Being keen on the 23cm band, particularly for portable operation, I couldn't resist the temptation of this new tri-band handie from Alinco. I've been impressed with other models (DJ-F1, DJ580, DX70, DRM06 and DJ596) which I've owned in the past, and so far this newcomer is living up to my expectations.
This set is a full-duplex dual-bander with 2m, 70cm and 23cm, but it was its portable SHF capability which was my primary reason for buying it, and on my first foray onto the hills with it (on Sunday 12-Jul) my very first CQ call on 1297.5 brought me three contacts, using just the little set-top rubber helical antenna.
The received audio is very clear on its internal speaker, and I also got good reports of transmit audio. Having pre-programmed the repeater shift and CTCSS, I was able to access the GB3SE repeater (some 40 miles away) at my first attempt too.
The radio offers dual receivers for simultaneous monitoring of two bands (or cross-band duplex operation) but it can be switched to mono-band mode to reduce battery drain.
The wideband receive facility on the "Sub" band tunes from 500kHz to 1.3GHz: it seems to be reasonably sensitive on the 4m band (picking up the local GB2RS News broadcast very clearly on an external aerial) but when I tried it on 6m, it received a lot of spurious around 51.53MHz. It also includes an internal ferrite rod antenna for Medium Wave reception, so that I can keep up with the sports news on BBC Radio Five Live on 909 kHz when I'm out portable!
The supplied battery is Li-ion 7.4V 1200mAhr, but the set will also operate from external 4.5 to 16V DC via a miniature power socket. I've not tried this yet, but I know that the RF output will reduce for input voltages below 7.4V, and I expect that the set may run quite warm when running from higher voltages (as was the case with my VX-7).
Likes:
Compact size (similar to my old Yaesu VX-7);
Long battery life with Li-ion battery;
Waterproof construction (IPX7) - so no worries when it starts to drizzle;
Supplied drop-in charger quickly (~3 hours) recharges the battery pack either on or off the radio;
Well-indexed easy-to-follow manual (but it is 112 pages long!);
4-step RF attenuator (to reduce interference under strong-signal conditions) is easily accessed from front-panel buttons;
Dislikes:
SMA antenna connector (fine for the rubber helical, but rather delicate for attaching a thick external feeder via inter-series adaptors), although these adaptors have an extended shoulder which provides extra mechanical support;
Special waterproof 4-pole 3.5mm audio in/out connector - although I was delighted to find that is compatible with my existing Yaesu VX-7 adaptor lead, so I can now connect my old MH12 speaker-mic and any of my "standard" (2.5 & 3.5mm) accessories;
Selecting wide repeater shifts on 23cm takes a lot of "knob-twiddling", unless the programming uitlity is used (see below);
Novel feature:
The Transmitter Search Function can be handy for aerial testing and for DF hunts. In this mode, the receiver emits a series of beeps whose spacing is proportional to its S-meter reading: when the meter is at full-scale, the tone is continuous. Using the 4-step attenuator, a dynamic range of ~40dB may be obtained.
Programming the memories:
Alinco have recently released a free programming utility which allows all the memories and settings to be downloaded from a PC file (thus saving an awful lot of button-pressing and knob-twiddling!).
I found these details of a simple interface to a PC COM port (but I found that an extra 150pF capacitor shunted across the transceiver end was necessary in my case).
Alternative antenna:
Thanks to Darren G7LWT, I've recently acquired one of the WA5VJB "Big Wheel" antennas.
This is a PCB version of the Big Wheel omni-directional horizontally-polarised antenna. The etched PCB tracks elements are very robust for portable operation, and the semi-rigid feed line supports the disc above the top of the set. The feeder is attached to the disc by an SMA connector, and so is easily detached for stowing in a pocket.
As most of the stations on 23cm are using horizontal beam antennas, this provides much better signals that the vertical helical antenna supplied with the set, but if I encounter a vertical signal I can still hold the antenna sideways (where it becomes directional).