New: Alinco DJ-X11T

[geppetto]

Thanks for that Michael..

Very much enjoying using this plugin..


Philip G4JVF

 

[frank-ortiz]

I just ordered an Alinco DJ-X11 today and I will be getting it by Friday, Is there any software I can buy so that I can program it on my computer? If so where can I get the software?

Thanks

 

[MarkWestin]

I don't know of any commercial software for the DJ-X11 yet, but you need these:

DJ-X11

DJ-X11

The Alinco programming utility is usable but leaves a lot to be desired. I have programmed everything in my radio with it, but so far I am only able to upload one channel at a time. I am sure there is a way to upload everything but I haven't figured that out yet. Also look into the above posts about the "plug-in", I think you will find them (and it) useful. I don't have the "genuine" Alinco cable(s) yet and that could be part of my problem. I really like the DJ-X11T so far and also later bought the DX-R8T which is also very good.

Mark

 

[frank-ortiz]

Is the Alinco DJ-11XT easy to program by hand without the need for a computer? Can I also name my scan list like I can do on my Pro-106 radio shack scanner?

 

[MarkWestin]

The DJ-X11 is relatively easy to program but different than most scanners. As you might guess it is more like programming an amateur radio. First you enter all the information into the radio in VFO mode and then write it into an available memory channel. Where the most trouble is likely is when you need to change or add ctcss or some other data change to a memory channel. You need to copy the memory channel into the VFO channel, make the changes and save it back into memory. I don't have a Pro-106 and am not sure what a scan list is. The radio has "up to 1200 channels" and uses a Bank system. The number of channels in a bank can be changed. I can't remember if the Banks can be named. The machine that I had the software installed on had a hard drive crash and I seem to have lost the data files from the Alinco programmer along with who knows what else. I reinstalled the program on my PC but haven't been able to read from the radio yet. It will be something simple and after I figure it out, I'll have to write myself a note for future reference.

Mark

 

[frank-ortiz]

I am so comfused with the programming of this receiver lol, the software offers no help on what to do.
The manual doesn't offer much help either in terms of programming it without a PC either,
When programming it using the PC software I see the memory but you can't put in more than one frequency at a time in their right? Meaning if it has more than one frequency for an airport and I only want to put lets say KPBI airport into one memory channel for all of its frequencies?

I looked all over YouTube and google and no one has a tutorial on how to program the Alinco DJ-X11T with the PC software or by hand.

If anyone can help with this it would be truly appreciated.

 

[SCPD]

IQ offset

How do I change the IQ Offset to +8
I don't find the menu to do that in the DJ-x11T

I used several SDR programs, KGSDR, Spectravue, HDSDR, and SDR-Radio.com. First of all, only KDSDR will currently direct tune the radio. Also set the IQ Offset to around +8 on the DJ-x11 or none of the programs may decode a signal. If you use SDR-Radio.com be sure to set Swap IQ signals setting to on, or USB and LSB will be reversed.

Remark 1
I haven't checked this, but I will.

Remark 2
This is in VFO mode. I suspect this not uncommon to only catch only strong signals that only open the squelch at this speed.

Remark 3
If you are referring to the Fcount / Ftune feature be sure to take a look at the 1,2,3 settings for it. I find that on the 3 setting Fcount / Ftune works about the same as my Uniden scanner.


As far as audio goes its not bad. I would say it is a bit on the wide side, which makes it pleasant for FM and AM broadcast as well as AM airband. It does get a little more thinner sounding on NFM frequencies. You do have a little adjustment with the highpass and lowpass settings. The highpass setting does help to remove some of the hiss from NFM. You also don't have tons of loudness, but it is more than adequate for indoor listening. You probably wouldn't hear it that well on your belt at a very noisy site. You don't get the nice beefy audio as say from the Wouxun 2 meter HT, which is built like a commercial radio.

Hope this helps

 

[MarkWestin]

In order to use the IQ Offset function, you need to have a firmware version 2.10 or above. The latest firmware version is 2.60.There is a PDF file on the Alinco DJ-X11 firmware page with the exact information you need.

DJ-X11

Once you are at the page, look for the link just after or under the line "[Instruction Manual Update]" This will look like the word "here" underlined.

The setting is found in the "Receiver" settings group. Select "IQ Output" and select enable. The default shift is 0Khz and is adjustable from -24 Khz to +24 Khz.

I hope this is useful to you.

Mark

 

[SCPD]

How to check firmware version?

I bet I need to update. My IQ offset sits at 0 and can't seem to change it.

 

[SCPD]

firmware

I have 2.30 version in mine

In order to use the IQ Offset function, you need to have a firmware version


2.10 or above. The latest firmware version is 2.60.There is a PDF file on the Alinco DJ-X11 firmware page with the exact information you need.

DJ-X11

Once you are at the page, look for the link just after or under the line "[Instruction Manual Update]" This will look like the word "here" underlined.

The setting is found in the "Receiver" settings group. Select "IQ Output" and select enable. The default shift is 0Khz and is adjustable from -24 Khz to +24 Khz.

I hope this is useful to you.

Mark

 

[MarkWestin]

With the "IQ" showing "0kHz", press the "0 SHIFT" key. The "0kHz " area of the screen will become inverse video (black background with white number and letters). You can then turn the knob and adjust the offset as desired. Press the "0 SHIFT" key again. and the inverse area will return to normal..

Mark

 

[SCPD]

change offset

Ok thanks for the info. I will try this. Is this in the manual, I didn't see it in there.
I will give that a try today. Thanks Mark for your help.

