Leixen VV-898 Review

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Here is a quick review of the Leixen VV-898 mobile radio. I bought it to fit to my Motorbike because of its size and mid-range power output. It has been mentioned on other sites and blogs that the audio is low when you put it into narrowband. The supplier I bought it from said that was not an issue so I decided to go for a punt. As it was an online sale I can send it back under the UK distance selling rules.
Long story short, the audio is very low n=on narrowband. It is fine on wideband. As I need the rig to operate on narrowband I can’t use it so it is going back. It is a pity really. I do like the rig and it is packed with useful features you will actually use.
The low audio on narrowband is the only flaw in what could be an exceptional rig. I can only hope that the second or third generation this issue is resolved.

Опубликовано:

21 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 73

@paulbillingham4594 9 лет назад

Hi G7OEA, I am a newish foundation licence holder and have two of these radio's. The first one was simply far too quiet on narrow and wide band and I was sent a replacement. The company did not want the faulty one back, so looked into increasing the volume. After removing the foam packing inside the mike on the first one and drilling out the hole far bigger it worked really well. Again like yours narrow band was an issue. I use mine for repeater work, but on Simplex have had QSO on 10 watts as far as the south Essex coast and North Kent. I live in Suffolk. Thank you for posting your review. Yours has been one of the most helpful reviews and tutorials on these radios I have seen. As you know the book is a little short on solving issues. Cheers M6MIY

@G7OEA 8 лет назад

Thanks for all the comments. I bought another one a few months later as they were on sale. Well I actually bought two at the price they were being sold at. I have to admit both of the new ones perform well on narrow band. It is not uncommon with Chinese radios that the first or second generations have issues. Once those issues are ironed out your left with a great product for the price. You have to remember hat these devices are built to a price. They factor in a 10% return / failure rate and the best place to test your device is in the open market. At the price most Chinese radios are sold at if it fails then no love lost you buy another one. Kenwood yeasu and icom cant compete in that market. I will be putting out an update video on a few weeks. Time is not my friend at the moment.

@CB-RADIO-UK 9 лет назад

Thanks for the review. Very interesting. Thumbs up

@GordonHudson 8 лет назад

I have the "E" version which does 25W and has the option to have the keypad lights only come on when pressed. Transmit audio has been good. Suspect earlier versions were set up for Chinese PMR standards. A good buy for £63.

@m3hnl 6 месяцев назад

a realy good radio the original mic is not very good. i brought a replacement mic for the vv898s its a lot better than the mic on the vv898 works a treat. still using my vv-898 with the vv-898s mic.

@jeromegrzelak8236 5 лет назад

make the hole where is larger 4 more audio

@samradioman3843 2 года назад

I noticed you did not toggle the HT from wide to narrow to match the setting of the transmitter. Have you tried having both radios set in the same mode of wide or narrow? Seems to me that both radios must be in the same mode for RX & TX to be effective.

@ed-jf3xh 5 лет назад

If you are on narrow band, the tx aud is quiet because you probably didn't change your ht rec to narrow. Had you, the tx aud would have been louder. Narrow vs wide for audio is different than for channel spacing. Narrow for tx aud is only 2.5khz deviation. Like CB, they are narrow. Norm deviation for ham radio is 5khz (wide). 60 years ago, wide was 12.5khz and narrow was 5khz but that was when channel spacing was 25khz. A lot of radios still had valves back then. My two pence.

@battlestarone 7 лет назад

if other radio are set to narrow as well the audio should be ok..anyone on narrow talking to another radio on wide will sound lower audio...common complaint..ham radio in the uk is now 12.5khz narrow in the uk on 2mrs

@cpreovol 4 года назад

How did you mount this on your bike. I have a V-Strom I want to mount it on. I had been throwing a Yaseu 50w mobile unit in my tank back for special events where I worked ham radio support, but its not the best solution.

@stephenhanson4513 9 лет назад

mine on narrow band and works great but as you say a great little had simplex contacts and both said audio was very good

@smithsterj 7 лет назад

Bought the 25 watt version. Comes in today.

@wdsracer 2 года назад

How did the radio work for you?

