; turns it out is a bug in CHIRP. It stores all of the memory groups etc the way you'd expect, but there is a bit somewhere that's flagged that says there are memory groups defined and CHIRP does not set it. Workaround: Set any channel into another group. Now it works!

I'm still looking for feedback on the others.

And I just found a cheat sheet that explains the problem setting the time. You have to go to Set mode, time, hit band, main/sub to adjust, dial to switch what to adjust. But you DO NOT hit PTT to save, you MUST hit VM first. It is in the manual, I just overlooked it since it refers to it as "press the VM key to start the clock from 00".

Whew. I kept thinking I had a hardware problem with that one.

The small hole above the 2-3 keys is the microphone...

k6cpo said:

The small hole above the 2-3 keys is the microphone...

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Manual says the hole in the upper-right corner of the speaker is the mic, under the bottom-right display screw. But nothing points out the hole above 2/3, unless there's two mics?

It's just curious to me, as it looks really open, compared to the mic etc. No biggie, just curious I don't think I'll be taking a bath with the radio, especially as I'm not sure if it'd be waterproof using a third-party antenna. I have a feeling that the antenna also has to be watertight.

It just occurred to me that the speaker is most likely sealed from the inside of the case, but not from the outside... So water can likely intrude on the speaker. The hole below the speaker is probably just a drain.

The small hole by the screen is the pressure relief valve. Its a waterproof radio. Theres pics online that show it. the mic is by the keys. Theres a bladder infront of the speaker and mic to keep the water out of there. its replaceable. You gotta call yeasu in Ontario, ca to get a new one. same with the gaskets around the seams.

The bladder is just a super fine mesh thats too small for water to seep through. I had to replace my speaker when the bladder got a hole in it.

my 7r has been through hell. I've had it since they 1st came out. the silver paint is all worn off, the buttons are mostly unreadable, I've replaced both rotating switches and went thru about 6 batteries. Still works well.

khaytsus said:

Manual says the hole in the upper-right corner of the speaker is the mic, under the bottom-right display screw. But nothing points out the hole above 2/3, unless there's two mics?

It's just curious to me, as it looks really open, compared to the mic etc. No biggie, just curious I don't think I'll be taking a bath with the radio, especially as I'm not sure if it'd be waterproof using a third-party antenna. I have a feeling that the antenna also has to be watertight.

Click to expand...

w9xxx said:

The small hole by the screen is the pressure relief valve. Its a waterproof radio. Theres pics online that show it. the mic is by the keys. Theres a bladder infront of the speaker and mic to keep the water out of there. its replaceable. You gotta call yeasu in Ontario, ca to get a new one. same with the gaskets around the seams.

Click to expand...

I stand corrected... I checked back because I though perhaps it might the mic location in a similar but different model that uses the same mold for the case, but it's not.

VX-7R Commander

You made a good choice. The VX-7R is probably one of the best HTs on the market. You may notice that it is a bit hard to get these days - the 6R and 8R are readily available, but for some reason the 7R is getting rare (not sure why).

For programming, instead of CHIRP, try VX-7R Commander software by Jim Mitchell -KC8UNJ, which is specifically designed for the VX-7R. You can get it free here (click on the VX-7R link): KC8UNJ - Jim Mitchell - Radio Programming Software.

hotdjdave said:

The VX-7R is probably one of the best HTs on the market. You may notice that it is a bit hard to get these days - the 6R and 8R are readily available, but for some reason the 7R is getting rare (not sure why).

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Probably because it is out of production. None of the major on-line retailers have them. Universal Radio's site clearly says the radio has been discontinued.

W9BU said:

Probably because it is out of production. None of the major on-line retailers have them. Universal Radio's site clearly says the radio has been discontinued.

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Yes, probably true. But I see older models like the 6R and 3R still for sale. Just wondering why Yaesu stopped the 7R, but not the other even older models. The VX-7R was a very popular radio and not much different than the 8R in terms of bands and specs (although the 8R has more features). Something fishy - maybe, maybe not.