I love my VERO. Made a video about 8 months ago. One thing I don't like is their software. It would be really nice if some of these apps were more open source.
Theres a ham on one of the FB forums for the radio who has been working directly with the devs to build out some new features and fix existing ones in the apps so that's really promising!
@@moenibus Being closed source in ham radio isn't ideal. Making those API's public would cause demand for this radio to SKYROCKET as the community built their own custom apps for it. Traditionally, the support for the app has been slow or non-responsive (even for documented and reproducible bugs), and there's not great feature parity between the android and iOS versions. The community being able to do their own thing here would be incredible. Ham is all about tinkering, after all!
@@moenibus not trying to speak for HRD... I think the apparent 16ch at a time limit is annoying, and the layout is unintuitive. The map seems to be the focus of the UI. You control the radio in a sub-window that overlays the map. The channel grid is an unlabeled sub-window on the sub-window. Selecting other channel sets is a folded-map icon. Controlling other radio parameters is another sub-menu and off the top of my head, I can't even remember where it is (bought mine abt 2y ago, but only really using it for abt 3wks now). The main app screen seems to be focused on network (i.e. cellphone service) radio, and linking VHF/UHF channels to network radio channels, a feature of no interest to me. On the plus side, I think that saving transmissions is awesome, and the ability to run DTMF and Morse decoding on them is even better. I haven't played with APRS on any radio yet, so I can't comment there. The BT hand-mike (not the HT-looking thing Josh has -- that must be new) is neat, but not at game-changing as I'd hoped. I love not having a head visible while I'm parked... I take my android tablet with me, and I tuck the BT mike in the console. Poof. Clean install. But the hand-mike isn't the most intuitive device either. The power and connection voice is in Chinese. If you can change it, I don't know how. Channel mode is 8n English, and volume is just announced with a beep, very straightforward. But supposedly it's programmable for other functions and I have no clue how. Overall, it's a cool setup, but more than a little confusing. I bought the FTM-400 right after I bought this VR-7500 (mine doesn't have the N for some reason), then got taken out by a deer a couple months after that. I only just put a mobile radio in the new car a few weeks ago, and decided to use this one instead of the Yaesu, for the clean install. Well, it's clean alright, but I might go back to the Yaesu anyway. It's a lot more radio than I need, but it's a heck of a lot nicer to use.
You can obtain your APRS passcode from "N5DUX APRS Passcode Generator" or similar. It's universal for all APRS igate systems, not an exclusive Chinese version.
Fyi, that's an AF Morse decoder on the app. If you look at "messages," it saves transmissions, too, and you can decode Morse and DTMF on saved msgs. Works great on automated repeater IDs, ar least 😄
Have been using this radio since Jan 2022. It has withstood heavy use at 3 ARA races, 2 bike SAG events, and very reliable use with APRS, sometimes getting packets out 120 miles first hop. I am constantly delighted by this magic little box!
still using it? what have you compared it to? I was considering an FTM-200DR but this is a strong contender. does it reliably switch channels to broadcast aprs?
@@bd604 yes, I still use 2 of these - one at my work desk and 1 in my car. I still use both at ARA events. My other 2 meter rig is an FT-1500m. APRS on the VR-N7500 is great. If you throw mute on whatever channel APRS is running, you'd never know it was there. It isn't a true duplex radio but it's very fast. - de K9OPE
neat unit..would like to see the next gen of this...i think devices like this are where the market will eventually go...the handheld experience needs to more towards a more mobile phone like experience.
I also own a N7500 in my car and just love the tiny wireless PTT button and the BT speaker mic that came in my bundle instead of the fancy BT handheld you showed. Using a regular BT head set in conjunction with either VOX or the PTT button tied with its velcro strap to steering wheel is quite handy while driving as we are not allowed to hold a mic while steering a vehilce by law in my country.
I have had this radio for about 2 years. I liked it , received good audio reports when using my phone for the mic. Not good audio from the cheap mic that comes with the radio. Radio was easy to program, easy to use, except for APRS. This was only due to poor documentation that comes with the radio. There was a source online at the time, but it was confusing and seriously lacking info about the radio. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Just understand the mic is nt good, it only keys the radio 50% of the time and audio is bad, but using the phone i had no issues at all.
This looks interesting to me. My wife does not want to see a display screen of a ham radio in her Jeep. I did not want to connect and disconnect a screen. The blue tooth mic and Bluetooth screen will be perfect.
That radio is what happens when your best lead engineer comes in and says, "Boss - I had a dream about a weird new radio last night." And the boss says, "Well, you worked over the holidays, so let's build it and we'll see if anybody likes it."
I have an ID-5100, which does not do APRS in the traditional sense on 144.39. I've considered a dedicated APRS radio. The VGC is less expensive than other products. Two questions: Will this run as a "tracker" without the app running? And is there enough frequency separation between 144.39 and 146.52 (and up) to prevent desensing of adjacent 2m radios? Thanks!
Oh damn. That is a sweet feature. At 30 minutes long the video was already way to long to include that. But I’m really thinking about making this a two part video.
I have had mine since 4/20 in a 2019 Wrangler Unlimited. Antenna on the spare tire mount, radio on the driver rear roll bar and hand mike at the rear view mirror magnetically attached to the top toggle. I run the app on a Moto G Power. It is a solid performer in the mountains of North Carolina. Thanks for including the bluetooth mic in your review. Always enjoy your content.
The is very interesting set this up in your car with cell booster/ igate and take HT hiking/ mountain biking. Don’t even have my license yet and list of stuff I want to buy is getting long.
I have the radio. I just got it 2 weeks ago from Germany. It pushes 60 watt. I am happy with everything. I think you should give it a real life test. Use it for 2-3 days in your next road trip. Your opinion will change. I think its software could improve big time. But it is great at this stage for the money you pay. I am getting a second device soon.
