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Yaesu - Standard VX-3R "micro" dual band handheld transceiver.
Sadly it appears that Yaesu's quality control continues to be downright poor.
Good news is that the CTCSS "Delay Bug" has now been fixed.
Receive audio while OK, but not up to the VX-2R's standards to me.
(Photo: N9EWO)

Yaesu - Standard VX-3R

Approx. Serial Numbers Tested :
First "Dud" Sample : 7G02003x,
Second "Properly Working" Sample : 7H0311xx

Country of Manufacture : VX-3R Transceiver: Japan, FNB-82LI Lithium-Ion Battery: Japan, NC-85 wall charger: Taiwan , CSC-92 Case: Japan, FBA-37 3 AA Battery Case: Japan.

This model is the follow up to the Yaesu VX-2R, and for those who you have not been on my review page for this model it would be a good idea that you read that page first. My review on this page too for the Icom IC-P7A (huffda !!).

These of course are MY views and yours may not be the same. The test samples were both early versions from the first and third lots imported into the USA (July 2007). It was tested in a area of about 80,000 total population, so I may not experience intermodulation or other issues that may happen in a larger city.

First Sample Was Defective

With the first sample we received, the internal microphone was totally dead. If we slightly squeezed the cabinet it would crackle in a bit, but that was it. When any external microphone was plugged in, it worked fine. Serial number approx : 7G02003x (from the second lot). This is a sad state of affairs for Yaesu - Standard . This shows that quality control does not exist at all. Simply no excuse for this and it shows that it was not tested before it left the factory. With all of the quality control and hardware / firmware bug issues that the VX-2R had, you would think that they would have learned something ?

My second sample was OK (thank goodness), but appears that quality control is just lacking big time ?

[ UPDATES : I have received a report of ANOTHER VX-3R with this same "Dead Internal Mic" issue. Approx serial number : 7H0309xx. This is from the 3rd lot and was not a very early one. Another out of the box dud VX-3R had his CTCSS not holding stored frequencies. Approx serial number here was : 7G0100xx. As I was saying, where is your quality control Yaesu ?? ]

Feel, Looks and Construction. CSC-92 Soft Case and FBA-37 AA Battery Case.

The size and solid feeling are pretty much a dead ringer to the elder VX-2 model, but the corners are less rounded. However, once I had both in my hands the VX-3R seems to be just a tad larger ? We still have the weird lock switch on the bottom, but I still like this system over the plastic "snap" bar that is used with the Yaesu VX-5, Icom IC-T90A, IC-Q7A and others.

All buttons on the front are of a hard plastic type, the VX-2R used soft plastic-rubber ones. These take a much more "push" to make happen over the VX-1R or VX-2R. These have a spongy "click" feeling when pushed. You need to push a good ways in to make them work. To make it worse are more recessed over the older VX2R. This does get a bit painful if you are programming "mucho" channels. Here is the first MAJOR strike for me with the VX-3R. Out of the case it's not so bad, however when trying to poke these over the plastic when in the case .....forget it !!!

The side mounted PTT, squelch and power buttons continue to be of a soft rubber type. With the PTT being a slight slight step backward over the VX-2R , as it's a more mushy. The VX-2R's PTT is a more solid feeling. But it is not curved and does has a slightly larger surface to poke at. The orange on-off button takes the same (if not worse) "finger breaker" pressure to make happen however. The squelch "break" button is even much mushy on the VX-3R to me over the 2. Overall I do not care for the PTT button on the VX-3R.

The locking top knob is the strangest part of the VX-3R. It pulls out for use and to do this operation is a bit stiff (takes 2 hands). When pushed in it becomes locked and cannot be rotated. This knob has a rubber "cover" over it for better grab. It OK even if it's a bit on the ugly side to me. Actual knob operation has a fair amount of "giggle" play to it (when pulled out), also has a fair amount of "rotational play" when turned (going from click to click). It feels cheap to me in any event. This is still is better over the Icom IC-P7A's sloppy feeling encoder, but the VX-2R wins on this again (excellent feel).

