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Reviews For: Alinco DR-635

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

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Review Summary For : Alinco DR-635
Reviews: 53MSRP: 375.00
Description:
2M/440 full-duplex capable, remote-able
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.alinco.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00533.6
N2TXV Rating: 2005-09-18
Lousy Receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Had high hopes as I've had Alinco's before. First impression was great. Nice display, easy buttons and menu a cinch. Some nice features but first radio had muffled audio, poor speaker and receiver front appeared weak. The radio was exchanged for a new one but speaker was not up to par as it just was not that loud. More important the receiver received IMD and was desensed by area transmitters. Checked all connections and ensured proper RF filtering on the DC feed but that gritty hash could not be rectified. Swaped out my trusty Kenwood Dual bander and it was night and day.

Hopefully they can clean these issues up. When I walked into the ham store and the clerk saw what box was carrying for my second return, he said let me guess.. lousy receiver right?... I imagine we will see some bad reviews on here as they hit the street.
N5XNF Rating: 2005-09-08
wonderful new radio Time Owned: N.A.
I read reviews from Joe, who has had his new hardly talkie for a week.. and think yeah right....

i have been using the 635 for about three months now. I use it mobile, and as a base on a 15 amp power supply, and it works wonderful.

There were a couple of things that attracted me to the radio:
Cross band repeat capability
AM air receive
IN BAND dual receive (V/V or U/U)

The radio is extremely user friendly as far as i am concerned. It was easy to program and programs basically the same as the other radios and HT's offered from Alinco. All of the bells and whistles work well, and are easy to access.

Memory channels are easily programmed and can store weird (aka non-standard) off-sets. Get out the calculator to figure them out! lol

To begin with, you have 80 memory channels each on the VHF and UHF bands. They are programmable with Alpha Tags, so you can "NAME" the channels for easy recall. They store all of the setting you could need. You can also put each side into scan.

80 each on VHF and UHF = 160, Where are the other 40 you ask??
Turns out, there is an additional 40 channels that behave a little different. On these 40 channels, the radio acts as a single band radio, but you can enter any frequeny in these memories ( Fm broadcast, AM Aircraft, VHF or UHF).

Here is what i did:

I set up all of my ham repeater and simplex frequencies (including satellite pairs) in the 80 memory channels.

Then i put all of the commercial frequencies that i would want to listen to in the "upper 40", along with my home repeater of course. These 40 channels scan separately from the other 80.

When i am in the "HAM Mode" I can scan through all of the area ham repeaters, with pelenty of channels for them all.

If i just want to SWL the commercial stuff, i put the radio on the Upper 40 and let it go! (Of course, you can transmit from thses UPPERS also...if you're in band). I have the local Weather service, Piolits briefing, Unicom, and police fire stuff in this bank.

There are only 3 issues that have came up, and i am sure one of them is my fault in the programming.

If I have both bands scanninig, simultaneously, I have to stop the sub bands from scanning in order to transmit on the primary band. It seem to not happen on EVERY channel, so i think it is something i may have set up in programming.

The only true issue i have found, is with the DCS.
I set up my HT (an Alinco 596) and the 635 with a DCS code, so that i may use the 635 as a (cross-band)vehicle repeater. (or really, use the HT as a wireless mic for the 635). When i activate the cross band repeat function, the DCS goes off. CTCSS encode&decode work fine, but for some reason the DCS goes off.

The only other thing I have found is in the monitor circuit. I live way the heck out in the boon docks and there are a LOT of 'weak' signals running around out here... I use the "monitor" function quite a bit, even on the commercial kenwood and motorola stuff i carry.

To set the squelch level on the 635, you push the SQL button, and the display comes up SQL and you set it. Hold the button down for 2 seconds, and it switches modes, (soposed to be to the monior mode..i defined as PL disabled, squelch open) Push Function and SQL, it should go into REVERSE mode ( to monitor the repeater input)
Well, if the frequency has an offset, and you push monitor, it goes to reverse no matter what, so you don't get the Monitor, just the reverse with the open squelch. I add though, that on a simplex freq, (ie no offset) this works correctly.

I know...i am probably the only guy in the US that would have noticed this....

Even with this; i still would rate this radio as high as possible. It has everything i want and need in a dual band radio.
K6LCS Rating: 2005-06-08
Very Nice Unit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
New this month to the dual-band fray is this handsome Alinco DR-635. 200 memories. Extended receive on the US model (108-173.995, 335-479.995, 87.5-107.995). Reasonable price for the remote head kit, too (EDS-9).

Tri-color display - you can freely and separately select amber, blue, and/or violet for TX, RX, and Standby.

EJ-50U available for 1200 and 9600 baul packet. Digital comms with optional EJ-47U board.

Just started using it this week - excellent signal reports! Nicely laid-out controls. Backlit DTMF mic included with the US "T" version.