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Reviews For: Alinco DR-620

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : Alinco DR-620
Reviews: 13MSRP: 350 or less
Description:
Mobile/Base VHF+UHF Transceiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.alinco.com/Products/DR-620/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
12133.1
VK3ZAZ Rating: 2022-12-14
Glitchy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this radio second hand when the previous owner gave up on fixing it.
Did power on reset and got it back to factory reset.
Asked r/t systems about programming they said nada.
Did a search to a company call Cbint.net online found a purchase page for a program.
Paid $42 US for electronic download.
Bought a programming lead from local dealer called an EW7 $65
Did not get an email from cbint.
Got a refund instead.
They removed all the programming from their site.
I guess judging by age of posts on this page it’s not worth pursuing.
http://www.cbtinc.net/

Got a lead.
No programming.
Chirp won’t do it.
It can be cloned but can not find any software.
Buyer beware.
It’s a boat anchor..

If u have one you want to sell might be able to follow handbook and clone mine.
Or can sell you mine cheap $100 with lead
Vk3ot@outlook.com
ZS6DJD Rating: 2011-06-20
Good dual bander with very good modulation on recieve. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a good dual bander with the best audio that I have heard on recieve. Sounds almost like HiFi quility audio. Puts out the usual 50 w on 2 m. 35 W on 70 cems The only problem is that some fuctions like going simplex are quit hard to do. Complex fuctions from menues. Works fine on all South African repeaters. But is not a D star radio. I used this radio as a base radio for more than four years. I Also have a yaesu 225 rd base 2 m radio. No inter mod problems with the Alinco. Thanks guys from zs6djd.
SV1ENG Rating: 2006-02-05
dr-620 means intermod! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought a DR-620 6 months ago to replace a 12 years yaesu mainly because I needed a 12,5KHz step radio. This radio has not been designed for base use. I live in a very big city and use this radio with a vertical X200 and 15m RG213 cable. I can't listen to a repeater 40km far from me although I can work this with an IC-2100, a ë/4 ground plane and 15m of RG58 cable and listen it with S9!!!
The use of a bandpass or intermod filter is a solution but it increases the cost very much.
I have heard something about an internod improvement by the factory but I can't find anything in the web.
PU2VGA Rating: 2004-07-25
Excellent Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my second mobile Alinco radio. I have always had all sorts from Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood and about 10 years ago a single band Alinco. Due to an exchange with another ham operator, I got the DR-620E and had very good surprises. I noticed that the squelch setting is very large therefore provided the needed silent mode and no intermod. In transmission the radio is excellent with very good reception in both V and UHF. I do use it mobile with a short Sirio dualband antenna. Excellent reports. I had, diffent from other radios, to set to narrow band to transmit to a specific very used repeater of my route, as reports said it was better. I don't say it is better or worse than the other similiar rigs from known brands, but just a radio that I would recommend.
DO7MJ Rating: 2004-01-14
No problems with the radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I dont understand previous reviews. I have never had any problems. My radio is working fine, ok, I´m living on the countryside, that´s why I can´t say much about intermod-problems. I never had some. Modulation is excellent and so is handling. The display is easy to read. I have never regretted the purchase.
W4JZR Rating: 2003-06-29
Very user friendly radio with BAD intermod Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a very user friendly radio with programming that is obvious and logical. My first radio would be overdriven if I more than whispered into the mic and the receiver picked up "packet burst" every 30 seconds or so on my club's 2 meter repeater frequency. Alinco sent me a second "modified" radio that did not have the overdrive problem, but only a slight improvement on the "packet burst". I almost purchased the PAR filter, but why should I have to buy a filter for a new $350 radio? I replaced the DR-620 with a DR-605. This radio works great and the features I lost would never have been used anyway. Buy a quality DR-605 and forget the bells and whistles.
KD4RPU Rating: 2003-05-23
Problems Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased a dr620 frin a dealer and immediately had problems with it. The vhf side worked fine but the power on the uhf side dropped away. The dealer sent me another radio. The same thing happened. The dealer sent me another radio. this one seemed to work. After about a month the new radio did the same thing. The power dropped off on the uhf side again. I am in the process of contacting alinco to get the problem resolved. The dealer has been very nice and easy going in replacing the radios but alinco should make an effort to let the dealers know that there is a problem with the radios. So far I rate the radio a big zero.

I have owned several other alinco radios and have never had a problem out of them.
LA4JAA Rating: 2003-04-28
Excellent after Modification! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Alinco has released a modification for the intermod. problem and the DR-620 has become an excelent transceiver. This gave much better intermod. capabilities than the first batch of radios (which I would rate to 0 or 1).

Also the TNC has become a must-have option. Use the DR-620 on APRS as a stand-alone Digipeater!
G0TTM Rating: 2003-04-05
Problems with the DR-620 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought a DR-620 a couple of weeks ago to replace a very old dual bander I use at home. I like Alinco radios, I already have 2 DR 610's (why did they stop making them ?) and a DX-70 for 6m & HF.
To cut a long story short, I took the 620 back after a week of putting up with the noise, to be told that Alinco have recalled all 620's, for full refunds.
I did consider a 605 but it didn't have the frequency coverage I wanted, so I ended up with an Icom 2725. The 620 must have had a fault they couldn't fix ?
KD4EHL Rating: 2003-03-23
INTERMOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received 620 as Christmas gift from my wife.
Radio is easy to use and has many features but those features are useless if you can't hear anything. Radio has been sent back to Alinco in Japan for a mod to correct the intermod. Intermod has been 50% corrected. The radio squeaks and breaks squelch often. Also the mod has decreased receiver sensitivity! I wish I had my 600 back!!
Would not encourage anyone to buy the radio. Forget the digital option!!