LCD looks great with the proper contrast (it is not adjustable). It is slightly larger over the VX-2's display but this is for the added volume icon on the far left. Display backlighting being a yellow color (VX-2R is red). I do like the VX-3R's backlight color a bit better.

In a pinch the old VX-2R's CSC-90 soft case will work with the VX-3R OK. However, it fits a bit more tight and also not all of the windows will match up (like the rx/tx LED), but it can work unless you are using the FBA-37 AA battery case.

The proper CSC-92 case has a back on it that allows for the rear of it to move around slightly between the 2 battery sources using Velcro. There is a belt loop on the case, but I did not care for this. In fact I don't use belt clips with a small POCKET radio like the VX-2 and 3 are (why bother). Also there are 2 hard snaps that need to be used, that need to be pressed up against the body of the radio every time it's attached to the belt. This was not for me, so I removed the loop part of the case. I cut the 4 snaps very CAREFULLY with a larger pair of side cutters (marked with pink dots, see photo below). Otherwise it's good and provides protection of the transceivers buttons. Here is another one that Icom totally blew with the open front IC-P7A "LC-161 case".

I hated the "Belt Loop" on the VX-3R's CSC-92 case,
So I CAREFULLY removed the 4 rivets holding it (marked with the pink dots)
using a larger pair of side cutters. Much better this way to me.
This case can of course be used with the BaoFeng UV-3R as well (reviews below)
(Photo's : N9EWO)

Uses the same FNB-82LI battery pack, and the RF power is a dead ringer to the VX-2R. The standard battery cover is still a pretty thin piece of plastic and tends to fish (slide) around slightly even when locked. A bit more in fact over the old VX-2R. But this I did not find to be a drawback.

A new FBA-37 case option allows one to use 3 AA batteries instead of the FNB-82LI battery. It replaces the rear cover entirely. So you have to keep track of the standard cover as not to loose it. It fits and works well. There is a disclaimer in the owners manual that states that rechargeable batteries should not be used. This is because if it ever did short (on or off the radio), could indeed give you a hot pocket and very nasty burns , let alone killing the radio. I did this anyway and but has a "tight fit" issue (see note below). Again, I can see this could be a disaster if it ever shorted out with no protection in this case. So you have been warned.

Don't get any idea's of using this FBA-37 with your old VX-2R. It will not fit....sorry.

[ UPDATE: The MAJOR bug with the FBA-37 battery case I have found is that some brands of batteries fit VERY tight if not impossible to make work. MOST rechargables will not even fit at all. Is not as great as I was thinking at first, more of a pain in the rump in fact. ]

Also watch out for the small plastic pin inside the VX-3R's battery cavity. This is used for switching the charger circuit off if one accidentally plugs in the charger when the FBA-37 is in use. It looks very fragile.

Has the "No Power" Bug Been Cleared Up ??

As of me typing this text, the "no power bug" that hit many mid-later VX-2R's , this did not happen with my VX-3R sample.

With some later samples of the VX-2R, after a random number of power on's and off's, it would fail to come on. When this happened you were forced to remove and replace the battery. Then it was OK for awhile until it does it all over again. A royal pain in the rump it is.

LCD Display, and Bugs Here ?

Again as of me typing this text , the LCD bleed issue at power up with many later VX-2R's was not present on the properly working sample of the VX-3R.

Dreaded Electronic Volume Control, Set Menu, Can Now Adjust The Mic Level

A feature that was on the VX-1R but not on the 2R that has been restored with the 3R , is a "electronic volume" control. But unlike the VX-1R, there is no up down buttons and one is forced to push in and HOLD a "Vol" button and THEN use the knob on top to make volume adjustments. This is good in some ways, bad in others. No wear not using a old style volume control, but is a chore to adjust the volume now being forced to use the tuning encoder to turn it up or down. The "volume control" set up on the VX-2R is MUCH better in my view. So a huge step backwards I'm afraid here for me. I like the VX-2R's volume control set up MUCH better.

Plus side (as minor as it is) to this is that you can change the way the VOL button works in the set menu. This allows just one poke of the VOL button and then for a couple of seconds the encoder on top becomes the volume control , and just like the function button it reverts back to tuning mode automatically. This is a much better way to use this and for me it was the FIRST item I changed in the set menu.

