In a previous thread we discussed the cracks that develop in a Yaesu FT5DR’s case near the PTT. I had mine repaired by the mothership in Cypress under warranty. Shortly thereafter the crack reappeared in the same place. Now I have a new crack in in the bottom of the case. This causes the battery to fall off with the slightest provocation. I’m not going to waste another shipping fee on this. Right now I have a rubber band around the thing.
This was my first Yaesu HT. I bought it because of Yaesu’s reputation for a robust build. Sadly this is no longer the case.
Should have bought a Yeasu VX-170 or FT-270 second hand. Yeah, it’s great being wise after the event isn’t it?
From my view these analog 2m FM handheld models are indestructible compared to many pure Amateur market handhelds as they are derived from business market. The RF performance on RF polluted summits is excellent too. Can I suggest you cut your loses and look from one of these on the world’s favourite flea-market, eBay. I am so pleased with mine I bought new in 2008 I bought a back up unit from eBay for pennies a few years back.
I guess you get what you don’t pay for. ;-). Don’t they tend to get overloaded in RF saturated environments? We have more than a few of those in the LA Basin. My old Kenwood TH F6A is excellent at rejecting that stuff.
No it’s basic Eric. FM only but with many memories and alphanumeric labels. It has plenty of DTMF memories too and you can program about 6 different tone squelch modes. But APRS, no. The RF performance near commercial sites on hilltops is amazing.
My Yaesu FT1D is still going strong after many years of SOTA use albeit the screen steams up a bit after a while. The later models added unnecessary niceties like bigger, colour screens with touch screen operation, Bluetooth, etc. More expensive and more to go wrong.
I have used my FT5DR on several activations with no problem at all. Must be some kind of defect with the radio. Contact the company you bought it from.
I’ve done that, sent it back to Yaesu, had it repaired and the repaired radio’s case has cracked again… twice. Even under warranty I am on the hook for shipping and insurance. I’ve given up on the radio. I’m just trying to warn others.
The APRS is nice and often works for spotting when there is no cell coverage Paul. It’s nice to keep it all in the amateur radio domain.
I actually bought this radio because of the reputation of the VX-10 being all but bulletproof.
“Well, I’ve seen 'em on the TV, the movie show
They say the times are changing but I just don’t know
These things are gone forever
Over a long time ago, oh yeah.”
I would have called them back and made them paying for the shipping. If they won’t pay for the shipping, then please tell us who you bought it from so no one will buy from them. I can’t stand poor customer service.
IIRC the vendor was Gigaparts. But they’re just going to refer me to the manufacturer (Yaesu) and shipping isn’t in the fine print of that boilerplate.
I have 2 Yaesu hand held but the VX5 on off button is not reliable enough to get it to turn on sometimes. The VX8G is still a great radio and has APRS. But I have been using an Alinco DJ-VX50 on my SOTA pack an it works fine on the northern summits with good coverage on simplex and via 2 VHF and 1 UHF repeater. Its main problem down south nearer to home is the CTCSS tone on 91.5 Hz is off frequency and won’t open up the VHF repeater on 146.925. Its sending the CTCSS tone on 91.465 Hz but only close to 146.925 MHz it works fine on other VHF repeaters. Just my luck for it to be my local repeater around home. It has a reasonable battery life and great sounding audio for a hand held. Regards
Ian vk5cz …
I’m waiting to receive my FT-5D back from the vendor following its third case replacement, and this time they’ve assured me that the latest batch of cases from Yaesu are good. Fingers crossed. To be honest I’m not overly fond of the radio anyway; the display is hard to see outdoors, the menu system is unintuitive, and the band scope is next to useless. I think its most valuable function, to me anyway, is that it reminds me never to buy another Yaesu product, and for that I’m grateful.
I had a VX5 for donkey’s years (and really liked its simplicity and small size) but it was ultimately doomed by exactly this problem. The ‘turn-on’ problem became such a liability on my 2m-only activations that - for a while - I resorted to removing/refitting the battery as a power on/off method. I gave it away to a friend who managed to clean/repair the switch and get a bit more life out of it.