I think the reasons the CW didn't decode nicely : 1) the radio was listening to the mic, not the RF, in decoding CW. If you have the channel selected (and recording) you'll find it'll auto-decode CW in the messages screen.. like when a repeater IDs, etc. 2) the Icom you used to test it was sending CW in CW mode - not MCW. so it was simply keying/unkeying to generate the Continuous Waves making up the code. the VR-N7500 listens for modulated CW (tones sent over FM) so the carrier going up and down in the pattern of code was meaningless to it. I could tell it was *trying* to hear the Icom's monitor-tone generation... but... 3) the noise in the room of the squelch opening and closing out-of-sync with the monitor-tone of the Icom "muddied the waters" enough that the ambient mic decoding just wasn't happening. Suggestions: turn down all other radios and key the Icom into a dummy load, doing everything else the same - the monitor-tone of the Icom should be picked up by the ambient mic and decoded by the "HT" software. -or- send modulated CW - a few ways to do this are with a code practice oscillator into a mic jack, etc, so you're transmitting a continuous carrier in FM mode and simply modulating the CW, such as what you hear when a repeater IDs. I bet it decodes beautifully. :) I have a love/hate relationship with my two 7500s but the use cases I have for them outweigh any bad vibes and I use both of them a lot - one in the shack for home/low power APRS monitoring on an old android VM running on my win11 desktop (tricky to set up but so worth it) and the one in the car that my wife and I share because I'm "not allowed to have visible radios inside that car' or something yada yada... :) 73 and thanks for this video!
What is interesting here is that Bluetooth is an open, documented, accessible protocol that can be reverse engineered with the use of a Bluetooth Protocol Analyzer. So someone from the ham community could create their own app, and incorporate digital voice modes like Dudestar/M17.
It is really awesome to listen to music through pandora or whatever while simultaneously listening to radio chatter through the car speakers. There is noticeable delay in receive audio while using Bluetooth compared to the hand mic through.
I do a lot of camping and off-roading out here in So-Cal and in conjunction with being a ham, I can definitely see this radio filling a void in my comm needs. The absolute ONLY problem I have is with it's connectivity to phones, tablets, etc with internet capability. In this day in age, one can't help but to wonder about WHAT'S BEING SENT HOME TO CHINA when the app is running on these connected devices. I've said this before about rc drones and security cameras and now there's a laundry list of brands that are BANNED here because of extremely questionable practices. Food for thought. 💡
I'm looking for a inexpensive dedicated 50W option to run with my Mobilinkd TNC4. If I made up or bought a TNC cable for this radio what do folks think? Is there a simpler small form factor 50W radio out there I should consider? Cheers!
Love this radio for my motorcycle communication. I use the aprs and it pairs nicely to my Bluetooth headset and I have ran a ptt button to my handlebar. A wireless ptt button is available but not as good as a wired one.
Nice looking and very portable. I think I'd prefer more ssb handheld CB or HF transceivers come on the market. However I purchased a president randy fcc AM only version and was somewhat impressed with it's performance.
I really wish companies that make this kind of hardware would open source the software end of it. The HT app is horrible but if the community got a hold of it, it would probably be fantastic.
The biggest problem with the software is that is must connect with servers in China in order to work. On networks that block traffic to/from China, this app does not work at all. That means if China ever decides to cut off network access to the outside world or just your part of the world, this stops working. Also, if they decide they no longer want to be in this business and take their server down, it also stops working. If the internet is down or you don't have network connectivity, it doesn't work.
Great idea. The app needs some style, since the app is the front-end of the radio, which we will mount on a dashboard, they should make it look good! How about a dark mode?
Wow! Love TH-cam, I've been messing around with APRS since I was licensed in 1998. Had no idea you could send a message to an SMS client and they could respond back. My mind is blown away.
Someone probably said this already...lots of comments to read to check...for that passcode in APRS you can use the aprs-is password from APRS droid. I just looked for it in the settings and found it. The ssid has to match what you have set up on that app for it to recognize the password
If u set it to auto power on u can shut the app off and not even use it for regular communication. It will come back on when it gets power. You just need to know your channel numbers. I'm gonna buy a second one.
Like the radio hate the app. We need a reverse engineered version of the app to make this radio King. I have had this radio for about three years and the rj45 jack broke in year one. That new bt mic may let me use my radio again
I'm a buddy of Mike Glover's so PACE plan is important. I have 2 of these VGC radios (one with the older BT handmike and BT PTT). I love this radio so I just ordered the new BT handmike/display so I can use a K1 connector with my Peltors or a discreet earpiece. I use one radio in a fanny pack with a 10Ah battery. I use the other in the radio pouch of my rucksack with an antenna mast and small ground plane sticking out above my head. Both my batteries are LiFePo4 and last a 2-3 days. I mostly use burner Android phones with these, but I noticed Apple just updated their iOS app which includes full screen APRS stuff - amazing. Because this has no screen/controls, its battery usage is much lower than my other 50W dual band rigs that I tried using body-worn.
Mine makes a "roger beep" when UN-Keying (I DONT hear the Noise, it is TRANSMITTED, So everyone on air hears it!)..... although its not a beep, it sounds just like what you would hear on a lot of police or other public service radio after UN-Keying.......... Does ANYONE have any idea how to stop this on the VR-N7500 ?
I know this is a somewhat delayed reply, and you may well have already figured out your issue, but in case you haven’t (or someone else finds this useful), you might want to check “ID Signaling” and be sure those options are toggled off in the settings. That’s the likely cause a “beep” like that.
I nearly purchased one of these about a year ago but was concerned about the software. I am curious if they are actively developing more polish and features on the software side. The concept is cool 😎
From my first use a couple years ago, to reinstalling the app a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see that, from a UI/design standpoint the app hasn't changed a bit. I was also surprised to see that there was a firmware update for the radio, and the app did it seamlessly over the air in about 90 seconds. That part really impressed me.
They just updated the iOS app (perhaps today) to show live APRS like we see on the Android app. Josh needs to do another video withe the new iOS update.
