Yaesu?

[AC2OY]

As far as their handhelds go a few guys in the club I joined said theirs broke. They said I would be better of with those Chinese radios?

 

[gewecke]

As far as their handhelds go a few guys in the club I joined said theirs broke. They said I would be better of with those Chinese radios?

Only if they are very hard on their equipment, could I believe that statement. I won't have any of the toy chinese radios, no matter how cheap they get.
Many of yaesu's talkies are built like bricks including my vx6r. The chinese imports are about as tough as a frs radio.

73,
n9zas

 

[K6ARL]

My FT-270R has held up extremely well. I've had it for around 9 months now, dropped it a lot, beat it up, and took it out in the middle of a downpour. I'm proud to report no problems whatsoever. a great radio and company
73's
K6ARL

 

[gewecke]

My FT-270R has held up extremely well. I've had it for around 9 months now, dropped it a lot, beat it up, and took it out in the middle of a downpour. I'm proud to report no problems whatsoever. a great radio and company
73's
K6ARL

Exactly! I would rather pay a few $$$ for something that will last, than nickels and dimes for a pos oriental toy.

73,
n9zas

 

[Rt169Radio]

I have a couple of Yaesu FT-250R's and I have had no problems with them.They peform very good and are built very good.

 

[n5ims]

Keep in mind that a radio brand, to many, is like their car brand. My brand is great and all others are nothing but crap.

 

[SCPD]

I have a VX-170 .. and it is like the 270, just built like a brick and waterproof. What more could you possibly ask for ? I also have a Baofeng (aka Chinese Radio)... which I regard as a toy and I wouldn't rely upon it.

 

[mmckenna]

Keep in mind that a radio brand, to many, is like their car brand. My brand is great and all others are nothing but crap.

Well said. One of the radio shops I work with has a few of the Chinese brand radios. None of the guys are really impressed with them, although they -do- work.

I've owned a number of Yaesu hand held radios, currently we have two VX-170's, one for my wife, one for me. We've used them for years while riding our ATV's. Both have been exposed to wind driven rain, mud, snow, vibration and being dropped. Both of them are still running just fine, and we have the added benefit of being able to rinse them off after riding.

I'm sure the Chinese models work fine. I've looked closely at them, and they look fine. I've heard a mix of reports on them, some swear by them, some swear at them.

What I do know is that they are pretty much disposable. If/when something happens to them, you pretty much toss them and get a new one. Based on the price, this is understandable. I guess if you have a good one, and it's working well, then they are a good deal.

Personally I've really had to depend on my radio once after I wiped out on my ATV. I'm not sure I'd want to rely on one of the off brand Chinese radios. As it was, my Yaesu took a pretty hard beating, but it still worked and I was able to call for help.
If you are a casual ham and going to be using your radio purely as entertainment, then I guess the cheap ones would be fine.

 

[Jimru]

I've had my Yaesu VX-5 since becoming a ham in 2003. It has never given me any problems, and I am involved in ARES, so it's been used in some adverse conditions.

Like it's been said here in this thread, you may get many happy years with the cheap Chinese stuff. Thing is, they have no track record. The established brands do.

 

[W2NJS]

I have a VX5R that has had to go back to Yaesu for service three times, but I also have an FT60 that has been rock-solid and trouble free for five years since I bought it. I don't believe that five or six guys in your radio club make up a valid statistical sample of the quality of Yaesu's radios. Talk to a wider group and you'll get a better idea of what's true and what's made up.

 

[mm]

I still have my yaesu FT-73R handheld from 1986.

I recased it in 1991, replaced the side PTT keypad in 1994 and have done nothing since then, it still works fine for me.

 

[N4KVE]

The Yaesu 170/270 series are commercial radios repackaged for ham radio use. They are easily programmed from the keypad, & practically indestructible. The Chinese radios are basically fragile toys which seem to work OK, & need to be programmed by computer. People who try to program them from the keypad tend to throw then into the closest wall. I can pick up any radio from the big 3, & program it w/o looking at the manual. I gave up after trying to program a Baofeng for 10 minutes. You get what you pay for. Yaesu, Icom, & Kenwood are like GM, Ford, & Chrysler. The Chinese radios are the Fiat 500. GARY N4KVE

 

[AC2OY]

Very kewl feedback thank ALL of you!! Don't repeat this...lol Yaesu is Motorola or should I say was bought out by Motorola and well I have dropped my walkie talkie at work a few times by accident and the thing didn't even get scratched!! So if their built like that well I have done some field testing!! I'm thinking whenever I pass the exam either Kenwood,ICom, or Yaesu. Was also told on't need a tribander because nobody talks on 220?!

