Yaesu: Considering the VX-8DR

[tummy]

I have a VX8DR. I got the Bluetooth and the GPS for APRS. It's a good radio, but on 220 it's marginal and on 6M it's a waste. I got a Diamond aftermarket antenna for a bit better gain on 2M/440. That was a nice improvement, but it doesn't help on the 6M.

The Bluetooth is very frustrating. I'm using it with a Plantronics earpiece, and I can't get the mic gain turned down far enough that I'm not distorting all over the place on transmit. Moreover, it's extremely finicky about connecting; it really has to have a clear line of sight and it's picky about the angle as well. standard ear-to-hip doesn't work well!

I also don't like the way it connects to its batteries; I'm constantly having the battery momentarily disconnect, causing a reboot. This happens with both the original battery, but far worse with the larger aftermarket ones. All it takes is a bump; imagine how bad it is when it's on your waist!

The AA battery unit is, for me, just a completion of housing for when I'm powering the radio with external power. It's now so cheap to get Lithium ion batteries and fashion an external battery pack that this is where I'm headed next with that radio.

With that said, you might think I hate it--and when it reboots, I do. But otherwise, it really is a pretty good radio and I don't have any plans to deep six it.

On the other hand, my Baofeng 82 works just as well on 2M/440. No problems there. It's a little bit bigger radio, which I LIKE, and all the pieces-parts are FAR cheaper. It isn't up to the physical quality standards, and it isn't waterproof, and you have to discern between the crap accessory suppliers and the good ones, as with all Baofeng. I also own the F8HP, which works the same.

The Baofengs don't have all the whoopee doopee whistles and bells, but they're SO MUCH CHEAPER that they're my usual carry radio. And they DON'T have the loose battery problem!

Honestly, radio makers' fascination with itty-bitty radios baffles me. It makes for smaller, lower-Amp-hour batteries, which drives me bananas. Those good-old police service radio bricks last for many hours of receive and a whole lot more transmit than most Amateur units. The extra service is worth the weight.

However, if you want APRS, a REAL dual watch, and all that the VX8DR supplies in whistles and bells, power to you; it is fun. You might also consider the Kenwood THF6A or the like, for some of the same reasons (but not for all of them).

Thanks for the feedback. That's a long and interesting list of issues.

 

[aquanauta]

VX-8DR 10 watt Tx

Hi all!

My friend says he read on ebay or somewhere that a Yaesu VX-8DR could be connected to a power supply and get 10 watt for Tx.

He can´t find where he read it. Is this possible? Does someone know anything about this feature?
Is there any way you could get 10 watt Tx from this tiny little piece of electronics?
Thanks so much!

Aquanauta

 

[AK9R]

A 60 watt light bulb will burn as brightly as an aircraft landing lamp if you apply enough voltage to it. The longevity of that light bulb will be short, however.

Your friend should probably not believe everything he reads on eBay.

 

[AC2OY]

If you connect it to a ten watt power supply won't you cook that little radio? When I transmit for a few minutes using my F-6A it gets quite hot!

 

[bigdropz]

All new Anyone's. Yaesu covers more uncommand bands. The Termn-8r Tx 2meters & 70cm bands / Rx 6 different bands. Plus cool features.... https://anytonetech.com/TERMN-8R

 

[W5JER]

I've had the VX-8DR for a couple years now and I love it. It's a great radio but can take some getting used to for the entry level HAM... or anyone at that matter. It has a ton of features that I have not even used yet!

 

[aquanauta]

Hi W5JER,

I 've also have a VX-8DR and have been trying to send an APRS message without positive results.
Did you try this feature? Please, send me your comments. Thanks!

 

[W7JLH]

Just picked the VX-8DR today along with a Kenwood TM-710GA. I've had the VX-7R for years. These two HTs are nothing alike. Going to take sometime getting used too.

 

[W5JER]

Hi W5JER,

I 've also have a VX-8DR and have been trying to send an APRS message without positive results.
Did you try this feature? Please, send me your comments. Thanks!

I have not tried APRS yet! Sorry!

 

[Diesel_Junkie]

I have a VX-8DR.
It has a LOT of options, its nice and i like it....
EXCEPT:
Why does it have such low max volume????
I use radios primarily for race communications, and it is tough to hear the radio over the sound of race engines.

I have the external mic and GPS. It makes just barely enough sound in that configuration, but when I connect to an earpiece, it is not usable. I also bough the Bluetooth adapter, connected to an external speaker, and its still way too quiet.

My Baufang is an order of magnitude louder. So are most of my team mates Kenwoods.

Is this a common problem with all Yaesus? Or just the VX-8DR?

Does anyone know of a good workaround??? is there any kind of externally powered speaker I can use? Or a headset with its own batteries?

I have found some tid bits about this radio being too quiet, but not much.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris,

 

[hotdjdave]

I have a VX-8DR. ...

I use radios primarily for race communications, and it is tough to hear the radio over the sound of race engines.

The VX-8DR is an amateur (ham) radio; I'm pretty sure it's intended use (or any ham radio's intended use) is not for "race communications." I bet a good commercial Vertex (Yaesu's commercial division), Motorola, Harris, etc would work better for such an application. Just sayin'.

 

[hotdjdave]

Hi all!

