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| Reviews Summary for Alinco DJ-596T / DJ-596E |
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Reviews: 16
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Average rating: 4.2/5
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MSRP: $???
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Description: Dual-band 2m/440 MHz HT, 100 memory channels with 2 calling channels. 596T has expanded TX and RX, 596E only has TX and RX strictly inside 2m and 70cm bands. Many optional accessories available.
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More info: http://www.alinco.com
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write your own review of the Alinco DJ-596T / DJ-596E.
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AI8O
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 24, 2009 13:00
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Fit and Finish problems
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I owned a DJ596T Mk2 from June 2004 til January 2009. I traded it for an Icom V82.
The radio has many problems, but the final reason that caused me to trade it in was that the EJ47U Digital unit is NOT D-Star compliant. One of my local radio clubs is talking about switching their repeater to D-Star, and I want to be ready when that happens.
Operation ergonomics were OK, but I would have liked to have had the knob on top control the volume and not be a channel selector.
I bought the CBTI programming software and was happy with that.
AlinCo on their website offers a ERW7 programming cable, but right on the AlinCo website it states that you have to download a third party driver to use the ERW7, and further the AlinCo website specifically states that they DO NOT provide installation support.
I bought an AlinCo programming cable (ERW4) when I bought the CBTI programming software. The connector was a DB9, not a USB, so I had to get an adapter cable and install a driver on my laptop to remotely program the radio.
The radio Rx was more sensitive on UHF than VHF.
I replaced the stock antenna with one from a Yaesu FT727 and saw some VHF improvement.
I bought the big EBP 51N battery and the AA snap-on battery case. The major problem I had was the battery case latches were not robust enough. Batteries would fall off after just the slightest bump, such as setting the radio down at an angle, pulling it out of a neoprene case on my belt, or sometimes just holding the radio by the antenna was enough to cause the big battery to fall off.
The radio came with a EDC93 wall wart charger that connected to a port in the side of the radio proper.
You could not charge the battery and walk around using the radio at the same time, and because of the long charge times, the radio would be out of service overnight from after supper to breakfast the next day.
I finally bought a UC-1 quick charger from WW Mfg. which will charge a battery that is not on the radio.
The rubber cover of the charging port would not stay in place over the charging port hole.
Would I buy this radio again?
NO.
In short, the radio RF performance was OK, but fit and finish deficiencies are a MAJOR drawbacks.
The lack of a good connector on the battery is a major problem.
The lack of AlinCo support for their programming cables is not good.
In the future I will only buy handhelds that are Mil-Spec 810-D compliant
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N8EKT
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 14, 2008 15:02
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Nice radio nice price
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I always said REAL HTs have BNCs.
Well this one has one!
And it produces full power on both bands with good rx and tx.
Easy to program and operate right out of the box!
Plenty of bang for the buck!
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KS4UA
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 8, 2008 14:08
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Solid Dual-band HT
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I previously reviewed the DJ596T after I had purchased it several years ago. After a lot of use, I would have to agree with HB9JBD's review. Here's what he listed -
Good points:
- TX audio is reported to be good
- BNC connector
- 4-5 Watts output
(I would add great battery life...still using the original NiMh that came with it.)
Bad points:
- No AM, AIR, FM broadcast receive (not a biggie to me, but might be to some)
- Have to dial through unused memory channels (Yeah, it's annoying)
- Repeator offset/freq step does not change with qrg (no problem to me)
- Poor battery condition meter (Yes, it's all or nothing. Probably the biggest "mistake" in the DJ-596T design.)
-- No REV key for working repeaters (Second biggest mistake.)
I've had one problem with the radio in 5+ years of use. Final amp was blown.It was all my fault. The (cheap) mobile antenna I was using shorted out and took out the DJ-596T and a Mirage Amp.
I had bought an extended warranty with the radio. Factory service through Alinco was very slow. That is the bad news. The good news is they did a great job on the repair and it's worked fine ever since.
After all that, I still rate it a "4" out of "5".
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2E0VZL
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 4, 2008 08:17
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A well made device and a doddle to use
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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As my prime device for casual and RAYNET activities I find the DJ-596 very easy to use and quite tough enough to cope with being knocked about. All of the functions are clear and at hand, and I like the fact that offsets are all manual. The DJ-596 was my first radio and it's been helpful having to set all of the functions manually. The battery lasts well though I bought the high capacity battery which seemingly lasts forever. The standard antenna gets me out just fine and I can open all of the local repeaters. It sits very comfortably in the hand and all I have added is the Alinco mike/speaker. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this radio.
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G4IPZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 25, 2008 01:55
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Nice little piece of kit.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Despite having read of some points of negativity in various reviews, when one came up on ebay I decided to go for it (Having just been ripped off for an JingTong HT by KaLing Shop in HongKong - Beware of anyone called Jason Tong!)
In fact I ended up with an immaculate Mk2 version, high power battery, charger, headset/mic and high gain antenna for £45 (About $90)
I'd seen several complaints about various things including the need to press the FUNC button before the VOL button and then adjusting the multifunction rotary switch. Now that has got me thinking. Maybe they've altered the design since on mine I simply press the VOL button and turn the knob. The same applies for adjusting the squelch. either way it's certainly no real hardship in my view.
