Alinco DR-735T detailed review

Instruction manual is excellent, 7"x10" 80 pages, and clearly written.

[@3henry214]

2 years later and this is STILL the best video on this radio! I got my license 2 months ago and have been using a Yaesu FT-65R HT, but it's time to step it up a notch as I think I've about exhausted it's range capabilities, even with a good external antenna. I've looked at Yaesu, ICOM and Anytone dual band analog mobiles to use both as a base and mobile rig, and I wasn't pleased with their analog offerings, I guess they're all to busy chasing the digital market. I was reminded by an Elmer that Alinco is among the top tier makers and worth taking a look. I'm glad I did because the DR-735T is what I've been looking for, and your great review/walk thru basically sealed the deal.... thanks!

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you! I appreciate the nice comments. Yes great radio, fully capable like the other big Amateur companies… the only one I know of that has the colors on a mobile rig. Have fun and welcome to the hobby!

[@northernliving2387]

Hey dude I got their frequencies in it I just want to program the tag please tell me how to do it the book is not a very good at telling me I got it entered into the raid your fridge be entered into the radio now I want to put tags how do I do it please

[@hamradiocomms]

First save freq, Tone, PL, etc to a channel number then follow this step by step to put names on the channels you have programmed. 1. Select memory mode on the MAIN band and then select a channel to be programmed. 2. Press H/L key while pressing and holding the FUNC key. 3. The display shows [A ] Flashing. 4. Rotate the dial on the MAIN side to select a character to be programmed. 5. By pressing the dial knob, the character stops Flashing and is entered. An identical character to the one just entered flashes on the immediate right, ready to be edited. 6. Enter the next character by repeating above 4 and 5 up to 6 digits. 7. Press and holding the dial knob during programming will delete all characters to be programmed. 8. Pressing any key other than the dial knob will complete the setting and the display will return to the original status. NOTE Press FUNC key to display frequency. Memory channel number remains displayed. Press PTT to return to show the channel name. Any key operation will also stop displaying the frequency and works as assigned.

[@northernliving2387]

@@hamradiocomms I try that yesterday. I could not get the radio to go the channel tag to write the tag.

[@hamradiocomms]

Northern Living maybe ur not on the main band, the sub band side doesn’t get to it

[@chrismclain1594]

Lack of mount button for microphone. I have other radios that came with just a hanger on the mic. I've just added a button to the back of those microphones. Problem solved.

[@iwannawatsutube]

The way you presented it, its like I was there with you in the room with a cold beer in one hand and a check on the other. Awesome! Alinco should hire you as their salesman.

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you! And thanks for watching.

[@jakelemay7913]

Hey, I have had this radio for over a year and didn't know hitting the function would flip between freqs and alpha-numeric display. I find this function useful and I thank you for drawing it to my attention. Yep - too lazy to read the manual (me). 73.

[@possumpopper89]

A friend of mine has the DR 635 model. He took the cover off and disconnected a wire which allows him to receive and transmit on a wider range of frequencies. He tested it with some equipment to see if it really worked and once he was satisfied it worked, he reconnected the wire. Does this radio have that same feature?

[@jamesholbrook3648]

Yes it does, pull the cover, cut the blue wire, do a hard reset…done. Easiest MARS mod ever!

[@codywrites]

Got this radio to replace my Yeasu FTM-400D that let out the magic smoke after years of service in an 18 Wheel Mobile. Programming my Yeasu was so easy that i didn't need the manual. THIS radio however has an extremely high learning curve. Thanks to your video I now know how to do things I was confused on: 1) Changing the step, and 2) Getting into the extended menu. Thanks so much! Though I loved having APRS with the FTM-400D now that I'm retired and using the Alinco as a base I'm happy with this new radio. 73's de KT5CCM

[@ricbrady]

Having problems implementing alpha tags for the frequencies. Following instructions in the manual, but it is not allowing alpha=numeric tagging. Any suggestions??

