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    The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R
    The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R
    The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R
    Ebook151 pages3 hours

    The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R

    By Phillip J. Boucher

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    About this ebook

    The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R is a reference work that helps readers like you program and use your VX-6R handheld Amateur radio to get the most fun and productivity from your unit. This book expands and explains the material in the user's manual in an easier to understand format. With material not included in the manual, The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R will make operating the radio fun and stress free.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPhillip J. Boucher
    Release dateJan 15, 2016
    ISBN9781310932977
    The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R
    Author

    Phillip J. Boucher

    Phillip J. Boucher is a freelance writer and author who is now writing fantasy fiction. He is the author of the trade books “Slot Machines: Fun Machines or Tax Machines” and “The Complete Guide to Canada’s General Mobile Radio Service”. He is also a long-time columnist for The Canadian Amateur magazine. His column, Fresh On The Air, helps new Amateur Radio operators get the most fun out of the hobby. He is currently working on several non-fiction works such as a book on slot machine addiction, a book on radical customer service, and books on two-way radio.Previous publications include an article on tea for Chatelaine, a newsletter for Bell Canada, local retail and entertainment reviews for Casino News and Entertainment Niagara, and has recently completed the website copy for AvionLighting.com.Phillip has had three of his fantasy short stories published by Necrology Shorts: Dragonstoen: An Amulet for a Prince, The Tower of Eletal, and Disturbance Call at the Fairy Bar. His fourth short story, a horror entitled Essence of Gargoyle, is pending publication with Necrology Shorts. His Native supernatural novel Tattonville, has been published by Dark Moon Press. His fantasy enovel Dragonstoen, has been self-published.Phillip lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife, three dogs, and all the dragons, knights, fairies, gargoyles, and other magickal creatures that live in his head and keep the voices at bay.

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      Book preview

      The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu's VX-6R - Phillip J. Boucher

      INTRODUCTION

      One of the most popular Amateur Radio handhelds to come out in the last few years has been Yaesu's VX-6R. This ruggedly built and feature-packed unit has attained a following that makes it a rig perfect for any type of Amateur Radio activity, from casual QSO’s to intense and dangerous disaster communications.

      The VX-6R boasts a wide receiver capability of 500 kHz to 998.990 MHz, so those Hams who enjoy listening to aircraft, public service, AM/FM and shortwave radio broadcasts, marine, and other frequencies have the opportunity to enjoy listening to these types of communications alongside Amateur Radio. Due to regulations in the United States that prohibit the reception of any cellular telephone calls, the cellular bands have been disabled in this radio and are unable to be reactivated using any hardware or software modification. Unfortunately, this restriction affects Canadian operators due to Canada’s liberal radio communications laws allowing anyone to listen to any unencrypted radio transmission, including cellular phone transmissions. But even without the cellular bands, the VX-6R is one hot little powerhouse.

      Although promoted as a dual band unit, most North American versions also operate on the 222 MHz Ham band. The radio’s full transmitting range is from 144 to 148 MHz, 222 to 225 MHz, and 430 to 450 MHz. One thing about the transmit power is that the high power setting on 2 meters and 70 centimeters are both 5 watts, but on 222 MHz is only 1.5 watts. There does not seem to be any reasonable explanation accounting for the lower transmit power on 222 MHz. It may be due to the radio’s processor design, or may just be a bonus feature thrown in at the last minute. Regardless, the addition of the 222 MHz band, even at 1.5 watts, makes this radio a tri-bander for sure.

      The VX-6R also boasts a number of unique features not normally found on Amateur Radio handhelds. It has a nice metallic case and waterproof design making it an excellent choice for extremely rugged outdoor use. You can use it in the rain or drop it in a puddle and it will still work. The radio is rated for underwater operation up to a depth of three feet for thirty minutes, and many demonstrations at Hamfests and on YouTube have shown Hams using the radio with a speakermic while the radio has been submerged in a bucket of water. The front LED lights up to show transmit/receive operations, but also functions as an emergency flashlight. The VX-6R even works as a rudimentary frequency counter to find unknown close-by transmissions. This feature is great for those using the VX-6R as a scanner. And you can even change the power-on message to anything you like, such as your call sign.

      This eBook in intended as a supplement to, and not a replacement for, the owner’s manual, to make programming and using the VX-6R easier and more enjoyable. I say it is almost complete in that I am not including photos, drawings, nor information in regards to programming the radio via computer, and it has been discovered that some versions of VX-6R radios may have different programming sequences or operating parameters due to various firmware versions.

      The information provided here is to allow you to easily program and operate your radio to the get most fun and productivity from it. Material from the manual has been expanded for easier understanding, and there is information here not in the manual that may increase your use and enjoyment of the radio.

      To get the maximum enjoyment out of this book, I will try to follow the layout of the user manual as much as possible with a few variants. Since most purchasers of this rig will read the manual thoroughly (you did, didn’t you?) this will be the best way for you to follow along. However, there will be some areas where I have changed the order of information in the manual to increase clarity in understanding the material presented. I have not included any diagrams in this book, as the diagrams in the owner’s manual are quite sufficient.

