Alinco DJ-MD5

Alinco DJ-MD5, Handheld 2-slot DMR Transceiver

Ok... I bought bleeding edge. I would expect a little better directions. NOTHING. Nothing on their site or the vendors\distributor's site. I got a 23 page user manual which basically had more specs and what the buttons where for. Now I would like software and a PDF that's a little more detailed please.

Unboxing: standard packaging, battery, charge stand, belt clip, antenna, and the radio. The radio was charged I would say half way.

Just need that software\directions.... So close...

Overall

 

Performance

Build quality

Features

User friendlyness

Value for money

Aquired

Mint condition in 2018
USD 169.00

Alinco DJ-MD5, Handheld 2-slot DMR Transceiver

Chris,

at this page, under the "download" tab, you will find the CPS utility, USB drivers and operation manual (way more detailed than the user manual):

https://remtronix.com/digital-radio/dmr-radios/dj-md5tgp/

Overall

 

Performance

Build quality

Features

User friendlyness

Value for money

Aquired

Mint condition in 2018
USD 169.99

Alinco DJ-MD5, Handheld 2-slot DMR Transceiver

I've owned this radio for about a month, and learned to program the Channels and Settings manually -- mainly because we're an OSX (not a Windows) household. Know that there is not a Mac version of the programming software available, at least that I'm aware of.

Overall, I'm satisfied with this as a first radio. It's helped me power through the steep learning curve. The unit seems well made, reports are generally very good, and I was able to muddle through setup over the course of a day or two along with a new OpenSpot2 hotspot. I've only connected directly to a DMR repeater once -- the rest of the time has been through the hotspot here at home.

Here are the gotchas:

1) Documentation, videos, and help are sorely lacking. Yes you can find some more detailed information (see other posts about the Commercial reseller that has manuals) -- but do not expect to have anything useful packaged with the radio, beyond a description of the controls. I purchased an Alinco vs. a cheaper Chinese radio, hoping to avoid this very issue.

2) Processor power appears to be very limited -- as audio cuts out on receive as you scroll through the menus.

3) Just not a super intuitive menu for setup. But, I will say this has as much to do with DMR being a Commercial technology adapted to Amateur Radio use -- and the associated public-sector use cases that drive the features on the radio. Features most hams will never find a use for.

4) The software that you can download (again you have to search around for this software) to load your code plugs is lacking in documentation -- so plan on making mistakes and suffering a bit of frustration as you build your code plugs. There are a few videos on YouTube stepping you through this, made by other hams -- but nothing decent that I can find from Alinco.

5) For hotspot use, I'd recommend getting a super compact Rubber Duck vs. the big one that comes with the unit.... I've replaced mine with a Diamond that's about 3 inches long for hotspot use.

Overall

 

Performance

Build quality

Features

User friendlyness

Value for money

Aquired

Mint condition in 2019
USD 175.00