[@davidvaughn7752]

I've had issues with intermod on both of my 735-T's. It appears to be susceptible to it. I liked my mobile so much I bought another for my shack but the intermod is my only complaint. The supposed filter for this (HTR feature #31) seems to do nothing. As far as manufacturing quality, the parts are made in Japan and assembled in the Philippines or Malasia... The ethos and culture of Japanese factories located in other countries is far different than that of the hosting country - the corporate culture of any Alinco sponsored country is that of a Japanese company with the same standards being adhered to with the upper-management being all Japanese. The quality is very high for this radio as far as I can see. The ABS plastic is not made in Japan but by an OEM partner as well as some of the hardware. I have no complaints about the build or parts quality. These are definitely Japanese radios.

[@hamradiocomms]

Hi David... thanks for the detailed information here in your comments. I concur on the quality of the new factories being up to the older made in Japan radios. When I talked to one of the people at REMtronics, Alinco's American repair and parts facility he said that the factories are run on site by Alinco engineers to maintain the high quality. I haven't had a change to test the 735 intermod handling since I use mine at home and I live in a low population area, semi rural with no big cities or large cell/pager towers to create intermod in the radio. Thanks for the info and for watching.

[@dougtaylor7724]

Fabulous review. Well explained and I don’t feel like I’m watching a commercial. Nice job partner. 73

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you for the nice comments! I appreciate it and I'm glad people are enjoying my reviews!

[@danieldumaraos]

I have Alinco DR-735T sitting on my desk right now. I love the very big display and and the reception is really good. Looks very tough and rugged. Great bang for the buck!

[@hamradiocomms]

Same here.. !

[@alvarogaitan2529]

thanks very much fantastic review 73 my friend from kb2uew

[@clintcornett79]

Does this radio cover 462.000 to 467.000 for GMRS ?

[@hamradiocomms]

You can receive GMRS but not transmit. Transmit is 430-450mhz.. receive goes up to 469mhz

[@sandraabarca6029]

just found your video very detailed .that's a good radio.73

[@hamradiocomms]

Many thanks!

[@paulschmolke188]

I’m seriously considering this one for my first dual band rig. It’ll be mobile after I figure out programming. 73. Good presentation.

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you! It’s a nice radio and easy to program using the manual.

[@GDoe57]

Augusta, Buckfield? Hi Mainer! Going to be taking my HAM Test September in Alfred on the 12th!

[@hamradiocomms]

Hi, yes the Augusta area.. Good luck on the test in Alfred!

[@W5KVV]

Great rigs, just picked one up. Alincos answer to the TM-D710. However at 23:20 you mention the Kenwood power levels. They ARE adjustable. You have to access the factory service menu by jumping pins 7&9 on the rear mini DIN connector. Once in the FSM, you can adjust the low, mid & high power levels. My Kenwood 71A's & 710's all have the mid power setting set to 25 watts. VERY handy that Alinco opted to have this option in the radio menu.

[@Zif-the-Old-Herring]

Cool beans!! News I can use. 73 KJ5ATV

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you!

[@newsles2]

Great walk-through, thanks! That-said, I ordered it before finishing the vid. 😁

[@BlackHamRadioUniversity]

How in the world do you program and name channels on this radio. I have follow every instruction in the manual and nothing works. I am sending this radio back tomorrow unless I get this right but its not me. nothing works on this radio

[@newsles2]

Useful, thanks. That-said, I ordered it before watching the whole thing.

[@Hultis-Funkbude]

Awesome review! Thank you! 73 from Germany

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you very much! and thanks for watching. ( sorry for the late reply!) 73 Ed from Maine.

[@bobdillashaw4360]

Is it easy to program repeaters with the mic, or is it like the baofeng where you need to use a. Pc?

[@hamradiocomms]

It’s programmed with just the buttons and knobs on the radio, the manual shows how step by step. It’s very easy.

