Boas
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12 hour test AOR AR DV10
- Thread starter Boas
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G7HID
Member
******** UPDATE ********
It looks like AOR have made a hardware change in the newly produced DV-10 giving it much better frequency stability on HF, VHF and UHF over the earlier produced units.
Newly produced DV-10's have all been reported in the serial number ranges: AA6336XX AA6337XX AA6338XX and AA6339XX,
If you purchase a new or nearly new DV-10 and desire a unit with improved frequency stability make sure it falls within or later than the above serial number ranges. Do not be fooled into believing that by upgrading the firmware on an earlier unit to V2203A or later improves stability - it does not..
Mike
It looks like AOR have made a hardware change in the newly produced DV-10 giving it much better frequency stability on HF, VHF and UHF over the earlier produced units.
Newly produced DV-10's have all been reported in the serial number ranges: AA6336XX AA6337XX AA6338XX and AA6339XX,
If you purchase a new or nearly new DV-10 and desire a unit with improved frequency stability make sure it falls within or later than the above serial number ranges. Do not be fooled into believing that by upgrading the firmware on an earlier unit to V2203A or later improves stability - it does not..
Mike
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palmerjrusa
Member
Thanks, gonna check my DV10!
palmerjrusa
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palmerjrusa
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You have any details on the hardware changes?
G7HID
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Boas
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Hello all,
after five tests to detect frequency drift, here is my sixth and final test.
Decoding GMDSS messages over several hours. How does it work?
The international distress frequency for ships is 8414.5 kHz USB.
Set the AOR AR DV10 to 2000 kHz less, i.e. 8412.5 kHz USB.
Load round from the free software Sorcerer V. 1.0.1 Sorcerer Decoder Download | KD0CQ
GMDSS HF DSC is selected as decoder under "Selcall".
Record several hours with the recording function of the DV10. By the way, VOICE is sufficient.
Play the file with a normal player and watch the results on Sorcerer.
Important to know: Sorcerer has no AFC, which means that the centre/shift frequency must not shift, otherwise no decoding is possible. For me, the messages have been running without problems since this morning, see picture.
Summary: The DV10 passed all tests with HF-Analog USB Voice, Digital Voice DMR/DSTAR, HF-Digital MIL-STD-188-141, GMDSS, Passive Radar and EPRIB over several hours without any problems. I could not detect any frequency drift on my DV10.
For those who have a DV10, I would recommend the simplest way GMDSS. If the frequency cannot be held, no decoding will be possible.
It was fun to work with the DV10!
73 Josef
DE3JGA
after five tests to detect frequency drift, here is my sixth and final test.
Decoding GMDSS messages over several hours. How does it work?
The international distress frequency for ships is 8414.5 kHz USB.
Set the AOR AR DV10 to 2000 kHz less, i.e. 8412.5 kHz USB.
Load round from the free software Sorcerer V. 1.0.1 Sorcerer Decoder Download | KD0CQ
GMDSS HF DSC is selected as decoder under "Selcall".
Record several hours with the recording function of the DV10. By the way, VOICE is sufficient.
Play the file with a normal player and watch the results on Sorcerer.
Important to know: Sorcerer has no AFC, which means that the centre/shift frequency must not shift, otherwise no decoding is possible. For me, the messages have been running without problems since this morning, see picture.
Summary: The DV10 passed all tests with HF-Analog USB Voice, Digital Voice DMR/DSTAR, HF-Digital MIL-STD-188-141, GMDSS, Passive Radar and EPRIB over several hours without any problems. I could not detect any frequency drift on my DV10.
For those who have a DV10, I would recommend the simplest way GMDSS. If the frequency cannot be held, no decoding will be possible.
It was fun to work with the DV10!
73 Josef
DE3JGA
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In other words you don't really know and are just guessing that AOR made hardware changes to the DV-10. The only way to know for certain is to get confirmation from AOR themselves otherwise it's just wishful thinking that can lead people astray and cause them to waste $$$ on a receiver that is still a train wreck.
It's all moot anyway as AOR has burned their reputation with the hobbyist community with not just shoddy products but also sheer arrogance and vindictiveness towards those who constructively criticize their products. I am done with them totally and will not deal with any company that uses bullying and thug tactics towards customers and potential customers.
G7HID
Member
It is either a hardware upgrade or Angel Dust....
If I had not decided to spend the money on a new DV-10, tried and tested it out and found it looked like they had harnessed the drift problem..... I doubted my testing methods so I double and treble checked my results, discussed my testing methods with others and tested again - results same as initial testing. There appear to be little or no other improvements to the newly produced units, computer control works like it was designed for the Russian Army ! and the strong signal handling is woeful, then we have the short battery life....
Mike
Despite having every confidence in G7HID, you echo my thoughts exactly regarding AOR. Sadly they have convinced me that they cannot be trusted, especially regarding the DV10 debacle.
AOR'S disregard for Customers and their attacks on people who posted about the radio's problems make me even think twice about recent posts regarding test results.
Hopefully I am wrong and a new hardware design has been 'secretly' introduced, but AOR's duplicity over the last few years makes me wonder about the origins of any reports stating the DV10 is at last 'mended'.
