Amateur Radio Data

Follow the links below for general info on the rigs and equipment described. For the commercial equipment, basic info. and modification details (if applicable) can be found along with relevant photos. For the homebrew equipment and kits, the intention is to include circuit diagrams as well as photos to enable others to reproduce or copy the circuitry and/or construction if necessary.

Please note that any modifications to commercial equipment shown here are for information only. I cannot guarantee any modifications that you may carry out. Do so at your own risk.

Alinco DJF1E

Alinco DJV5E
   

Alinco DJF1E
Click on the small image for more detail.

This 2 metre handheld radio is no longer manufactured, but in its time represented excellent value for money. The radio is solid and well made. The main body is of diecast metal construction which makes it extremely robust. There are not too many problems with this radio generally, but there are one or two weaknesses that should be mentioned.

The first is the rotary encoder or dial control. On my own unit, the internal leaf spring broke and the detent stops were lost. This means the dial control still works, but is free to spin under the lightest of pressure. The solution (cheapest) is to remove the encoder from the radio. It can then be carefully dismantled and another leaf spring made from suitable material. I managed to find some thin spring strip which after a bit of filing and cutting did the job a treat.
   
On the left is a view of the main pcb assy. This is easily removed once the main radio is split in half. (Remove the battery pack and then the four screws underneath. Remove the screw below the lower PTT key.)

The rotary encoder (bottom right) has been desoldered and removed. The encoder can then be carefully dismantled in order to access the leaf spring. Care should be taken here as the component parts of the encoder are very small and easily damaged.
Here is an enlarged view of the encoder complete with pcb attached. This is how the encoder is removed from the main radio assembly. i.e. complete with its own pcb.

The metal lugs can then be prised back and the encoder dismantled. There is no need to remove the small pcb from the encoder.
The antenna BNC socket can sometimes work loose. This is relatively straightforward to fix. Unsolder the backnut from the ground plane before retightening the backnut. Resolder the backnut when complete.

The BNC socket is shown here removed from the radio, along with the backnut, grounding washer and top panel.
   
To enable the wideband Transmit Receive, look for the red and blue link wires on the main CPU pcb. The red is receive and the blue is transmit.The CPU pcb is shown at the top of the photo left. The red and blue link wires can be seen in the upper right hand corner of the CPU pcb. When you have identified these two wires, cut each one carefully and reassemble the radio. Then Reset the radio as follows: Push the F button while turning the radio on. This will reset radio to factory defaults. The extended receive (AM aircraft) can be activated by pressing the B button on the keypad. A letter 'A' will show up on the display indicating that the radio is in the AM mode. The radio will not transmit in AM mode.
   

 

This page last updated 29/07/03