Alinco DJ-VX50T QST Review

Mark J. Wilson, K1RO, [e-mail]

Product Review

Alinco DJ-VX50T
VHF/UHF Hand­held Transceiver

Reviewed by Steve Ford, WB8IMY

[e-mail]

The Alinco DJ-VX50T is a dual-band (2-meter and
70-centimeter) FM transceiver that is designed to be
a serious contender in the lower-cost handheld
market. It sets itself apart from the competition in
several ways, beginning with its rugged construction.
The radio is housed in a dense ABS plastic case with
a textured surface to minimize slippage. With the
1,800 mAh Li-ion battery attached, the DJ-VX50T
has a hefty, almost heavy feel.

As I examined the exterior, I noticed the external
microphone and speaker ports were covered by a
shield that you can only open by removing a screw.
The robust shield is sealed with a gasket and present
because the DJ-VX50T is water- and dustproof, car­rying an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of 67. The first
number designates protection against solid objects,
such as dust and sand. This number can range from
0, meaning no protection, to 6, meaning 100% pro­tection. The second number rates protection against
liquids. It ranges from 0 to 8. So, the DJ-VX50T is
100% protected against solid objects, and it has
been tested to work after being immersed under a
meter of water, which earns the 7 — not completely
waterproof, but close. I couldn’t bring myself to dunk
the radio in a bucket to verify the rating; I’ll take Alin­co’s word for it.

The DJ-VX50T is supplied with the usual flexible
rubber antenna and a stand-up battery charger. The
charger is well designed and highly convenient. To
charge the battery, just place it into the charging
cradle. After a few hours — four at most — you’re
good to go. During the time I was using the DJ­VX50T, a full charge seemed adequate for about 24
hours of normal operating that included a lot of lis­tening time. Of course, the battery life depends
greatly on how much transmitting you are doing.

Bottom Line

The Alinco
DJ-VX50T
represents an
excellent value
for an entry­level dual­band analog
FM handheld.

Exploring the DJ-VX50T

I think the first thing most amateurs do when they
encounter a new handheld transceiver is turn it on.
To do so, they go searching for the
which is often on the side or front of the radio. On the
DJ-VX50T the power on/off function is part of the
volume knob. You just give the knob a twist and the
11⁄4 × 1⁄2 inch amber display lights up (there are two
other selectable color settings). While the display
shown in Figure 1 isn’t overly large, I found it easy to
read under all lighting conditions.

POWER

button,

Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.

www.arrl.org QST September 2021 39

Alinco DJ-VX50T

Key Measurements Summary

Receiver Sensitivity (12dB SINAD, PV)

2 m 0.14

SINAD

RX

RX

ChRej

Snd

KEY:

Test results for FM and FM-Narrow were identical.

70 cm 0.14

0.25 0.1

Receiver Third-Order Dynamic Range (dB)

I

3

Receiver Third-Order Dynamic Range (dB)

I

3

(10 MHz offset)

2 m 68
70 cm 71

60 90

(20 kHz offset)

2 m 62
70 cm 67

40 70

Adjacent Channel Rejection (dB)

2 m 68
70 cm 67

50 90

Audio Output (mW)

516

QS2109-PR155

800100

Below the push-to-talk button on
the side of the radio, there are two
smaller buttons. The top button
accesses the squelch adjustment.
You press and hold the button until
the display switches to the squelch­adjust mode, after which you rotate
the frequency/channel knob to set
the desired level. The bottom

MONITOR

button opens the squelch
whenever it is pressed. If you hold
this button down for more than a
couple of seconds, the squelch
locks open continuously.

Table 1

Alinco, DJ-VX50T, serial number P001337

Manufacturer’s Specifi cations Measured in ARRL Lab

Frequency coverage: Receive, 136 – 174, Receive and transmit, as specifi ed.
400 – 470 MHz (FM); 76 – 107.95 MHz
(WFM); 118 – 135.995 MHz (AM).
Transmit, 144 – 148 and 420 – 450 MHz.

Modes: FM, FM-N (FM-Narrow). As specifi ed.
Receive only: WFM (FM broadcast
band only), AM (air band only).

Power requirements: 7.4 V dc ±20%. At 8.2 V dc (full charge):

7.4 V, 1,800 mAh Li-ion battery Receive, 330 mA (no signal, max
and rapid charger supplied. volume, lights on), 278 mA (lights

Receiver Receiver Dynamic Testing*

FM sensitivity: For 12 dB SINAD, For 12 dB SINAD:
FM, 0.25 µV; FM-N, 0.5 µV. 146 and 440 MHz, 0.14 µV; 162 MHz,

Two-tone, third-order IMD dynamic range: 20 kHz offset: 146 MHz, 62 dB, 440 MHz,

Not specifi ed. 67 dB. 10 MHz offset: 146 MHz, 68 dB;

Two-tone, second-order IMD dynamic 146 MHz, 84 dB; 440 MHz, 91 dB.

range: Not specifi ed.

Adjacent-channel rejection: 60 dB. 20 kHz offset: 146 MHz, 68 dB;

Squelch sensitivity: Not specifi ed. Squelch range, 146 MHz, 0.12 – 0.31 µV;

S-meter sensitivity: Not specifi ed. For full-scale meter reading, 146 MHz,

Audio output: 1 W at 10% THD. 516 mW into 8  at 10% THD

Transmitter Transmitter Dynamic Testing

Power output: High/Med/Low, At full charge, High/Med/Low:
VHF, 5/2/1 W; UHF, 4/2/1 W. 146 MHz, 4.7/2.1/1.2 W

Spurious signal and harmonic 146 MHz: >70 dB (High, Med);
suppression: 60 dB. 67 dB (Low). 440 MHz: >70 dB.

Transmit-receive turnaround time (PTT Squelch on, S-9 signal:

release to 50% of full audio output): 146 and 440 MHz, 266 ms.
Not specifi ed.

Receive-transmit turnaround time 146 MHz, 24 ms; 440 MHz, 34 ms.
(TX delay): Not specifi ed.

Size (height, width, depth): 4.7 × 2.4 × 1.5 inches (including protrusions); antenna
length, 6.6 inches. Belt clip adds

*There were no measured differences in sensitivity or adjacent-channel rejection

between FM and FM-Narrow.

1

⁄2 inch to depth. Weight, 9.6 ounces with battery.

off), 123 mA (standby, lights off);
22 mA (saver on); 0 mA (power off).
Transmit
146 MHz, 1.67/1.12/0.852 A
440 MHz, 1.68/1.18/0.843 A

0.13 µV; 100 MHz, 1.0 µV (WFM).

440 MHz, 71 dB.

440 MHz, 67 dB.

440 MHz, 0.12 – 0.25 µV.

0.38 µV; 440 MHz, 0.27 µV.

THD at 1 V

440 MHz, 4.4/2.5/1.2 W

Meets FCC requirements.

(High/Med/Lo

, 1.8 %.

RMS

w),

Tuning around the bands, I eaves­dropped on several 2-meter and
70-centimeter repeaters. Despite
the relatively small speaker, the
audio was crisp and clear. The
radio delivers more than half a watt
of audio to the speaker, which I

40 September 2021 QST www.arrl.org

found to be more than adequate,
even in a somewhat noisy mobile
environment.

The DJ-VX50T is a dual-band
radio, so you have the option of
switching between the main and
sub frequencies, but the way this is

accomplished is not intuitive. For
example, you won’t find a button
labeled
instructs, you must press the

MAIN/SUB

. As the manual

UP

arrow button on the keypad to flip
between them. The main frequency
is displayed above the sub fre-

Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.