I'm beta testing a new version and they have made great steps forward in sorting out bugs and developing the APRS in the Andriod and iOS side of things, hope they can release the update to all soon.
I had one of these about a year ago. It worked well except for the front end overloading. Around Riverside and Mission Valley San Diego it was so bad I had to turn it off. Yes, I tried squelching it and the use of ctcss. Squelching it produced a numb receiver. It just could not filter out strong RF like paging transmitters and the like. I regretfully returned it.
I output from my radio to a switcher box which flips between audio coming from my phone for navigation and music, to any incoming transmissions over the radio. This allows both my wife and I to hear what is being switched over the car's stock sound system amplifier, it and then we just grab the handset to reply. Is this unit basically perfect for us with its headphone port and separate microphone handset? Of course I am all ears to better options, I don't need this much power.
I caved and bought it with your link. Although it's kinda chinese jank, I support developers that innovate. This seems like an absolute blast to use, having a cellphone integrated just makes sense to me since we carry one with us all day long. APRS seems way easier to use with a tablet or cellphone to compared using aprs on a normal radio that supports it. Can't wait to use it on my road trip coming up :) Where I work, I park my car right outside by the building. I hope the little bluetooth handset can reach my car, this will be epic being able to radio from work with my car parked outside :D
I think this would make a great inexpensive home/garage 2M/70cm. Paired with cheap tab or maybe the Jankapotomus(not sure that would work). Thanks for the review sir!
You can plug anything that works well on 2 & 70. I use it on a motorcycle with APRS and with its rugged construction it still works weel after many trips. Just returned from an 1.800 mile ride using RF APRS only.
I don’t know all the history but I do know that recording gets played a lot. Also don’t go on the win system and say you’re live steaming on TH-cam, they will say it’s against the law and ban you from it.
I like the radio set up. I am new to Ham radio and I have a couple of Android devices. I was thinking that you could connect the radio to an external battery and take it to the park. Perhaps hang an antenna from a tree similar to what I have seen done with the N^TAX antenna. I really haven't gotten beyond my Baofeng and Abree antenna.
FYI, I just tested mine on battery last week. On my LiFePO4 setup with a high charge (near 14VDC), it drew about 8 to 9A on high power (45+ W) transmit. I didn't pay much attention to low power because I was sizing the wiring, but I think medium (~20W) was like 4A draw. You'd want to make your activations short or be prepared to carry a fairly beefy battery.
I like this radio for possibly putting in my 2019 Subaru where I have 12 volt available in the back of the car. I can get a mag mount out of the back of the car and be on the air. There is a mike with speaker built in that is bluetooth capable, at least I've seen it on the web site. I stay on one repeater most of the time and I might try using a cat cable to bring the mike up to the drivers position. I need a lot more studying on this radio. Thanks for your video. WB6ODR
Now the ultimate question is... Can I use my phone, the Bluetooth PTT switch, and my Sena helmet headset at the same time so I can have this in my saddlebag and chat on Keller while I zoom zoom on 2wheels?
Solved the annoying "roger beep" / APRS tone issue when using the radio on ham or GMRS repeaters (yes it can do GMRS) :Turn off all APRS and ID signaling settings. Problem solved!
I can see 2 seperate places this (or a similar radio) has potential for me. 1st would be mounted in the teardrop trailer, paired with the BT speaker mic, to not be tied directly to the trailer in camp. And 2nd, might be in the house, away fron the shack, so again, I am not having to be next to the radio when using it. I know about cross band repeat, but that (as far as I know) only allows you to monitor/use one frequency from the base/repeating radio.
Awesome video. Is it possible to link the VGR to a vehicle Android Auto system and use the vehicle handsfree interface for talking. Also change change channels using the vehicle Android Auto interface. If this is possible it will change Ham Radio for mobile use.
Ever since this radio has been out, one of the pics in the ad @ Buytwowayradio shows EXACTLY this connection. But HOW has never been explained. Que the HRCC Investigative team…
Does their APRS support Smart Beaconing? I waited 2 years and they never implemented it, ended up buying a Yaesu. I told them on their facebook page to just expose an API so people could use APRS Droid; but they didn't respond.
The timing of your video was spot on for me. I have bought this radio last spring and have used it a few times in one of my vehicles. I just got around to adding repeaters, simplex channels after only adding one repeater and APRS frequencies last spring. I have hooked it up to my power supply at my desk and want to play with it some more without the distraction of driving at the same time to really learn the software and the Bluetooth HT. I like the build design as I want to move it from vehicle to vehicle and not have to install it under the dash. I connect it to a 12v battery in the back and use the tablet/Bluetooth HT mic/speaker up front. I like this radio so far except the included plug in microphone is not very loud on the air (I don't use it). And you are right about the cumbersome application (Android). But I love the APRS capability and that was the main reason for me to get this radio as opposed to another more standard mobile dual band radio. For the price of this with the Bluetooth HT, it is still on the low side of radios that are capable of 50w but still usually don't have APRS capability. Yes, the learning curve is higher, but it will be worthwhile. Thanks Josh. 73 Mark K5MGK
So I have this radio, and its been great. I don't have the bluetooth mic, but the weird thing about this is that I can take my tablet upstairs and chat via my tablet no problem and my radio is inside the garage. How does this mic with an antenna not reach as far, but my tablet does?
The radio section has a small BT antenna mounted on the front and people have extended this by fitting better antenna or mounting the cover more forward on studs. I don't know where the FM antenna is mounted or even if there is one in the antenna section... not stripped it down to look at :>) Min G0JMS
Some tablets have larger batteries and the manufacturer will take advantage of this by slightly boosting the power on both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Technically however they are both limited to about 30 ish feet / 10 meters. Another issue is even though you are "upstairs" where are you in relation to your garage? If at opposite ends of the house, you are lucky! Count your blessings and enjoy!
