Best Vertex Standard Spirit (VXA-710) Transceiver Deals

Customer Ratings:

This radio is great. I've had it for about a week now and have spent some time with it at the airport and at home. I'm a CFI and I really like that I can have this radio to listen to my solo students on their flights. I'll just go ahead and list some pros and cons I've come across so far:

Pros:

-Good size. Not too bulky or heavy to carry on your belt like some other radios.

-Extremely rugged design. Rubber bumpers, metal casing, fully submersible. I'm not too worried about it getting destroyed

-Fantastic Rx/Tx for handheld with a rubber duck antenna. I live 5.6nm from my home base airport and 500ft lower in elevation, I can sit this radio on the windowsill and listen to the ASOS, Tower and ground, and I even pick up Approach/Departure control located 30nm away. We tested the Tx clarity on our flight school frequency, and achieved load and clear communication from ground to air at 15nm and 4,000ft AGL.

-One of my favorite features of this radio is the "Dual Watch" function. It allows you to monitor two frequencies on .5 sec intervals. It's nice to have sitting listening on approach & school frequencies, or tower & ground and monitor our students in the area.

-I don't know how much I'll use them, but it's cool to be able to listen to Music on the FM band, and business band chatter.

-I like the VOR interfac

-Extremely customizable. From the keys tones, to the RGB values of the alert light for various modes, this radio has SO MANY customizations.

-Good memory set up. You can set up all your favorite frequencies and assign Alpha Nmeric names and flip through them really easily with the dial on the top.

Cons:

-Not very intuitive interface. Don't get this if you don't plan on reading the manual. Once you know how to operate it it cans easily be done with one hand, and it's not difficult, but there are some button combinations and markings that will throw you for a loop if you don't read.

-on the air band the channel spacing is locked at 25khz. This radio is not compatible with European 8.33khz channel spacing. The advertised channel spacing is only available for the BRS frequencies. Not a big deal if you don't fly in Europe.

Great radio. Buy it!

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When debating the purchase of a transceiver, I was considering both Sporty's SP-400 and this, Vertex's VXA-710. The SP-400 had a unique feature that the VXA-710 lacked; this was the full ILS display. However, the SP-400 was over $100 more expensive. Moreover, the SP-400 lacked the durability that the VXA-710 seemed to have had and this was its [more durable] case construction. According to Vertex Standard's website, "The VXA-710's case, speaker enclosure, and controls are carefully sealed against water ingress, allowing the transceiver to be specified for protection against water ingress per IPX7 specifications (immersion to 3 feet/1 m for 30 minutes)." The VXA-710 also included a headset adaptor and antenna adaptor (SMA to BNC) which are not included with Sporty's SP-400. With regard to performance, the VXA-710 has good receive and transmit range and quality -both in air and on the ground.

Best Deals for Vertex Standard Spirit (VXA-710) Transceiver

I like this radio. It works well, picks up a great signal, and the battery last a long time. It's a little complex to set up. But if you just want to pick up a couple of freq, you just need to tune it to them. I use it to check the weather and to see what the latest is going on as I drive to the airport. Plus it's my backup if my radio in my plane goes down. So far, happy with it.

Honest reviews on Vertex Standard Spirit (VXA-710) Transceiver

This is a great compact unit with all the cool features that I needed.

The transmitter is very powerful for such an small handheld transiver.

The audio quality is very good too and the weather frequency scanner and VOR functions are just perfect for the job.

Pros: Solid, small, powerful, long lasting battery life and many cool futures to pilots. The water resistant future works like a charm. I live in Costa Rica and my VXA710 have taken some very heavy rains with out any problem at all. It's also a very cool looking unit too.

Cons: Setting all the preferences and functions could take some time but is not a big deal considering that you will end up with a very personalized transiver for all your individual needs and preferences.

Go for it guys... this radio is really awesome.

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I don't need to say how important is to have a portable radio should you ever have a radio failure in your aircraft. This radio comes with an adapter that will hook to your headset easily, so in the case you do have a radio failure you can still fly the airplane while staying in communication. The battery lasts weeks without charging (assuming you don't use the radio constantly). Other than emergencies, I've found this radio VERY CONVENIENT to listen to the ATIS while at the airport. This actually saves me money when I fly since by the time I start the engine, I've already got the numbers (hey, if you're a pilot you know that every minute ADDS UP). If you're a STUDENT pilot, this radio can serve as practice by being able to listen to ATC becoming familiar with communications. And if you RENT airplanes, then you know that you NEVER KNOW how good those radios can be.