Pricing

The 409Shop is promoting the Yaesu VX-3R (which I like), but selling it for $229 USD. The first US site I check has it for $185. I don't usually look at the Japanese radios when looking at the Chinese sources, but this strikes me as odd. Are they always this much more expensive?

Shade Tree Mechanics

People have often bemoaned the loss of the "shade tree mechanic." Cars have gotten so complex that you cannot complete a repair without specialized diagnostic computers and an electrical engineering degree. Despite   similar challenges, hams are fighting the good fight when it comes to working on modern radios. I've mentioned various mods to the UV-3R, but Ethan, K8GU, has a great repair story about a VX-3R:

"After however many weeks it has been, a package from Yaesu showed up on my doorstep tonight. After repairing a damaged PCB trace (non trivial on something this small), I was able to replace it. The little black speck in the middle of this photograph is the removed component. For my non-US readers, the US 0.01 USD coin (“Penny”) is about 19 mm in diameter."

While the description is good, a picture (from his web site) is worth a thousand words. Boy howdy is that small!

Via AmateurRadio.com

Baofeng UV-3R: Battery & AA Battery Case 2

Today, I got the AA battery case that is based on the Yaesu FBA-37 and should fit the Baofeng UV-3R. I already had a Yaesu case, so I am comparing it to the cheap eBay version. I hate to give away the surprise, but you get what you pay for... The $21 FBA-37 is clearly better made than the $10 eBay version.

The eBay case (right) had a film all over it. It wiped off easily, but it looked like it came from a dirty plant.


The Yaesu (left) is much better engineered. On the eBay case (right), the metal strips that run between the contacts are just roughly covered with some plastic tape.


Here is the eBay case on my VX-3R. It is hard to tell in the photo, but there is a gap along the side where it does not fit well. I think the batteries do not sit flush against the base of the case and this keeps it from close snugly.


As usual, once I get the actual Baofeng UV-3R, I will update when I try this case on it.

Previously Baofeng UV-3R: Battery & AA Battery Case

Yaesu VX-3R Knock-off: The Baofeng UV-3R

The Chinese are at it again. This time we have a knock-off of the Yaesu VX-3R. The VX-3R is a tiny, but full featured 2M/440 HT. At $175, it isn't super expensive, but not exactly cheap either.

Enter the Baofeng UV-3R... it looks a lot like my VX-3R, but you can get three of the UV-3R for the price of the Yaesu.




G4ILO is on top of things again with a great review of this new rig. Some of his key points follow:

"The UV-3R makes [another Chinese radio] look a quality product. This is the first new electronic product I've had that didn't come with a peel-off protective film over the display. The plastic casing is extremely thin and the plastic belt clip that can optionally be attached looks as if it would easily break. To be fair, the flimsiness of the Baofeng may not be due to cheapness but to save weight."

"Confusingly, the rotary switch on top of the radio must be pulled up before it can be rotated."

Note: the VX-3R works this way as well.

"I also checked the strong signal handling performance of the receiver the same way I did recently with my other hand-held transceivers. It was on a par with the VX-8GR and the JMT-227, at the poor end of the spectrum."

Here you can see the UV-3R in all its glory.



For $55 I am willing to roll the dice. When the storms hit last week, my wife was looking for my VX-3R. Unfortunately, I keep that one in my laptop bag. I was contemplating another radio already, so finding this one has tipped the scales. I'm off to eBay.