8 characters is a common hardware limit for small memory systems. They put a slick Bluetooth interface in, but I believe the hardware is relatively basic inside. The memories are saved to the radio itself as well as the app, and it can be operated from the wired or wireless mic without a phone/tablet once you get it setup. Not defending the decision mind you, but I assume they either never thought of giving it more memory, or they chose not to for cost reasons.
The radio has a small memory, storing 16 memories only even when switched off, the Andriod app will store as many groups of 16 channels as you want and easly changed.
Don't need any leads or programs, there is a free memory excel spreadsheet for programing the radio and you email the 16 hannels to your phone and it takes it in simple.
There is plenty of information on the radio and a shame that their website is not, clear as the app does several radio models, look on FB and Google Groups for help groups.
..... I lose my mind constantly! Great job, I've had this for 3 or 5 years through a craigslist deal and it just came with it. I finally have a use for it. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it and I now use this in my company vehicle. I'm going to have to use an external speaker because the wireless speaker mic is a little weak. I thought about buying the HT thingy and might due to it has an antenna and may work better than the speaker mic itself. TX audio quality is excellent but you MUST run mic gain on lowest setting for the wireless mic. It's very HOT otherwise. Cool little unit and I don't mind using the phone to dial up the channels. Once you get used to the interface and get your channels in there it's pretty easy to use. I don't use the APRS functionality I have APRS droid for that if I choose to use it......Once again great video.
Too bad that the Bluetooth is weak. This might have been a great CERT device. Given local terrain and distances, a 5W HT doesn’t quite work for some events. I’d love to have a ~50W VHF radio driving a decent antenna, on a tripod, safely off the road, but also be able to walk 30’ from the radio (e.g., directing traffic) and still operate. I.e., the portability of an HT with the power of a base station.
In the open air without walls or bodies between it will do 30ft distance as I have tested it, some have increased the distance with better BT antenna systems or just moving the front panel forward to expose the BT antenna. It will not do Crossband but the Network side to RF can be good and works well. Details of extending BT on FB pages for the N7500.
No APRS smart beaconing and it won't connect to the bluetooth speaker system in my car like the Anytone. And like the Anytone, it would be nice to just have a PTT button.
It comes with a wired mic with a PTT button. At least, mine did a couple years ago. I bought a BT handmic that looks just like the wired mic for something like $40 at the same time.
Oh yeah, there's also a dedicated BT PTT that you can strap to a steering wheel shift lever or something. I didn't get one so I don't know much about it
@@notreallydaedalus I have the BT PTT button but I am not sure that works with this radio. But it would be a no from me without smart beaconing which is my main use for APRS.
The APRS has been improved and resent upgrades make it much better, it's not designed to connect to the car system, which could be years old, but some have been able too. There is a rear speaker socket that you could use wired or BT.
I love my VERO. Made a video about 8 months ago. One thing I don't like is their software. It would be really nice if some of these apps were more open source.
Theres a ham on one of the FB forums for the radio who has been working directly with the devs to build out some new features and fix existing ones in the apps so that's really promising!
@@ZacharySkaggs that would be amazing!
what exactly you don't like about the software? you didn't say. being closed source is not necessarily a problem
@@moenibus Being closed source in ham radio isn't ideal. Making those API's public would cause demand for this radio to SKYROCKET as the community built their own custom apps for it. Traditionally, the support for the app has been slow or non-responsive (even for documented and reproducible bugs), and there's not great feature parity between the android and iOS versions. The community being able to do their own thing here would be incredible. Ham is all about tinkering, after all!
@@moenibus not trying to speak for HRD... I think the apparent 16ch at a time limit is annoying, and the layout is unintuitive. The map seems to be the focus of the UI. You control the radio in a sub-window that overlays the map. The channel grid is an unlabeled sub-window on the sub-window. Selecting other channel sets is a folded-map icon. Controlling other radio parameters is another sub-menu and off the top of my head, I can't even remember where it is (bought mine abt 2y ago, but only really using it for abt 3wks now). The main app screen seems to be focused on network (i.e. cellphone service) radio, and linking VHF/UHF channels to network radio channels, a feature of no interest to me.
On the plus side, I think that saving transmissions is awesome, and the ability to run DTMF and Morse decoding on them is even better. I haven't played with APRS on any radio yet, so I can't comment there. The BT hand-mike (not the HT-looking thing Josh has -- that must be new) is neat, but not at game-changing as I'd hoped. I love not having a head visible while I'm parked... I take my android tablet with me, and I tuck the BT mike in the console. Poof. Clean install. But the hand-mike isn't the most intuitive device either. The power and connection voice is in Chinese. If you can change it, I don't know how. Channel mode is 8n English, and volume is just announced with a beep, very straightforward. But supposedly it's programmable for other functions and I have no clue how. Overall, it's a cool setup, but more than a little confusing.
I bought the FTM-400 right after I bought this VR-7500 (mine doesn't have the N for some reason), then got taken out by a deer a couple months after that. I only just put a mobile radio in the new car a few weeks ago, and decided to use this one instead of the Yaesu, for the clean install. Well, it's clean alright, but I might go back to the Yaesu anyway. It's a lot more radio than I need, but it's a heck of a lot nicer to use.
Josh, can you do a video just on how to set up APRS on this device?
I gave the radio away.
You can obtain your APRS passcode from "N5DUX APRS Passcode Generator" or similar. It's universal for all APRS igate systems, not an exclusive Chinese version.
It's not taking my password
A password for APRS is typically used when you want to connect to APRS-IS to be an IGATE.
Fyi, that's an AF Morse decoder on the app. If you look at "messages," it saves transmissions, too, and you can decode Morse and DTMF on saved msgs. Works great on automated repeater IDs, ar least 😄
Have been using this radio since Jan 2022. It has withstood heavy use at 3 ARA races, 2 bike SAG events, and very reliable use with APRS, sometimes getting packets out 120 miles first hop. I am constantly delighted by this magic little box!
still using it? what have you compared it to? I was considering an FTM-200DR but this is a strong contender. does it reliably switch channels to broadcast aprs?
