Tri-Band Yaesu VX-6R Submersible Amateur Ham Radio Transceiver (144/222/440)

First off, this and the FT-60 have to be tied for what I suggest as the best first HT.Pros: submergible, good rx and tx, fairly simple to program, quality is great, and the MARS mod is simple to DIY.Cons: small for large hands, sound quality can get muddy due to the membrane (this is a con, but necessary for waterproofing), the AA battery tray does NOT allow for tx on high power.The FT-60 allows full tx power with the AA battery tray, is simpler to program from the face, is NOT waterproof, and is built like a tank.Regardless of your pick get a signal stuff signal stick with the correct bnc adapter and never look back.

Yaesu has never disappointed me with their quality and they are maintaining this status. I use it aboard a boat and I wanted a dependable, submersible VHF Ham radio. The it is complicated to get into the features, for which it has plenty, because of the three levels of function for each of the keys, but this is a result of wanting so many features in such a small package. I got around this by downloading the PDF of the manual to my phone, so I always have it with me if I need it. The performance of the VX-6R has been great and I enjoy having access to the 220 and 440 bands in addition to 2m. It is a good choice for those wanting to use it outdoors with its ability to receive the weather, marine, aircraft, AM and FM bands. It also has a mode to practice copying CW. It is a fantastic radio, particularly for the price.

Good all band transceiver - like how the receiver covers so much of the HF, VHF and UHF spectrum.

I have had 3 other radio's before this one (Kenwood, Boafeng, and Yeasu). The radio has a lot of nice features and is worth the money. Takes a little bit of patents to get the hang of programing it or just use a cable and load it. It is built really nice and rugged .If you use Comander software it is real easy to program and you can set almost all features up in the program. Only downfall is that all the add-on items are expensive.

I've had this radio for a bit over a month. It's very small for what it does and very solidly built. A hunting buddy and I decided to get our HAM licenses and these radios for more reliable service versus GMSR radios when in the field. These radios will easily go into a pocket. We have not yet had the opportunity to test them under hunting conditions but we have tested them in town with simplex operation and were able to clearly communicate when we were both outside (not inside houses or automobiles) between our homes which are 2.85 miles straight line in a retail/suburban environment (homes, some open land, numerous single story businesses, power lines, traffic etc.). They are clear and easy to understand. I do recommend getting the cable and programing software for it. The radio can be a bit intimidating when looking to program it because most of the keys use more than one function. Programing with the cable and software is very simple using a spreadsheet type entry.Update Nov 2016: My buddy and I used these on a recent hunt in Colorado, usually separated by trees and hills and they worked great. Every time we called each other we had good reception. These radios are not cheap but they were money well spent. They worked great. Reminder that you do need a HAM license for these radios. Doug KG5KVZ

The Yaesu VX-6R is solidly built and feels very rugged in the hand. It is however very difficult to program and use due to the many button push operations needed to operate it. That is the biggest problem

The radio is a very good radio as far as I can tell, the programing instruction are written so as to be very hard to decipher and use. Several time I followed them exactly and the results were different than the book said it would. To make it more difficult the radio didn't come with a programing cable and the one I ordered didn't come yet. Programing a few hundred channels by the radio keyboard would take me two months of evenings.

Solidly built, complex radio. Does more than I ever envision doing but I'm new to Ham radio so we'll see. Already got basic repeater programming down and have listened in on a few sessions by our local radio club. Can't broadcast yet as I'm unlicensed but looking to change that soon. I did order another antenna as I've read the stock Yaesu one is iffy in places. Main reason was to have an option as I'm sometimes in the house and sometimes outside.I was playing with the buttons and got stuck in some memory cycle error I couldn't get out of. YT videos on resetting the radio didn't help but I called Yeasu, got a fast pickup, spoke to a tech and he walked me through it within a couple of minutes. Sorted. Great product backed up with great tech support. (techs name was Tim). Excited to learn how to get the most out of it as I get more into the art of Ham.I am still looking for a cable to program it with. I have one which is going back as the Mac driver is out of date and I cannot get it to recognize the radio. I also got a Baofeng as a backup and bought a cable for that which worked like a champ right out of the bag. Once I get the cable for the Yaesu sorted i should be off to the races.