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My APRS-related pages begin here!

2/2/2009: I got it! A wonderful Yaesu VX-8 triple-band submersible handheld transceiver.

Below, a few comments while waiting for the first battery charge completion.

After a very few days, SPLASH! it fell into the water while it was raining. It was receiving APRS. A few seconds almost completely submersed in water, with the display in the deepest waters. I took it, while the rain continued falling on it and... IT WAS STILL WORKING! Yay! That's actually "submersible". I'm glad it continued receiving and transmitting APRS packets, as if nothing happened.

Why did I buy it?

First, I wanted a complete APRS system without hassles and cables: you can even go jogging while doing APRS... (this was not easily achievable using my Good Old Kenwood TH-D7).

But the Yaesu VX-8 also got my attention because:

• up to 5W on FM bands 50, 144 and 430 MHz
• even receiving AM/FM (even stereo) from SW up to a GHz
• submersible (!)
• clean and compact design
• lots of nice "gadgets" (barometer, LED-lamp, attenuator, mini spectrum analyzer, CW rx training...)

Currently I am not particularly interested in other features (CTCSS/DCS/EPCS, WIRES, ARTS, EAI, etc). I wanted a good handheld transceiver fully APRS capable, and I got it.

First impressions

Maybe I will change my mind... but now, after the very first day of usage, I am not quite happy with its menu system and some engineering flaws. Let's start with the bad news.

Add-ons are somewhat pricey

• the VX-8 is reasonably priced, but its add-ons (Bluetooth, GPS, external MIC, external TNC, etc) are pricey and have "proprietary" interfacing...
• thus, I only bought the GPS receiver and its adapter (both needed for APRS).
• Bluetooth interface is currently only useful for Bluetooth headset!!

Hardware limitations and flaws

• sadly, standard LiIon battery is only 7.4V 1100mAh - I would prefer a bulkier unit with (far) larger capacity... anyway, the VX-8 is quite small compared with other handheld transceivers (have a look at the photo below, comparing with a TH-D7);
• while it appears sturdily mounted, I do not like the GPS antenna weird mount solution;
• the 12-channel GPS add-on is only available to the internal APRS firmware;
• no volume dial: changing volume level requires pressing a "Vol" key and then using the top dial (you can switch volume/freqselect functions, but you cannot have both as in Ye Goode Olde THD7);
• when volume is set to level 0 (of 32), there is still some audible signal and noise (!)
• AM/FM broadcast is not always excellent, but you don't buy such a transceiver to only listen broadcast music...
• the rubber cap protecting the "Ear" and "Ext DC" jacks will have a hard life (to plug something, you have to fold it by more than 90 degrees).

Firmware issues

Menus and function keys are quite hard to navigate and even learn:

• the "Set Mode" menu does not allow the user to type the menu number (imagine when you have to rotate the dial from option 55 to option 103...)
• the "Mode" key is used for both radio and APRS Set Modes, and multiple or prolonged keypresses are often needed to access simple functions;
• text input is... eerie! You have to press the "Mode" key to advance to next character position! Hard times if you want to use any messaging feature (APRS and others)...
• I think that adding a few keys (Enter and Esc) and allowing to select multiple options using the numbered keys would have led to a dramatically easier menu navigation;

The Most Annoying VX8 Firmware Bug: "Dial" and "Vol" functions inverted...!

News, news! It is not a firmware bug. It is only a weird feature, documented in small characters in the rightmost column of manual page 5...
If you hit the F button, release it, then hit the Vol button on the left side of the radio, the "Dial" and "Vol" functions are exchanged (top dial becomes direct volume control). To get back to default operation, just hit again F and then Vol. In this page I previously (and mistakenly) stated that a "full microprocessor reset" (manual page 134) was required.
Thanks to Tim KI6BSF for pointing out it.

Other small firmware glitches:

• I don't like the "Power" key (a single key!) to be used for keyboard locking/unlocking;
• APRS icons descriptions are all there, but only a few of them also have a graphical icon;
• battery-saving feature cycle should be configurable to lower levels (200msec is good while talking; having a 80msec option would be perfect for APRS; maybe it's only a firmware change...);
• I don't like that "NFM" label ("FM" was cleaner and simpler, since most of the time we will use "Narrow FM"!), neither I like that "A12"/"A96" labels (some "APRS" in normal or reversed color would be nicer) or that "RM" (for "broadcast receive": an icon was better);
• 10 seconds timeout after last keypress is somewhat short... what about adding 30 and 60-sec?
• niiiice bright led, but sometimes I feel it was better to have two of them (twice the light!)

I strongly miss:

• a "My Friends" menu where I would add my friends' callsigns to hear a different beep sequence when one of their APRS packets has been received, or to limit incoming APRS packets to their callsigns only. This would come in very handy in lots of situations (not only sports, and emergencies);
• a "Follow Me" feature (hit a callsign, be informed only on his packets and have continuously update distance, heading and timer)
• a "Smart Beaconing" feature (progressively reduce beaconing TX interval when GPS reports a somewhat high speed or locator change, increase when low or null speed).

I do not know the Science of Marketing, but I guess that with some little extra cost, a number of features was easy to add (SSB on 50MHz band and below, AM transmit, a 3-pin serial port to use it as TNC or GPS or morse key).

Now, the good news!

Problems always require many words to be correctly explained.

Good things, instead, only require a few words - this page section is smaller than the one above.

First, let me say that I am happy because the VX-8 is worth every penny.

Great band coverage, 5W output, complete APRS system (with a GPS antenna that seems to receive better than my Garmin GPS), small, thin (0.9"), light (less than 300g including GPS and antenna), submersible, shockproof.

It has even "triple" band operation: in the photo below, the APRS is working on the two-meter band, while listening broadcast AM on 660 kHz (!), which will be automatically silenced if signal incoming on the 70cm band.

Lots of configuration options: you can even tell the VX-8 to save the energy by turning off the "Busy" LEDs.

Lots of gadgets: a simple flash light, a barometer, mini spectrum scope, and other things... and even a CW rx training utility.

As far as I know, there are two versions of the Yaesu VX-8: the "US version" (Yaesu VX-8R) and the "export version" (Yaesu VX-8E). Main differences are:

• the VX-8R is "cellular blocked" (except a few "holes", most of the 774 to 999.9 MHz band space is blocked);
• the VX-8R allows FM transmitting between 222 and 225 MHz (but limited to 1.5W output).

More comments coming in next weeks...

Alfonso KJ4HDR

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