Railfan Technology > Vertex 150 vs 170

There have been lots of discussions about these radio recently, but I have a very simple question - banks and other features aside - how does the 150 and 170 compare reception and intermod wise? I believe the published sensitivity is a little better on the on 150 but it is true in real use?

I only need to scan a few channels at a time so scan speeds are not all that important and I don't mind spending a few minutes reconfiguring channels if I am going to travel.

Maybe not such a simple question, I suspect that since the 170 is the newest and latest offering that it may take a while for them to proliferate to the degree where someone can get a "side by side" comparison. There is a thread below, pertaining to the 150 and 170, where I responded that if the scanning flexibility of the 170 has been upgraded to the degree that banking is an option, then it may be worth the small sacrifice that the specs imply.
In my experience, the specs don't always tell the whole story, and I assume thats why you asked the question.

You nailed it TM3. Trying to figure out if I want to put the old HX1000 and HX1500 out to pasture...

I have a HX-1000 and a VX-150. The Vx-150 is close to the 1000. Just enough difference to notice ( just barely though ). I end up using the VX-150 more than the 1000 because of size. It is much easier to pack on a hike up a hill to a photo spot. The only thing I do not like about the VX-150 is no priority while scanning so I have missed a few draggers when somebody on another channel is yapping oh well.

I like the VX for the battery time I bought the AA battery back and put some 2500 Mah NIMH's in it. I get about 30+ hours of scanning out of them. But you cannot charge them with the enclosed wall wart ( well you could but it would take about 3 days ) so I had to but a Maha power-ex C777-plus II battery charger for it. I now have more money in the batterys and charger than the radio. But I think it is well worth it as the stock battery pack only went about 10 hours.

What I end up doing is have the 1000 hooked up to the mag mount in the car and pack the VX out to take pictures.

I looked into the VX-170 and it does have some nice features but there is a small difference in sensitivity specs how much of a difference in actual reception I cannot say. But I can say I have both a HX-1000 and a VX-150 and I like them both. I am happy with the 150 so I will not be getting a 170 just to see how it compares. Now if someone would get it for X-mas for me that is a different story eh!.

Well that is probably more than you wanted. I did not have an answer about the difference's but I hope my endless blabbering helps a little.

Scott O'Dell

Thanks Scott, just the kind of comments I was looking for.

seod Wrote:
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<snip>
> I like the VX for the battery time I bought the
> AA battery back and put some 2500 Mah NIMH's in
> it. I get about 30+ hours of scanning out of them.
> But you cannot charge them with the enclosed wall
> wart ( well you could but it would take about 3
> days ) so I had to but a Maha power-ex C777-plus
> II battery charger for it. I now have more money
> in the batterys and charger than the radio. But I
> think it is well worth it as the stock battery
> pack only went about 10 hours.
<snip>

That's a question I had forgot to ask--and also a reason why I was never real happy with my HX1000: Do the Vertex 150/170 radios come with proprietary battery packs like the Regency radios did?

I always hated that, especially since the battery packs had to be charged while in the radio and their life wasn't that great (I didn't have an external charger, and I don't remember if one was even available). The overall useful life of the packs seemed pretty poor too...

Also, I had a scanner that I had problems with because it would lose programming easily--can't remember if that was the Regency or maybe a Radio Shack unit I had. Seems like if the batteries got too low (unit was left on) or there was a bump/shock (mild) to the radio, poof!--the program was gone... Haven't had that problem with any of my recent units...

I loaned the HX1000 to my Mom for a few years, but she gave it back a few years ago. Since I've had other units (and because of the battery issue I described), I've never tried it out again. I have since heard (on here and from a friend) that the HX1000 was one of the best scanners ever made. Mine is buried somewhere in the house, but when I find it, I guess I'll give it another shot. I'll need new battery packs, but at least I saved the old ones and can re-use the plugs.

A few more questions:

Any ideas how to charge HX1000 battery packs outside the radio, so I can be charging one while using the other? Was an external charger ever available?