@@bd604 yes, I still use 2 of these - one at my work desk and 1 in my car. I still use both at ARA events. My other 2 meter rig is an FT-1500m. APRS on the VR-N7500 is great. If you throw mute on whatever channel APRS is running, you'd never know it was there. It isn't a true duplex radio but it's very fast. - de K9OPE
neat unit..would like to see the next gen of this...i think devices like this are where the market will eventually go...the handheld experience needs to more towards a more mobile phone like experience.
Pretty cool. I considered this before buying an old vhf yaesu for cheap as my first mobile. Now I’m liking it more for my work truck
I also own a N7500 in my car and just love the tiny wireless PTT button and the BT speaker mic that came in my bundle instead of the fancy BT handheld you showed. Using a regular BT head set in conjunction with either VOX or the PTT button tied with its velcro strap to steering wheel is quite handy while driving as we are not allowed to hold a mic while steering a vehilce by law in my country.
This looks like it would make an awesome backpack/manpack station! Or a Go-Kit!
I have had this radio for about 2 years. I liked it , received good audio reports when using my phone for the mic. Not good audio from the cheap mic that comes with the radio. Radio was easy to program, easy to use, except for APRS. This was only due to poor documentation that comes with the radio. There was a source online at the time, but it was confusing and seriously lacking info about the radio. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Just understand the mic is nt good, it only keys the radio 50% of the time and audio is bad, but using the phone i had no issues at all.
Hey Darrell, you are able to use the phone as a mic and speaker without the wired handset or the Bluetooth one shown on the video?
yes ! phone works better than the mic@@bryantwalley
you program the radio thru the phone app, all radio functions are available on the app/phone
Is there a way to perform a frequency unlock? I would like to use this for GMRS also.
None I know of.
This looks interesting to me. My wife does not want to see a display screen of a ham radio in her Jeep. I did not want to connect and disconnect a screen. The blue tooth mic and Bluetooth screen will be perfect.
There is a BT microphone just like a fist mic which works well and has control of all 16 channels and comes with magnetic back.
That radio is what happens when your best lead engineer comes in and says, "Boss - I had a dream about a weird new radio last night." And the boss says, "Well, you worked over the holidays, so let's build it and we'll see if anybody likes it."
I have an ID-5100, which does not do APRS in the traditional sense on 144.39. I've considered a dedicated APRS radio. The VGC is less expensive than other products. Two questions: Will this run as a "tracker" without the app running? And is there enough frequency separation between 144.39 and 146.52 (and up) to prevent desensing of adjacent 2m radios? Thanks!
FYI - pressing and holding the microphone button on the main screen allows you to switch to text or even SSTV images.
Oh damn. That is a sweet feature. At 30 minutes long the video was already way to long to include that. But I’m really thinking about making this a two part video.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse did some awesome ISS SSTV during their last event. Works great.
I’m watching this with my UV5R and uv3r and kg935g and short wave radio set next to me lol yaaaaaaa Radio and satellite communication!!!!
I have had mine since 4/20 in a 2019 Wrangler Unlimited. Antenna on the spare tire mount, radio on the driver rear roll bar and hand mike at the rear view mirror magnetically attached to the top toggle. I run the app on a Moto G Power. It is a solid performer in the mountains of North Carolina. Thanks for including the bluetooth mic in your review. Always enjoy your content.
The is very interesting set this up in your car with cell booster/ igate and take HT hiking/ mountain biking. Don’t even have my license yet and list of stuff I want to buy is getting long.
I have the radio. I just got it 2 weeks ago from Germany. It pushes 60 watt. I am happy with everything. I think you should give it a real life test. Use it for 2-3 days in your next road trip. Your opinion will change. I think its software could improve big time. But it is great at this stage for the money you pay. I am getting a second device soon.
I think the reasons the CW didn't decode nicely :
1) the radio was listening to the mic, not the RF, in decoding CW. If you have the channel selected (and recording) you'll find it'll auto-decode CW in the messages screen.. like when a repeater IDs, etc.
2) the Icom you used to test it was sending CW in CW mode - not MCW. so it was simply keying/unkeying to generate the Continuous Waves making up the code. the VR-N7500 listens for modulated CW (tones sent over FM) so the carrier going up and down in the pattern of code was meaningless to it. I could tell it was *trying* to hear the Icom's monitor-tone generation... but...
3) the noise in the room of the squelch opening and closing out-of-sync with the monitor-tone of the Icom "muddied the waters" enough that the ambient mic decoding just wasn't happening.
Suggestions:
turn down all other radios and key the Icom into a dummy load, doing everything else the same - the monitor-tone of the Icom should be picked up by the ambient mic and decoded by the "HT" software.
-or-
send modulated CW - a few ways to do this are with a code practice oscillator into a mic jack, etc, so you're transmitting a continuous carrier in FM mode and simply modulating the CW, such as what you hear when a repeater IDs. I bet it decodes beautifully.
:)
I have a love/hate relationship with my two 7500s but the use cases I have for them outweigh any bad vibes and I use both of them a lot - one in the shack for home/low power APRS monitoring on an old android VM running on my win11 desktop (tricky to set up but so worth it) and the one in the car that my wife and I share because I'm "not allowed to have visible radios inside that car' or something yada yada... :)
73 and thanks for this video!
What is interesting here is that Bluetooth is an open, documented, accessible protocol that can be reverse engineered with the use of a Bluetooth Protocol Analyzer. So someone from the ham community could create their own app, and incorporate digital voice modes like Dudestar/M17.
Nice Highlander reference :D
would be pretty cool if it worked with android auto or apple carplay.
Josh be like, "add a bleep here, cut that footage, couple more bleeps...and I've got a YT video. "
13:02: the win system radio call!
Rumor has it you can connect it to your car stereo if you have BT built in, and use your stereo as a speaker and handsfree mic as the input
It is true! But it does take a while to cue everything up. Really gotta pause before speaking
It is really awesome to listen to music through pandora or whatever while simultaneously listening to radio chatter through the car speakers.
