Alinco
| Alinco | |
|---|---|
| Type | Public company (Tokyo Stock Exchange) |
| Founded | 1938 (company's stated origin); incorporated 1970 |
| Headquarters | Osaka Prefecture, Japan |
| Radio business | Alinco Electronics Division |
| Amateur radio | |
| Known for | VHF and UHF handhelds and mobiles; power supplies |
| Product series | DJ handhelds, DR mobiles, DM power supplies |
| Other businesses | Scaffolding, ladders and building materials, fitness equipment |
| Status | Active |
| Today | |
| Website | alinco.com |
Alinco (Alinco, Inc.) is a Japanese company whose Electronics Division makes amateur radio transceivers, receivers, power supplies and commercial two-way radios. Among hams it is known mainly for VHF and UHF handhelds and mobile radios, including single-band FM mobiles for 10 meters, 6 meters and 1.25 meters. Unlike most radio manufacturers, Alinco is a diversified industrial company: its other businesses include scaffolding, ladders and other construction materials, and fitness equipment. The company is based in Osaka Prefecture and its shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
History
Alinco dates its origins to 1938, when Yoshizo Inoue founded an ironworks in Osaka. From 1958 it made clamps and supports for construction sites, and it later expanded into scaffolding sales and rental, home products and radio equipment. Its securities filings record the present company's incorporation in July 1970 as Inoue Tekko, in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture.
The radio business began in 1977, when the company started making industrial wireless equipment, and the company took the Alinco name in 1983. Alinco amateur transceivers, including VHF FM radios and a 10-meter all-mode mobile, were on the market by the second half of the 1980s. The company's shares were listed in Osaka in 1993 and in Tokyo in 2006, and since 2022 they have traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market.
Amateur radio products
Alinco's amateur line, sold under the DJ prefix for handhelds and DR for mobiles, centers on FM radios for the 2-meter and 70-centimeter bands.
- Handhelds. Models have included several dual-band 2-meter and 70-centimeter FM handhelds, such as the DJ-500 and DJ-VX50.
- Dual-band mobiles. The DR-735 and DR-638 are dual-band FM mobiles, and the DR-MD520 is a digital mobile for DMR.
- Single-band mobiles. Alinco makes FM mobiles for the 1.25-meter (222 MHz) band, such as the DR-CS25, as well as for 10 meters (DR-03T) and 6 meters (DR-06TA). These are useful for local repeaters and simplex nets on those bands.
- HF. Alinco has also sold HF transceivers, such as the 100-watt DX-SR8, which has since been discontinued.
- Power supplies and receivers. Alinco's DM-series switching power supplies are used to run mobile and HF radios from household current, and the company also makes wideband receivers.
Alinco also makes business and marine radios and license-free radios for some markets, and some models are made only for particular countries.