Yaesu Pro-X
- By from Lincoln, Nebraska on Friday, May 13, 2016
- Pros: Good radio, comes with all of the adapters and charging equipment you need.
- Cons: People who don't read the instruction book.
- Review: Many have suggested the back light duration is too short. A quick look at the instruction book reveals it is adjustable through the settings mode.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 38 Other people found this review helpful.
Verified Purchase
I would buy this product again.
- By A.N. from Beaver Dams NY USA on Thursday, August 11, 2016
- Pros: Very well built!
- Cons: None
- Review: The programming of the radio was simple, and a great feature. I like that you can program edit and save all of your data on your laptop. The radio functions as it should and is very clear and easy to use in flight. A huge plus is that it comes with all the very nessary assecories in one package!
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 27 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
great portable
- By A Customer from Prescott AZ USA on Tuesday, August 26, 2014
- Pros: good size, seems durable, easy to read and navigate functions, good comm quality
- Cons: can't think of any
- Review: Very easy to use, clear communications. I had it connected to aircraft external antenna and the com received and transmitted wonderfully. Have not tried nav functions yet. Battery charged quickly.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 23 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Good product, terrible manual.
- By Clark from Moorpark CA USA on Thursday, March 22, 2018
- Pros: Seems to be a good radio
- Cons: Complex menu system and poor manual descriptions make some features hard to use.
- Review:
A good Radio that does almost anything you might desire.
Manual is tough to understand. Simple function controls are buried beneath multiple menu layers making them hard to find. Manual doesn't help in some cases. I had to go to YouTube channel where someone posted a How To for some functions. That helped for some. Lots of trial and error for other functions. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 20 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
- Verified Purchase
This transceiver is an all around good aviation radio. I made a good purchase.
- By RAUL from Sugar Land TX USA on Monday, January 7, 2019
- Pros: Battery life is substantial. Adapted well to my headset.
- Cons: No cons.
- Review: It has a large display for reading all frequencies. Does not feel cheap and easy to use.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 17 Other people found this review helpful.
EASY TO USE
- By ARCHER 181 from SAN DIEGO, CA. on Thursday, January 22, 2015
- Pros: LIGHT WEIGHT AND LONG LIFE BATTERY
- Cons: BACKGROUND LIGHT GOES OUT TOO SOON
- Review: EASY TO OPERATE BUT NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DELETE UNWANTED FREQUENCIES. HELP.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 10 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Practical, Reliable, and Perfect for Glider Ops
- By Tony from Yale OK USA on Monday, September 15, 2025
- Pros: Compact & lightweight, excellent battery life (¾ full after a week of 2-3 of use and not on charger), flexible charging (Li-ion, AA tray, 12V port), loud clear audio, easy to grip & operate, squelch function handy for ground ops
- Cons: As a handheld, range is what you'd expect—adequate for glider ops and no complaints; limitations are typical of any handheld unit. Squelch takes tweaking for XC use, still evaluating transmit clarity, sidetone only works with headset plugged into included SCU-42 adapter.
- Review:
I’ve been using the Yaesu FTA-550L to monitor traffic during ground operations at my glider club and as an onboard radio in a glider without a built-in system for almost two months now (purchased on 7/29/2025). It’s been a solid performer.
• Battery Life: The lithium-ion battery lasts impressively long—even with regular use, I rarely worry about how charged my radio is, simply put on charger for an hour or so and it is fully charged.
• Reception: I can pick up ATIS broadcasts from airports 2–3 miles away, which gives me a good sense of its receive range.
• Transmit: Still evaluating transmit quality, but I expect the range to be slightly less than receive, which is typical for handhelds.
• Volume & Clarity: Excellent speaker volume and audio clarity—easy to hear even in noisy environments.
• Accessories: Comes with a backup AA battery tray and a 12V power port charger (cigarette lighter style), which adds flexibility in the field. Also includes the SCU-42 adapter, which allows headset and remote PTT connection.
