VX8-R Sites

It seems that the VX8-r has made it to some homes before Christmas and rather than just copy the comments I thought I would point you in the direction of the sources…

These are yahoo groups and they seem to be the most popular on the topic of the VX-R

VX_8R

VX8R

I have mentioned both these sites in the past but its been a while since I have been blogging about the VX8-R so I thought I would refresh your memory…

It looks like the radio will not make it to Canada in time for Christmas so if you follow this link you will see the Canadian Price from Radioworld in Toronto. 

Its still on my wishlist and given the poor HF conditions recently its actually moved up a couple of spaces on the list…  Not much point in going with a new HF rig when the band is so poor so there could be some new VHF style toys coming in the shack early in the new year…

73bob

No VX8-R for Christmas

Well from what I can find out from reading the recent posts from the Yahoo Groups two (VX8_R and VX8R) Newsgroups on my previously thought to be new handheld it looks like we won’t be seeing the nifty little radios anytime soon…

However the rumors are running wild (still) on features, and also problems with early firmware etc…  The delayed arrival date (looks like after Christmas) eliminates any chance of my family getting me one as my present.  Like most other family types after Christmas will be spent trying to pay off the presents bought so now its looking like Dayton before I look at things again…  Even if only a tiny percentage of the rumors are true about the problems with this unit, it is also souring me on the unit before anyone actually has the chance to use one…

Its kind of sad that the amateur radio population  who were screaming for a new toy with all the features of the VX8-R such as quad band and APRS and Blue tooth would all take the attitude of “Trash Talking” before they have even had the chance to operate one…  A friend of a friend of a friend who talked to someone said that ” they were having problems with the firmware or whatever” and suddenly there are postings about the poor quality of a radio not even out for sale yet.  The dealers might be taking orders but they have not even seen one yet… 

In Canada…  Radioworld still lists the VX8-R as “coming soon” and has raised the price up from the last noticed price of $500.00 CDN up to $540.00 and they still don’t have one.  With the recent price jump concider that the DSTAR ready Icom 92AD is listed at $600.00 CDN its making me think of trying something new. 

 I will add a comment at this point saying that I hold no financial interest in the Radioworld store.  I have purchased radios from them in the past and have not had any problems with the products or the after sales service.  The fact that they have a well maintained website makes it easy to use them as a reference of Canadian Prices and availability.

The poor Canadian Dollar along with the even  poorer economy will probally make some serious changes to the way we do things early in the new year… 

So for now the VX8-R is on the backburner and I will continue my search for a new handheld to replace my 10 year old ADI

73bob