After receiving the Alpha 10 radio for this review, the first thing I noticed was it's small compact size. The radio is wider that a Mini Magnum, but shorter from front to back. It is about the same size as the Mini Magnum turned sideways.

Another outstanding feature is the large orange backlit display that not only displays the frequency, it will also display the channel number with band letter! The unique looking woodgrain front panel is different from other units, and loaded with buttons and features that are normally found on more expensive radios.

Front Panel Features include:
Automatic Noise Filter/Blanker
Last Channel Recall
Dual Watch
Automatic Squelch
Channel Scan
Emergency CH Buttons
Channel/Band/Frequency Display
Digital Signal Meter
Backlit Buttons
CH Up/Dn Buttons on microphone
AM/FM Mode Button
4 Channel Memory Buttons

The rear panel is simple
Single SO239
One External Speaker Plug
A Molex Type Power Cord

There is no PA Speaker Jack so I assume that it doesn't have that feature.
One thing that is evident is the molded chassis rear heat sink. The radio is obviously designed to handle high heat from the driver and RF final transistors, which the output of about 10 Watts of RF (CB20W - 2SC1969 Replacement).

The 6 pin microphone jack may be a negative because I could NOT find any 4 pin to 6 pin adapters that would work on this radio. However, I had no trouble wiring up an old Connex microphone to the first 4 pins using the information from the owners manual (no up/down buttons of course). I wanted to make sure that the microphone was standard, and not like the microphone on the Uniden Pro 510/520! The microphone audio was loud, clear, and may have worked a little better than the factory microphone!

A look inside reveals the SMT (Surface Mount Technology) which many repair shops dislike. However, after looking around, most of the parts that are usually serviced are standard replaceable components! The Alpha 10 uses a standard modulation transformer (Cobra 29 transformer should work).Most replaceable parts are regular part numbers such as KIA7217, 2SB1135, CB20W or 2SC1969, and the normal power protection diode.
The modulation limiter circuit is easily disabled by cutting a single trace (which I would not recommend). The radio has very good audio and the RF power levels are within the spec. of the final output stage transistors.

Powering up the Alpha 10 and keying up the mic shows about 10 watts on the meter. Talking into the mic shows about 14 watts on AM. The microphone is small and resembles the design of many amateur radios on the market such as the Icom.

Receive is excellent and the noise blanker circuitry is very good compared to most of the small inexpensive radios like Mini Mag and SS121. After talking to several stations and getting excellent signal reports on the audio, I decided to try FM mode. I found another station with FM and was surprised at how clear the audio was! It made me wonder why we use AM in the US at all!

In conclusion, The Alpha 10 is a great radio in a small package with more features than most expensive units!
It should make quite an impact on the hunting season this fall!