{"id":44564,"date":"2020-07-31T11:24:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=44564"},"modified":"2020-07-31T11:30:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:30:05","slug":"covid-19-popular-yaesu-and-alinco-rigs-meet-early-demise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/covid-19-popular-yaesu-and-alinco-rigs-meet-early-demise\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19: Popular Yaesu and Alinco rigs meet early demise"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>No doubt, the Covid-19 global pandemic has had a mostly negative impact on our daily lives.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Surprisingly, I found that the impact on the amateur radio world, at first, was quite minimal. Not only did <\/span>sheltering at home<\/a> seem to <\/span>increase the number of operators on the air<\/a>, but I found that most of the radio items I needed to purchase were largely available.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since mid-May, however, radio retailers have struggled to maintain inventory on certain items mainly due to shipping issues from manufacturers (especially when international shipping was involved). Covid-19 issues have also delayed the introduction of a number of transceivers<\/a> and portable shortwave radios we should have seen in production already.<\/p>\n

Most recently, however, I learned from a trusted source that Covid-19 has lead to the early demise of at least two popular radio models.<\/p>\n

Alinco DX-R8T: Discontinued<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Alinco DX-R8T<\/strong> has enjoyed a long product life. I recall reviewing this fine tabletop receiver<\/a> back in 2011. It has been a very popular radio because it’s been one of the only “legacy” tabletop receivers still in production.<\/p>\n

I recently learned that Alinco will no longer produce the DX-R8T due to “parts issues.” One would have to assume that this will also affect the DX-R8E<\/strong> (EU version) and eventually the DX-SR8T<\/strong> which is the transceiver version of this model.<\/p>\n

Retailers may still have some inventory of these models, but once those models have been purchased, there will be no more. I would certainly suggest purchasing the DX-SR8T transceiver as an alternative since the price difference is modest and it’s built on the same receiver as the DX-R8T.<\/p>\n

Yaesu FT-450D: Discontinued<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Like the Alinco above, Yaesu has announced that they are discontinuing production of the popular Yaesu FT-450D<\/strong> general coverage transceiver due to “parts issues.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Yaesu FT-DX1200<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s worth noting the venerable Yaesu FT-DX1200<\/strong> recently met the same fate.<\/p>\n

To be clear: parts obsolescence happens in the best of times.\u00a0 Covid-19 has simply accelerated the issue.<\/p>\n

If you’ve been considering the purchase of one of these models, you might bite the bullet now if you can find a retailer with inventory.<\/p>\n

If I learn of any other radios being discontinued, I’ll publish updates here on the SWLing Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  No doubt, the Covid-19 global pandemic has had a mostly negative impact on our daily lives.\u00a0 Surprisingly, I found that the impact on the amateur radio world, at first, was quite minimal. Not only did sheltering at home seem to increase the number of operators on the air, but I found that most of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,43],"tags":[324,322,8712,1322,8358,325,8709,8711,4102,4859,6291,8708,8713,8710,8714],"class_list":["post-44564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-alinco","tag-alinco-dx-r8t","tag-alinco-dx-r8t-discontinued","tag-alinco-dx-r8te","tag-covid-19","tag-dx-r8t","tag-ft-450d","tag-ft-dx1200","tag-ham-radio","tag-yaesu","tag-yaesu-ft-450","tag-yaesu-ft-450d","tag-yaesu-ft-450d-discontinued","tag-yaesu-ft-dx1200","tag-yaesu-ft-dx1200-discontinued"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bAM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7419,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/the-best-shortwave-receiver-for-your-boat-or-yacht\/","url_meta":{"origin":44564,"position":0},"title":"The best shortwave receiver for your boat or yacht","author":"Thomas","date":"October 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"[Updated: October, 23 2017] SWLing Post reader, Bob, recently emailed the following question: \"My wife and I live on a boat and plan to go to the Bahamas this season.\u00a0We cannot afford to install a SSB radio \u2013 costs $7K to $8K.\u00a0But we need to be able to hear the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Alinco-DX-SR8T.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1006,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/alinco-dx-r8t-499-from-universal-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":44564,"position":1},"title":"Alinco DX-R8T $499 from Universal Radio","author":"Thomas","date":"December 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"UPDATE -> 02 September 2011: Please click here to read our full review of the Alinco DX-R8T.\u00a0 Universal Radioannounced today that the Alinco DX-R8T will be priced at $499.95 US. Expected delivery is December 27, 2010--Universal is now taking orders. Please see our previous post about the DX-R8T.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Alinco_DX-R8T1-300x157.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1279,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/alinco-dx-r8t-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":44564,"position":2},"title":"Review of the Alinco DX-R8T tabletop shortwave receiver","author":"Thomas","date":"September 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year, when I saw the announcement that a new tabletop radio--the Alinco DX-R8T--was about to hit the market, I almost fell out of my chair. A new tabletop on the market? Could it be true? Over the past few years, many long-time manufacturers have dropped out of the shortwave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DRM"","block_context":{"text":"DRM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/drm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AlincoDX-R8T","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/ALinco-007-300x141.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":898,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/the-alinco-dx-r8t-a-new-shortwave-tabletop\/","url_meta":{"origin":44564,"position":3},"title":"The Alinco DX-R8T – a new shortwave tabletop","author":"Thomas","date":"October 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"UPDATE -> 02 September 2011:\u00a0Please click here to read our full review of the Alinco DX-R8T.\u00a0 Universal Radio has announced the Alinco DX-R8T with an estimated delivery date of December 28th. All of the data and specs they mention are subject to change, but this looks like it could be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Alinco_DX-R8T1-300x157.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7177,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/my-alinco-dx-r8t-lands-on-ebay-fond-farewell\/","url_meta":{"origin":44564,"position":4},"title":"It’s hard to say goodbye: my Alinco DX-R8T lands on eBay","author":"Thomas","date":"September 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Alas--! It's time to bid a fond farewell to my trusty Alinco DX-R8T. I'm only selling it to raise money to purchase hard drive storage for spectrum recordings and more review radios, which fuel this site. Needless to say, it's in great shape and reviews\u00a0most favorably. Indeed, the sensitivity is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Radios"","block_context":{"text":"Radios","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/radios\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ALinco 021","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/ALinco-021-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4282,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/using-and-setting-up-the-alinco-dx-r8te-receiver-as-an-sdr-software-defined-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":44564,"position":5},"title":"Using and setting up the Alinco DX-R8T\/E receiver as an SDR (software defined radio)","author":"Thomas","date":"August 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Some time ago, I posted a review of the Alinco DX-R8T\u2013a surprisingly capable, flexible and affordable dedicated tabletop receiver.\u00a0 In that review, I explored its capabilities as a tabletop unit, and was favorably impressed. But I knew then that one of the virtues of the DX-R8T is that it's more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Radios"","block_context":{"text":"Radios","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/radios\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/AlincoDXR8TFrontFace.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}