Or if one wishes, you can switch the top encoder to become the "volume control" all the time.

Speaking of the "Set" menu, there are now a 94 selections (compare to only 46 on the VX-2R). You can now adjust the microphone level and even turn off the blasted "Beep" every time the squelch breaks when scanning the memory channels (but still keep the keyboard beep on, this now has a separate toggle).

Audio Quality Receive and Transmit, Not as Good As the VX-2R's Receive Audio, Squelch Settings Improved.

After additional testing in various outdoor situations, the VX-2R is the clear winner for receive/speaker quality. There is a hint of bass response and is more hissy with the VX-3R (you simply cannot push bass out of a micro sized speaker at all from a micro sized handheld transceiver). Mind you it's still MUCH better over the Icom IC-P7A lousy receive audio. But I have a harder time hearing what's said in a outdoor situation with the VX-3R. The older VX-2R rules here with the more crisp and cleaner audio from the speaker.

Transmit quality is very good, loud and crisp (excellent). And again you able to adjust the mic level as well.

The squelch settings are seperate for the AM mode, FM mode, Wide FM mode and AM broadcast. The VX-2R has only 2, one for FM Wide and the other one for the everything else. Much better idea here with the VX-3R's squelch setings and works great.

MW Broadcast now features a internal bar antenna. Dual Receive With MW or FM Stations.

Here we have a slight improvement. Yaesu has added a internal loop-bar antenna for the MW band. Now don't get too excited for any DX here. It does help with LOCAL signals as compared to just using the short rubber antenna. For any distant stations, it's still going to disappoint.

There is a way to listen to a MW or FM broadcast station while also monitoring a local repeater (it can cut in), but this is not too useful as we will cover next.

FM Broadcast Performance Bad News, Stereo via a separate headphone jack, also a FM Broadcast cord antenna.

The FM Broadcast (88 to 108 Mhz) performance on the VX-3R was just about totally useless at my location. Very deaf if almost unacceptable, no sensitivity at all to speak of. Why did Yaesu go to all of this trouble to add FM stereo and have such a lousy receiver here ?? In a large city it may be more useable, but if you are out in the boonies (like me) at all "forget it". Here the VX-2R's FM performance blew the it into the next universe.

If one compares CURRENT printed specifications on the 2 radios , you can easily see that the listed VX-3R specs show much worse sensitivity. The VX-2R at 1.5 µv , the VX-3R is marked 3.0 µv in the FM Broadcast Band. Important note on this : Info via the owners manual marked as 0706W-BE on rear cover. It WAS marked as 1.5 µv in earlier manuals and ads. This shows the real story, Vertex-Standard is well aware of the much less sensitive FMBC section.

The AM, FM broadcast sections are marked as only "Single Conversion".

Yes, one can toggle to use the side mounted 1/8 inch headphone jack as the FM antenna in the set menu (but this did not help sensitivity for me). Good news is it was not all for nothing, as the rest of the radio's audio also comes out of this jack too. So you don't have to use the speaker/ mic's earphone jack (if your speaker/mic has a earphone jack) to use common lightweight headphones anymore. The speaker/mic jack on top uses the same weird 4 conductor ones that the VX-1, VX-2 and the Icom IC-Q7A use, so no change here. I still feel that speaker/mic jacks belong on the top of a handheld transceiver, and the VX-3R provides this.

Overall Sensitivity , 800 Mhz and SW / HF Bands Reception Any More Useful ?

Other than with the AM and FM broadcast bands , overall VHF/UHF sensitivity is pretty much a dead ringer to my ears when comparing to the VX-2R. But with one very important exception. The 800 Mhz band sensitivity has been MUCH improved. I can use this handheld for 800 Mhz public service monitoring now , whereas with the VX-2R it was pretty much a washout.

SW broadcast sensitivity is another dead ringer, in other words it's not too useful (see my VX-2R page for more information on this).

Included Antenna is the Same One That Came With the VX-2R.