 

[SCPD]

I have the offset set to +8 but still nothing

I have it set to +8 but still no sigs show up on the screen. Some must still be wrong. Hmmmmm

 

[SCPD]

Sent my unit off to a friend and see if he can get it working

He is going to write a review about it when he is done on W3GAS site.

 

[KC1UA]

Decided on a second go-round with one of these receivers, so as of this morning I have one in hand from HRO, and I have immediate out of the box problems with the battery. Unfortunately because of my location I can't check the AC adapter or charger for proper voltage and continuity, but I'm experiencing the following issues.

1. With the radio in the drop in charger, I (sometimes) see a blinking red light on the charger, not a steady red light as I'd expect to indicate a charging battery. I can't find a reference to what this might mean.

2. The charger itself works in conjunction with the ERW-8 cable as I am able to use both the clone and remote software to communicate with the radio. This is with the li-ion battery pack attached, despite the fact that it is apparently not charging.

3. If I use the dry cell pack, apparently the ERW-8 can't talk to the radio when it's sitting in the cradle?

4. The radio sees the li-ion battery as fully charged, but if I remove it from the charger the radio immediately powers down.

I suspect the battery is no good, and I've already notified HRO of it, but I wanted to see if anyone else here has experienced any of these symptoms.

Thanks.

 

[MarkWestin]

I have seen none of these symptoms with my radio so far, but I don't have the ERW-8 cable yet. You might try charging the battery by plugging the charger directly into the radio instead of using the charger stand I don't know if I've ever seen the LED on the charger blink. At least with mine, if you put the battery on the charger and it has only been run for a few hours, it won't charge. When the battery is almost discharged then the charger will work as advertised. If I charge just through the radio, it will charge the battery any time. Be careful when you plug in the power plug to the radio. You should probably turn it off before plugging it in. Several times, while plugging in the power cord, the radio has reset, losing all my settings, but not my programming.

Mark

 

[KC1UA]

Thanks Mark,

I did try a direct connection from the charger to the radio. The only thing I can see going on is that there is a slight change in the appearance of the display; I get a slight change in contrast that shows a rectangle darker than the outside of the screen when the radio is powered off. There is no indication of the battery even being charged, and as soon as I remove the charger the battery does not power the radio at all. I've had many handhelds and I am sure at this point that I have connected the charger long enough so even a completely discharged battery would power the radio.

I'm guessing the battery is no good. It will only run the radio when it's sitting in the charger. Then I can program and control the radio without issue via the ERW-8 cable connected to the charger as well. Based on this I'm guessing that the charger and wall wort are fine.

The Li-Ion battery pack has 3 contacts on the back. The dry cell clamshell only has two, so I'm guessing the extra contact on the Li-Ion works in a twofold manner, not only for charging but also to pass basic two way communication back and forth via the ERW-8 cable. The dry cell will not work for programming or control. I obtained the ERW-8 cable because it's my intention to use this with some of the third party SDR software as well.

 

[KC1UA]

Well my idiocy regarding the dry cell working with the ERW-8 cable via the charger is uh...idiocy. Another look from a "fresh" start clearly shows why....there are no contacts on the exterior of the clamshell, and for obvious reasons. DOH!

It would be nice to have such connectivity as an option, but I guess for $300 you can't have everything.

My battery is bad. The AC adapter is outputting about 6.25 volts with no load on it, the charger itself is showing about 4.25 volts with no load, which makes sense as the battery is 3.7 volts. Back it goes to HRO tomorrow for a replacement. Quality control fail, Alinco. At least HRO isn't making me send the entire package back.

Another radio adventure to tide me over until the BCD436HP is released.

 

[dimab]

I have an Alinco DJ-X11 that has 2 features I'm trying to understand, detected signal and IQ output. I'm hoping someone can explain these to me in idiot terms, b/c I've read the explanations several times, googled, and it's still not sinking in. I want to decode PSK31 and mess around with some SDR software. I've attempted PSk31 using the audio output option, the detected signal, and IQ output. I do notice differences in the audio and the rainfall between the diff ways I've tried it. Can someone explain and relate the diff types of outputs to what I'm trying to do.

As a bonus, how should the radio and SDR software be configured in terms of modes. For example, radio in USB, should SDR be in RAW or USB to match? Of course this all depends on which function I'm using (and clueless on).

Detected signal output function
Some digital signals, such as 9600 bps high-speed packet communication of amateur radio, use modulation methods called FSK or GMSK. Conse- quently, these signals cannot be received properly with the DJ-X11 which receives filtered audio signals such as 1200 bps AFSK packets. In such a case, you may be able to receive data communication by inputting the signals to a dedicated connecting device (TNC, etc.) or a PC.

IQ signal output function
The DJ-X11 can output IQ signals from the earphone jack. By connecting the earphone jack and the PC's MIC/LINE IN input port with a commer- cially-available cable with ø3.5 mm stereo mini-plugs on both ends (the specification is the same as the cable used for the Cable-clone function described on P. 98), you can use SDR (Software Defined Radio) pro- grams to enjoy reception on the PC using software available on the Inter- net. Since some of these programs offer functions which are unavailable with the DJ-X11 such as DSP (Digital Signal Processor), this function will expand the fun of "watching".

 

[gcopter1]

I'm having trouble getting the radio to communicate with the cloning software. I'm using the ERW-8 cable on Windows 7 inside VM Ware. The radio DOES work with the remote software, but for some reason when I try the cloning software all I get is an error message. Can someone give me some pointers to try?