Alinco dx 10 got a hot ass

[original45]

So I bought a dx10 ,liking it so far but on longer overs the back plate by power lead plug gets hot. Not warm but pretty hot.
Running it at 5 watts f.m only. Ssb it stays cold. Heatsink again is cool or cold whilst on f.m 5 watts tx whilst oposit side gets hot ?

Now I know modern radios get hot but is this a common thing on the alinco and nothing to worry about or a potential problem .should add tamper seals intact so don't wish to get inside

[original45]

Anyone use this radio and noticed if back plate and left side of radio as you look at it from front gets hot ? Whilst heatsink remains cold please.

[bigpimp347]

that's the voltage regulator..
they get hot because they are sold claiming to do 40w and the retailers screw the crap out of them so CBers buy them thinking they do 40w..
they do until thew regulator blows..
best thing to do is turn the power down to 1-0w AM/FM and 20w SSB and they run great.

even noticed some sellers claim 40w FM but only 10w AM and SSB...most idiot CBers use FM and just see the power and don't look into the fact they use mosfets, get hot and end up blowing up..

[original45]

Thank you bigpimp power test was 12 fm ssb was 22 ish.
I was gobsmacked to be fair how hot it got. I normally see heat sink on my jacko 2 get hot , but not alinco heatsink it's cold . But seeing a plate with little to no heat sinking As such getting hot puts doubt in my mind and my obsessive side will be concerned on such hence wishing to look at potential solutions for longevity

As a rule I putt fans on sinks but bit hard on the dx10 where the power cable goes. I'm sure the voltage regulator won't last long getting so hot after half hour of qso on and off as normal and that's at 4-5 watts.
Anything else you think can be done to keep that cool .I like to ensure my gear runs smoothly qrp as a rule and protected best as possible from excessive heat.
Thanks again

[The Collector]

Can an internally-fitted heatsink be fitted at all?

I know inside isn't the best place, but at least it'll take the concentrated heat away from that particular component and disperse it somewhat, whilst still looking standard and neat from outside.

Could an aluminium heatsink "rail" be fitted, spanning from the offending area and sucking up some of the heat and taking it along the rail to a space on the rear where an extra set of heatsink fins could perhaps be fitted too?

[original45]

Screenshot_20210329-115334.png

best image I can find.looks possible but will cancel warranty I imagine.
But surely worth it to protect from over heat of component

Area that gets hot on right opposite side to sink typically mad.I'm betting its that black piece showing a nut holding it to side of casing maybe.but it's not clear image.
At this point I'm reluctant to remove anti tamper sticker

[wa10]

If they are similar to anytones they get hot as hell on the regulator because the pa stage is an inefficient poorly impedance matched switching mosfet setup that draws WAY more current than they should for the output power they do.

From what your saying it sounds like the same issue,

kl203's prove switching fets don't have to be inefficient.

[original45]

Thank you sounds like theirs a pattern here. Is this overly dangerous to the radio that I should get it opened if theirs anything that can be done to sort this issue now rather than latter on

[wa10]

I have not seen anybody fix the issue on anytones, just people asking about them getting hot on the regulator side,

All these rigs look closely related to me & i don't know if they ever sorted the terrible pa efficiency on later models,

You could test if that's the issue with the dx10 by putting an amp meter inline & setting output to 10w FM into a 50ohm dummyload,
if its pulling significantly more than a grant export for the same 10w output that's your problem,

My anytone was pulling about 6amp @14volt for 10w FM which is ridiculous, The whole side of the rig including mic socket was getting very warm,

FM is by far the most stressfull mode on pa stages amplifiers & regulators,

SSB was not so bad because its a low duty cycle mode & the regulator is turned hard on dropping less voltage,

voltage dropped x current draw is wattage that the regulator dissipates as heat.

[InTheClouds]

All of these radios benefit from a fan attached, elastic band to hold it on gently without messing the case up or gorilla glue them on
in the place they fit best. Quite easy to graft (solder) the fan DC power leads onto the radio DC input lead.

A silent fan will keep it all under control, a good tip is GELID Silent series are precisely that silent.
Enjoy the new radio. I ran one of these for 5 years till it started acting up a bit frequency wise...
for the money I was very happy indeed... made some cracking contacts on it the world round.

8 cms provide v good cooling for the whole radio and quiet, 4 cm make a bit of a whizzing noise but are of course small and convenient if tight for space of course if you are permanently installing into a vehicle can be a bit tricky to find space for the fan.

[original45]

Has to be .
Other day I had dx10 on 6_8 amp psu linear psu . 5 watts at 13.6 v was drawing more than psu could handle.psu got hot and smelt of plastic burn

Makes sense then .
Thank you for the input.
Going to speek to a more clever person than i to see what he thinks on this as in a resolution.
Already considered a punched steel case cover so cooling fans can be installed.

Nice radio too but such a shame it's designed in such a way.
Poor design

[wa10]

It does sound like the same situation as Anytones, 6-8a should run any cb at 5w no problem,
The makers are taking the pxxx using 25pence switching fets in a very inefficient circuit,

I would never buy a switching fet radio again,

I hope whatever solution you come up with you end up happy with the radio,

good luck

[original45]

Cheers all gives me At least a causation of not solution to fix. Going to do few tests on output power being raised to try reduce heat