AOR AR5001D why?

[KA2ZEY]

I'm wondering why this new AOR receiver commands such a high price? I'm not knocking AOR, I know they make a great product but I'm just wondering why the high price tag when there's no trunking and the APCO-25 option is almost the price of a high end scanner. Am I missing something?

 

[KC1UA]

I have two AR5000A+3's and wouldn't trade them in for anything. I'd guess the increased price of this model is due to the built in spectrum display, ability to monitor multiple channels, I&Q output, etc.

 

[brandon]

They likely cater to the professional and government markets who can pay the high prices.

 

[blantonl]

I concur with Scott. I own a AR5000A+3 and a Icom R9500 and with out a doubt the 5000 goes toe-to-toe with the 9500. Even to the point that I would give the nod to the AR5000A+3 for performance on HF.

There are many different idiosyncrasies between those top end receivers, but they definitely pull their weight - both of them.

I would love to own an AOR-One but the wife has put her foot down. Maybe one day....

 

[ridgescan]

Your wife puts her foot down...AFTER the 9500 and 5000+3...you are FULL of win in the wife dept

 

[gcgrotz]

Thanks for the viewpoint Lindsay, I have often wondered how the AOR's compared to the 9500. I know of Icom's engineering skills from the Ham products they make. The 9500 seems almost like test equipment and the AOR line looks like something stuck in a shed in some remote hilltop location and remotely controlled from Langley, VA or some embassy somewhere.

I think it was QST magazine that said the 9500 was the best receiver they had ever tested.

 

[coz]

I'm thinking about getting the AR2300 or the AR5001D. Do you think it'a foolish to try to use one of these as a scanner replacement? I used to have a Perseus sdr and i enjoyed using the spectrum analysis to pick out signals and I thought that it would be great doing the same with one of these in the upper bands.

 

[KC1UA]

These receivers can scan, but they are meant to be precision communications receivers and not scanners. If you're planning to scan you'll be better off with a quality scanner. If you enjoy searching for activity in depth these receivers are among the best you can get.

 

[coz]

Thanks Scott. I think I'm going to give the AOR a shot.

 

[freqhunter]

I agree with scancapecod. I love my AOR's and wouldn't sell them but they are much more for specialized frequency analysis. As a scanner you may be frustrated and disappointed. Something like a 996 or 600 would serve your "scanner" needs better. If your looking to get down and dirty though it's hard to beat the AOR's.

 

[coz]

last question

Thanks for the insight that makes a lot of sense. my last question for you is do you think the sensitivity is fine for HF work with these wideband scanners? People have told me that I would get much better performance from a dedicated HF sdr like a Perseus?

Thanks a lot!

 

[freqhunter]

A HF rig will work much better. A Icom IC-718 for instance is not too expensive and works well. The more important bit though is antenna.... Antenna..... Antenna!

Good luck.

 

[Turbo68]

I got the Aor-Alpha & Icom-R9500 at dads place they are both excellent wideband receivers as for hf if u havent got the right antenna u are not going to get any where i use the Wellbrook active loops ALA1530,
ALA1530L,ALA330S all do excellent job on hf there not cheap but they do work.

Regards Lino.

 

[coz]

I think I'm going to try the Wellbrook. I was considering the AOR amplified antenna but I like how the Wellbrook is auto tuned. Thanks for the responses. AR-Alpha and a IR-9500 that's an awesome setup!

 

[rma0100]

I own a AOR 5000+3 and I would not trade it for any other radio except the 5001D which I intend to buy. The sensitivity and selectivity is unmatched. I've been in this hobby and profession for more than 30 years and it's without a doubt the best receiver I have ever owned. Using a Rohde and Schwarz sig gen I have compared it against several other radios such as the 996T and it blows it away. The 996XT is sensitive but it bypasses a carier several times before finally acquiring it and with less strength. I'd love to run tests on it against the 9500 and the 8500 but I don't own either. It's off air performance using almost any antenna outperforms anything I have ever owned. The number of keypad functions is endless but you won't learn the radio in a day or two. It's extensive. It's performance on 225-400 is outstanding, especially with the DPD Productions LP MIL AIR antenna.. I'm waiting for the price of the 5001D to drop before I shell out thousands of dollars. Universal Radio seems to have the best price so far at $4,000. I'll continue to search for the best price and I'll post it when I do.

 

[whitenoise]

Just want to point out one more time (as i did in another thread) that the AR2300 does not scan due to a firmware or software bug. Maybe someday AOR will fix it but today it will only scan ONE channel. It will search but not scan. It is a great *receiver* and I use it all the time with a very wide band SDR attached to it's very wide IF. Another feature that drives up the price is the external reference input which is useful in high frequency applications. I use it more often than the R9500 because it is quieter (no fans) and has a wider IF.

 

[woodpecker]

I've found no receiver the can out perform the IC-R9500 for both sensitivity and strong signal handling, AOR receivers are junk in comparison, on a decent antenna they overload with ease, their so called commercial flagship receiver the AR-Alpha is also crap, see the link below to one of my test videos on it.

The ar-iq software is just the Perseus software modified and has no support or updates, you get much better results with an RFSpace NetSDR on the IF of the IC-R9500.

The only reason I keep my AOR receivers is the FFT search function.

AOR AR-Alpha Review Problems & Faults #1 - YouTube

 

[whitenoise]

Woodpecker,

Each radio has it positives and negatives. I own both AR2300 and R9500. I also use SDR-IP, NetSDR and QSDR, each of those have their positives and negatives too. The AR 2300 IF is cleaner and wider than what is available with the R9500 IMO. I use AR2300 for applications that need > 4MHz IF that is free of images..... R9500 cannot do that, also, the R9500 engineers failed to suppress the internal 10 mhz reference signal from showing up in the IF - pretty bad IMO. But with that said, I do use the R9500 and wouldn't trade it for anything. The AR2300, well I would trade it for say 5001D but only because i am hoping they fix the firmware on that one.

I am sure the R9500 is better and less susceptible to overload but in my applications the clean IF is more important.

 

[woodpecker]

I haven't tried a 5001D or 2300, from my experience with their so called flagship receiver, the AR-Alpha, I am surprised the 2300 or 5001D are better. The AR-Alpha doesn't even have an IF output (some flagship!)so I can't check how clean it is.

I can pull signals out of the noise with the Icom 9500 at 456MHz that I can't even hear on the AR-Alpha, SR2000, SR2000A, AR8600 II or SR2200. The 2300 and 5001D might be better but I doubt it very much.

I agree the wideband IF on the 9500 is a bit noisy but I find it perfect when using the NetSDR at 1.6MHz BW

 

[rma0100]

I'm hoping to buy an AOR 5001D pretty soon. Universal seems to have the best price at $4,445 I think. The initial price when it hit the streets was $5K. I can remember when you could buy new car for that $$$. However, I already have the 5000+3 and find it to be the best receiver and scanner I have ever owned. AOR is like a lot of electronics manufactures, they need to continue to come up with new models every 6 months or so. So, I hoping for a well priced used one or a price reduction in the near future. And we all thought the Uniden 996XT was pricy....LOL. Speaking of that why doesn't Uniden come out with something like a 5001D. I'm sure their engineering staff has the capability. There's nothing like compitition to lower prices.