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Reviews For: Alinco DJ-180

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Alinco DJ-180
Reviews: 12MSRP: 150
Description:
2 meter FM HT. 5 Watts on high power, extra good sensitivity on receive. This radio is out of production, <br> but the DJ-280T looks identical to it, with exception of 220mhz. Lots of people use these for Packet Radio now.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00124.6
KK7PW Rating: 2019-10-17
Good HT for the money and capable packet radio rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use this HT with external 12v power source, and bottom cap to protect battery terminals, as my TNC packet radio. Works fine. I’m happy to put this old workhorse back in service. Get one if ever up for sale. 73. de KK7PW
N6HPO Rating: 2009-12-22
Now. I've Got All Three Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I found the last "icon" in the trilogy right here on good ol' EHAM for $25.

I have found nothing to bark about in any of the three h/t's! They are all so simple to operate. perform like race horses month-after-month!

I got started with the 280 and found it so accommodating that I knew I would just have to have the 480 and lastly, the 180.

The only drawback is the battery; new ones are quite expensive. However, given the longevity of the current [stock] battery, this eventuality will be some years in coming.

I use a Diamond RC77CA dual-band BNC antenna for the tri and have found that the dual-band antenna works remarkably on 220MHz!

Couldn't ask for more from an H/T...well done Alinco! Well done, indeed...

BTW, if you are looking to upgrade your Alinco h/t with more memory [50 or 200 modules available] they can be purchased at this link:

http://www.randl.com/cgi-local/cart/cart.cgi
KJ4LYU Rating: 2009-06-07
Buy it if you can find one! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I got mine on eBay for $40.00. The battery was shot. I rebuilt the battery and now it lasts for almost 3 days on one charge! making a TNC jig was too easy and fun. I also have a VX-8r. That radio does 5 watts too but for some reason I can't hit as many repeaters as I can with the DJ-180! I know this radio will out last my vx-8r! So I carry the VX-8 to get the looks but I use the DJ-180 to make my contacts!
I hope this helps you all!
73's
KB1OCC Rating: 2007-02-28
Love It! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I love my DJ-180. It was my first rig and I enjoy it. Bought it on eBay for about $40. Replaced antenna with one from Diamond. Strong transmitter. Only quirk is the limited standard channels (10) and lack of alpha display. I rebuilt the dead NiCd battery pack myself with 2700 mah NiMH. Slowcharger is perfect for these. Runs forever off of them.

Now, if I could just find a memory card to expand to 50/200 memories...Any ideas?
KC9JUM Rating: 2007-02-21
The Definitive Alinco Classic! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
What can I say, I have owned no less then 3 different DJ-180T radios. They are great units. Sturdy and solid as a rock. I love the drop in chargers.

The stock duck is terrible, but who does not replace them with something else? 10 memories is nothing less the a joke on 2 meters. However you can buy 50ch and 200channel upgrades. the 200 channel is well worth it!

I love the different battery options, and now since the advent of NiMH batteries. I get insane battery life. Since the radio was designed with 700mAH batteries in mind, using 7.2V 2700mAH battery let's you listen for 2 DAYS! I also have a 12Volt 1650mAH that lasts quite long and gives you a full 5 watts. Though at 5 watts it tends to warm up quick.
MM30 Rating: 2006-05-27
Good little HT in its Day Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked this little HT up used in great shape. It only has 10 memory channels but hey what do you expect for an HT this old (about 11 years) I always carry it in the car with me and it makes a real good quick way to get on the air if your bored. I only wish that it boasted a little more power than 2 watts, other than that its a pretty bare bones easy to use little unit.
KC9HZJ Rating: 2006-04-27
Good HT for the money Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
These are a great deal on the used market. I paid $60 for mine and it was worth that. Seems like a pretty solid rig with decent TX/RX capabilities.

The problems I found with the unit:
1) BNC conector for antenna prone to loose connection.
2) Battery pack split when the unit fell 3ft to carpeted floor.

A good unit none the less. Of course, it does not have direct frequency entry. You must twist the knob on top to set your frequency, which can take quite some time. Manual repeater offset and only 10 memories are 2 other features that weren't the most convenient. I do like the fact that the belt clip is metal and screwed to the case, so it is unlikely that it will become dislodged while clipped to your belt. Also, the standard external mic/speaker connection made it easy to find a speaker mic to work with the unit. Also, the 6-cell battery pack was easy to rebuild. I rebuilt it with NiMH batteries, and it made a world of difference in the TX/RX time. Although I had trouble with the BNC antenna connection, it still was easy and convenient when connecting an external antenna.
N3TTU Rating: 2004-11-01
Saved my pennies... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I saved my pennies for this 11 years ago when I first got my license. It was inexpensive, heavy duty, didn't have any bells and whistles, but it had EVERYTHING that I needed. I also mod'ed my for CAP (Civil Air Patrol), and used it in hundreds of public service events. I lost the antenna and just built my own, because the Alinco guy at a hamfest promised he would send me one free, but never did. My battery clip broke years ago, so now I hold on my batteries with masking tape. My audio goes out occaisionally and I just have to hit the radio. I also had to replace a microcapacitor with one I managed to find in an original Nintendo (my fault, you have to take apart a couple boards to get to the mod wire, and I scratched it). So you can see that through all the abuse my radio has been through, it's still tickin. Great radio!
K2ROK Rating: 2004-06-06
11 years old and still going Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was my first ham radio HT and was a gift when I upgraded back in the early 90s. At the time it was on-par with other offerings at the time, but now in 2004 it is certainly "behind the times." Amazingly, it has held up well despite a lot of abuse. It will transmit and receive fine, but some of the buttons have ceased to work and one of the numberic keys broke off. It was subject to a lot of abuse over the years, so I would say it has a rugged quality, but it is not something that is working anymore like the day it came out of the box.

If you pick one up for sale somewhere it will probably serve you well for a cheap, no frills HT -- but don't pay too much! The new offerings in the low 100-dollar range are light years ahead of this rig in technology. Right now I use my Alinco 180 mainly to listen. Scan rate is very slow, so I mainly have it on only a couple of repeaters.

Overall, back in the early 90s it was a gem -- but today I would not pay a lot for a used one.
NOAH Rating: 2002-10-26
Good, simple radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've owned my Alinco DJ-180 for about a month now, but I'm really liking it so far.

It's EXTREMELY easy to program and get to work. Without using the manual, I was able to figure everything basic out (everything but DTMF tones) in just a couple minutes.

The only downside is the low-ish power with the smaller battery, but it's really not as big a limitation as you might think. Standard rubber duckie obviously needs to be replaced, but it's one of the better rubber duckies I've seen.

I got it for $40---it doesn't get much better than that.