      You will find that some features may get a very extensive discussion while others may be brief. The length of discussion is related to the amount of confusion, questions, and sheer how the heck do I comments that I’ve seen over time all over the Internet from users of the VX-6R.

      ACCESSORIES: INCLUDED AND OPTIONAL

      There are many accessories that are available to enhance or improve your operating enjoyment with this radio. Accessories included with the VX-6R are an FNB-80LI rechargeable lithium ion battery pack, belt clip, a YHA-67 tri-band wide receive antenna, and user manual.

      Antenna

      The YHA-67 antenna is a tri-band transmit/wide frequency receive antenna with an SMA male connector that screws into the SMA female jack on the upper left-hand side of the radio. It is tuned for optimal operation on the Amateur frequencies and receives quite well on most of the other bands. However, since it is specifically tuned to the Amateur bands, you may find, especially on HF and shortwave frequencies, that you will need an external antenna for proper reception of these signals.

      There have always been problems with the stock antennas that come with most Amateur Radio handhelds regardless of manufacturer. It seems that the stock antenna is the one item that is always ignored in regards to quality and performance, and most users replace the stock antenna with an after-market higher gain model to improve transmission and reception performance. Now, I have in my arsenal of HT antennas a plethora of different types of single and dual band configurations, from small stubbies to long five-eighths wave rubber ducks. Of course, like every other HT owner, I wanted to improve the performance of my own VX-6R and proceeded to experiment to find the best performing antenna.

      To my utter surprise and astonishment, only the longer and more cumbersome five eighth wave models performed better than the stock antenna on the Amateur bands for both transmitting and receiving, and then only marginally. The stock YHA-67 antenna seems to be of equal gain (or of equal loss) to the rest of my high-gain antennas, both single and dual band. Even the two meter helically wound five eighths, which is only about an inch longer than the stock antenna but with at least a 0.5 dBi gain, didn’t seem to outperform the stock antenna as it should have.

      Either Yaesu is getting better at putting as much thought and design into their HT antennas as into their radios, or I just happened to get a fluke unit. Many reviews of the VX-6R do cite the antenna as being typically performance-low and replaced by after-market ones. However, in my testing, the stock antenna performed quite well on the Amateur bands, and very good on all other frequencies, so I am using the stock antenna as the regular antenna for my VX-6R. You may find your results to be different, but I am happy with my radio’s stock antenna performance.

      The antenna jack used on the VX-6R itself is a female SMA. This is a smaller screw-in jack differing from the standard twist on female BNC type that has previously been most common for handheld Amateur radios. The antenna itself is a male SMA connector and simply screws into the jack. The use of SMA rather than BNC provides a more stable and rugged seating platform, which helps to prevent broken antenna connectors due to accidental damage. Use caution! Only screw the antenna on until it is snug. Over-tightening the antenna may break the jack.

      Battery

      The VX-6R comes with a compact FNB-80LI rechargeable lithium ion battery pack. This battery provides 7.4 volts at 1,400 mAh for up to five watts of transmit power. When fully charged, the FNB-80LI provides, on average, seven hours of operating time on two meters, six hours of operating time on seventy centimeters, and fifteen hours of receive time. These times are calculated to a duty cycle of around six seconds transmitting at five watts, six seconds of receiving at half of the maximum volume level, and forty-eight seconds of stand-by. The actual operating time of your battery will vary as to your usage style, such as length of transmission and whether you are using any of the VX-6R’s battery saving features.

      Battery Charger

      Included in the box is the NC-72B/C 5-Hour battery charger, a simple wall-plug transformer providing 12 volts DC power to the radio. This charger can be used to charge the battery with the radio off, or at an extended charge time with the radio on. When using the charger with the radio on, the radio can be used for receive only. The charger does not provide enough amperage to operate the radio on transmit and trying to do so may damage both the charger and the radio.

      Belt Clip

      The CLIP-14 Quick Draw Belt Clip that comes with the VX-6R is of medium ruggedness in construction. Many users have not been impressed with the clip and have replaced it with homemade clips. Mine broke after several years of service. The clip seems to be the weakest part of the VX-6R.

      User Manual

      You should always read the user manual that comes with any Amateur Radio unit. It contains information on how to operate the radio, and set features and functions. The VX-6R’s manual is no exception. It contains important information on programming and operating, specifications for the radio, and details the features that this rig has.

      As with any user manual, it does fall short of being detailed and complete. This is where this book comes in; to help you program and operate your radio with detailed information. An unusual aspect with this manual is with the English that is used. Most Amateur Radio user manuals are notorious for English language that is hard to understand, sometimes being a simple verbatim translation from Japanese to English. Sentences like, Oning the radio by the knob, turn right and The PTT button pressed, for sending and not sending let go are not uncommon. But this manual’s English is quite good. In fact, it is very good and I give kudos to Yaesu and the copywriter. But it isn’t perfect.

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