• Squelch Function: Once I got familiar with the squelch settings, it became a super handy tool—especially on the ground. Still experimenting with how best to use it in-flight (I’m a beginner glider pilot and wanted to get a radio early), especially during cross-country and/or other situations when I might want to switch between frequencies,) when switching frequencies because squelch seems to require different squelch setting, depending on distance from source. But still new.
Overall, it’s a great fit for my needs in both ground and flight scenarios. Highly recommend for anyone in a similar setup. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 3 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Works, does everything I need
- By A Customer from Tubac AZ USA on Tuesday, May 6, 2025
- Review: Haven't been able to use every feature and function yet, but so far everything works and its easy to navigate the screens .... whatever you need or do, its going to take some effort to learn and apply to your situation. Very decent instruction manual. Very pleased with all the stuff that comes in the box that covers a variety of uses and circumstances. Met and exceeded expectations. Glad I spent the extra to get the lithium-ion battery version.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 2 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Great features for the price
Verified Purchase
Nice product
- By Martin (Cessna 182) from Montevideo, URY on Wednesday, June 3, 2015
- Pros: Easy to use, good battery, nice accesories.
- Cons: Changing between MEM and COM is not so easy.
- Review:
It's a good handheld. I had a sportys VHF and definitely this is much better.
I recommend this product. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 21 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Like it
- By Stephan from Minocqua WI USA on Monday, October 13, 2014
- Pros: Overall good, battery lasts a long time
- Cons: Did not figure out yet how to delite a single frequency
- Review:
The book is a little complicate for an old guy to understand.
Had to install an external antenna for good range - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 18 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Ok but reception sensitivity does not rival icom
- By sean from Lake Havasu City AZ USA on Tuesday, August 18, 2015
- Pros: Came with all accesories, appeara to be high quality
- Cons: Not happy with sound quality
- Review: Sound quality on weaker signals does not rival an Icom handheld.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 17 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Quality Radio
- By Jonny from Richmond Hts OH USA on Wednesday, May 20, 2015
- Pros: good quality, large screen
- Cons: no case, background light is off too soon, price
- Review: This is a great quality radio and it will pick up a signal very well. It is a little expensive but when you open the box you notice the great quality.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 15 Other people found this review helpful.
Yaesu FTA550L vs AA
- By Tuskegeewings64 from Montgomery, AL on Sunday, September 15, 2024
- Pros: A better headset adapter would be a major plus!
- Cons:
- Review: Great radio for the money. Excellent features. I recommend the FTA550L over the Yaesu FTA-550AA. The replacement lithium battery, charging cradle, & AC adapter upgrade from the FTA550 AA navcom starts getting into the realm of it becoming more economical to buy the FTA550 L. The advantage here is two radios with I interchangeable parts.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 2 Other people found this review helpful.
Verified Purchase
- By on Friday, November 20, 2020
- Review: I think the basic radio works fine and it has a lot of nice features. There are two major gripes that I have with it. The first is that it takes a rather klutzy adapter to work with headphones; it would be much better if you could just plug them into the radio, or if the adapter just plugged in (instead of requiring screws.) The second complaint is how it works with my Lightspeed Zulu 3 headset. There is a godawful feedback squeal when I transmit, which is sometimes solved by moving the transceiver far enough away from the headset. I've not gotten customer support from either company with the issue. I think I solved the problem by turning off the sidetone on the radio, but that's annoying.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 22 Other people found this review helpful.
Good Radio
- By A Customer from Chesterfield, VA on Wednesday, March 18, 2015
- Pros: Easy to use as a basic radio.
- Cons: Would like to plug in headset without separate external dongle.
- Review: It's a good size and nice to use on the tarmac before start-up. I would like it if the Headphone Jack was built in and didn't require a separate adapter/dongle to be screwed into the side. This might make it awkward in a real radio emergency when you need to talk to someone quickly. It is my first handheld so I don't have anything to compare it to. I have not and will not likely use many of the other advanced features.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 14 Other people found this review helpful.
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