Alinco DX 10

[Eldorado828]

Hi all,
I just decided to order a DX-10 from Nevada Radio because I was curious about these. It's a "New Version", whatever that means? I have always liked the smaller size and look of these rigs. So why not It will take a while to get to me in Australia, but I will report back once it lands here. In the meantime I will be interested to see how others are finding their "New Version".
73

Please do report back, I think several of us in here will be waiting to hear your conclusion.

 

[Pez]

Just posted on YT...

 

[Pez]

It has arrived! 5 days from Nevada (UK) to Australia is as good as it gets!


Quick observations:


The DX-10 is MUCH smaller in size to what I was expecting from seeing it in the photos and videos. It is very compact! The build quality looks and feels very good.

TX Power is as per the spec sheet, except for AM which is pushing well over 30w on peaks (PEP)! (Out of the box, no mods.).

TX audio sounds good on all modes.

RX audio on AM and FM sounds great, however SSB RX audio is not fantastic. The radio seems to have a very poor SSB AGC and it distorts and overloads easily on strong SSB signals. (IIRC, this was the same as I found on very early AT5555 radios from around 10 years ago). You can reduce this issue with the RF gain control, but it's still not a very smooth SSB receiver. (There is no comparison with the AT-5555Nii RX audio quality, but that radio is superb and it does spoil you!)

The PC programming cable is the same as used with the AT-6666 and AT-5555 (and Nii).

I will put it through its paces and report back if there is more to tell.

Cheers

 

[Eldorado828]

It has arrived! 5 days from Nevada (UK) to Australia is as good as it gets!


Quick observations:


The DX-10 is MUCH smaller in size to what I was expecting from seeing it in the photos and videos. It is very compact! The build quality looks and feels very good.

TX Power is as per the spec sheet, except for AM which is pushing well over 30w on peaks (PEP)! (Out of the box, no mods.).

TX audio sounds good on all modes.

RX audio on AM and FM sounds great, however SSB RX audio is not fantastic. The radio seems to have a very poor SSB AGC and it distorts and overloads easily on strong SSB signals. (IIRC, this was the same as I found on very early AT5555 radios from around 10 years ago). You can reduce this issue with the RF gain control, but it's still not a very smooth SSB receiver. (There is no comparison with the AT-5555Nii RX audio quality, but that radio is superb and it does spoil you!)

The PC programming cable is the same as used with the AT-6666 and AT-5555 (and Nii).

I will put it through its paces and report back if there is more to tell.

Cheers

Your report is very appreciated sir, hope to hear back as you learn more from it. The receiver report is kind of a bummer.

 

[Pez]

Your report is very appreciated sir, hope to hear back as you learn more from it. The receiver report is kind of a bummer.

I have just worked a heap of SSB DX with the Alinco DX-10. Here are some more comments:

The RX is HOT! Too hot. You have to run the RF Gain at no more than 3/4 or you will be overloading the RX. I can still hear everything that my AT-5555Nii can hear, at this lower RF Gain setting, so that's not a real issue but something you need to be aware of. (For reference, the AT-5555Nii is an amazing performer in every way).

The AGC is average. Strong signals are very LOUD, weak signals are not (from a volume point of view). You need to keep on top of the Volume control to keep the audio output where you want it.

The SSB clarification is critical. You have to get it exactly right, or the RX does start to distort. I'm not sure exactly why this is the case (maybe an internal mixing/filter issue?) But it matters. 20Hz off is enough to make the SSB RX sound rough. So keep on the clarifier control (which works well on this radio).

TX audio reports were excellent.

AM/FM seems to work great.

That might sound like a lot of bad points - however, despite all that I had a great time using this radio!. It's fun, it keeps you busy tweaking, and when you get it right, it's great! It's just a lot more work than many other radios, and some people might not want to deal with that.

I configured my DX-10 with the PC software. This makes life a lot easier if you are familiar with radio programming.

Overall, I like it, it's a different beast with some RX quirks, but it is still a very capable and fun little radio for a cheap price.

 

[Eldorado828]

Here's the beast in the flesh. Looks and performs OK from what Scott's says.

Not bad but I myself will probably take a pass on this one, eyes on the Ares 2 instead.

 

[Pez]

Here's the beast in the flesh. Looks and performs OK from what Scott's says.

Not bad but I myself will probably take a pass on this one, eyes on the Ares 2 instead.

I worked a heap more DX today with mine. SSB, AM and FM. This rig is absolutely killer on AM, the TX audio is excellent. And around 40watts AM peak. Great performance on FM too, but just a shame it doesn't have CTCSS for the 10m repeaters. I'm really enjoying this little radio. (It's great with a KL-203P too). 73

 

[Brother DXer]

I worked a heap more DX today with mine. SSB, AM and FM. This rig is absolutely killer on AM, the TX audio is excellent. And around 40watts AM peak. Great performance on FM too, but just a shame it doesn't have CTCSS for the 10m repeaters. I'm really enjoying this little radio. (It's great with a KL-203P too). 73

How many watts are you running through the kl203p?
And, 11 meters capable??
I may have to look closer at this one....

 

[Pez]

How many watts are you running through the kl203p?
And, 11 meters capable??
I may have to look closer at this one....

With the 203P being driven with less than 10w, I am seeing a comfortable and clean 70-90 watts.
11M = yes. No hardware modifications required. It's a button press / menu item.

 

[Brother DXer]

With the 203P being driven with less than 10w, I am seeing a comfortable and clean 70-90 watts.
11M = yes. No hardware modifications required. It's a button press / menu item.

Thanks!!

 

[Woody-202]

It has arrived! 5 days from Nevada (UK) to Australia is as good as it gets!


Quick observations:


The DX-10 is MUCH smaller in size to what I was expecting from seeing it in the photos and videos. It is very compact! The build quality looks and feels very good.

TX Power is as per the spec sheet, except for AM which is pushing well over 30w on peaks (PEP)! (Out of the box, no mods.).

TX audio sounds good on all modes.

RX audio on AM and FM sounds great, however SSB RX audio is not fantastic. The radio seems to have a very poor SSB AGC and it distorts and overloads easily on strong SSB signals. (IIRC, this was the same as I found on very early AT5555 radios from around 10 years ago). You can reduce this issue with the RF gain control, but it's still not a very smooth SSB receiver. (There is no comparison with the AT-5555Nii RX audio quality, but that radio is superb and it does spoil you!)

The PC programming cable is the same as used with the AT-6666 and AT-5555 (and Nii).

I will put it through its paces and report back if there is more to tell.

Cheers

Where can you get the software?

 

[Woody-202]

I just received my DX-10 and the frequency display is very dim (can see it well in daylight) vs. the very bright channel number. Is there some adjustment to turn the brightness up on the freq. display?

 

[Smokinone]

Bells has the software and manual posted. They also have them for sale. On a UK site they are saying there carrying the NEW version dx-10. I haven't seen anything as to what improvements they have made. In some older postings there were comments about CW issues, maybe that's something they looked at with the new unit.
I zipped the software to get it to upload, hope this works for ya. Looks like the DX_135 software.

 

[hotrod]

i have this radio ..ssb audio seemsca tad low to me .. am has alot of swing or audio.. rx seems fine .. i hate the small mic though