Sunday, July 15, 2012 — Tomorrow I expect to receive another ham radio toy that I probably won’t have time to play with — an Alinco DX-SR8T. This was not an eBay purchase; I was perusing QTH.com’s classifieds and stumbled across one listed for a very cheap price.
The Alinco DX-SR8T is not exactly a feature-rich radio; it is one of the more “entry level” of the entry-level ham transceivers out there. However, the pricing is spot-on for those seeking inexpensive entry into the hobby and don’t want to take a chance on buying someone else’s problems at a hamfest or on eBay.
The DX-SR8T’s street price is just over $500, which isn’t a bad price given the features that include features that were once optional on many rigs, but are standard equipment these days — built-in CW keyer; CW filter, IF filter, RIT/XIT, two VFOS, etc. Standard features these day. But compare the rig to the Icom IC-718 — the street price is more than $500 more than the Alinco.
I have more transceivers than Carter has liver pills, but I plan on giving the rig a workout.
IARU HF CONTEST. I had a few minutes today to work a few stations on 10 meters in the IARU HF Contest. Not much going on this afternoon on 10 meters, mostly South America and a few U.S. stations. I only worked a few stations as I didn’t have much time. I heard several U.S. stations calling the DX stations using the newbie techniques I heard on Field Day — which in a “real” contest like IARU, will produce few results. Hams who are new to contesting frequently don’t listen to hear what the DX is doing, or to the stations who are calling him they can hear work him.