Sad, but AOR have only themselves to blame regarding any lack of confidence. I have many AOR products, and 'was' a great fan, until the DV10 and AOR's decision to 'bluff it out'.
I probably remain top of their 'revenge' and 'blacklist', despite urging them from the beginning to be honest about the DV10, for the sake of their future reputation.
G7HID
Member
All I can suggest to people who are possibly interested in a newly produced DV-10, find a local to you dealer who is willing to do a face to face extended demonstration of the DV-10 with external HF and VHF/UHF aerials.
To check for drift tune to Shannon Volmet 5.505MHz USB or similar, tune frequency slightly for a comfortable voice listening tone, leave for up to an hour - if the voice tone has not changed there has been little or no drift, if the voice tone has gone higher or lower the receiver has drifted by the same amount as the tone frequency difference. To test for drift at VHF or UHF check for an amateur beacon and carry out a similar test...
Some dealers will try and fob you off, but insist.... Check the serial number (see earlier post). Take no heed to the comment "it has the latest firmware", all DV-10's are forwards firmware compatible ..
Mike
To check for drift tune to Shannon Volmet 5.505MHz USB or similar, tune frequency slightly for a comfortable voice listening tone, leave for up to an hour - if the voice tone has not changed there has been little or no drift, if the voice tone has gone higher or lower the receiver has drifted by the same amount as the tone frequency difference. To test for drift at VHF or UHF check for an amateur beacon and carry out a similar test...
Some dealers will try and fob you off, but insist.... Check the serial number (see earlier post). Take no heed to the comment "it has the latest firmware", all DV-10's are forwards firmware compatible ..
Mike
I have to agree with Mike. I received my Dv10 in April, immediately tested drift with wwv on 10mhz using upper sideband to listen for drift. None detected after 30 minutes which convinced me that somehow aor solved this problem. Yep, battery life still sucks and selection of 15khz filter for digital modes needs a fix.
but the good news, it is incrementally better than the original release.
but the good news, it is incrementally better than the original release.
palmerjrusa
Member
I haven't noticed any drift problems on my unit, but that's just my casual obervation, nothing rigorous re others have done.
It's a shame, the DV10 had/has such great potential, top quality, very robust construction, good audio and lots of it, large bright screen (though if you have the display light on continuously it seems to really gulp power from the battery. How many lines of code would it take to achieve a dimmer light setting? And yeah, it has this large screen/display, but it's "real estate" is not managed well, you have the two VFOs in the upper half of the dislpay and nothing much of anything in the lower half, it's wasted space.
A little more work and it could be a great wideband receiver, I wouldn't even mind the lack of some features that a radio at this price point is expected to have, just get the basics right and I would be happy.
It's a shame, the DV10 had/has such great potential, top quality, very robust construction, good audio and lots of it, large bright screen (though if you have the display light on continuously it seems to really gulp power from the battery. How many lines of code would it take to achieve a dimmer light setting? And yeah, it has this large screen/display, but it's "real estate" is not managed well, you have the two VFOs in the upper half of the dislpay and nothing much of anything in the lower half, it's wasted space.
A little more work and it could be a great wideband receiver, I wouldn't even mind the lack of some features that a radio at this price point is expected to have, just get the basics right and I would be happy.
Barnstormer7
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Agree on the "work in progress". I believe they are working it. I've noticed mine working fine and after I accidentally dropped it on the concrete my recorder started working great! Go figure. I'm working with the few bugs until they send an update and just enjoying the radio and the good features that I bought it for.
Just a (maybe stupid) question on the drift. Given the observations above, could it be that a cold unit would drift (going from cold to operating temp), while a longer in use unit would stabilize its drift (as it is on a stable temp)? A retest could then take a fridge to normal temp transition into account.
Boas
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Hello kdeke,
especially on the GMDSS frequency, there is constant transmission. During the day, not two minutes pass without a transmission. The GMDSS decoder decoded data as soon as it was switched on (cold) and was able to display the texts even after four hours (warm) without any problems. I could not detect any difference between cold and warm.
If you don't have a professional measuring device to detect a drift, I find digital operating modes the best to test. Either it is decoded or not.
73 Josef
especially on the GMDSS frequency, there is constant transmission. During the day, not two minutes pass without a transmission. The GMDSS decoder decoded data as soon as it was switched on (cold) and was able to display the texts even after four hours (warm) without any problems. I could not detect any difference between cold and warm.
If you don't have a professional measuring device to detect a drift, I find digital operating modes the best to test. Either it is decoded or not.
73 Josef
Not too many users store their radios in the fridge. Cold start means ambient room temperature, not refrigerator temp. If it drifts while warming up (due to internally generated heat) then it has a problem. I believe we have established DV10's produced recently (2022 Q1, Q2) have resolved the drift problem, however, other bugs remain.
G7HID
Member
I know, but for testing purposes pushing it a bit further, by using a fridge, could reveal possible issues quicker...
sklpl
Member
Has anybody tested older unit with recent firmware using the same procedure as above? It is hard to guess if there was HW upgrade or not without refering to reliable results as a baseline.
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