[@scottso241]

can you talk out band on vhf and uhf i have the alince 638 that i really love have it many years i belong to a few rescue groups makes very handy

[@buzzsah]

THEIR SUPPORT SUCKS. I've owned 2 HT Alincos over the 40 years and seemed to work ok. In May of 2019, I ordered a 638 due to being a part 90 and was about to use it with the Gov agency I work with and still use on VHF/UHF. This radio was to be used as a backup when needed in an emergency. In Feb 2020 I was told to open and program, and I will need it. I open the box, started tp program it, and found not Rec. audio on int/ext spks old Rec audio is through the mic. I have contacted their Ca. repair a number of times both email and phone and the only reply I receive is "The radio was discontinued 2 years ago" I told them/showed them a HRO receipt showing May 21 2019 but they will not repair. I will never buy another Alinco due to their support.

[@buzzsah]

I was not aware of the re-branding. However, it was one that the Gov approved to be used on a few Fed freqs I need to have as well as others.

[@TheKingOfInappropriateComments]

you have to enter the konami code to get into the menu 😂

[@hamradiocomms]

Lol yes exactly

[@stevenorcutt3913]

My first brand new Radio in a long time really love this radio I use it on 2 meter and GMRS.

[@DaytonaJim78]

How do you unlock gmrs

[@stevenorcutt3913]

Snip a wire inside I think it was a green wire I will have to dig out my paper on it to be sure.

[@DaytonaJim78]

@@stevenorcutt3913what wattage on gmrs

[@stevenorcutt3913]

@@DaytonaJim78 Sorry been busy on the 735T pull the cover and near the front of the radio is a blue wire cut it out. Make sure unit is not hooked to power then do a reset after removing the wire.

[@DaytonaJim78]

@@stevenorcutt3913 thanks 😊

[@charlessanders8293]

Great video. I have a question...My 735 is a DR-735T/E. Can you describe the differences? I can't find info on the web. Thank you very much.

[@hamradiocomms]

Thanks you! I believe the E on the left me is the European version. One way you can tell is you wouldn’t be able to transmit for repeaters or symplex above 146m, US versions can transmit up to 148m. I believe the 70cm band is different also.

[@michaelsens8929]

Very good review. I am waiting to take my Technician and General exam. I am taking the exam in less than 10 days. With that in mind, and hopefully I pass, I am considering a mobile/base radio as my first radio over a ht radio. What is your opinion. P.S.., I would like to make you my first contact. Thank you., Mike from Marysville, Ohio

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you! Good luck on your exams, it's a great hobby to get into. A mobile radio for home is a great idea over the HT, much more useful especially in the beginning, you want't to have enough power to reach the repeaters with good audio.

[@Brenda-jf2pe]

I bought this radio your video is better than the manual.

[@hamradiocomms]

Wow, thanks!

[@Brenda-jf2pe]

The manual sucks, and programming for a newbee is a bear! May be I should have bought a easier radio!

[@MikeG-js1jt]

how's the transmit audio reported by others? Is there any aftermarket mic that you know of? How was your audio AFTER the increased hole size?

[@hamradiocomms]

I always got excellent audio reports, especially after the slightly larger hole size. Since the mic was working fine, I didn't research other mics to see what was available that would work with the radio.

[@ColeDedhand]

I use a silent 12V fan blowing across the radio and power supply and turn off the radio fan. The heat sink is external so there is plenty of cooling and no noisy fan cycling.

[@hamradiocomms]

Sorry for the late reply! Yes that's a good idea.. I have a fan blowing across the heat sinks on my 100W 440 amp and a Yeasu SMB-201 built-in fan radio mount for my FTM-100D when it's on repeat mode for remote access. I'm sure the fans extend the life of these radios by keeping them cool.

[@beanieman7138]

Does this have a version that can transmit from 136 to 174 just like Icom's dual band export versions?

[@hamradiocomms]

I don’t believe so and I’m not sure if it’s easy or possible to open up transmit on this radio

[@beanieman7138]

@@hamradiocomms Thank you for replying, I've been planning on buying this station soon.