Once again we have the same YHA-66 "junk" gem that came with the VX-2R. It's actually a very nice size antenna, but it does not do well outside the 2 meter and 70 cm amateur bands. But as it usually is, for many only a aftermarket antenna will satisfy, including me. We used a Diamond SRH-519 (8 inch thin whip) and worked very well, but is not made for rough handling / use. I still use a couple of the old VX-1R short antenna's that work a bit better over the YHA-66.

I was told that the latest versions of the Diamond SRH-519 provides a slightly longer "center stinger" for proper contact for the VX-2R and VX-3R's. Not sure how true this really is, however my later Diamond sample has a nice long center pin and easily makes proper connection to either radio. Have a good look before you buy any aftermarket antenna if you are able to.

CTCSS Delay Bug Is Gone, Finally !!

For those of you where the CTCSS delay bug (this is noticed more when scanning CTCSS memory channels) bothered you to no end as it did me with the VX-1R, VX-2R and even with the VX-5R, here it is very good news.

If you entered a channel with a CTCSS decode, when scanning and stopped on this memory entry, it would take a good second for the audio to come through, missing the first part of a message. Well with the VX-3R, Vertex-Standard-Yaesu has "finally" cleared this issue up. So tone decode is now useful for use with public service frequencies.

As I type this text, there was a report of the CTCSS values not taking (that is not storing).

No Schematics or Block Diagrams Included

This may sound like a broken record, but once again the VX-3R does not include any schematics or even a lousy block diagram.

The Older VX-2R is Much Better To Me For My Uses, But Is Still a Worthy "Micro" Handheld Transceiver Overall.

Even with the bugs and quality control issues, the Yaesu - Standard VX-3R is still a good micro transceiver with great extended receive (FM broadcast band is a bust however). It still beats out the Icom IC-P7A to my ears with it's nasty poor receive audio. But watch out for what appears to be an above average dud rate ? For many a GOOD used VX-2R may still be the better way to go if you want it as small as you can get.

In fact I let my VX-3R go and went for another new VX-2R before they were sold out. Even with the bugs I find the older model to be much more worthy for my uses and desires.

Dave N9EWO
© N9EWO
Ver. 2.8

ANOTHER Chinese made handheld transceiver. The VGC UV-3R "DSP micro" is sold under a slew of names (Baofeng branded version shown above).
Great little micro dual band handheld for the money, but of course it has a number of bugs anyway .
In "High Power" transmit it actually puts out 2 WATTS on both bands . Real DSP too. The later MK "2" and " + Plus" version notes are included below as well.
(N9EWO Photo)

County or Manufacture : China
Approx Serial Number : 31104332xx

Pocket "Dual Band" Transceiver On The Cheap , The Correct Way To Do a Microprocesor Reset , FCC OET OK

Well here we go again with yet ANOTHER "low cost" Chinese VHF-UHF transceiver. This time it’s the BAOFENG UV-3R micro dual band handheld with DSP. It is actually manufactured by VGC - Vero Global Communications but is usually sold under other names (not just Baofeng) including the MTC , Magiksun , COMTEX KG-UV3 (in Germany) and Zastone ZT-UV3R . No real differences except that the backlight is green in the COMTEX version. Who knows how many other names and variants we will see down the road on this model ?

For anyone in the USA or Canada, these are usually ordered from China direct via ebay or other Chinese internet sellers (including the 409shop or RadioShop888) . The transceiver does has FCC OET clearance , so can be sold at US HAM dealers as well .

Yes, as one can plainly see, the shell and size looks very much like a Vertex-Standard-Yaesu VX-3R as reviewed above. Well not quite as this Chinese cheapie has a few less buttons and features. The plus side to the UV-3R is the price. One can purchase 3 of these Baofeng’s to just one of the Yaesu - Standard VX-3R’s.

Even at this dirt cheap price, it uses and includes a somewhat common 1200 mah lithium ion battery, in fact NEAR the same size batteries that are used with the VX-2R and VX-3R (and Icom IC-RX7), worldwide wall wart charger that plugs into a jack provided on the transceiver, screw attached belt clip, 2 flexible short antenna’s (strange), a useless charging base stand (more later), an earphone / microphone device and a blue neck strap.

