| AB0SF |
Rating:      |
2007-05-25 | |
| Great rig for the dough! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This has been my IRLP node radio for three years and has taken all the abuse that duty has given it. I also have one in my work truck, and after about four years, it has worked flawlessly. I had to turn the deviation down a bit on one of these radios. It was somewhere around 6 kHz out of the box, if I remember correctly. The other rig was fine - about 4.5 kHz. The receiver works well. Good enough to monitor local repeaters and 223.500 without a hitch. It's easy to operate and program and will take any abuse you can throw at it.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by AB0SF on 2002-10-01
What more can I say? I'm not a feature hound - I bought the rig to monitor my repeater at home (when I finally get it together), and I'll probably buy one for the truck. I have to agree with the other reviewers - what was Alinco thinking when they made that mic cord? Feels like the old CB days. Now, where did I put that mic hanger? |
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| KE6I |
Rating:      |
2007-01-26 | |
| I just got one of these |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
For 222Mhz really there aren't a lot of options, I think this is the only one. So, if you want mobile 222Mhz, either it's this radio or something used. The interface is a little bit Flintstonian -- but, you know, I actually like it. It's simple and not overly menu-y like some radios these days. Nice and low key.
It took me a second to figure out how the microphone works. There's not a grill like on most microphones but rather a big touchpad, and then a teensy little hole where the audio goes in. And I had one guy talking to me, saying I sounded quiet until I fished around the mike to look where to talk into.
I'm using it for a Bay area packet node on 223Mhz and the connector on the back is handy. I can use it for packet and then leave the microphone plugged in and talk on repeaters. It supports 9600 baud -- I am using an external TNC, not the Alinco accessory TNC.
I am getting RFI from AM radio stations on this radio. During the day when the radio is squelched I can hear AM radio coming out the speaker. It sounds similar to what the other guy was getting except rather than being FM radio, it's coming from KDIA. It only occurs when I plug my TNC to the packet connector, and I wonder if I'm in some kind of ground-loop hell here. I grounded the braid of the antenna coax and that made the AM radio noise quieter. The RFI is only when this local radio station is running on high power, because it goes away at night. Hmmph.
The radio has no fan, just a big heat sink on the back, which I kind of like cuz' I don't like to add more fan noise to my ham radio audio.
222Mhz in the SF Bay area at least is a good band, and I can hit a pile of repeaters just using my 222Mhz packet radio antenna, which is a 4'el beam pointed permanently south from Berkeley. I went through the repeater list and programmed each channel and did a call on each machine and a few people answered. There are people to talk to on this band around here. |
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| N4LI |
Rating:      |
2007-01-25 | |
| It's fine. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Nothing flashy here. This is a garden-variety FM-only monoband rig. But, that band is 222, which today, makes this radio somewhat unusual.
This radio is easy to operate. You’ll likely only need to quickly scan the manual. While the 235 is not what I would call “feature-rich,” it does everything the causal user will need. It has adequate memories, it can be operated from the hand mic, and audio seems fine. Should you ever want to run packet on this band (which is probably unlikely), interfacing will be easy, as this is the same platform as the Alinco 135, which can be configured with an internal TNC.
Sure, there are some aspects of this radio I would change – starting with the output power (why just 25 watts?). But, most of my comments are nitpicky. In short, the radio does what it’s advertised to do – transmit on 222 reliably.
222 radios are tough to find nowadays. And, that’s a shame. I’m glad Alinco is still churning these things out. 1.25 meters is really valuable real estate – space that commercial users would love. Pick up a radio for the band and make some noise. If we don’t use it, we’ll lose it (and deserve to). A 235T will certainly fill the bill.
I give the radio a “5,” not because it’s an exceptional radio. But, its utility for this under-utilized band is good for an extra point, bringing it up from the “4” I would likely give it if it were for another, more-heavily used portion of the spectrum.
Peter, N4LI |
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| LU2AW |
Rating:    |
2006-11-30 | |
| Weak front end LPF |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Finally I found the problem, the rig gets overloaded due to a weak front end filtering.
I live in Buenos Aires city, some 2.5 km from a FM station and my coax acted as an antenna, thus the lenght dependant results (yes, the shields are well connected to the PLs).
I had to help the 235 with an external triplexer (the 220 port passes just 200-300 Mhz) in order to get a decent RX.
Thats very surprising as my other rigs, an IC38 and a FT736 + 222 Mhz module showed no problems dealing with the same RF environment, with the same antenna and coax setup.
