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write your own review of the Alinco DX-SR8.
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W2DI
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 31, 2012 14:20
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A useable, inexpensive rig
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I give this a 5 because I believe it's better than a 4, considering everything.
Dislike:
-Tuning knob and tuning steps. The knob is wobbly and flimsy and the steps are awkward.
-Filters. They do something, but not being a 'filter-file,' I can't rate them objectively.
-Meter. Shows only Relative PO. No AGC, true power, SWR.
-Hand Mic. Again, don't know but one comment on the air (with the processor on) said I sounded as I were in a can (not the can, a can) but other reports were all good. With the desk mic (condenser element)and processor off, I've been getting very good reports.
-Noise Blanker. Marginal at best. And slightly distorts strong receive audio as did the DX-70TH.
-Power Level setting. I would like a continuous variable option. Out of the box, the power levels are high - well over 100W (High). I measured about 120W on a decent meter. I turned the power pots back to their nominal settings of 0.5W (S-Low), 10W (Low), and 85W (High). I prefer running cooler rather than hotter.
Like:
-Desk Mike Audio. See above. Audio is said to be somewhat on the high side, but I'd rather have that than mushy audio. Most of the energy of an SSB signal is in the mid-high tones and articulation in that area results in more potent 'talk power.' So it isn't
a professional sound, but it is on the better side of spot on. No distortion, clear and clean.
-Receiver. Sounds good to me. No distortion, sensitive and not noisy in my location. Many have commented favorably about the receiver. AGC is good and you have a fast/slow choice. Not all radios do and I do feel the AGC response is important.
-Display. No colors, but easy to see.
-Has some extras; keyer, IF shift, split op
-Overall performance. Appears to be very good IMO, Running into a 40M dipole with twin lead and a tuner have made many contacts with good reports.
Summary: For me, a get on the air, talk for a while and get off, the radio does the job. To get a better radio, from the offerings I see, you would have to spend a kilobuck or more. Too much for me just to chat (mostly on SSB BTW).
If you want to contest, DX, or any other serious activity; or if you like to have the best on the block, spend more and get more. For casual use to make good contacts and spend about half the price of a better rig, this is very capable. Should be a mid 4 rating considering price and performance.
Thanks for reading. 73 to all and enjoy.
joe -- w2di
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NY7Q
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Rating: 2/5
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Jan 27, 2012 06:06
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fair
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Noise floor is bad.
No help with filters.
Rig is nice looking
Menus easy to use.
Transmit with alinco handmike is terrible, just trash;
bought a kenwood mc-43 and it works great, but still a tinny sound on transmit.
no problems with CW electronic keyer.
NO carry handles, no feet for bottom of rig avail.
I would NOT recommend this rig to anyone.
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HFHAM2
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Rating: 3/5
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Dec 7, 2011 17:13
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You get what you pay for
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This rig definitely gets out well, is pretty sensitive and has (on paper) a decent feature set, but I found the receiver to be noisy and it has little noise fighting ability.
The AM and SSB narrow filters are too narrow and the "CW filter" is too wide and therefore makes little difference. As there is no provision for accessory filters, you're stuck with that unless you get an external audio or DSP bandwidth/noise reduction filter. Those would help a lot but would be prone to AGC pumping on strong nearby CW signals and, being outboard, are just an extra piece of "gubbins" on your desk.
Pretty much everything is controlled by a button press or combination of button presses and some of the buttons are so close to the VFO tuning knob that I had to resort to using the eraser end of a new pencil to press them (and I'm not fat-fingered).
I think it's a good value for money as an SSB rig if you can live with its deficiencies in the receive department (and the tiny buttons).
I couldn't; especially as I'm mostly a CW op, so I got rid of it and got another Icom IC-718 instead. I'm much happier with the IC-718 although I'll need to spend (a lot of) extra dollars to get a narrow CW filter, but, at least I *can* get a narrow CW filter for it and it has basic audio dsp noise reduction and auto-notch built-in.