Oh yes, we cannot forget the “Chinglish” owner’s manual. My sample has the 18 menus (early ones only had 12) and the updated manual covers these new menu’s entries. However on how to do a microprocessor reset is “dead wrong”. Manual indicated this as “press and hold” F/ALERT while powering up. Well this turned out to be Press and HOLD ONE of the 3 function buttons on FRONT panel while powering up.

Charging Base Pretty Much Useless - WARNING: Don’t Charge Batteries in it !! , WARNING : NEGATIVE Tip Polarity, Charge-Battery Indicator and "Low Beeper", Charger Cord only THREE FEET Long

Included is a plastic base that LOOKS like it can be used for charging a battery off the set. It has a female jack on the bottom. Appears that one would connect the included wall wart charger to this ?

This near empty base contains no required lithium ion charging circuit “smarts” and could very well lead to a nasty explosion ! WARNING : ONLY charge the battery in the transceiver with the included 5vdc 1000ma switching charger. There is NOTHING in the owner’s manual that indicates proper usage of the stand. No room for error when Lithium ion batteries are charged.

WARNING in regards to the polarity used with the transceiver’s power jack. It’s using the less standard NEGATIVE tip.

The manual indicates that the RX/TX LED is supposed to be RED when charging and GREEN when done (just like with Yaesu HT’s). But again the manual is wrong. Just as it is with many Chinese portable SW receivers, there is a small battery icon on the LCD that flashes and disappears when completed. By the way the 4 level battery indicator is more useful than with most HT's I have used, it's actually worthy for showing real life battery "charge" condition.

When the last battery level hits (empty indicator) , the set will emit a "Beep" every 10 seconds.

It takes approx. 4 hours to charge a near dead batery pack in the transceiver.

You see the battery voltage when first powered up. There is no way to display this while in operation.

Not a deal breaker by any means , but the cable length on the included AC "switching" charger adapter is only 3 FEET long . This is way too short .

More RF Power But Weird Low Power Curves, Excellent 2 Watts RF Output On Both Bands , Narrow / Wide Selection That Works on RECEIVE As Well, Battery Installation Difficult At First

Just as with the Wouxun, the UV-3R uses separate driver and PA output sections for EACH band. It’s not just a common driver and PA output as used with most HT’s these days.

Instead of having 1.5 VHF and 1 watt UHF with the VX-2R and VX-3R, here it is near 2 watts on both bands (actual testing). Low power is “supposed” to be 500 mw’s (more below). High-Low power selection is a royal pain to change on the fly as one must drop into the menus to do it. There is no quick way around this.

Also on “low power” the power curve is downright weird (see chart below).

There is a menu selection for Wide and Narrow bandwidths. Here it was a very pleasant surprise. It not only gives for narrow band transmit, but unlike most ham transceivers, it also narrows the RECEIVE bandwidth as well. But narrowband is one that most ham HT’s do not do properly…this transceiver does. Of course this is of little moment for Amateur use in the USA (at least for now). But for narrowband listening in the 150~160 Mhz area in the USA, it very much is. 12.5 kHz channel steps can be selected in this part of the radio’s coverage as well .

We found the lithium ion battery inserts into its cavity with great difficulty (a very TIGHT fit). It’s not smooth going like it is with the Yaesu VX-2R and VX-3R’s. This issue could make for a few “#$%@@&” out of your mouth ?? It does eventually pop into place with some effort and sweat (NOTE : This issue does improve a bit in time as one changes the batteries out a few times).

We tested the high power on our sample on VHF at 2.1 watts maximum and 1.8 watts maximum on UHF. LOW power varied greatly from about ¼ of a watt to ¾ of a watt on VHF, and a very strange 1.2 to 1.4 watts on UHF (yes on LOW power). We used a dummy load connected to a Yaesu YS-500 meter in our tests.

Actual RF Power Output with Test Sample (Dummy Load Connected to a Yaesu YS-500 Meter)
As you can see "Low Power" on VHF is downright weird (too low). On UHF "Low Power" is way too high.
But the transceiver does indeed put out 2 watts in high power, more than either the Yaesu VX-2R or VX-3R.

