Alinco DJ-X11 Wideband Receiver

Re: Alinco DJ-X11 Wideband Receiver

After spending the last four days with this rig I do like it. It takes a bit of getting used to, and it's mostly a matter of memorizing the functions by working with the radio every day until it's committed to memory.

There are a few things I'm still sketchy about, but with more use it will become second nature.

One thing I found out on my own that the manual says nothing about is the fact that if you use the naming feature for each frequency or channel, the name will cover up important operating information shown in the upper left corner of the screen. You won't be able to verify if you have skipped a channel using the skip feature, what mode you are operating in, what frequency mode the receiver is in, and probably several other indicators I'm forgetting about.

There is so much to learn about this radio my head is a little stretched right now.

AM reception is outstanding and I received the time hack in Colorado on 5 Mhz during the day with no problem. It wasn't a really strong signal but you could hear the beeps and the hack. It really needs a longwire for SW bands though.

Aviation in the AM band is also very good. Sensitivity is better than the Uniden I have.

Audio could be better. I don't know if it's the 100 mw output or the size of the speaker, but it could use a boost.

The belt clip is really funky. It's more or less a belt strap with a quick disconnect clip. Not very practical, but I can see why, with the shape of the back of the radio and the fact that the battery pack slides off of the back as opposed to opening a little cover or door, that it doesn't have a conventional belt clip.

Glasses are definitely needed when working with this radio in dim room light in the evening. It's not so bad outside and I can get by without the glasses, but the display is small and the light is not the brightest. In fact, under fluorescent lighting you can't even tell the light is on. That's how dim it is. It's better than nothing I suppose, but I'm already looking to replace the SMD LED's that are on a small circuit board all by themselves.

I'll probably try and purchase the lighting circuit board to experiment on while trying to find something brighter, and a different color too. I think LCD displays are easier seen under orange lighting than green.

I'm still happy with my purchase even with the drawbacks. As I said, it's a lot of radio for not a lot of money.

Well after hem-hawing around for the past two years I finally ordered a replacement wideband receiver to replace the AOR AR8200 I sold back in 2010/11.

I had heard of this brand before but like the AOR before it I had never owned one of their products. Apparently not many others have owned this particular receiver, though their Ham products are rated as top notch stuff in the transceiver world.

This is another 'kitchen sink' receiver; wide band, all-mode, all-step, with bells and whistles galore. It receives continuously (except for analog cellular which is no longer used) from 50 Khz to 1.3 Ghz

This receiver is smaller than the AR8200 and the ICOM R-20. The R20 was going to be my choice for replacement until I found out that it did not have some features that was a deal breaker for me. It's too bad too, because I know it's a good receiver.

The Alinco has the features I was looking for in a high-end hand-held. On top of that, it's easy as all get out to program using the computer or by hand. It is logically menu driven unlike the mishmash of seemingly unrelated and haphazard button presses on the other two units. The AOR has an especially steep learning curve.

It also has two features the other two don't have on board without modification or additional hardware, and that is a discriminator tap and IQ output which allows it to operate as a software defined receiver using freeware available on the internet. It will also output digital data to the same software for conversion to analog audio. No other receiver has this feature.

It is also a dual receive unit much like a dual receive 2m/440 radio, and in fact this shares many features of one of their dual band radios including the case design right down to the buttons on the front.

It is touted as being every bit the receiver that the AOR and ICOM is and in fact beats the AOR in the civil aviation band, and beats the ICOM in HF reception.

It includes features such as being able to change the size of the display font, contrast, 16 character display and offers relevant symbols for many bands to display. You can also design and upload your own symbols if you like with the freeware control software.

It includes a bug detector with known frequencies pre-loaded into its database, it will also speak to you as you are inputting a frequency and/or speak to you when you pull up a frequency from memory. This feature can be turned on and off, the same with most features on this unit.

I could go on for hours about the capabilities of this receiver, but I'll wait to write more after I have it in my hands and can give it a test flight.

Specifications:

2VFO simultaneous RX

Main-band coverage: 0.05�`1,299.99995MHz all mode AM/FM/WFM/SSB/CW (BFO for SSB/CW receive. An external antenna required for practical HF monitoring. Internal bar antenna for AM broadcast reception and earphone antenna feature inclusive.)

Sub-band coverage: VHF:118�`171MHz/UHF:336�`470MHz in AM/NFM
1200 memory channels with adjustable memory banks using utility freeware (optional PC cable required)

IQ signal and Discriminator output features: DJ-X11 has an IQ signal output that can be used with 3rd-party software to operate as a SDR. 10.7MHz IF discriminator signal can be used with other receiver-related software available on the net such as AIS-plotting.