Also--for the battery experts out there--when I get new packs made, the milliamp-hour rating on the batteries will undoubtedly be much higher than the old originals. Will the original charger still be sufficient to charge them? Probably will take longer to charge? Okay for the innards of the radio (especially if no external charger is available)? Any other issues?

One more for the battery experts: The new packs will have to be NiCd packs, correct? I'm not a big NiCd fan because of their memory issues. Maybe the newer batteries aren't as susceptible? Can one use NiMH instead, or are the electronics not set up right for them?

Thanks for any insight!
-Wes

As for the battery pack. It is a separate pack that clips on the back. But they do make a pack that takes AA batteries. That is the one I use with some 2500 Mah NIMH batteries in it. If you buy the Maha battery charger that I mentioned in my previous post. It has moveable charging contacts so you can make it charge almost anything. I use it to charge my HX-1000 all the time. The maha also will discharge the battery first if you want so you will not get the memory effect of the NiCad's. I get a much better charge with it than with either the Regency wall wart or their fast charger.

About charging the HX-1000 battery outside the radio. Scanner world made a little thing where you could plug in the battery pack in one end and a wall wart in the other it worked OK but after a few times of taking the batteries out and putting them back in the plugs started to get real lose. They did not stand up real well to constant removal and replacement. It was better for me to buy a second HX-1000 and do it that way. I do not think Nimh will work in the HX-1000. I had a pack made at batteries plus and they did not think the Nimh's would charge in the radio so I got a 1100 Mah Nicd pack made. for less than buying a lesser pack from scanner world. It lasts about 13 to 15 hours.

With the 2500 mah Nimh pack I have for the VX-150 I charged it and used it on a Amtrak trip from Chicago to Reno. I probably got 35 hours from the pack and it is still going. Well worth the money. The FBA-25 6 AA holder I think is about $25 or so and when I bought the 2500 Mah Nimh they were $25 for 4 ( no 2 packs so I have 2 extra ). So I had about $75 into the pack and about $80 into the Maha charger. They now have 2500 Mah AA at wally world for $9 for 4 oh well progress.

I hope this answers your questions. I would keep the HX-1000 and get a VX-150. I also would like to know how the 150 compares to the 170. I think it will be marginally less in the reception area. I always test on the weather channels I find the weakest one and go from there. They are pretty close to the RR band so it works pretty good for me . Not very sophisticated but it works for me testing by ear.

Scott O'Dell

> That's a question I had forgot to ask--and also a
> reason why I was never real happy with my HX1000:
> Do the Vertex 150/170 radios come with proprietary
> battery packs like the Regency radios did?

Yes, all ham-commercial handie-talkies come with proprietary battery packs.

> I always hated that, especially since the battery
> packs had to be charged while in the radio and
> their life wasn't that great (I didn't have an
> external charger, and I don't remember if one was
> even available). The overall useful life of the
> packs seemed pretty poor too...

The battery pack that comes with the radio has the least capacity.

"Drop-in" chargers are available from the manufacturer.

>
> Also, I had a scanner that I had problems with
> because it would lose programming easily--can't
> remember if that was the Regency or maybe a Radio
> Shack unit I had. Seems like if the batteries got
> too low (unit was left on) or there was a
> bump/shock (mild) to the radio, poof!--the program
> was gone... Haven't had that problem with any of
> my recent units...

Newer radios have a separate "memory" battery which will last around 10 years.

> I loaned the HX1000 to my Mom for a few years, but
> she gave it back a few years ago. Since I've had
> other units (and because of the battery issue I
> described), I've never tried it out again. I have
> since heard (on here and from a friend) that the
> HX1000 was one of the best scanners ever made.
> Mine is buried somewhere in the house, but when I
> find it, I guess I'll give it another shot. I'll
> need new battery packs, but at least I saved the
> old ones and can re-use the plugs.
>
> A few more questions:
>
> Any ideas how to charge HX1000 battery packs
> outside the radio, so I can be charging one while
> using the other? Was an external charger ever
> available?
>
> Also--for the battery experts out there--when I
> get new packs made, the milliamp-hour rating on
> the batteries will undoubtedly be much higher than
> the old originals. Will the original charger still
> be sufficient to charge them? Probably will take
> longer to charge? Okay for the innards of the
> radio (especially if no external charger is
> available)? Any other issues?