[@cesarvieitez2981]

Excellent video, I’m a new Ham I got my Technician a little over a month ago and I bought me a Wouxon KG- UV9P HT (which I love) to get my feet wet, my plan is to get a mobile and use it mainly in the house, after watching different videos of the main three as they’re called and watching your video I’m definitely getting me an Alinco DR 735T, loved everything you mentioned about it, when I do get it I’ll connect it to a JPOLE antenna that a friend of mine gave me. One quick question about the 735T that I have is if you recommend manually programming it or buy the software, I think I read something in regards to Chirp not supporting the 735T. Thank you once again and 73’s ( KO4SPS )

[@hamradiocomms]

Welcome to the hobby and congrats on your new license! If you were going to put it in a vehicle and reach many repeaters during your travels, or if you vacation often in ur car then the software would make sense if you need to put in a hundred repeaters for instance. If it’s at home and there only 10 or 20 repeaters or less you are putting in the radio manual entry would only take 30 min so you would save money not having to buy the software.

[@cesarvieitez6661]

@@hamradiocomms thank you for your response, do you have any videos showing how to manually program it? If not I’m sure that there’s going to be a bunch of people who will appreciate it one of them myself, sometimes reading the manual it’s not as interesting as watching a video on how to do it. Thank you again 73’s

[@bradroberts3994]

Thank you for the great review. The mic issue helped me choose my first radio. Brand New Ham person. First Radio.

[@hamradiocomms]

You're welcome and thanks for watching. Welcome to the ham community, it's a great place. Congrats on getting this great radio.

[@stevenlightner1658]

You said something about a instructional video on this radio, any chance of that coming in the near future?

[@hamradiocomms]

I wish I could, I just don’t have the time to do that any time in the near future. I have 3 channels, so I have too many vids on the burner right now ... Thanks for watching!

[@bsdguy]

Great review....new sub....

[@hamradiocomms]

Awesome thank you!

[@angkolisko]

Is this capable for Digital repeater? Or only for analog?

[@hamradiocomms]

This is just an analog transceiver. For a digital radio, choices would be D-Star, C4FM (fusion), or DMR depending what digital repeater would be in your area.

[@prepperpov5852]

Great video & thanks, sir! I just passed my tech exam and am looking for a 50w base radio just to use on bands that I’m allowed to with a technician license. Now, I just need to figure out what else I’d need if I go with this radio. I guess it’s just a power source and an antenna (as long as a moron like myself can figure out the programming of repeaters and simplex channels) Any recommendations?

[@hamradiocomms]

Congrats on your tech license and welcome to the hobby! Yes, just a good power supply and an antenna, also coax. Switching power supply 25A would also be good for HF if you get into that later. A smaller 15A or larger for 50W Radio would work. 2m/70cm dual band vertical for antenna. Don’t get thin coax meant for HF, get appropriate vhf uhf thicker coax, google what kind to get. Depends on access to roof etc where to put antenna. Programming on the Japanese radios is easy whichever one you get, just step by step the manual and watch youtube videos, lots of them on programming the transceivers. Have fun researching and getting on the air. I also recommend watching my popular video “Talking on repeaters” on my channel. Have fun!

[@prepperpov5852]

hamradiocomms Thanks a million times over! So far, my plan is to get the radio in this video, the Powerwerx SS-30DV as a power supply (though I notice that you are using a Radio Shack... I wonder which model), and maybe a diamond VX30A antenna but I’m very open to different antennas. I just like the VX30A because it looks fairly easy to set up and even hide in plain sight, plus I’m just not finding a ton of other recommendations. Your help is extremely appreciated & im now on my way to the video which you recommended about repeaters. Thanks for the confidence with programming this radio lol as long as I don’t have to use a programming cable, I’m good! I hope that you and yours have a great day, sir! PS as far as anything very “long-range” is concerned, I honestly think that CW is the way that I’d go, though anything is possible and maybe one day I’ll go for the general license. I think that for now I’d be fine with a 50w radio for UHF/VHF, though, because I primarily just personally care about being able to contact people within a fairly local radius and this is in conjunction with the ol’ Baofeng BF-F8HP. Also, relative to antennas, I know that DIY-ing is popular and a great option but I am looking to just purchase from a company because I’ll progress into DIY later (it would basically be a totally new skill for me to do anything like that). I like the idea of putting rubber feet on the radio mount. That’s about as DIY as I can get hahaha. Now I’m just hoping that everything I get has the proper connections to work with one another. Actually, upon watching this video again, I do find it interesting how I guess this radio (basically being comprised of a left and right radio) only allows audio from the left-side radio out of the speaker and you must use an external speaker to hear audio from the right-side radio? Or maybe you meant that the audio does come out from both radios in that one speaker but you can only use an external speaker for the right side radio. The auto Repeater feature sounds interesting. I’m only familiar with the baofeng where I manually program all info but perhaps this radio does some of those inputs automatically? Re-reading my comment here, I must say, wow I’m really clueless haha I have a lot more research to do and I have hardly even looked at proper grounding techniques with such a setup. Thanks a ton. And shout-out to you lol that video is popular! Dang! Going to watch now