Frequency Coverage / Construction / Performance / No RX Battery Saver

Frequency coverage (transmit and receive): VHF is between 136 to 174 Mhz and UHF between 400 to 470 Mhz. Unlike the Yaesu VX-2R and VX-3R’s, there is no extended receive coverage. So no SW or 800 Mhz , well 800 Mhz is near useless on the Yaesu’s anyway, so this was not much of a loss. One must keep in mind that this transceiver was never meant to be a primary Amateur radio device.

Also just as it is with the Wouxun, we have FM Broadcast reception between 87.0 to 108.0 Mhz (in mono) as well. It uses it’s own receiver circuit (on one IC , RDA5802E), and has dual watch. So if you are listening to your favorite FM station, and a signal comes in on VHF it will automatically switch over and back to FM when done (after a fairly long delay). There is no priority checking (unlike the dual watch function between VHF and UHF), it works well.

The FM performance is night and day over the Wouxun’s . No strange buzzes and/or limited sensitivity. In fact it’s downright decent including very good selectivity (antenna dependent of course). I will have to say it is 100% better over the Yaesu VX-3R on FMBC which totally stinks.....stereo or not .

And speaking of receiver performance. It is also downright decent on the VHF and UHF bands as well. Very sensitive and selective. Being a REAL DSP transceiver, it does have that threshold point trait that can cut off very weak signals (just as it is with those low cost SW DSP receivers). Also the unsquelched audio will sound different over any analog set as well as reception of spurious signals (which it does have, but is not serious). Overall the DSP helped greatly to dig out weak signals.

This transceiver is based on a single RDA1846 DSP IC . The scheme is totally different over the Yaesu VX-3R which uses a standard "dual conversion" super het design .

Construction is ok, not in the same league as of Yaesu’s transceivers. Case plastic is of a lesser quality and the front 4 buttons felt “ruff” strange on our sample . The side and jack cover soft plastic had a better proper “smooth” feel.

Tactile response with all buttons is OK too. The encoder knob is noisy “clacky” as it’s rotated. LCD is nice with proper contrast and “orange” backlighting. However the dark display background makes it hard to see in dim lighting with out the backlight in use. Also some icons are just too small for over 50 eyes. Key’s are not backlit.

Oh yes, just as it is with the Wouxun, we have a neat LED flashlight on top. You can even switch it on with the radio being OFF. One never realizes how handy this can be until you are in a dark situation. Downside is this forces the speaker/mic jack to the right side of the set.

For the later versions that have 18 menus, there is a bar type S-Meter (same spot where the VOL level is shown). It’s a bit better over the Wouxun “feel good” meter with a real meter trait to it. But sometimes is missing altogether for periods or has a real slow response time.

I could not detect the use of any “receiver” battery save function. There is a SAVE function (Menu # 14), but this is for automatic RF power level adjustment when it sees a strong signal in transmit (repeater). Overall it was easy to figure out and use .

Transmit and Receive Audio, Electronic Volume Is a Bit Too LOUD For Indoor Use, Not Fine Enough Steps

Receive audio is LOUD, crisp and clear. Works very well even in outdoor environments. No undesirable bass response to mess it up. Transmit audio is good too, but to achieve a proper level one has to be right on top of the microphone hole just below the on/off switch.

Here is perhaps the biggest “bug-a-boo” (aside from the strange low power curves) with the UV-3R. The electronic volume control is lacking proper settings/levels. In other words it’s a bit too loud even at it's lowest setting. For outdoor use this is of little moment, but indoors is just a bit too loud (more so at night when one likes a radio more quiet) . One can find a modification around on the Internet to help correct this, but then it messes up the FM BC side (making it too low).

Oddly the audio for the FM broadcast side has a better "low" level, and if you are listening to FM, you almost have to keep it low other wise you almost blow yourself out of the room when a signal comes in on VHF or UHF. BUT even on FM it goes up too fast. It needs finer volume control steps and one or two lower.

We did notice slight speaker buzzing in receive (with the loud audio), but I’m thinking this is the battery cover resonating here and not the actual speaker element ?

