by railohio
This is a longshot, but here goes nothing ... crossposted from http://www.qrz.com forums.
*****
Best Handheld for Receiving
VX-1R a Contender?
I'm an admittedly novice ham. I got my ticket two years ago to aid in my main passion, which is the pursuit and photography of trains. I currently have a Yaesu VX-5RS and an assortment of HT and magmount antennas to go with it. One dilemma I'm running into as I'm becoming more active on the ham bands is choosing between using my transceiver to monitor the railroad frequencies or talk to other hams. I have found that the amateur transceivers provide much better reception than a normal scanner would so I'm loathe to go down that road again.
What I'm looking for is an inexpensive handheld I can use mostly for scanning of the railroad band but also as a back up for my main HT. Most of my ham radio contact is on local repeaters and with other hams railfans while out chasing trains so high power output isn't a main concern. I've been eyeing the Yaesu VX-1R because it's compact, inexpensive, and will utilize many accessories I already have for my VX-5. I'm hoping some of you in ham radio land can offer input on its receive functionality. How well does it receive outside the main ham frequencies? (The railroads operate on 160-161MHz.) How's the battery life compare to the VX-5 when not transmitting? For those that have used both, how does it compare to the VX-5?
If you guys don't think the VX-1R is a suitable radio for this task what would you each recommend? Since I'm very pleased with the performance of my VX-5 I would be inclined to get a second one if nothing else is suitable at a lower price. So what's the verdict?
*****
Best Handheld for Receiving
VX-1R a Contender?
I'm an admittedly novice ham. I got my ticket two years ago to aid in my main passion, which is the pursuit and photography of trains. I currently have a Yaesu VX-5RS and an assortment of HT and magmount antennas to go with it. One dilemma I'm running into as I'm becoming more active on the ham bands is choosing between using my transceiver to monitor the railroad frequencies or talk to other hams. I have found that the amateur transceivers provide much better reception than a normal scanner would so I'm loathe to go down that road again.
What I'm looking for is an inexpensive handheld I can use mostly for scanning of the railroad band but also as a back up for my main HT. Most of my ham radio contact is on local repeaters and with other hams railfans while out chasing trains so high power output isn't a main concern. I've been eyeing the Yaesu VX-1R because it's compact, inexpensive, and will utilize many accessories I already have for my VX-5. I'm hoping some of you in ham radio land can offer input on its receive functionality. How well does it receive outside the main ham frequencies? (The railroads operate on 160-161MHz.) How's the battery life compare to the VX-5 when not transmitting? For those that have used both, how does it compare to the VX-5?
If you guys don't think the VX-1R is a suitable radio for this task what would you each recommend? Since I'm very pleased with the performance of my VX-5 I would be inclined to get a second one if nothing else is suitable at a lower price. So what's the verdict?
mmmmm pie!