Yaesu: VX7-R using 6 meter AM

[johnnyelectron]

The 70-page+ manual for the VX7-R says nothing about how to use the rig on the 6 meter band in the AM mode. Has anyone done it, and does it actually put out a small AM signal? I assume that you can set your 6 meter frequency, then go to mode and instead of AUTO you would set it to AM? Does that do the trick without wrecking the radio, as I just got the rig and the manual was unclear about AM transmit. Don't want to smoke it the first week.
73
JE

 

[wrath]

No one makes a Hand talkie that transmits on AM , the radio that are tri band with 6 meters is FM only , if you want to do AM you need to buy a multi mode portable HF radio and an antenna .

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

[toastycookies]

No one makes a Hand talkie that transmits on AM , the radio that are tri band with 6 meters is FM only , if you want to do AM you need to buy a multi mode portable HF radio and an antenna .

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

50/144/430 MHz: 5 Watts of Power

Utilizing a reliable FET power amplifier circuit, the VX-7R provides a full 5 Watts of power output on the 50, 144, and 430 MHz Amateur bands, with bonus coverage of the 222 MHz band at 300 mW (USA version only). And for 6-meter AM enthusiasts, you also get 1 Watt of carrier power on the 50 MHz band. Four power levels may be selected, each offering its own degree of battery conservation.

Welcome to Yaesu.com

 

[wrath]

1 watt AM on a hand I talkie is a bad joke , even on the "magic" band and considering we are at the bottom of the solar cycle, band openings are extremely limited ,if you wanted to try AM last month would have been the time to try , but honestly all the HT with 6 meters was a bad idea, I own one and have for at least 10 years ,and have never made a contact even with a full size antenna, at 5 watts has been dicey during prime openings .
Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

[prcguy]

So that's twice now in the same thread you posted wrong information.

The Yaesu VX-7R does indeed transmit AM in the 6m band. I had a VX-7R and hated the menu system so upgraded to the VX-8R, With both the VX-7R and VX-8R I have checked into a weekly 6m AM net using the radio at 1W into a 48" long loaded 6m whip right on the radio.

My usual spot operating hand held for this net is from a local park on the side of a hill at 550ft altitude. The net controller is about 65mi from me and most people scattered around So Cal on the net could hear me with the furthest station being 110mi away.

Again, this is on 6m, with a self contained handheld running 1W in AM mode and I'm getting up to 110mi range. It seems to work really well, so why is it a bad idea?
prcguy

1 watt AM on a hand I talkie is a bad joke , even on the "magic" band and considering we are at the bottom of the solar cycle, band openings are extremely limited ,if you wanted to try AM last month would have been the time to try , but honestly all the HT with 6 meters was a bad idea, I own one and have for at least 10 years ,and have never made a contact even with a full size antenna, at 5 watts has been dicey during prime openings .
Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

[mm]

The VX7R works just fine in AM mode, and 4 watts PEP is certainly useable for long distances with the stock antenna.

On 50.4 MHz, during several years of sparodic e openings, I have talked using the stock rubber duck along with the ~ 2 inch 6 meter antenna add on extension, over 1000 miles from Arizona to the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington and in the opposite direction from Oregon to Arizona and California.

 

[wrath]

Ok well my information is not necessarily wrong it is my experience ,maybe I have just lived in the suck for radio over the last 26 years . I use a little Tar heels HP with the longer whip( I believe it 55") for portable QSO's on a diamond K540 mount on the back of my chair , at home I have an alpha sloper 160-10 couple of tuned dipoles and 3 dedicated hamsticks, and a diamond X 500, a dual band beam 2/70 it is my opinion from my experience , YMMV I do have a very high noise floor of about s7-s9 and get frequent interference from an electrical substation( they find problems when I call them ) and AM broadcast tower with tuned counter poise fence around it's perimeter 1 /3 mile away.my yaesu handheld is a VX 5R , purchased new back in the day at Lentini communications in Newington,on a visit to the league , it does have the SU -1 installed with no mods what so ever , with the drop in charger , my portables and mobiles consist of various big three , and 1Alinco DJ 580T ,my base rigs are an IC 910 AH an IC 756 , FTDX 3000 , TS 990S , Any questions ?