 

[pjtnascar]

I've had my TYT for over a year and it has worked great. It's taken a few falls and a little dampness from the rain and it's okay. It depends on what you want from your equipment. For regular use and not a lot of cash go with a Chinese radio. If your life depends on your HT get something top of the line. For a new ham or someone on a tight budget, I'd get the Chinese rig.

 

[W2NJS]

Yaesu is not Motorola. Vertex is part of Motorola but Motorola sold off the Yaesu name and products for the amateur radio market.

 

[N8IAA]

I've owned many Yaesu radios. VX-5R, FT-50R, 2 FT-60R's. Not once did I ever have one break. The 50R was, and the 60R is built on a commercial frame. Currently own an Icom IC-80AD (D-star/analog), and it is built quite well. Own a Puxing 777 and a Wouxing UVD-1P. Neither is anywhere near the quality of Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu. They are in my radio stable as backups and spares. The old saying 'you get what you pay for' really does ring true when buying cheap. Oh, and Vertex/Standard is the division Moto bought. Yaesu will go to Yaesu Musen, like when I first got into ham radio 27 years ago.
Larry

 

[ropin4gold]

I have a VX7R and a couple of FT-270's. All have been put through hard use and have held up great. I'm a big fan of the FT-270's.

 

[AC2OY]

Very sweet I like the VX 7R myself!!!

 

[AK9R]

Not to pile on, but...

I've owned more Yaesu handhelds than I can count. Starting with an FT-23R that I purchased over 20 years ago up through the VX-8GR that I bought this year. While some of them have had some design flaws and operational quirks, they have always been reliable. In other words, they received and transmitted when I wanted them to.

As for the inexpensive Chinese handhelds, I have no doubt that they work fine. But, you have to accept the fact that they are throwaways. There is, to the best of my knowledge, no U.S.-based service network for them. If yours fails, the best you can hope for is to send it back to the U.S. distributor and ask for replacement under the terms of the distributor's warranty. Or just toss it into the recycling and buy another.

The Yaesu FT-60 goes for around $170 at most of the mail-order ham radio dealers. This is a solid, reliable dual-band handheld with a few, but not too many, frills. I owned one and sometimes wish I hadn't sold it.

 

[canav844]

I've had a FT-270 that's had the software go haywire, no support from Yaesu when I called, but a video up on youtube a fellow amateur saw it and gave me the answer Yaesu provided him over the phone. I had a VX-170 before it, and after about a year sold it as I wanted VHF and UHF in one rig, I ended up replacing it with the previously mentioned FT-270

I've also got a VX-8GR, which has been babied from day one, living on my backpack as an APRS beacon when I go hiking, that basically manufactures feed back when the volume goes above 25 or so, and as it's so quiet it tends to need to be at about 30 if I'm not isolated in a quiet room. A few other local guys have also purchased the same radio and one by one are developing the same problems, we're all going to be familiar with the warranty repair process soon, and given my past experience with them.

I'm not recommending them anymore, nor buying from them again anytime soon; I've been much happier with the pricier Icoms I've had over the years, never an issue with the Kenwoods from anyone I know buy I don't like the menu system compared to the other two. We've got a few ham friends locally that recommend Wouxon above almost all else, "just get the software" (speaker mics have had an issue staying locked in though); and we've got one guy who ordered a Baufeng that I think has invested more into upgrading it trying to make it reliable than he purchased it for, we've been constantly bringing spares so he can participate in activities, and as a new ham I think the extra work to make it work and all the $$ poured into it has become quite discouraging to him.

In fairness I will also state I've got two mobiles from Yaesu that are pretty much issue free, one is used as a base and the other in the car, they've been glitch free, but the handhelds have left a very sour taste in my mouth. The Icom I have is an IC-92AD, it's been absolutely great aside from not liking aftermarket antennas due to the SMA connector being an odd size. I no longer live where there is DSTAR, so I'm looking to replace with a commercial grade radio like the IC-F3161T or IC-F9011T