[@hamradiocomms]

@@prepperpov5852 The radio in the video is actually hooked up to a Diamond X30A so I recommended that one too! it works great, i have it 30ft above ground on a mast, you can see it in my home antennas video. I have 5 power supplies.. i just happen to use the Radio Shack one because i have the radio on a separate table from the rest of the shack.. I have my power supplies on reviews on my channel too.. one is an MFJ-4230MV, 30A and the other a SEC 1235M 35A, the powerwerx you mention is good too and the Alinco's are great too. Best to buy the 2m/70cm antenna like you said for the ruggedness, water seal, tuned alread etc.. HF is were you save money just putting up wires. Auto repeater setup just means it automatically puts in the - or + offset direction for you depending on the repeater frequency, you still have to program the frequency, and PL tone.. No need for external speaker, both sides do come out of the speaker, but also there is are jacks for external speakers for both sides.. I do this because it's easier to tell what repeater is coming by where the sound is coming from, some things sound better on the bigger speaker so I meet listen to the weather on the big one for example, and if another repeater comes on while the other side is talking already, it's easier to discern the 2 diff voices before turning one down.. also, if mounted in vehicle ability to mount radio body in the trunk, under seat etc and use ext speaker to place where you can hear it.. Cheers, Ed

[@prepperpov5852]

hamradiocomms Your help is extremely valuable and appreciated, sir! Thank you for your time & the great content here on your channel. I have more to watch and have already learned a ton!

[@hamradiocomms]

@@prepperpov5852 Glad I can be of help ... Best of luck and have fun!

[@marinmarin7187]

how to do Frequency expansion on Alinco DR-735T, to have TX 136-173 and 400-480?

[@hamradiocomms]

I don’t know, I never modify my radios for out of band operation. I think I remember watching a video that mentioned there wasn’t any mod info for this radio. You can try google searching mods for this model see if anything shows up.

[@Detodounpoco-nu5dk]

por eso no lo he comprado porque segun el vendedor no se puede expandir

[@bren42069]

Open it up and snip the blue wire. Tape the ends of it so nothing shorts. There's only one blue wire in there, for this purpose, you can't miss it. Note that snipping the wire disables cross band repeat mode completely.

[@chadadventure]

Do you still have this radio? For some reason my SKIP function doesn't work.

[@hamradiocomms]

Hi … great radio, but a fusion repeater went active near me so I sold it to buy an FTM300 yaesu , wish I could have kept both. I remember it being tricky but always worked for me, I just followed the manual exactly, unless yours has a problem with it. If a software glitch maybe resetting would fix it but not sure what info you would lose.

[@chadadventure]

@@hamradiocomms Ended up doing a reset Thanks for the reply

[@hamradiocomms]

@@chadadventure no problem glad it worked

[@curtmyersk2cwm477]

Nice looking radio, thanks....

[@TheMrDrMs]

Hm, I just got mine - I can't seem to get the radio to tx (with the ptt button) but pluggin the mike in while the radio is on will trigger the radio to tx. Was there a setting for tx?