There is noticeable delay in receive audio while using Bluetooth compared to the hand mic through.
Dude, Cali air waves are verbal chaos! It's 😂 but that sucks for kids.
Have two like them allot firmware and app’s changed for the better. Code is from APRS-IS passcode generator
That’s perfect. Ok the. We’re good to go on iGate capability!
@@HamRadioCrashCourse also the firmware in app is so nice. Wish big three did that! Second one I like to travel with and stay in my suitcase.
I do a lot of camping and off-roading out here in So-Cal and in conjunction with being a ham, I can definitely see this radio filling a void in my comm needs. The absolute ONLY problem I have is with it's connectivity to phones, tablets, etc with internet capability. In this day in age, one can't help but to wonder about WHAT'S BEING SENT HOME TO CHINA when the app is running on these connected devices. I've said this before about rc drones and security cameras and now there's a laundry list of brands that are BANNED here because of extremely questionable practices. Food for thought. 💡
I'm looking for a inexpensive dedicated 50W option to run with my Mobilinkd TNC4. If I made up or bought a TNC cable for this radio what do folks think? Is there a simpler small form factor 50W radio out there I should consider? Cheers!
Love this radio for my motorcycle communication. I use the aprs and it pairs nicely to my Bluetooth headset and I have ran a ptt button to my handlebar. A wireless ptt button is available but not as good as a wired one.
Nice looking and very portable. I think I'd prefer more ssb handheld CB or HF transceivers come on the market. However I purchased a president randy fcc AM only version and was somewhat impressed with it's performance.
I really wish companies that make this kind of hardware would open source the software end of it. The HT app is horrible but if the community got a hold of it, it would probably be fantastic.
The biggest problem with the software is that is must connect with servers in China in order to work. On networks that block traffic to/from China, this app does not work at all. That means if China ever decides to cut off network access to the outside world or just your part of the world, this stops working. Also, if they decide they no longer want to be in this business and take their server down, it also stops working. If the internet is down or you don't have network connectivity, it doesn't work.
Just bought the radio and the HT mic...looking forward to playing with them
Great idea. The app needs some style, since the app is the front-end of the radio, which we will mount on a dashboard, they should make it look good! How about a dark mode?
Wow! Love TH-cam, I've been messing around with APRS since I was licensed in 1998. Had no idea you could send a message to an SMS client and they could respond back. My mind is blown away.
Someone probably said this already...lots of comments to read to check...for that passcode in APRS you can use the aprs-is password from APRS droid. I just looked for it in the settings and found it. The ssid has to match what you have set up on that app for it to recognize the password
Josh have you tried this radio with android auto or apple carplay? That would ideal.
If u set it to auto power on u can shut the app off and not even use it for regular communication. It will come back on when it gets power. You just need to know your channel numbers. I'm gonna buy a second one.
Thank you so much for this video. Just what I was looking for!
Like the radio hate the app. We need a reverse engineered version of the app to make this radio King. I have had this radio for about three years and the rj45 jack broke in year one. That new bt mic may let me use my radio again
How is the APRS reception? If it's an SDR/baofeng type of receiver I expect it to be poor at best. Great video, as always! -KM6LYW
I'm a buddy of Mike Glover's so PACE plan is important. I have 2 of these VGC radios (one with the older BT handmike and BT PTT). I love this radio so I just ordered the new BT handmike/display so I can use a K1 connector with my Peltors or a discreet earpiece.
I use one radio in a fanny pack with a 10Ah battery. I use the other in the radio pouch of my rucksack with an antenna mast and small ground plane sticking out above my head. Both my batteries are LiFePo4 and last a 2-3 days.
I mostly use burner Android phones with these, but I noticed Apple just updated their iOS app which includes full screen APRS stuff - amazing.
Because this has no screen/controls, its battery usage is much lower than my other 50W dual band rigs that I tried using body-worn.
Great backpack radio.
Mine makes a "roger beep" when UN-Keying (I DONT hear the Noise, it is TRANSMITTED, So everyone on air hears it!)..... although its not a beep, it sounds just like what you would hear on a lot of police or other public service radio after UN-Keying.......... Does ANYONE have any idea how to stop this on the VR-N7500 ?
I know this is a somewhat delayed reply, and you may well have already figured out your issue, but in case you haven’t (or someone else finds this useful), you might want to check “ID Signaling” and be sure those options are toggled off in the settings. That’s the likely cause a “beep” like that.
I am curious to know what are the power levels outputs for mid and low on this radio?
thank you, in your second part can you include testing the repeater function ??
good luck, keep the good work
Very kooky, not sure if I'd ever buy it but certainly interesting. 146KHz AM? Lol. I think it needs some app refining but has potential. 🍻🤓
I nearly purchased one of these about a year ago but was concerned about the software.
I am curious if they are actively developing more polish and features on the software side.
The concept is cool 😎
From my first use a couple years ago, to reinstalling the app a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see that, from a UI/design standpoint the app hasn't changed a bit. I was also surprised to see that there was a firmware update for the radio, and the app did it seamlessly over the air in about 90 seconds. That part really impressed me.
They just updated the iOS app (perhaps today) to show live APRS like we see on the Android app. Josh needs to do another video withe the new iOS update.
I'm beta testing a new version and they have made great steps forward in sorting out bugs and developing the APRS in the Andriod and iOS side of things, hope they can release the update to all soon.
@@MarnochStanden are they updating this or is it dead?
Not dead they update the firmware when need be and they have done an update this week. Min G0JMS @@bryantwalley
I had one of these about a year ago. It worked well except for the front end overloading.
Around Riverside and Mission Valley San Diego it was so bad I had to turn it off. Yes, I tried squelching it and the use of ctcss. Squelching it produced a numb receiver. It just could not filter out strong RF like paging transmitters and the like.
I regretfully returned it.
Can this do something basic like cross band repeater?
