‰ NOW 35 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM OCTOBER 2012 QST PAGE 51‰ PRESSING THE MONITOR KEY BUTTON WILL DISABLE THE SQUELCH. PRESSING FUNCTION AND THEN MONITOR KEY WILL TURN ON THE GREEN BACKLIGHTING FOR THE LCD AND KEYPAD BUTTONS. I CALL THE BACKLIGHTING AURORA GREEN BECAUSE THE DISPLAY MATCHED THE COLOR OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS VIEWED AT MY COVENTRY, CONNECTICUT, HOME AFTER AN X CLASS SOLAR FLARE. WHILE THE BACKLIGHTING IS HARDLY VISIBLE UNDER NORMAL LIGHTING CONDITIONS, IT IS ADEQUATE IN THE DARK AND WILL NOT RUIN NIGHT VISION WHILE STAR GAZING. THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS HANDHELD FEATURES THE DC INPUT JACK, WHICH ACCEPTS A VARIETY OF OPTIONAL CHARGERS OR AN EXTERNAL DC POWER SOURCE OF 7 TO 16 V DC. THE DJ V57T CAN BE USED WITH SEVERAL OPTIONAL RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM ION LI ION OR NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE NIMH BATTERY PACKS OR WITH A BATTERY CASE THAT HOLDS SIX AA ALKALINE CELLS. THE TRANSCEIVER MUST BE PROGRAMMED FOR THE TYPE OF BATTERY USED. THIS IS DONE BY HOLDING DOWN THE 0 KEY FOR 2 SECONDS AND THEN SELECTING THE BATTERY TYPE WITH THE DIAL KNOB ON TOP. LAB TESTING OVERALL, THE TEST RESULTS WERE GOOD, WITH ONE EXCEPTION IMAGE REJECTION IS ONLY FAIR ON THE 70 CM BAND. ALINCO HAS ADDED A TWO POSITION ATTENUATOR THAT CAN BE SWITCHED IN LINE TO REDUCE UNWANTED IMAGES. IN THE LAB I FOUND THAT ATTENUATOR POSITIONS ONE AND TWO ADDED 3 AND 12 DB OF ATTENUATION RESPECTIVELY ON 2 METERS, AND 4 AND 15 DB ON 70 CM. THE ATTENUATOR FEATURE ‰ END OF 35 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