Yaesu VX-5 Tri-Band Radio Review

My hand just can’t get comfortable wrapping around it, and I am constantly missing the PTT button. Speaking of buttons, the Yaesu VX-5 is one of the radios that does not use clicky buttons, but squishy ones instead. For me, it only really bothers me in the dark where I can not see the results of a key press immediately so I have no idea if what I just did took or not.

Yaesu did a good job with the knobs on top, they rotate smoothly and the one on the right, the dial knob, has nice little detents that allow some good feedback without slowing down the knob too much.

Buttons on the Yaesu VX-5 are, as you might expect, small. The text is sharp on the button and around it, and the backlight is nice, but get out your readers because you are going to need them. Like most Yaesu radios, there are so many functions that most buttons have three different functions. This is because they prefer to do as much through buttons to keep you out of the menu (which you have to use anyway if for nothing else than squelch adjustments).

Accessing the menu system on the Yaesu VX-5 is pretty straight forward, you press the FW button and then the BAND button right below it. Now use the right hand dial on top to scroll through the menu items, press the BAND button to enter that menu item, rotate the dial to select the setting you want, then press the BAND button to back up to selecting menu items. When done, tap the PTT and it will exit the menu mode.

I have seen people fumble with the radio trying to turn it on as it has a soft power button like many high-end radios, instead of turning the volume knob up. If you think that is bad, my VX-8GR doesn’t even have a “volume” knob, per se. It uses a multi-dial knob that you can change the volume with by holding the volume button in while turning the knob, lol.

Another feature on the Yaesu VX-5 I don’t care for is the battery latch. While it does an excellent job, more than once I have gone to flip it down to release the battery only to have my finger slip and my fingernail get bent backwards. Ouch! This is mainly a problem because of my big gorilla hands. The latch is tough to latch and unlatch intentionally, as this radio, while not waterproof, is reasonably well sealed against the elements. Just don’t drop it in the pool.

I talked earlier about the metal case, which is die-cast aluminum, and it is indeed built well enough to be a weapon in a brawl. The construction of the Yaesu VX-5 earned a MIL-STD 810 rating.

I promised you lots of features, didn’t I? Well start with it being triple-band with 2m, 70cm, and 6m. It also has a very wide receive section which can pick up AM and FM broadcasts, shortwave AM to 16MHz, VHF and UHF TV audio, VHF air bands, and many public service frequencies. In addition, if you need more features, you can get the optional SU-1 barometric sensor for air pressure readings, activate the ARTS (automatic in-range transponder), or use the DTMF autodialer. Oh, and it comes in black or silver.

All of this from a radio made in 2000.

Performance:

If anything, the Yaesu VX-5 is a great performer, as you would expect from one of Yaesu’s flagship radios. The antenna, however, is less than stellar. It is good-looking (you know where I am going when I talk about how an antenna looks, right?), a good height, and flexes just enough to keep from ripping it off your belt. Unfortunately, while being functional, its performance is severely lacking. Because it is designed for extreme wideband receive, it is pretty flat across the board, providing poor performance at all three of its transmitting frequency ranges.

The good news here is that the transmitter is pretty excellent. The spectrum analysis shows a pretty coherent transmission, which is also pretty consistent. This could be improved further without using the coat hanger of an antenna that comes with it.

The transmitted audio from the Yaesu VX-5 is very clear but does suffer from more sibilance than I expected. I am not sure if that is because it is an old microphone or if it was like that new. Either way, I am not a fan of that aspect but it really doesn’t affect the overall audio in most cases.

Images:

Radio Specifics:

Test Images:

• 5w power output
• AM/Shortwave receive
• AM aircraft receive
• Ultra compact
• MIL-STD 810 rating
• Optional barometric sensor
• Dual watch
• Spectra-scope graphical display
• 220 memories
• NOAA weather channels
• 8-digit alphanumeric memory tags
• Antomatic repeater shift
• Auto-Range Transponder System
• 16-digit 9-memory DTMF autodialer
• One-touch emergency channel

There is a reason that the Yaesu VX-5 is still a popular radio 25 years after it was released. It is bullet-proof and packed with features. No, it doesn’t have digital modes or GPS, but these are still around, working just as good as new. Can you say you expect your radio to do that? Very few do. There are very few radios from any manufacture still running, and still able to hang with the big boys.

Conclusions

So what do I think about the Yaesu VX-5? It is a fine radio but just too small for me. If you have smaller hands and excellent eyesight, you may like it. It absolutely is a good performer, has excellent wideband coverage, has features that cheap and midrange radios today would envy, and is built like a tank.

Here are some reviews of the Yaesu VX-5!