Great video! Since there's no 'good' location in my 2022 Ford Ranger to mount a mobile radio... the N7500 might solve that problem. Thanks.
“It’s not Highlander.” Dead. 🤣⚰️
I output from my radio to a switcher box which flips between audio coming from my phone for navigation and music, to any incoming transmissions over the radio. This allows both my wife and I to hear what is being switched over the car's stock sound system amplifier, it and then we just grab the handset to reply. Is this unit basically perfect for us with its headphone port and separate microphone handset? Of course I am all ears to better options, I don't need this much power.
I caved and bought it with your link. Although it's kinda chinese jank, I support developers that innovate. This seems like an absolute blast to use, having a cellphone integrated just makes sense to me since we carry one with us all day long. APRS seems way easier to use with a tablet or cellphone to compared using aprs on a normal radio that supports it. Can't wait to use it on my road trip coming up :)
Where I work, I park my car right outside by the building. I hope the little bluetooth handset can reach my car, this will be epic being able to radio from work with my car parked outside :D
Does anybody know how far the bluetooth reaches? I am wondering if I could use it at home and have a bluetooth mic/combo and how far it will reach
After setting up by using the app, can the 7500 be left to operate on it's own ? or does it nedd the app connected all the time ?
Retevis RT99 is the same radio. WA2EDR
I think this would make a great inexpensive home/garage 2M/70cm. Paired with cheap tab or maybe the Jankapotomus(not sure that would work). Thanks for the review sir!
I just got my call sign today! Already have a Baofeng, but think I want this for my car.
Can you plug an external GPS antenna into this thing? I'm worried that if you bury it somewhere in the dash then the internal GPS may not work.
Nice review of this device, can you take it to that park and test with an Ed Fong J-Pole? I think this is a unique device!
You can plug anything that works well on 2 & 70. I use it on a motorcycle with APRS and with its rugged construction it still works weel after many trips. Just returned from an 1.800 mile ride using RF APRS only.
Will it Tx on GMRS channels?
From a Dutch dealer's website (first I could find with numbers): TX/RX: 136-174 / 400-470 MHz
yes GMRS no prob, it does 400-470 MHz
Oh, that famous jammer on WIN system
The win system strikes again. Lol
@@SamKM4EEO What's the history on WinSystem
I don’t know all the history but I do know that recording gets played a lot. Also don’t go on the win system and say you’re live steaming on TH-cam, they will say it’s against the law and ban you from it.
I like the radio set up. I am new to Ham radio and I have a couple of Android devices. I was thinking that you could connect the radio to an external battery and take it to the park. Perhaps hang an antenna from a tree similar to what I have seen done with the N^TAX antenna. I really haven't gotten beyond my Baofeng and Abree antenna.
Not exactly sure, but that F-YOU clip is pretty common in SoCal.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse bahaha
Lol, sorry my first reply was to the wrong comment. Yes this radio would work ok for that and more limited by the tablet or phone than anything. 👍
FYI, I just tested mine on battery last week. On my LiFePO4 setup with a high charge (near 14VDC), it drew about 8 to 9A on high power (45+ W) transmit. I didn't pay much attention to low power because I was sizing the wiring, but I think medium (~20W) was like 4A draw. You'd want to make your activations short or be prepared to carry a fairly beefy battery.
Need to use manual focus on those screens bud!
I like this radio for possibly putting in my 2019 Subaru where I have 12 volt available in the back of the car. I can get a mag mount out of the back of the car and be on the air. There is a mike with speaker built in that is bluetooth capable, at least I've seen it on the web site. I stay on one repeater most of the time and I might try using a cat cable to bring the mike up to the drivers position. I need a lot more studying on this radio. Thanks for your video. WB6ODR
Now the ultimate question is... Can I use my phone, the Bluetooth PTT switch, and my Sena helmet headset at the same time so I can have this in my saddlebag and chat on Keller while I zoom zoom on 2wheels?
This has been popular with motorcycles. It will pair with your Bluetooth headset.
@@dennisboesiger1033 Awesome! I know what I am asking Santa for for Christmas then 😁
Solved the annoying "roger beep" / APRS tone issue when using the radio on ham or GMRS repeaters (yes it can do GMRS) :Turn off all APRS and ID signaling settings. Problem solved!
I can see 2 seperate places this (or a similar radio) has potential for me. 1st would be mounted in the teardrop trailer, paired with the BT speaker mic, to not be tied directly to the trailer in camp. And 2nd, might be in the house, away fron the shack, so again, I am not having to be next to the radio when using it.
I know about cross band repeat, but that (as far as I know) only allows you to monitor/use one frequency from the base/repeating radio.
Awesome video. Is it possible to link the VGR to a vehicle Android Auto system and use the vehicle handsfree interface for talking. Also change change channels using the vehicle Android Auto interface. If this is possible it will change Ham Radio for mobile use.
Ever since this radio has been out, one of the pics in the ad @ Buytwowayradio shows EXACTLY this connection. But HOW has never been explained. Que the HRCC Investigative team…
Josh, what an awesome rig. I bought one from Gigaparts on sale $107. Loved it so much, purchased a second one, the BT mic and BT “HT”.
How often is that sale? I would love to get one for that price.
I SO wish I could operate the radio from my 2019 Tucson dash display rather than my phone or tablet. Any thoughts out there?
Any chance of doing Winkink on the radio? I guess you could do it with the radio in vox?
I had mine for over two years. I will say the APRS has came along way, since it first came out.
Does their APRS support Smart Beaconing? I waited 2 years and they never implemented it, ended up buying a Yaesu. I told them on their facebook page to just expose an API so people could use APRS Droid; but they didn't respond.
I have used aprs for my wife to follow me on road trips, but it was aprs Droid.
Maybe a similar big 3 version or maybe an american made radio.
Don't hold your breath.
I love it. I use N7500 and Bluetooth HT mic as a mobile. The APRS works.
Is this radio spectrally clean.