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

[prcguy]

I suspect your not living the radio suck, you just don't have many 6m locals and you haven't been listening when there are openings. In So Cal there is a good amount of 6m simplex activity, lots of weekly nets and repeaters on high mountain tops. Other places have no 6m repeaters and nobody on 6.

mm has me way beat with his stock rubber duck contacts. When I had a Yaesu FT-817 many years ago I made lots of 1,000mi + contacts mobile using a 5/8 wave 2m antenna and 5w when there were a bunch of 6m openings.

6m is not for everybody, especially in areas with little or no activity. A well known 6m contester friend of mine with a huge 6m Yagi at about 70ft listens for months at a time waiting for openings. His big thing is antennas at the right height and high end equipment and he hears stuff that others with similar antennas at 30ft cannot hear. Not many people are that married to 6m but those who are have worked more places on 6m than most of us have on the all other bands combined.
prcguy

Ok well my information is not necessarily wrong it is my experience ,maybe I have just lived in the suck for radio over the last 26 years . I use a little Tar heels HP with the longer whip( I believe it 55") for portable QSO's on a diamond K540 mount on the back of my chair , at home I have an alpha sloper 160-10 couple of tuned dipoles and 3 dedicated hamsticks, and a diamond X 500, a dual band beam 2/70 it is my opinion from my experience , YMMV I do have a very high noise floor of about s7-s9 and get frequent interference from an electrical substation( they find problems when I call them ) and AM broadcast tower with tuned counter poise fence around it's perimeter 1 /3 mile away.my yaesu handheld is a VX 5R , purchased new back in the day at Lentini communications in Newington,on a visit to the league , it does have the SU -1 installed with no mods what so ever , with the drop in charger , my portables and mobiles consist of various big three , and 1Alinco DJ 580T ,my base rigs are an IC 910 AH an IC 756 , FTDX 3000 , TS 990S , Any questions ?

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

[wrath]

I think my last contact on 6 was a guy who was air mobile somewhere in canada , i do work 2 meter AM/SSB with my Beam pointed up to canada across the lake, havent found a lot of activity on 70 cm, but because of a conflict here on the border we can't use below 440 because of military / LE in canada having primary , to be honest we dont have many good mountains and there is probably only only about 40 of us consistently active, and out of them i would say 12 are newbies in apartements with baofengs , I have joked a few times that most of my latest toy only gets used out of town , we have like 6 repeaters to chose from no 220 , 6 or 10 no digital modes, so I use a hotspot , that is at my house and the other 2 guys that have digital rigs are simplex range so on the big stick the can use it also , when I go out of town I have a ball with the radio ( Kenwood 74A) and use an IC 7000 mounted on my chair with the tarheel and a diamond NR 770 . I Beacon APRS Greyhound portable quite a bit.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

[AK9R]

Folks, the topic of this thread is using the VX-7R on 6m AM. Let's stay on topic.

 

[n2jtx]

I see this thread is about six months old and I stumbled across it looking for the 6 meter output power level on the VX-7R. My neighbor gifted me an old Lafayette HA-250 linear amplifier that is capable of all mode amplification (AM, FM, SSB). Back in the day they were popular with CB'ers for amplifying 11 meters to around 50 watts before the FCC banned them. One watt AM drive on six meters is sufficient to drive the HA-250 so it looks like this old amplifier will be useful. My original thought was to try and amplify my old mil surplus Korean War vintage RT-70 that I purchased as a kid back in late 1970's and used only for listening. Unfortunately it only It produces 500mW output which is not going to be enough to drive the amp. But the VX-7R will do the job.