?Alinco DJ-500T = Anytone AT-3208UVII = Anytone TERMN-8R?

[Hans13]

Are they the same radios with different cases and firmware?

Alinco DJ-500T Second Generation manual (look at page 10)... http://alinco.com/pdffiles/Instruction/Handheld/dj500-2insweb.pdf
Compared to...
Anytone AT-3208UVII manual (look at page 7)... http://www.miklor.com/AT-32/pdf/3208UVII.pdf
Compared to...
Anytone TERMN-8R manual (look at page 11 )... http://www.miklor.com/AT-TE/pdf/OBLTR-TERMN_manual.pdf

The specifications for each radio are begin on pages 46, 30, and 93 respectively. Much of the graphic art and language is the same between the three radios. AFAIK, the DJ-500T and TERMN-8R battery look very similar at internal contact points and charger. I haven't seen an AT-3208UVII battery yet.

I think that they are probably the same radios. Interestingly, the DJ-500T seemed to be the most inexpensive of the three that I could find online yesterday. What do y'all think?

 

[Hans13]

I seem to be behind the times. Apparently, Alinco is now being developed and produced by Anytone. This was news to me!

https://hamgear.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/the-end-of-alinco-as-we-know-it/

Alinco, one of the few remaining and independent Japanese manufacturers, is no more. The company itself isn’t bankrupt (it’s not that bad yet), but development and production seems to be a Chinese affair now.

Alinco’s latest VHF/UHF models are made by…. AnyTone.

 

[Hans13]

Looking again, I think that the Anytone OBLTR-8R and the Alinco DJ-500T are the same radio. To set the frequency limits on the DJ-500T, the PF2 and D keys are pressed while turning on the radio. There are four modes to choose from. I cannot remember the sequence to set the frequency limits (& other limits) on the OBLTR-8R at power up, however, I wouldn't be surprised if it was something like pressing the PF2 and D keys while powering on the radio. After all, aren't there four modes: amateur, MURS, GMRS, and Part 90? The DJ-500TB is a Part 90 commercial radio until one does the mode change. It can be changed back again the same way. The concept is not new for this particular hardware. The features of the OBLTR-8R appear the same as the DJ-500T to me. Anytone 8R Features - Miklor

I think there might be a good chance that an OBLTR-8R firmware would make a DJ-500T/B into a OBLTR-8R and an OBTLR-8R into a DJ-500T/B.


(Background, feel free to ignore this as TL;DR: Anyone remember the Dell Axim PDAs? An OS upgrade was released that Axim owners were told they would have access to for free since they were purchasing right on the cusp of an update cycle. The upgrade came out and those users who had already purchased, even a day before, were left out in the cold. We looked at the firmware header and figured out how to allow it to be generically flashed to any same model Axim. It took a small group of us only a few hours, start to finish, on a forum one night to figure it out. Well, it turned out that the official release was bricking Axims right and left. I was even approached by the manufacturer, through a third party, to show them how we were unbricking the Axims. I'm sure I wasn't the only user involved that was approached. You see, in the process of figuring out how to do the upgrade, we also figured out how to unbrick them when problems arose. If someone has the program to flash something, two different firmware files for the same hardware, a hex editor, and some time... one can usually figure these things out. A determined group can do it in hours.)

 

[toastycookies]

looks like a duck.

I have a broken termn-8r.

still works fine, plastic battery clip just broke after a small fall.

as long as you press the battery close it still works. annoying AF though.

cheap plastic.

 

[Hans13]

Sorry to hear of your lame duck. I wonder if one couldn't purchase an Alinco DJ-500T 2nd gen case and transplant it.

Would it then be an ALINCN-8R?