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Reviews For: Alinco DJ-X30T

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Review Summary For : Alinco DJ-X30T
Reviews: 2MSRP: 199.95
Description:
The Alinco DJ-X30T wideband receiver covers 100 kHz to 1299.995 MHz (less cellular) in AM, FM wide and FM narrow modes.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.alinco.com/main07-05.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0023
KD8ENX Rating: 2011-01-30
A fun radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Nearly all the reviews I have read about this receiver have been unfavorable. I don't agree. This is a fun little receiver, and is quickly becoming my favorite take-along.

Perhaps my situation is unique. I live in a fairly rural area, where the bands are pretty clear. This little receiver does a great job of picking up the local emergency and law enforcement frequencies, with plenty of sensitivity and selectivity. It also does a great job of monitoring the local airports, picking them up even inside metal buildings.

There are a few common complaints about this radio-

POOR AUDIO FIDELITY
I have not experienced this problem. The audio I get is usually pretty crisp. It makes me wonder if the people complaining about this just haven't found the audio quality setting. On 'low', things do sound pretty muddy and strange. But on 'hi' the sound is much better. (Makes you wonder what good the 'low' setting is, doesn't it?)

SHORT BATTERY LIFE
I use Sony Stamina rechargables in mine, which I charge in a dedicated charger. A pair of 2500 mA/hr AA cells gives about 8 hours of constant scanning and listening at fairly high volume, and even more with intermittent use. The battery indicator gives plenty of warning before the batteries are exhausted.

POOR SENSITIVITY / OVERLOADING
I haven't seen these. But then again, I don't have problems with a strong local transmitter or crowded bands. Sensitivity and performance on the AM and FM broadcast bands are very good, especially for a wide band receiver. FM is mono only.

WIERD BEHAVIOR WHEN BATTERIES ARE NEARLY DEAD
When the batteries are nearly dead, this radio will turn itself off, then come back on almost immediately, then go back off. This cycle repeats at a rate of about once every two seconds. You can shut it off by pressing the FUNC / LOCK key. You can also just remove the batteries.

My favorite carry-along used to be an Icom IC-RX7. This Alinco does not have nearly as many features as the Icom, but I really miss only two- Weather resistance and DCS. The Alinco seems much more intuitive to operate to me. Now that I've learned it, I really don't find myself needing to refer to the manual at all.

This receiver's performance, features and ease of use make it well worth the price, to me. I really enjoy using it!
NB7I Rating: 2007-09-08
Mediocre Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Perspective - about twice the size of a VX2R.

Cons - Audio is generally distorted and full of digital artifacts. The display causes noise, and junk sweeps through the audio, especially on AM. On VHF/UHF a peculiar hollow sound accompanies all received signals
Battery life is poor. If the battery dies, it sits there and shuts on and off, instead of just shutting off. I had to remove the batteries until I learned to press the function button to make it quit. A word on battery charging - no matter if the input voltage is correct, the radio has to be turned on before the wall wart is plugged in, or the warning "Danger High Voltage" appears. Then you have to go back in the menu and turn the charger back on. If the batteries are dead, this can be a keystone cops routine.
Sensitivity is adequate, but the radio overloads on an external antenna.
This radio works fairly well on the FM broadcast band. There is some improvement over the VX2-R on AM and shortwave due to the internal bar antennas, but the Alinco is incapable of using even the earphone wire as an antenna without overload, limiting its advantage.

In short, the Yaesu VX2R beats this receiver in size, features, audio quality, battery life, price, and transmits to boot.