Veasu UV-8R / Yaesu VX-8R

I spend a lot of time browsing online stores and other websites for new models of Chinese radios and I found one recently that made me laugh. The Veasu UV-8R! I found this on AliExpress, eBay and another leading Chinese radio store.

 
It is a dual band radio covering 136-176/400-520MHz on transmit and receive and contains the usual features:

• Dual band, Dual display, dual standby
• 2w/3w/5w Power Setting 
• Emergency Alarm
• ANI CODE(PTT ID)
• FM Radio
• DTMF
• Low Battery Alert
• Squelch Tail Elimination
• Power. >5W
• Channel Annunciation
• Auto Power-savimg
• Multiple Scanning
• Sound Alarm
• Keypad lockout
• Full-function keypad
• Program alphanumeric channel name
• Large Capacity Li-ion Battery
• Busy Channel Lockout(BCLO)
• Squelch Level Programmable
• 128 memory channels 

Note the tri power setting, not sure why any manufacturer would put 2w and 3w power settings in a radio as it wouldn't be noticeable at all.

It certainly doesn't have the same price tag as a Yaesu at £300-£360. The Veasu is around £35 delivered which is a bargain for a two way radio which I have no doubt works very well.

 
It has all the same buttons and lights that the Yaesu has which makes me think that some factory in China has gotten hold of Yaseu injection moulds and slightly modified them to produce their own radio. Note the screen size is slightly different.

Although this is a blatant copy of the Yaseu VX-8R, I do rather like it and think I'll get one in the coming weeks to test out. It is clearly a UV-5R inside as you can see from the screen layout in the image below. It claims to be submersible but that is definitely not true.

The main difference is the printing on the buttons, the keypad has different functions to the Yaesu version. Oh and the Yaesu is a tri-band radio, the Veasu is just a dual band.

Technical Info:

Frequency Range	134-176/400-520MHz
Channel Capacity	128
Frequency Stability	2.5ppm
Frequency Step	2.5kHz/ 5kHz/ 6.25kHz/ 10kHz/ 12.5kHz/ 25kHz
Antenna Impedance	50Ω
Operating temperature	–20°C to +60°C
Supply voltage	Rechargeable Lithium-Ion  7.4V/1200mAh
Consumption in standby	≤75mA
Consumption in reception	380mA
Consumption in transmission	≤1.4A
Mode of operation	Simplex or semi-duplex

Transmitter
RF Power	5W/3W/2W
Type of modulation	FM
Emission class	16KφF3E/11KφF3E(W/N)
Maximum deviation	≤±5kHz/≤±2.5kHz(W/N)
Spurious emissions	<-60dB
Receiver
Receiver Sensitivity	0.2μV(at 12 dB SINAD)
Intermodulation	60dB
Audio output	1000mW
Adjacent channel selectivity	65/60dB

These Chinese clones usuall annoy the hell out of me but I do like this one, it looks the part and you'd easily mistake it for the genuine article at a glance. Stay tuned, I may well be reviewing this in time to come! 

Thanks for reading!

 

73's, Lewis M3HHY.

Manchester, UK.