99 Memories, Very S-L-O-W Scanning/Search Speeds, No Memory Channel Lock Outs

99 memories are provided for the mix on VHF and UHF and 15 separate memories for the FM Broadcast side.

There are no channel lockouts when memory scanning. So it scans everything you have entered with no way to lock out channels.

To make matters worse, it scans and searches painfully S-L-O-W. If you plan to do any memory scanning at all better keep it down to around 8 to 10 channels or so, otherwise it’s going to be a long way around the loop. Even the slow poke Icom IC-Q7A is faster.

However unlike the Wouxun transceivers, there is a way to scan up and down the band (even on FMBC too). But again it’s very s-l-o-w going.

Includes Two Separate Antennas Instead of a Dual Band , Female SMA on Transceiver

Here is another strange irk. Instead of including a dual band antenna as with most dual band handheld radios do, the UV-3R has 2 separate aerials. Yes, one for VHF and one for UHF. The VHF stubby one works surprisingly well. In fact it has to be one of the best performing SHORT VHF duck’s I have ever used. The UHF one is about average to me.

But of course this is not handy, so I normally use an old “Dual Band” Yaesu VX-1R antenna (as I do with my VX-2R). As we have covered elsewhere, the included VX-2R/VX-3R ducks just plan stink to me on VHF.

Yes, it uses the more standard SMA connector on the radio, that is a female. So unlike most Chinese handhelds one can use aftermarket SMA "Male" antennas without having to use any heavy adapters that create stress on the connector .

Side Mounted 4 Conductor Microphone Connector (Not Yaesu Standard) , CTCSS and DCS

With the LED flashlight on top, the Speaker/Mic jack was forced to the side. It’s the single 4 conductor phono plug that Yaesu has used for years. But sadly it’s NOT the same wiring scheme.

Thankfully the set comes with an earpiece/microphone (not tested). We have seen reports where RF (in high power ??) gets into the cable creating problems.

There is a properly operating CTCSS and DCS "Encode and Decode". You set the encode and decode tones totally seperate.

Optional Computer Connection Cable (Not Yaesu Wiring) , Free Software But Has Bugs (Version 1.01.01) , Do We have the Wrong PC Cable ??

As an optional item, one can purchase a USB computer cable. We see this sold in a few different styles. Do NOT try and use a Yaesu type computer cable, damage may result. In this case the data in and out are NOT using the same wires. So if you wish to connect to a computer for programming, buy the cable. It uses the same USB driver as with the Wouxun.

We tested 1.01.01 version of the “free” software downloaded from the VGC web site. Computer with XP Pro was used. It’s extremely simple but also confusing as well, but gets the job done. Transmit and receive frequencies are entered seperate just like with the Wouxun software.. Once in awhile (not always) we experienced channel 1 being corrupted in the uploads to the radio. More time than not the “channel steps” also getting messed up (including weird frequency display on some memory channels). This one was cured by going to Menu # 9 and just rotating through the loop once to wash out the weird step entries after every upload. This needs to be done for both VHF/UHF VFO's seperate AND also for EVERY memory channel used to clear these out !!

NOTE : One should normally download FROM the transceiver FIRST BEFORE any data entry is done. Use this so caled "template" to enter frequencies etc., and then upload back to the transceiver. As usual be sure and save the file. However, at time this report was being typed, we were unable to download from the transceiver without the program "blowing up" (and shutting down) after it was done. But the upload part is useable for the most part and without doing any downloads from the radio before.

IMPORTANT : Not all Menu entries are covered in the software and one needs to check the status of all menu’s after any upload as they normally get changed without any warning.

At the time this report was typed, we were uncertain if the USB interface cable we used may be the issue with our PC problems ?? It was NOT the model as shown on the VGC web site . We used this "universal model" with the proper marked jumper cable as sold by the 409shop. This model perhaps may be the proper PC cable , as it is NOT a Universal type (unknown , not tested) ??

