On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 15:33:21 -0800, Spud wrote:

Hi,

I am returning to scanning after about an 8 year rest.

I have bought a Yaesu VR-500 hand held unit, it seems ok but what is your
opinion on this little radio? It cost £199.

The Yaesu VR-500 has weak audio and limited dynamic range. The
stock helical antenna has a performance notch near 160 MHz.
All that aside, I like the features and it draws very little
current from a pair of AA batteries. The full keypad
makes it easier to program and I prefer its BNC antenna
connector to the smaller SMA connector on other models.
It can scan combinations of memory banks versus a single
bank for the ICOM.

You can actually adjust the band plan (via tk500 software) to suit
your own preferences.

The VR-500 also has a hidden, undocumented narrow AM mode
for improved selectivity.

You are welcome to use tk500, the free, open source software
I wrote for the VR-500, though you'll have to provide a level shifter
cable.

You can get the tk500 software from http://parnass.com
I don't warrant the software, but it won't cost you anything.

--
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Bob Parnass, AJ9S GNU/Linux User http://parnass.com