| KI4D |
Rating:    |
2003-04-22 | |
| Nice radio with BIG crossband set-backs |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have not read many of the other reviews on this radio, so I may be repeating some things others have stated. I bought my DR-605TQ about 2 years ago and recently sold it, I don't think I will miss anything about it. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a very good sounding radio, but there are better ones out there now for about the same price (i.e.-look at the reviews for the Yaesu FT-8900R). Here are the problems and the things I did not like about the Alinco DR-605. My radio lost all modulation when it was about 3 months old with very few hours of use. So off to the factory service center for the warranty repair. I sent it to the old service center in California, (Alinco has since moved to a different service center somewhere in the MidWest). I received my radio back all fixed and working well in just 11 days! Wow, that was great service experience! I don't know how well the new service center will do, but I give my service experience a 5! Now for the little stuff I didn't like. The biggest problem (and the one that made me sell this rig) is the inability to have different power settings for the individual bands. This was a major problem for me because when I used this radio to crossband repeat, I could not hit the repeater I wanted to on low power. I had to set the radio on transmit (on UHF in my instance) on high power to make the repeater. So conversely, when someone transmitted on the repeater, that would make the subband transmit to my HT on high power also. Bad deal when listening to long nets, heats up the radio, polluted the input frequency I was using with an unnessary high power transmission, and torches the truck battery. If you want to use the DR-605 as a crossband repeater, this is not the radio for you. On this I give the radio a "zero" for this severe set-back. The other thing that bugged me is the the VFO and memory scanning, it is MUCH slower than other rigs. This really wasn't a big problem for me that I could have gotten over, so on this I give it a 3. Average this all out and I get a 3 for this rig, great if not using the crossband feature. Hope my review helps, feel free to write me back with any questions, maybe I can help. ...JohnnyT KI4D |
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| W4KPA |
Rating:     |
2003-04-05 | |
| Buy with confidence |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This radio has been my primary vhf/uhf, fm, fixed station for about 15 months. I've had no problems with the radio. It has no quirks (see my review of the ft90r for a discussion of annoying quirks). The receiver is more than adequate. I have no interference problems. The transmit audio is super. All of the features work exactly as advertised. That isn't a given these days.
I give the radio a four instead of a five because it's just a little clunky. You don't get direct frequency entry from the mike. Accessing some of the functions is a little like driving a drag-racer with the gearshift in the glove box. To set the squelch you push the function button and then push the volume control of the two meter band to turn the squelch down one step. To turn it up you use the same procedure with the volume control for the 440 band. A separate knob would have been simpler to design and use. It's a little short on memories, especially if you live in a large metro area.
But, those are minor complaints. The radio works great. If you cross band repeat, it's a good idea to use a diplexer after the radio to split the outputs to separate antennas and then use amplifiers to boost the power up to higher levels. That way you can run the radio at five watts which makes it very happy. If you choose amplilfiers with 10 or 40 watt input, you'll be running them very conservatively as well, and the whole system will hum along for years.
The radio is a little over priced now, compared to the competition. But if you find it on sale down in the $250-275 range, it would be an excellent buy.
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| N1RQV |
Rating:      |
2003-04-05 | |
| Great mobile radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I HAVE HAD THIS RADIO FOR 2 YEARS AS A MOBILE IN MY WORK VEHICLE. IT GETS DAILY ABUSE AN NEVER GIVES IN. IT IS EASY TO OPERATE AND HAS NONE OF THOSE "UNUSED FUNCTIONS" THAT YOU WOULD USE IN A DAILY MOBILE. I HAVE HAD NO FAILURES TO DATE. |
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| ON1MHO |
Rating:      |
2003-03-03 | |
| So far so good |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this transceiver this weekend at a hamfest. This is inexpensive compared to Kenwood,...( about 400 Euros / 400 Dollars) in Belgium. It is quite easy to use. User friendly, nice display, good power 40 w on VHF and 35 on UHF, real full duplex, RX on VHF and TX on UHF and vice versa. One small problem for me : no alphanumeric display of trhe freq or the repeater.Excellent RX and TX too. No intermod, sensitive.
I replaced my VHF only transceiver ( DR 112, Alinco too), by the dual band, and I'm not disapointed !!! A keeper. A+++ |
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| WV1K |
Rating:      |
2002-12-11 | |
| Great radio for the price |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
After looking at the others currently made, like the D700A and the FT-8900, etc... I decided to take a chance on Alinco.
I couldn't be more pleased.
Used it inside for several months then moved it to the car where it has continued to provide great service.
Use it with a Diamond NR770 with the PL259 mount (this is a half wave antenna independent of ground) on the car and can work the repeaters in RI from Cape Cod.
Not that complexity is a concern to me.. but a VERY EASY rig to learn to use. It is quite intuitive.
One gripe... not the world's fastest scanner, bu that isn't why I own it !
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| KG6LQO |
Rating:      |
2002-09-27 | |
| I don't miss the extras... |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
For the price, this was $60 less than others with crossband repeat. Basic, solid, enough features.
It is easy to learn and operate, great signal reports/ruggedness. Few extra features & tricks that others might have, but still a solid value. 102 memories, Hi/Lo power, logical layout, but don't look for alphanumeric display. |
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| N3PVZ |
Rating:      |
2002-09-26 | |
| Good, cost effective dual bander |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This is my first mobile rig. I got it from AES. I have had it in my vehicle for about 3 years and it works flawlessly!! I have used it on a couple of trips and have always recieved great signal reports. Have had very little to no trouble with intermod. I have never had any mechanical or electrical problems with the unit. I especially like the cross band repeat. This is great when you are away from the vehicle with your HT. This is a good buy, especially for those of us who are on a ham radio budget!!! |
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| KF6RUH |
Rating:      |
2002-08-30 | |
| GREAT RADIO FOR THE PRICE. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I really love this radio. I have had mine for about 3 years now. It works great. You can't beat this radio for the price. These radios cost about $339.00. which is not bad at all for a true dualband radio that has crossband repeat, and dual vhf/uhf dispays. I have encountered very little intermod on my radio, and I even live close to a couple of paging towers. Would I buy another one again? yes I would, and I did, just about 2 weeks ago. Good job Alinco on building a nice true dual band radio that people on a tight budget can afford. |
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| KD7KHG |
Rating:     |
2002-08-30 | |
| I killed it! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| You will have to read my previous post, I killed it! Mic quit working,intermod when crossbanding, stays keyed up when on remote. Would I buy again, Yep! |
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| N4UZZ |
Rating:     |
2002-06-12 | |
| Solid little rig |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Nice performer! Wonderful radio for the price. This is my second DR-605TQ.
The only problem I have is that in cross-band repeat mode, the rig will simply quit after about 10 to 15 minutes, the display will flash, and the UHF transmit will pop on and off, and I could not cure that even by adding a nice heatsink fan. I have to cross band repeat in low power. That's why it's a 4, not 5. Same situation on both rigs I have. |
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