As I have said elsewhere, the Yaesu VX-6R Tri-Band Transceiver is a great radio regardless of whether you’re a new amateur radio enthusiast, an experienced ham, or one of the millions of other people who need a reliable, feature-packed radio for weather updates, emergency updates, news, or other AM and FM radio stations. It remains one of my backup ht (handy-talky) radios for those reasons.
My mainstay ht radio, however, is the much easier to use, albeit more expensive, Yaesu FT-3DR with more features.
Important: It is completely legal to own this radio in the U.S. and receive (listen) to any frequencies it is capable of. Transmitting requires an amateur radio license from the Federal Communications Commission. If you are concerned about accidentally transmitting without a license, the radio comes with an easy-to-use feature to lock out the transmitter so you do not accidentally transmit.
In the event of a tornado, tropical storm, earthquake or other disaster, the cellular networks can quickly become overloaded or experience severe infrastructure damage. In such cases, the ability to receive weather and emergency updates, as well as news, becomes vital. Some of this information can be readily obtained via other radios, such as portable emergency receivers, car radios, internet radio or news sites, and television as long as you have power for them. This radio provides a reliable and submersible backup that also delivers the ability to communicate with others on amateur radio bands if you are licensed.
Small package, great features!
This radio is packed with features:
- Fits easily in a pocket or a backpack
- True dual-band operation
- Easy-to-read touchscreen and easy menu controls
- Comes with an OK belt clip (can be upgraded)
- Submersible and water resistant to 3 feet (1 meter) for 30 minutes
- Powered by a rechargeable battery or a plug-in adapter
- Transmits on 144 and 430 MHz bands
- Receives 0.5 – 999.95 MHz (A Band, with cellular blocked) and 108 – 580 MHz (B Band) , including NOAA Weather, Aircraft, Marine, AM and FM radio (except cellular), and Shortwave
- 5 watt and 1.5 watt transmit power, depending on band, with multiple selectable lower power settings
- Built-in GPS receiver
- 1200/9600 bps Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) transceiver
- Accepts numerous speakers and speakermic accessories
- Antennas can be swapped easily
Be prudent, be sensible, be prepared!
– The Prudent Prepper