Can it do SSTV too?
The timing of your video was spot on for me. I have bought this radio last spring and have used it a few times in one of my vehicles. I just got around to adding repeaters, simplex channels after only adding one repeater and APRS frequencies last spring. I have hooked it up to my power supply at my desk and want to play with it some more without the distraction of driving at the same time to really learn the software and the Bluetooth HT. I like the build design as I want to move it from vehicle to vehicle and not have to install it under the dash. I connect it to a 12v battery in the back and use the tablet/Bluetooth HT mic/speaker up front. I like this radio so far except the included plug in microphone is not very loud on the air (I don't use it). And you are right about the cumbersome application (Android). But I love the APRS capability and that was the main reason for me to get this radio as opposed to another more standard mobile dual band radio. For the price of this with the Bluetooth HT, it is still on the low side of radios that are capable of 50w but still usually don't have APRS capability. Yes, the learning curve is higher, but it will be worthwhile. Thanks Josh. 73 Mark K5MGK
So I have this radio, and its been great. I don't have the bluetooth mic, but the weird thing about this is that I can take my tablet upstairs and chat via my tablet no problem and my radio is inside the garage. How does this mic with an antenna not reach as far, but my tablet does?
The radio section has a small BT antenna mounted on the front and people have extended this by fitting better antenna or mounting the cover more forward on studs. I don't know where the FM antenna is mounted or even if there is one in the antenna section... not stripped it down to look at :>) Min G0JMS
Some tablets have larger batteries and the manufacturer will take advantage of this by slightly boosting the power on both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Technically however they are both limited to about 30 ish feet / 10 meters. Another issue is even though you are "upstairs" where are you in relation to your garage? If at opposite ends of the house, you are lucky! Count your blessings and enjoy!
Cool device. I wonder why there's a character limit on a device that doesn't have a display?
8 characters is a common hardware limit for small memory systems. They put a slick Bluetooth interface in, but I believe the hardware is relatively basic inside. The memories are saved to the radio itself as well as the app, and it can be operated from the wired or wireless mic without a phone/tablet once you get it setup.
Not defending the decision mind you, but I assume they either never thought of giving it more memory, or they chose not to for cost reasons.
The radio has a small memory, storing 16 memories only even when switched off, the Andriod app will store as many groups of 16 channels as you want and easly changed.
But the programing cables and programs for some rigs are around 50 dollars!
Don't need any leads or programs, there is a free memory excel spreadsheet for programing the radio and you email the 16 hannels to your phone and it takes it in simple.
Love my 7500, have 192 frequencies in 12 banks
The yellow rig gives cross band repeat a new name
What’s the name?
How about “Bananarang” ( ©️ Me, just now)
Yellow and Boomerang of sorts with your signal…
Is there any chance that you could tell me what digital radios work with MacBook Pro ie yeasu. Ft5dr or anytone dmr
That rig to me would make a good first attempt at a manpack.
Never again a chinese Radio. Had a lot of them and all are unfinished products. TNX for the Video, but no Radio device anymore from China.
N6ARA paddle looks nifty!
wish it had ssb and cw options as well- miss my 2 meter all mode
The affliate link doesn’t appear to go to the rig on the website. Just FYI… probably not working. :-)
There is plenty of information on the radio and a shame that their website is not, clear as the app does several radio models, look on FB and Google Groups for help groups.
That’s the link. It takes you to the website and you can pull up the N7500
@@HamRadioCrashCourse RR. Just wanted to make sure the “affiliate” part was working. Can’t really tell they’re crediting you… grin.
..... I lose my mind constantly! Great job, I've had this for 3 or 5 years through a craigslist deal and it just came with it. I finally have a use for it. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it and I now use this in my company vehicle. I'm going to have to use an external speaker because the wireless speaker mic is a little weak. I thought about buying the HT thingy and might due to it has an antenna and may work better than the speaker mic itself. TX audio quality is excellent but you MUST run mic gain on lowest setting for the wireless mic. It's very HOT otherwise. Cool little unit and I don't mind using the phone to dial up the channels. Once you get used to the interface and get your channels in there it's pretty easy to use. I don't use the APRS functionality I have APRS droid for that if I choose to use it......Once again great video.
Thank you!!
I must have one of these nifty transceivers.
Does this allow you to contact to nodes and join in on nets or conversation without having to have a piehat
Too bad that the Bluetooth is weak. This might have been a great CERT device.
Given local terrain and distances, a 5W HT doesn’t quite work for some events. I’d love to have a ~50W VHF radio driving a decent antenna, on a tripod, safely off the road, but also be able to walk 30’ from the radio (e.g., directing traffic) and still operate. I.e., the portability of an HT with the power of a base station.
Sounds like the perfect use case for a cross band repeater.
In the open air without walls or bodies between it will do 30ft distance as I have tested it, some have increased the distance with better BT antenna systems or just moving the front panel forward to expose the BT antenna. It will not do Crossband but the Network side to RF can be good and works well. Details of extending BT on FB pages for the N7500.
Did you try the Coss Band Repeater From Network Channel To Analog
No APRS smart beaconing and it won't connect to the bluetooth speaker system in my car like the Anytone. And like the Anytone, it would be nice to just have a PTT button.
It comes with a wired mic with a PTT button. At least, mine did a couple years ago. I bought a BT handmic that looks just like the wired mic for something like $40 at the same time.
Oh yeah, there's also a dedicated BT PTT that you can strap to a steering wheel shift lever or something. I didn't get one so I don't know much about it
@@notreallydaedalus I have the BT PTT button but I am not sure that works with this radio. But it would be a no from me without smart beaconing which is my main use for APRS.
The APRS has been improved and resent upgrades make it much better, it's not designed to connect to the car system, which could be years old, but some have been able too. There is a rear speaker socket that you could use wired or BT.
I used my VR-N7500 on the way to work this morning. It's a pretty decent rig. Especially for APRS.
can this radio be used without having a smartphone connected to it?