Voice-guidance system reads entering/entered frequency in English
Easy-to-use twin dials
Pocket size unit measures 61 (W) x 106 (H) x 38 (D) mm / 2.4 (W) x 4.17 (H) x 1.50 (D) in (without projections)
Rigged Polycarbonate body with rubber protectors

Selectable tuning steps: 0.05/0.1/1/5/6.25/8.33/9/10/12.5/15/20/25/30/50/100/125/150/200/500kHz/1MHz

Various scan modes: Preset, programmed, memory, VFO and tone scan
3 selectable scan speeds (VFO: 25ch/s, 33ch/s, 100ch/s, Memory: 4.5ch/s, 8.3ch/s, 20ch/s)

TSQ and DCS decode

Wire remote-control using optional EDS-12

Long-lasting 1800mAh Li-Ion battery pack provides nearly 15 hours of operation at full audio output in a single RX mode

1200 Alphanumeric (up to 16 characters) memory channels
Additional 100 memory channels are available for each Dual-mode memory, Search-pass, Priority monitoring and Programmed Scanning pairs

Large, brightly illuminated full dot-matrix LCD and keypads

Dual channel-scope (Alinco's patented spectrum-analyzer alike feature)

Frequency counter and flash tune

"Bug detector" function searches for hidden transmitters

Illuminated keypad for comfortable operation

Standard Drop-in charger fully charges empty EBP-74 in 4 hours

RF gain and attenuator for both main/sub VFOs

Analog inversion-scramble decoder***
* Cellular frequencies blocked on T model sold in USA, unblocked K model available in Canada and for authorized US users with proper documentation
* Operating times may vary subject to usage and settings. High-grade alkaline cells recommended.
* Inversion-scramble decoder is available in European version only

About PC connection:
ERW-7 allows you to use clone or utility software only.
ERW-8 enables the use of both clone-utility AND real-time control software.
Both types of software are available for download at no charge from a link below. To use 3rd party SDR freeware, you will need to purchase a 3.5mm stereo mini-plug cable for connection to a PC. Functions are not guaranteed when used with 3rd party software. (ERW-4C serial cable is usable as a replacement to ERW-7 but it doesn't support firmware-update operations of DJ-X11.)

Indicative battery duration:

Approx. 35 hours (FM, single VFO, AF10% THD, 1 min RX/4 min Stand-by/EDH-36 (with Alkaline cells) or EBP-74)
Approx. 15 hours (FM, single VFO, Max AF outputEBP-74)

SPECIFICATIONS
Receiver range: Main VFO 0.05 - 1299.99995 MHz in All available modes / Sub VFO 118 - 170.995MHz & 336 - 469.995MHz in AM/FM (Cellular frequencies 824.000 - 849.995MHz, 869.000 - 894.995MHz blocked on T models.

Mode: FM,WFM,AM,SSB(USB/LSB),CW(CU/CL)

Antenna Impedance: 50 ohms (SMA)

Supply voltage: DC 3.7V (EBP-74) / DC 4.5V (EDH-33) / DC 5.4V - 6.0V
(external regulated source) negative ground

Current consumption: approx.130mA Mono band / 180mA Dual band

Temperature range: -10 to +60 dig C (+14 to +140 dig F)

Frequency stability: -7 to +3ppm(-10 to +60 dig C)(+14 to +140 dig F)

Dimension without projection: 61 (W) x 106 (H) x 38 (D) mm / 2.4 (W) x 4.17 (H) x 1.50 (D)

Weight: Approx.235g / 8.29 oz (Ant.& EBP-74 inclusive)

Receiver: Triple-conversion super heterodyne AM/SSB/CW/FM in Main VFO / Double-conversion super heterodyne AM/FM in Sub VFO and WFM in Main VFO
Selectivity: SSB/CW -6dB: 2kHz or more -50dB : 7.5kHz or less, AM/FM -6dB : 12kHz or more -60dB : 35kHz or less, WFM -6dB : 180kHz �}40kHz -20dB : 470kHz or less

Sensitivity(typical value within the band: 10dB S/N:AM/SSB/CW , 12dBSINAD:FM/WFM):

Main-band: 0.050~0.531MHz (AM) 5dBu 0.531~1.62MHz (AM) 2dBu 1.62~76MHz (AM) -5dBu 1.62~76MHz (SSB,CW) -10dBu 1.62~76MHz (FM) -15dBu 76~108MHz (WFM) -3dBu 108~136MHz (AM) -6dBu 136~174MHz (FM) -14dBu 175~221.75MHz (WFM) -6dBu 221.8~336MHz (AM) 0dBu 336~475.75MHz (FM) -13dBu 475.75~770MHz (WFM) -13dBu 770~1260MHz (FM) -9dBu 1260~1300MHz (FM) -6dBu

Sub-band: 118~136MHz (AM) -3dBu 136~170MHz (FM) -14dBu 336~470MHz (FM) -14dBu *225~335.995 MHz in AM/FM may be usable although out of specification and warranty. Sensitivity is better closer to 336MHz. This band is closed at the default setting,
Audio Output power: More than 100mW (8ohm)

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