I'd also read that the stubby antenna provided is a load of rubbish. Comparing it with the MRW100 highgain (supposedly) it also came with I found it's certainly no worse than many other handheld stubby antennas I've come across.
Performance on air is excellent with good quality audio both on TX and RX. Transmit audio seems much lower with the headset but that isn't an Alinco original so that may be the reason.
Battery life seems more than acceptable. Programming is easy, helped by a very clear handbook.
As for the mosquito repelling feature - what the hell that's all about gawd knows LOL!
At the moment in the UK these are available for around £90 and are to my mind well worth it for a reasonable powered dual band handy.
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KI4CRA
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Rating: 5/5
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May 31, 2007 14:37
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Neat little hand-held
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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So far I am really impressed with the DJ-596T MKII. I have replaced my Icom IC-T7H with the DJ-596T MKII as my day to day hand held. It has been a while since I have used any Alinco products, but I am not dissapointed. Once I figured out the layout of the buttons and how they worked, programming this unit was a breeze. I would definetly reccomend this one to my friends. If your looking for a great every day handi-talkie then this is it. I'll probably do another review in several months, but had to put my first impressions down while it was still semi-fresh in my brain pan. Got this rig while at Dayton, and plan on getting a LOT of use out of it.
73 de Mark
AI4HO
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AB7JK
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Rating: 4/5
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May 5, 2006 23:23
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Works well
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a follow up to my post where I gave the radio negative marks. The radio came with a faulty battery pack that was replaced by the dealer.
Now I am more impressed. The radio works well with crisp audio. A few nit picks - the volume and squelch controls which require pressing the function button first.
Radio is a keeper especially when used directly with a 12v supply - I never was crazy about battery packs.
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2E0JTP
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 29, 2006 02:25
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Very good but not perfect
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The Alinco DJ-596E (MK.II) is a great little hand held dual band radio. It has nearly all the features I need in a modern day hand held. Battery life has proven to be excellent (with the supplied 7.6v 700mAh Ni-MH) for all day 'normal' (90% Standby/5% Listening/5% Talk)use. Accessing local repeaters has proven no more difficult with this hand held on 2m or 70cm than with previous hand helds. In regular use over the last year it has proven itself to be reliable and capable. The 'standard' (2.5mm mic/3.5mm speaker) connection makes getting audio accessories for it cheap and easy, unlike some manufacturers models with their unique audio connectors.
The single dial takes a bit of getting used to. It requires you to press a button to access the volume and squelch controls. Not a problem, just a different way of doing things.
Problems with this radio:
No repeater reverse button. This means you can't (easily) listen to the repeater input frequency. This is a bit of an oversight and is a feature I use regularly on my other radios. It's all too easy to accidentally turn the radio off while it's in your pocket. The 'power' button could do with being recessed a little. I wish they had recessed the display window into the bodywork a bit. Whenever the radio falls over, it always falls onto the plastic display window. So far (six months) no damage, but that has more to do with luck than design. It's bound to get scratched sooner or later.
I score this radio 4 out of 5 because it doesn't have the 'listen to repeater input' reverse button , the poor positioning of the display window and the poor design of the 'power' button. It doesn't deserve any less than a 4 out of 5 score as it IS a stunningly good little dual bander.
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AB7JK
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Rating: 0/5
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Apr 20, 2006 17:32
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Junk
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is an update of my previous review where I gave the DJ596T two stars.
The radio only operates about 5 hours standby on a fully charged battery. Then it starts to beep on and off. I measure the battery pack voltage and it still read 9.6 volts - what's with that?
The audio of the radio has a high pitch tone in the background - it's maybe that mosquito repellant thingy operating when you don't really need it. Not sure if it can be turned off. All the mosquitoes within 25 miles of 33778 be warned!
I'm surprised the radio didn't come with a fully license built in dog groomer, or a particle accellerator or plutonium centerfuge to make it worth the $150 I waisted on it.
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2E0JTP
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 2, 2006 07:02
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Well worth the money!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The Alinco DJ-596E (MK.II) is a great little hand held dual band radio. It has all the features I need in a modern day hand held. Battery life is excellent (with the supplied 7.6v 700mAh Ni-MH) for all day 'normal' use.
The previous posters comment about a "simultaneous" need to press the Function button and the MW button is incorrect (at least on the "DJ-596E Mk.II" version). While holding the function button - press the MW button to lock the chosen frequency into memory. All of the (modern) handhelds I have owned have used a similar system to this.
The single dial takes a bit of getting used to. It requires you to press a button to access the volume and squelch controls. Not a problem, just a different way of doing things.
One problem with this radio: No repeater reverse button. This means you can't (easily) listen to the repeater input frequency. This is a bit of an oversight (unless somebody knows how to set this???) and is a feature I use regularly on my other radios.
I wish they had recessed the display window into the bodywork a bit. Whenever the radio falls over, it always falls onto the plastic display window. So far (six months) no damage, but that has more to do with luck than design. It's bound to get scratched sooner or later. :-(
I would really score this radio 4½ out of 5 because it doesn't have the 'listen to repeater input' button feature and the poor design of display window protection. It doesn't deserve any less than a 4½ out of 5 score as it IS a stunningly good little dual bander, so I will give it 5 out of 5 as it's official rating.
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