[@hamradiocomms]

No, you shouldn’t have to turn anything on. 1st thought is the button in the mic could be bad. But, there are other reasons it won’t transmit I’d make sure you are in a ham radio band frequency. Also check that you have the correct side active, left or right. Check that you are in FM mode. If you’re trying to transmit to a repeater or not usually the offset is on and the freq you have on the display is the receive freq, the transmit freq may be out of band and won’t transmit. That’s all I can think of that would make it not transmit.

[@TheMrDrMs]

@@hamradiocomms Thanks for the reply. I got it new from HRO, called them and they said I dunno, call Alinco, so I called them. Here's what I tried before I called them, after I commented. "Radio will transmit if I plug in the mike while radio is on, and is stuck in transmit until I power off. If the hand mike is plugged in I cannot actually fully resset the body, I have to have the hand mike unplugged to reset" I didn't tell them that I took the back off, and across the leads for the ptt button, while the button is open, I have continuity of roughly 1k ohm, button pressed, like 9 ohms, so I suspect it has something to do with that. Good continuity between the rf45 and the leads on the PCB. Fortunately Alinco is shipping me a new hand mike which will be here Friday, so if you're curious I'll let you know if that fixed it. "This is very odd, mike gets QC'd and I've never heard this issue before"

[@hamradiocomms]

@@TheMrDrMs That’s great that Alinco is sending you a mic. They always have excellent support when I’ve called them, Alinco USA, is a distributor here who does their support and repairs. Yes, that would be great to post the results here on how it went. At least you can listen on it until the mic arrives.

[@delcinapatil8075]

हिन्दी मे समजाहो

[@thedayofevil]

Thanks

[@wdsracer]

Great review . Can this radio be used as a repeater?

[@beanieman7138]

Probably too late for this but I've read that it is crossband repeater capable.

[@kasiviswanathan2506]

Nice review. Going to pick one

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you! It’s a nice radio.

[@richardhoward3462]

Love mine! Nice review. Thanks.

[@hamradiocomms]

Thank you!

[@0504328]

Where can i find the crossband options?

[@hamradiocomms]

Alinco calls this XBR mode and instructions are found on page 71 of the manual. If you don’t own the radio yet, the manual is online.

[@0504328]

@@hamradiocomms Thanks a lot. Godspeed

[@0504328]

@@hamradiocomms one more thing, is the full duplex or VV/UU repeater option also found in the manual?

[@borneofile260]

Love alinco

[@barryinn1778]

I have this radio and I find it is very difficult to program, adjusting by instructions in manuel does not do what it says for the radio. The audio receiving is terrible not crystal clear or clean like Yaesu's ftm-500 . It sounds like the frequency is not tuned properly . I am very disappointed with this radio, would not buy again. Manuel instructions is a night mare to program radio. There is no instructional video on KZbin for this radio in English .

[@raymondmarcucci9698]

you seem to have left out just how to manually program a freq in the radio ??

[@hamradiocomms]

Yes on purpose, It’s a detailed review not a programming video. My reviews are already a little long, lol. Just not enough time, even if I did they would then say I didn’t show how to name the repeater, on and on. Hopefully you can find someone who made a video showing how to program it.

[@hobbiesthings6948]

Do you know if there's a mode for it?

[@hamradiocomms]

Hi... Sorry but i don’t understand your question.

[@sandraabarca6029]

you mean a mod as in modification

[@malanalan1]

why do you need full duplex in a radio that does not have TNC? I don't see much use for it.

[@hamradiocomms]

The most popular and most useful feature of a full duplex transceiver is the cross band repeater function. It can be setup at home to reach distance repeaters using an HT while on your property and up to a few miles from waking around. Also used in a vehicle parked in the mountains allows comms between HT users in the woods longer distances than just the HTs simplex. LEO Satellite users like myself find it is easier to communicate by having the downlink on one side and uplink on the other and not have the audio cut out while transmitting.

[@mr.dozer.7471]

Question. How do I get 2m to work on the left side and 440 to work on the right side?