I measured the four coils and caps of the LPF in CC, contacts are fine and no shorted cap, looks just like poor filtering design in this model.
Hope the guys at Alinco can adress the item, as otherwise I'd have given a 5 to this very good radio.
By the way, I received a fast response from Alinco's customer support regarding my email, one good :), but unfortunately there are not much they can do.
73 Mario
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Earlier 4-star review posted by LU2AW on 2006-11-26
I owned this rig just for 3 days, its simple to use and has a lot of features for the price.
Im very happy with it except for one big concern:
Im replacing my old IC38 with the DR235, so I used the same set up previously installed (same antenna and cable).
When I connect just the inner pin of the PL to the antenna connector reception looks good, but when I go ahead connecting the groud ring of the PL (securing the PL to the antenna connector of the rig) reception dies...
I started checking everything, a short in the cable (Belden), antenna, SWR, even swapped the antenna between the Icom and the Alinco but the problem appeared only in the Alinco.
When nothing wrong was found I tried changing the cable lenght, and RX came back to life!
But further tests showed that althoug RX is possible theres less sensitivity with the ground connected, I get better S/N ratio (less hiss) with only the inner pin connected... and its cable lenght dependant!!
I believe theres a problem with the cable capacitance in regards of the first stage, or the PIN diode switch... Im writing this because I wish to know if anyone had this problem before (please advise), I sent an email to Alinco and hope they get back with a cure different than sending back to USA (or Japan :)
Beside this, it seems to be a good rig for the price.
73's Mario
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| KC4CP |
Rating:      |
2006-06-08 | |
| Really Nice |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| 18 years ago, I began my ham radio experience on the 220mhz band. Needless, to say, this band is special to me. Over the years, I have owned every 220mhz radio out there. I was greatly saddened when the BIG 3 quick making 220 rigs. Then came along Alinco! I now own 2 of these radios and love them. They look good, have great audio, are very user friendly, and are reasonably priced. Thank goodness for Alinco! Without them, new operators would not even have a chance to experience this special band. |
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| KG8Q |
Rating:      |
2006-04-18 | |
| Great rig |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have been using the 235t for a few weeks now and am quite impressed. I'm not sure why the bad review about the mike , the audio out of mine is cyrstal clear and robust. In fact I have to back off the mike because this thing has tons of audio . The other 235's I've heard have sounded super also. This is a no nonsense radio. What you see is what you get , no hidden menus . A function button on the front panel toggles the front buttons back and forth, period. Some have complained about the long mike cord , who cares.... cut it off if you don't like it . I've never been a fan of Alinco, in my 14 yrs in the hobby I've never owned one but because of the limited offerings on 220 MHz and the stellar reviews on Eham , thought I'd give it a try . Sure glad I did ! This is a great little radio . Power out is better than rated , tons of audio , nice solid feeling mike,no nonsense layout , good price , and the receive audio on mine is superb,tone board included . It all added up .If I could find something to pick at, I would like to see a little nicer more rigid mounting bracket. Guys if you don't buy this one at least buy something for 220 MHZ and keep the band alive before we loose more spectrum ! 7/3 |
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| KC4GMY |
Rating:      |
2006-03-15 | |
| Great 1.35 Meter Transceiver! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I own two of them and both have performed flawlessly. |
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| KB0RDL |
Rating:      |
2005-11-01 | |
| Very good radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I like this radio very much. It has all the features you expect to see in a modern UHF/VHF radio and it has a great display. The only downsides are only 25 watts maximum, but my magnetic mount 220 antenna gives nearly enough extra gain to make up for it; and the price, which is just a tad high for a single-band radio.
This is a great radio in areas where 2 meter and 440 are very crowded, where you want a bit more privacy (relatively speaking), and if you just want something unusual.
I also have the DR-435 and like it, too. |
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| BIRDMAN |
Rating:      |
2005-10-10 | |
| Simple Quality 220 |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Great audio, RX, etc. Does it all well on 220. |
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| AD5TU |
Rating:      |
2005-08-24 | |
| Good 220MHz Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I just received my DR-235T/G today, got it up on the air with no problems. It's a fairly simple radio with straight forward settings, a very small form factor, and good sound. If I were to purchase a 2m or 70cm, I would easily rank this radio a 4 when compared to the ICOM 857D for example. That said, and in all fairness to Alinco, the 857D is a $700+ radio. So, for the price range, this radio is a good deal. The radio is not feature rich. I am pleased with my purchase but look forward to more competition in the 220MHz radio offerings especially at this price range. |
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