@whatsleftoftherealmctester8844 3 года назад

This does tri band but i dont knoe how to get it

@Jammeraz1955 6 лет назад

Hi I programmed 3 channels, 1,2,3. Now I want to scan those thre but the unit wants to scan all of them. Any suggestions? Thanks

@austinbentley6234 7 лет назад

Is it possible to show the channel name instead of frequency? Thanks.

@ryanbuckley5529 7 лет назад

I just got this radio and it turns it's self off in a few mins and the sleep mode is off, someone please help!

@SpookieNZL 8 лет назад

Hello There, I was Just Wondering if this Radio in VFO Mode goes up to 520MHz. Cheers 73

@G7OEA 8 лет назад

I am getting a lot of comments regarding the antenna am using in the video. It is a 25w dummy load with a PL 259 connector. For those new to the hobby I have included a link describing what a dummy load does. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_load

@ironroadnews6569 8 лет назад

You can change it to wide band and you need to remove the plastic over the mic and drill out the hole that will help menu 50 is where you can change it to wide

@G7OEA 8 лет назад

I've seen that mod. The purpose I bought the rig for was robust on allstar and PMR. Both systems work on narrow band. One test is did do was to connect the radio to my bike communications system bade by autocom. Even with that system the audio was low on narrowband. I have bought two more and they seem mush better. I will post a video soon as I have the time. Thanks for the comment. I hope others find it useful.

@hectorltorresramirez8199 8 лет назад

I got one, will put my on a pelican case.

@radioboy75 9 лет назад

This should be obvious and I don't mean to question your intelligence, but was the HT set to narrow band? Because trying to listen to a narrow band transmission in wide band mode -- by definition -- would make it hard to hear. Most amateur radio transmissions are still in wide band, at least in the United States.

@G7OEA 9 лет назад

+Scott Van Aartsen The HT was set to narrow band too.

@jerzbound 9 лет назад

what is the porcupine -ish antenna connected to the leixen at the beginning of the video? i'm new to ham and i don't know how to look it up for purchase here in the states. is it only used for scanning or can it transmit a signal out a bit. thanks :)

@rickstirling7045 9 лет назад

+jerzbound That is a 50 ohm dummy load. It is used to prevent your signal from going much further than a few meters for bench testing.

@Team-fabulous 8 лет назад

Excellent video,..

@jimmygerilius8494 7 лет назад

good review. Someone on a different website (amazon) had wrote that the volume/speaker audio levels are either too loud, or too quiet when you increment from one level to the next. Is this true? ...meaning the "sweet-spot" cant be obtained on audio level. Thanks Jimmyg

@philfoulkes7327 7 лет назад

jimmy gerilius not on the two I have.

@ZairiomarWPEFOJPT 3 года назад

Sir, how to delete frequensi

@ironroadnews6569 8 лет назад

Here in Illinois I do not use narrow band but I will play around with it. If I find a fix I will pass it on to you my friend

@G7OEA 8 лет назад

Share the knowledge Scott. The new ones I have bought are fine. One thing I have found with the Chinese radio market is that they use the public as their test bench. The first and second generation tend to have minor flaws. As they get reported back to the manufacturer they get fixed. It looks like Lexian have done that. As i keep pointing out to the icom, yeasu and kenwood fans, these radios are built to a price. By using the public to find the faults is a way to keep the cost down. They expect a 10% failure return rate. From a dealer perspective they are pretty good either sending a replacement or a refund back to the dealer. No one loses out and it keeps the price to a point that low income hams can afford a half decent radio.

@ironroadnews6569 8 лет назад

I agree I will share as time goes on my friend

@ironroadnews6569 8 лет назад

I think they are the perfect radio for the beginner also

@Hydrostream1972 5 лет назад

do you need a license for that radio? ??? vhf is marine band ..right for water application then UHF IS GROUND APPLICATION? ?? IS THERE A VID ON IT ABOUT ALL THE CHANNELS FOR WHAT EACH CHANNEL IS....

@G7OEA 5 лет назад

It depends on what country you are in. VHF and UHF are not always case use specific. VHF if used for Marine use as like you say it travels well over water. As for licensing. This again is country specific. If your in the USA then contact the ARRL. The radio I have is designed for the European market. If you buy one in your country there should be one for your country bands. As for videos I would search on Google for your country's band plans. Sorry if my answer is a bit vague. If you were in the UK I could give you a better answer. How this helps and thanks for watching.