Upon initial inspection, it seems to be a solid radio. Well built. As far as functionality, it is a very simple radio to navigate and use. I find it very beginner friendly. It may be a plus or minus but there is no programming cable. Everything is done on the radio itself or the app. Which is geared heavily towards Android devices. IOS has an app but greatly limits the capabilities of this radio. Pairing is hit or miss. Sometimes it works and some it doesn’t. I bought this radio on a Wednesday. That evening I paired it no problem and began programming. Thursday, no problem. Sunday, wouldn’t pair at all. Tried several times.. just no. This is unfortunately a common issue with app based radios... The awesomeness is that (when you can pair up) this is the easiest radio I have ever programmed. I mean with the greatest of ease!

Now, I compared it with the Yaesu VX-6. As stated, both are well built. However, I found that when operating in certain rooms in my house that where even the Yaesu had moderate to some heavy snow didn’t hold a candle to the blizzard that was happening on the VGC. I add that both radios were tested with a Diamond SRH77CA antenna. I’d expect underperformance with the factory antenna but not so much with a good antenna. So, RX is a kind of a real problem with this radio… Where the Yaesu would pick up vocalizations and I could understand most of the conversations, solid static or silence on the VR-76. I played around with the squelch and noticed that it’s not as adjustable as I’d like it. Even set on 1 it’s either too little or too much.

I’ve also noticed that the voice audio seems low on this radio. I have to turn the volume up particularly high to listen and if there’s a beep or other noise it’s really loud. The VX-6 also wins this round.

The compass… It will give position and elevation and such. But the compass itself should point north?? It says to lay flat and move in a figure 8 position to orientate the compass, I’ve done that many times and it still hasn’t done what I thought it should do…. Point north. That might be a me problem but it’s worth noting.

It has an FM radio that can be useful. Does not have the NOAA weather station as some radios do. As far as the features of this radio, again, an Android geared radio, if you don’t already have Android devices you’re going to have to buy an Android tablet from Amazon to explore the full spectrum it has to offer. But from what I have experienced already, I find the price is right roughly for the performance. Certainly nothing more. And I believe 2 stars is fair for a rating. It is not a contender for the Yaesu VX-6. I feel that it’s a BTech/Beofeng level radio +/-… Which I find disappointing because after much research online I see that it has mostly good reviews and is well spoken of from well known radio enthusiasts. Yet, I like it but I just don’t love it.

If you’re looking for a serious radio for every day carry and/or you want a radio for a bug out bag, prepping, SKYWARN, ARES, for serious use, the VX-6, Anytone, TYT, are superior. I will say that the VR-76 is kind of in a league of its own with the app and features. It is just sometimes frustratingly quirky and has its issues but if you love tinkering with radios and love the hobby, it’s worth the consideration.