Hi Butch, the narrow setting,was something I didn't know about for a while. 
I learned about it  both by unfortunate experience, and then by reading a 
review where it was mentioned.
*I usually , first thing out of the box, do a hard reset to restore factory 
defaults to whatever I've bought used.  But this time, on the first vr500 
I'd ever owned, a used one, I played with the radio, around seven or eight 
pm in the evening when the bands were better than they are now,  and enjoyed 
listening clearly to several SWL, AM, SSB, and CW stations which the former 
owner had programmed into the receiver.  Then, I "hard reset it, and never 
could get those same stations as "cross talk free as he'd had them. 
Apparently it does change the pass band, certainly does improve selectivity 
, and cuts down on inter station interference.    It is a setting in the 
expanded menu, ask the folks at AES to help you find and program it, if you 
don't have the manual in a useable format, and or sighted help to get it 
done.
Here again, it's not a 2010, but it is a nice lil nitch radio.  Wonder what 
they're selling for now?
I'll likely own another one/a keeper at some point.  There's just too much 
in that lil package to ignore it.
By the way, I'm Sorry my description of the charging nibs may not have been 
spot on locationally speaking.
HTH, Danny.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Butch Bussen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:11 AM
Subject: Re: vr-500


>I forgot to ask, what do you mean the 500 has a better "narrow keyboard
> setting"?  Can the pass band be changed?
> 73
> Butch Bussen
> wa0vjr
> open Node 3148
> Las Vegas