VR-N7500 VHF/UHF FM Transceiver with Bluetooth

VR-N7500: Dual band 2m/70cm FM radio with 50W transmit power (40W on 70cm), without control panel (headless).

The VR-N7500 is a dual band VHF/UHF FM radio with 50W transmit power (40W on 70cm). The special feature of this radio is that it does not have a classic control panel, but is programmed and operated via an app. The VR-N7500 has a robust design and is very compact, making it ideal for installation in vehicles. The loudspeaker is located in the handheld microphone, a wired loudspeaker/microphone is included. A battery-powered Bluetooth LS/microphone is available as an option, and a Bluetooth PTT is also supplied with this option. This makes it easy to set up a hands-free system, in which you always keep your hands on the steering wheel while driving.

The VR-N7500 radio measures just 160 x 100 x 40 mm and weighs less than 1 kg. The die-cast aluminium housing is equipped with large cooling fins, and a fan provides additional cooling. There is no speaker built into the housing, and audio is played back either through the supplied speaker/microphone, or through an optional external speaker, or through the audio system connected via Bluetooth, or through the smartphone. Modulation is either via the supplied loudspeaker/microphone, the connected app or via a suitable BT hands-free kit. The VR-N7500 is always equipped with Bluetooth. The range of the Bluetooth connection is limited, but is fully sufficient to supply a vehicle in the interior.

The VR-N7500 Dualband is operated and set up via a free app on the smartphone. Apps are available for Android and IOS, with the IOS app supporting only a few basic functions. A complete setup including APRS is currently (May 2020) only possible with the Android app. The app offers different views. During normal operation a road map is displayed. There is also a PTT button on the screen. The own location as well as the locations of linked radio partners are shown on the map. The position determined by the smartphone via GPS is used to broadcast your own location via APRS. As soon as the transmission signal is heard by an APRS gateway, the location is displayed on the usual services, for example on aprs.fi . The APRS functionality requires an english language Android environment. We hope that this limitation will be overcome with a future update,

Another screen view shows a memory bank with 16 freely programmable memory locations. Any number of memory banks can be stored on the smartphone and quickly changed. For example, you can create a separate memory bank for each region. Relay operation with storage is possible as well as simplex operation, also cross-band operation. If desired, a scan function checks all 16 channels of a memory bank for activity. A special feature of the VR-N7500 is the ability to network two radios via app and Internet. In this way, a bridge can be built between two regions via Internet connection, allowing all participants in the respective regions to communicate with each other. This could be, for example, the remote Fieldday site and the city of the local radio club.