Re: New member from Norway checking in

Here's MY impression...
The VR-5000 has a lot of features, capabilities, and is pretty close to a DC to daylight receiver, and there are not many others that can do all that it does.  However, it is now without faults. It makes a lousy scanner.  Yes it can scan, but it's rather slow. My Radio Shack Pro 95 is a better scanner.  The front end is easily overloaded (overwhelmed?) by nearby strong signals.  VHF sensitivity is OK, not great, audio quality is good the frequency response is tuned more for intelligibility, definitely not HI-FI.  It's rather fussy about power, the factory supply is OK most of the time, (sometimes I get a low voltage lock-up) but it really needs a well regulated 13.8VDC, 12V doesn't cut it.  Operation is not intuitive, and the manual is difficult to understand.  The DSP option is a must.  It does have a 10.7MHz IF output, which could be used to feed a SoftRock Lite allowing SDR software to be employed. I haven't tried that (yet).
There's a comparison chart for wideband receivers at
<http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/widerxvr/chartw.html>
It's not a bad receiver, but Yaesu could have done better...
Your milage/kilometerage may vary...
Dave KC2RPJ



--- In [email protected], "Geir" <gstokkel@...> wrote:
>
> Hello group,
> 
> I am LA5VAA Geir in Norway checking in, just joined.
> 
> I have read very positive reviews about the VR-5000 lately, and have been looking around the web for some dealer og seller who might have one up for sale - but found nothing. Can anyone recommend a store or place to look? Not sure what a new (if found) or used VR-5000 goes for these days.
> 
> I am primarily looking for a receiver / scanner to be used on VHF, as i have a different HF rig which is used extensively. I would very much like to hear any opinions around VHF sensitivity and audio quality.
> 
> I see this is an active group, I hope I can contribute actively also.
> 
> Geir, Vestnes, Norway
>