Thanks Sherman….

Yes, I had heard the use of Alnico radios for APRS service was frowned upon but never heard the real reason. I thought maybe it had to do with reliability, etc.

Our N4NE-1  I-Gate digi on Sawnee Mountain uses a Kenwood radio.

Ron

WW8RR

From: Fourlanders [mailto:fourlanders-bounces+ww8rr=charter.net@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Sherman W4ATL (w4atl@shermanbanks.net)
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 4:19 PM
To: fourlanders@contesting.com
Subject: [Fourlanders] Alinco DR-135TMK3

I had been noticing some 2M interference that a ham friend traced to a APRS digipeater that is using an Alinco DR-135TMK3 2M radio. These radios are very popular in the APRS community. Unfortunately, they have a synthesizer issue that causes a wide frequency swing when keyed. APRS repeaters are keyed a lot. The offending radio was near Jasper, GA and it has been replaced. You can imagine how bad it is if I can hear it in Dunwoody but the radio is in Jasper.

I am still seeing some jumps in the 2M spectrum so there may be some more of these radios that need to be replace.  If you see periodic bumps in the 2M spectrum check to see if you see a corresponding APRS transmission. Hopefully these offending radios will be replaced once the owners are notified.

Check out the video of the Alinco radio versus a Kenwood and Icom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRpkR9J2L5M