When we do PC uploads to the UV-3R transceiver using the "409shop's" Universal USB cable ,
the 5 Khz channel step appear like this on the LCD afterwards on some memory channels and/or each VFO . Software version used : 1.01.01.
We cured this bug by going to Menu # 9 after and just rotating through the loop of "steps" once to wash out the weird step entries (done after every upload ).
Needs to be done for both VHF/UHF VFO AND also for EVERY memory channel used to clear these weird entries out and for the display to show properly .

Cheap, Fun and Useful

I like HT’s small and elusive as possible. Even with the bugs we cover above the UV-3R is a very useful low cost alternative to the more expensive Yaesu VX-3R. One can even use the Yaesu CSC-92 case with it, see picture in the review above (but is about the only Yaesu accessory that can really can be used). Too bad that the electronic volume control had to be a bit on the sour side .

How well it hold up in actual use will be the real test ? Time will tell.

The usual warnings apply. If you get a dud , it’s usually not worth sending it back to China for any replacement (for ones ordered this way), so “Caveat Emptor” must be stressed.

Dave N9EWO
© N9EWO
Ver 2.7

The later "MK II" version includes dual display , and a "Dual Band" antenna .
If you were thinking it has dual "at the same time" receive, think again (it does not...see text below) !!
Sadly the "too loud" volume issue was not really fixed and also includes the same seperate charger base .
Overall the "MK II" version is somewhat improved but not by leaps and bounds .
It's base model is the Vero VGC UV-X4 (pdf brochure download here)
Important Note : It does use different programming software from the standard version (Ver 1.09 rar file here).
(Photo : N9EWO)

County or Manufacture : China
Approx Serial Number : 31107163xx

PC Programming Software: Ver 1.09 (did NOT use the Universal type canble as with the first version above)

We will not be going into any performance details here, as it’s identical to the standard version above. So read the review above for that information.

What hits the eyes immediately is the “Dual” display. One might think that it now receives VHF and UHF bands simultaneously. Well that just is not the case I’m afraid.

Top display can be toggled between the memory channels and the UHF VFO. Bottom display is always the VHF VFO. If the “Dual Watch” feature is selected in the menus and it will scan back and forth between the top and bottom displays (not to be confused with the priority feature). Some may find this confusing as it did me for a while. Manual gives no information at all.

With the additional line it does allow for a bit easier adjustment of the menus.

Also a huge plus is the inclusion of a dual band antenna. The standard version came with two antennas, one for VHF and one for UHF. This dual band antenna is slightly longer than the single VHF one included with the standard version. In any event we found its performance to be very good, way above average for a stubby “dual band” antenna.

Battery cavity continues to a pain that is hard to insert and remove the lithium ion pack. In fact latching the cover was a new issue with the Mark 2 test sample (was very hard to latch). The battery rating is now at 1500 mah. Now if it really gives this added current is another story (untested).

The 5 volt switching wall charger continues to have the too short cord. But added was a LED to indicate when the charge is completed (red to green). There is no longer any indication on the LCD (transceiver) the gives the charge status.

We used the proper PC connecting cable (not the universal type cable as with the standard version above) along with version 1.09 of the software (RAR file) . It worked perfectly with no problems at all. Uses the same USB driver as with the Wouxun's.

Dave N9EWO
© N9EWO
ver 1.0

"MARK 2" actual RF Power Output with Test Sample (Dummy Load Connected to a Yaesu YS-500 Meter)
Just as it was with the first version, the "Low Power" on VHF still downright weird (too low). On UHF "Low Power" is way too high.
But the transceiver does indeed put out 2 watts in high power (2 meters), more than either the Yaesu VX-2R or VX-3R.

The even later " + PLUS " variant uses "Kenwood Speaker Mics" , also appears to have improved case construction and buttons/knob (NOT TESTED) .
Other changes are a different battery and rear charger contacts , a REAL drop in charger (no more charger DC input jack on radio) , improved belt clip.
Unknown if any circuit improvements have been done ? It now uses the reverse SMA antenna connector (Female) as found on most Wouxun's .
Also unknown (at the time this text was added) IF it uses the same programming software as does the " MARK II " version (Ver 1.09 rar file here).
Of course it will need the more standard Kenwood PC programming cable (same as the Wouxun's)

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