My friend says he read on ebay or somewhere that a Yaesu VX-8DR could be connected to a power supply and get 10 watt for Tx.

He can´t find where he read it. Is this possible? Does someone know anything about this feature?
Is there any way you could get 10 watt Tx from this tiny little piece of electronics?
Thanks so much!

Aquanauta

Almost any handheld radio can be hooked up to an amplifier. I have a dual band (VHF/UHF) amplifier that puts out 30 and 20 watts respectively with a 5 watt input. Check out Mirage, RF Concepts, Ameritron, and other such amplifiers. Be sure the amp you use is for the correct band (frequency) you intend to use and it is within the legal wattage operating range (and, of course, you have a license to transmit on such frequency/ies).

 

[Diesel_Junkie]

Thanks for the thoughts guys.
The reason I bought the VX-8 was the GPS capability, submersible, Dual monitoring(At a race, i need to monitor my driver and race ops at the same time). Size and everything is great.
Everythign about it i like,
Lots of other racers have Yaesu's. The most popular race brands seem to be Icom and Kenwood though. The baofang is popular too.

BUT
The volume is low.

Hotdjdave, I think you are referring to amplifying transmit power.
I would be interested in boosting the volume of the speakers.


Any thoughts on volume?

 

[hotdjdave]

Hotdjdave, I think you are referring to amplifying transmit power.
I would be interested in boosting the volume of the speakers.

Any thoughts on volume?

You can run the audio out of the audio port of the scanner into an amplified sound system. This can be done in your vehicle via your car stereo or an amplified speaker. It can also be done in your home via an amplified/powered speaker system such as a home stereo, computer speakers, etc - be sure they are amplified/powered via an external power source or you will draw power from your scanner and shorten your battery life.

You can even run your audio through a professional sound mixer/board or through your computer and process (equalize or tweak) the sound as you like.

There are speakers (amplified/powered and passive) specifically made for scanners, as well. There is one example in the photo below, but there are more models from Uniden and many other brands that make them as well. Search your favorite radio or ham radio store, such as Scanner Master, Ham Radio Outlet, or Universal Radio.

PS. There are aftermarket Bluetooth options as well, wherein you plug in a dongle to the audio port of your scanner and it sends a Bluetooth signal to any Bluetooth audio/speaker source.

 

[hotdjdave]

Headphones

For amplified headphones, just about any store that sells stereos and electronics (Best Buy, Fry's, Walmart, Target, etc) should have them. Sennheiser is probably the best brand. Bose is good, but overpriced (they do have great noise-cancelling powered headsets). Heli Sound, Audeze, AKG, Tascam, Sure, Audio-Technica, and high-end Sony models have good sound quality (most of these can be expensive). Any model of Skull Candy or Beats are crap (IMHO). Try to find a set that is tuned to the frequency range of the human voice and not necessarily to music, if you can.

There are some that are specifically for scanners. I've listed a few links below (not all are necessarily amplified):

• http://www.scannermaster.com/Headsets_Earphones_for_Police_Scanner_Radios_s/40.htm
• RACING SCANNER HEADPHONES
• http://pitstopusa.com/c-132978-radiostransponders-video-scanners-accessories-scanner-headphones.html
• H20 Over The Head 'Listen Only' Headset [H20-BLK] - $59.00 : Rugged Radios: Headsets, Intercoms, 2-Way Racing Radios and Communication for Motorcycles, Offroad, Circle Track, Aviation, Drag Racing, NASCAR, Police, and more...

PS. I used to be a pro sound guy (for a short period in my other life) - install, operate, and sell.

 

[Diesel_Junkie]

Thanks,
I actually did get the bluetooth adapter, and paired it with the same little portable speaker set I have and use with my iphone.

When paired to the iphone, the volume does go very high, much higher than I would ever need, but when paired to the VX-8, same low volume problem, it just cannot go very high at all.

Is this problem common with the VX-8? or do you think i have a dud?

 

[w2txb]

If you connect it to a ten watt power supply won't you cook that little radio? When I transmit for a few minutes using my F-6A it gets quite hot!

A ten watt (output) 12VDC power supply will put out a max (@ 13.8 VDC) of ~720 ma; this may not be enough to drive the VX-8DR to its rated maximum RF output of ~5 watts, as the radio will draw between 1.2 and 1.9 amperes when transmitting at full power.

There is no way that radio will put out ten watts, at least not for more than a split second.

 

[robertmac]

Hi W5JER,

I 've also have a VX-8DR and have been trying to send an APRS message without positive results.
Did you try this feature? Please, send me your comments. Thanks!

Yes have done this. All explained in the manual. Have to use the proper menu but without looking at the manual or the 8DR [which I don't have at present] to use the message menu number. Because it is not easy to type in the message, it does take a little while to do it. But it is possible. Would not want to do a lot if working a public service event or emergency related event.

 

[mikepdx]

When paired to the iphone, the volume does go very high, much higher than I would ever need, but when paired to the VX-8, same low volume problem, it just cannot go very high at all.

Is this problem common with the VX-8? or do you think i have a dud?

Is this a problem or a safety feature of the transceiver?

Padded audio except at the internal speaker.

Could it be a safeguard with the radio so you
can't blow your eardrums out when using an earphone?