VX-150

Forum dedicated to discussion on Yaesu Amateur Radio products

Moderator: willbartlett

Post Reply
rjs
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2002 8:00 pm

Post by rjs »

So what are the differences between the VX-150 and the VX-210? From what I can tell the knobs and frequency ranges are different but that's about it.
willbartlett
Administrator
Posts: 85
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2002 8:00 pm
Location: Boston, MA

Post by willbartlett »

I May recieve a UHF vx-210 as part of a work/swap deal, I'll let you know what I find. In past experience, the difference between a vx-10 and an FT-40 was Night and day. The Commercial products tend to have a real preselector front end, to meet recieve spec, and I would guess that the difference between the 150 and 210 is a big one. In addition, the user interface is likely very different as well, The 210 probably doesn't support user entry of frequencies, at least without the appropriate software/interface. that kind of thing is mandated by the FCC for commercal type acceptance. I'll let you know if I end up with it and any results

_________________
"Person is smart, people are stupid"

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: willbartlett on 2002-01-24 10:41 ]</font>
rjs
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2002 8:00 pm

Post by rjs »

Cool I'm looking forward to your evaluation.
ken s
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2002 4:46 pm
Location: N. Calif

Post by ken s »

Speaking of the VX-150. A couple of my friends just bought them and I was quit impressed. I read an online review about many problems with the early production and it looks like they have solved scan and tone problems . They are very rugged (o ring seal) and the performance is excellent. I did find that to do the out of band tx it is now only necessary to remove the diode and not necessary to bridge the part. I also had to read the modified radio with Adams software and then edit and reload the program to the radio.
willbartlett
Administrator
Posts: 85
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2002 8:00 pm
Location: Boston, MA

Post by willbartlett »

Never got the 210 in trade, but I have talked to one owner who is very dis-satisfied with the Pl muting on this radio. Seems that the PL goes to carrier for 3 seconds after the PL on the recieved signal drops, even when the radio is set up for PL only unmute. No such problem with DPL, but apparently even reverse burst doesn't help. Is this the tone issue you were referring to?

Thanks, Will
ken s
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2002 4:46 pm
Location: N. Calif

Post by ken s »

The problem with early VX 150's was apparently the delay in pl decode that you describe. I haven't noticed any such problem with the ones my friends purchased which I assume to be later production.
Tom in D.C.
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2002 8:00 pm
Location: Washington DC

VX-150

Post by Tom in D.C. »

My 150 had to go back twice to have its RF power output restored but it's been trouble-free since then. Turnaround was about ten days for each repair, which given the fact that I'm in DC and they're in CA is outstanding.

Serial number of my 150 is OM260547. I've had no noticeable PL opening or cutoff problems, but the radio's sensitivity is not nearly as good as the VX-900's, and is about the same as the VX-5R. You want nutty PL operation, get a VX-5R.

The plastic battery "latch" on the 150 makes me nervous every time I operate it. It's really a cheap job. On my VX-900 the latch is a real, metal, double, latch, but that's on the commercial side.

I always wondered why there were so many unsoldered holes without any components on my 150. Since I got the 900 I understand why.

Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.
kcrunch
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:43 pm

limiting capacitor

Post by kcrunch »

does anyone know of the limiting cap in this radio and where it is and if removal gives a significant increase or boost in range or signal strength.

i am below a novice and only use radios for my work oony and have never operated on one.

any info is appreciated


kcrunch
10 th scale runner
Tom in D.C.
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2002 8:00 pm
Location: Washington DC

Limiting capacitor???

Post by Tom in D.C. »

There is no such thing as a limiting capacitor that would limit range or power. Radios are just not built that way. There may be components that are left out, which would increase sensitivity on receive if they were present, and there are components that control the radio's transmit and receive RANGE, but, again, there is nothing that does what you seem to think it does. The range of a radio is a factor of the transmit power, antenna, position of the radio, height of the antenna, and the receive sensitivity is a factor of the way in which the front end of the radio is constructed, which usually means either cheaply or not cheaply.

Tom in D.C.
W2NJS
Post Reply