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KD9Y
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 12, 2011 15:02
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Very Good for price
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a great little transceiver. I purchased it for battery operation instead of the Ten-Tec Eagle because Ten-Tec would not allow me to by the Eagle. I wanted a radio that could be batttery operated and this little radio fills the task. It takes only 1 amp for receive. and I have been operating on eight alkaline D cells using one watt of power output for about an hour. It has all of the basic features a Ham needs and a few more including 600 memories. Selectivity is good and with the IF shift, most interfering stations can be eliminated. I have compaired it with my Kenwood TS-590s and ICOM IC-7600 and any stations I can here on the more expensive transceivers, I can here on this little rig. It is very easy to use and I get good SSB reports and CW reports (full or semi-breakin). On the 10 watt setting I have worked into Florida and the east cost with ease. Of course, you can also use it on 100 watts with the proper power supply. It weights only 9 pounds and will make a great addition to my emergency ham gear. I plan to use it with my 45 watt solar panel. For the price, a little over $500, you can't go wrong.
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N7INO
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 7, 2011 11:19
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Great Rig
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have it on line 4 months added a mc 60 mic and a kenwood 820 speaker, Very good receive Get good siginal reports It does very well and at 529.95 can't be beat
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KG4RUL
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 18, 2011 05:30
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GREAT for the Price Point
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Nothing else compares to this rig at that price level. YES it doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it can be safely left in the hands of a beginning operator without fear. I will be running mine as a mobile, set up to be easily removable for base ops as needed.
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COUNTERACT
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 17, 2011 15:13
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Worth The Money!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have been using this DX-SR8 for about six months, and it is worth every penny. I don't use CW but perhaps CW operators should stay with CW only transceivers. I get excellent reports in the SSB, AM, and FM transmit modes, and the receiver sensitivity is excellent with excellent slectivity. It is better than the IC-718 which I now consider out dated and over priced. It's a keeper with many features and it is very easy to use.
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KB3DIV
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 28, 2011 17:00
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Why spend more $
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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If you want a radio that receives well and gets through the pile-ups then this would be a great choice. I have owned and operated more expensive radios such as the Kenwood TS 2000, FT 857, FT 450, Icom 746 Pro Icom 706 MKII, Ten Tec Jupiter and so on. I can honestly say that this radio operates just a well as the rest of them. I'm sure many folks will disagree with my comment but I have found folks spend so much on their radios that they must convince themselves that their money was well spent at all cost. I forgot to mention all of the extravagant EQ's and microphones they also purchased to impress whomever it is that they talk to. Be honest, all that money spent to exaggerate your audio isn't worth it. You be the judge of your own equipment.
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IT9AHH
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 13, 2011 07:00
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it is working!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I was very surprised when turn on this radio on my desk for the first time.It was working 100%, and it's still working good.Now I am using it on cw (15%) and ssb (85%) as my first rig.I am not disappointed with its performance.First you have to read the user manual.So you'll find easy to put on the narrow cw or ssb standard filter(not optional)and if shift to obtain a very clean and clear audio,or enter the frequency you want from the keyboard,and so on.Good ssb peak power ,130 watts from 75/80 to 10 meters,and excellent audio quality transmitted with the standard microphone.Excellent sensitivity to weak signals,good resistance to the adjacent big guns stations.Improved the noise blanker;very good the ctss,fm and am,and also fm good usefull speech proc.Ok i give it a four ,but it is very nearly to a good five.
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AA6ZE
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Rating: 2/5
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Jul 28, 2011 20:33
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Still needs work
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a follow up to my last review. After sending the rig back to Alinco it became apparent that the issues with the poor cw performance, and the features that were not functioning properly are an engineering issue common to all Dx-sr8s. To Alinco's credit they got me a refund through the retailer I purchased the rig from. If they could clean it up and re-release, it would be a decent entry level rig, but can't recommend in it's present state.
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