For the HX-1000, don't know. Likely the charger will just take a

lot longer.
>
> One more for the battery experts: The new packs
> will have to be NiCd packs, correct? I'm not a big
> NiCd fan because of their memory issues. Maybe the
> newer batteries aren't as susceptible? Can one use
> NiMH instead, or are the electronics not set up
> right for them?

The scanner electronics can handle the NiMH just fine, the only issue

will be charging. NiMH batteries have a different charging profile.

This will be a problem only with a older drop-in charger. If you choose

to get a new radio, it will most likely come with NiMH batteries and a

charger that will "know" if the pack is NiMH or NiCd. (some have little

tabs or detents to inform the drop-in charger...some have switches the

operator must activate)

> Thanks for any insight!

If you choose to buy the VX-1XX, you may wish to get a battery CASE from the maker

when you order it. A battery CASE will typically hold AA batteries. You can in put

your own rechargable batteries or alkaline batteries. I've had bad luck with 3rd party

battery cases. They are a little cheaper and just don't seem to fit correctly.

I'd stay away from "no-name" rechargable batteries. Bought some supposedly 1800

mAh supposedly NiMH AA cells at a hamfest. Junk. I'd recommend getting your

rechargable batteries from Panasonic through Digi-Key. Even Radio Schlock

rechargables are really not that awful.

The batteries in the CASE can be charged with the "wall wart" through the radio's

built-in charging circuitry or you can remove them and charge them in a purpose-built

AA charger.

> -Wes

> Do the Vertex 150/170 radios come with proprietary
> battery packs like the Regency radios did?
>
> I always hated that, especially since the battery
> packs had to be charged while in the radio

I've used the drop in quick charger for the VX-150. While the trickle charger is better for the battery, the quick charger is handy. The drop in charger will charge a battery connected to the radio or it will charge just a battery pack removed from the radio. If you have two battery packs and the drop in charger you need never have the HT run down as long as you have AC (or 12 V) where you can plug the charger.

I also bought one of the AA cell holders for the VX-150. I normally use NiMH cells in the pack, but in a pinch you can always find regular AA cells. Obviously, I don't try to charge the AA cell holder in the quick charger (and I don't think there are even contacts in the AA cell holder for a connection to the charger).

I have both a VX-150 and VX-170. My 150 has an aftermarket Smiley antenna which improves its sensitivity considerably. My 170 uses the stock antenna. My very unscientific conclusion from checking weak signals: I think the 170 might actually beat the 150 on sensitivity when both have stock antennas, though the difference is pretty minimal. Oddly, using the aftermarket antenna on the 170 improves it a little, but not as much as it does on the 150. Go figure. In any case, both have sensitivity and selectivity that beat the pants off most any scanner, and both are great radios for the money.

Which do I like best? It's a tossup. One thing the 170 has that bests the 150 is audio output. The 170 is as loud as some commercial hand helds. The 150 is no slouch on audio output--the 170 is just better. Also, unlike the 150, the 170 has a screw-in connection for a speaker-mike, so the cord doesn't come unplugged at inopportune moments, like the 150's speaker-mike will. So, if you use a speaker-mike, the 170 is better there, too. Both radios are built to commercial standards for physical ruggedness--I think the 170 is a little better than the 150 in this area, too.

My one beef with both radios is that you can't lockout the keyboard when the radio is in scan mode. This means you can accidently bump the keyboard while the radio is scanning and unknowingly take it out of scan mode. It would be nice if Yaesu could fix that.

WW Wrote:
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<snip>
> My one beef with both radios is that you can't
> lockout the keyboard when the radio is in scan
> mode. This means you can accidently bump the
> keyboard while the radio is scanning and
> unknowingly take it out of scan mode. It would be
> nice if Yaesu could fix that.

I see what you mean. I just bought the 170 last week, and I am working on getting familiar with it. The lack of lockout during scanning *is* really stupid! I wonder if that could be upgraded from a computer download in the future, without having to get a new radio... Other than this, it seems like a great radio so far.
-Wes