AOR 5700D 2023

[SigIntel8600]

It has been a while since any comments good or bad have been posted about this receiver. So here is mine after 2 years of heavy usage.

PRO:

Civilian and Military Air Band. Nothing and I repeat NOTHING better. Beats my Icom IC-R8600 with spurious signal rejection on the same antenna. Lower squelch setting on the 5700D pulls in the weak signals.

Digital Modes - Not to beat a dead horse but DMR DMR DMR. C4FM (Yaesu), D-Star, GM5K (Alinco), NXDN, P25 Phase 1, TETRA. No DMR on the ICOM 8600 was a major FUBAR for Icom, especially for European radio monitors.

S-Meter- Old School Backlight S-Meter

AF Gain / Squelch - No hidden menu access. Simple turning knob access.

HF - AM SSB CW - FANTASTIC RECEIVE

AR-IQ III Control Software is easy to set up and utilize and enhances weak signal signal hunting. This software is to be expected from the price point of this receiver.



CON:

The memory editing software. The WORST memory editing software I have EVER come in contact with. It really is GARBAGE. The software can read one memory bank at a time. Once the memory bank is read, you can edit only one frequency at a time. However, it takes TEN SECONDS for each frequency to load, then another four or five seconds once your edits have been made. AOR markets their receivers to government and military organizations, using this software is a tactical nightmare when the need exists to program frequencies on the fly.

Firmware Updates - No ability for end users to update firmware. We must send the unit back to AOR Japan at our own expense to update the firmware.

P25 encrypted receive - AOR does not mute encrypted P25 audio. PAINFUL to listen to during a scan. The ICOM IC-R8600 does.


AOR 5700D owners , Let's hear your pros and cons.

 

[devicelab]

P25 encrypted receive - AOR does not mute encrypted P25 audio. PAINFUL to listen to during a scan. The ICOM IC-R8600 does.

Are you saying it doesn't resume scanning after stopping on a P25 signal? That's really odd. Most good receivers will resume scanning after a period of time. I would *want* to hear the ENC so I know there's traffic on that frequency. If I didn't care then I wouldn't be scanning it in the first place.

 

[MStep]

I would say that the lack of ability for 5700 hobbyists to update the firmware is likely the biggest drawback, notwithstanding the price. I would expect nothing less than a fantastic receiver, but between shipping and insurance costs, especially from the East Coast, it's gotta cost a pretty penny.

Has anyone actually gone through the process--- perhaps you could share with us the carrier that was used and the cost involved. Do they also hit you up with the cost of return shipping to you?

Thanks.

 

[palmerjrusa]

It has been a while since any comments good or bad have been posted about this receiver. So here is mine after 2 years of heavy usage.

PRO:

Civilian and Military Air Band. Nothing and I repeat NOTHING better. Beats my Icom IC-R8600 with spurious signal rejection on the same antenna. Lower squelch setting on the 5700D pulls in the weak signals.

Digital Modes - Not to beat a dead horse but DMR DMR DMR. C4FM (Yaesu), D-Star, GM5K (Alinco), NXDN, P25 Phase 1, TETRA. No DMR on the ICOM 8600 was a major FUBAR for Icom, especially for European radio monitors.

S-Meter- Old School Backlight S-Meter

AF Gain / Squelch - No hidden menu access. Simple turning knob access.

HF - AM SSB CW - FANTASTIC RECEIVE

AR-IQ III Control Software is easy to set up and utilize and enhances weak signal signal hunting. This software is to be expected from the price point of this receiver.



CON:

The memory editing software. The WORST memory editing software I have EVER come in contact with. It really is GARBAGE. The software can read one memory bank at a time. Once the memory bank is read, you can edit only one frequency at a time. However, it takes TEN SECONDS for each frequency to load, then another four or five seconds once your edits have been made. AOR markets their receivers to government and military organizations, using this software is a tactical nightmare when the need exists to program frequencies on the fly.

Firmware Updates - No ability for end users to update firmware. We must send the unit back to AOR Japan at our own expense to update the firmware.

P25 encrypted receive - AOR does not mute encrypted P25 audio. PAINFUL to listen to during a scan. The ICOM IC-R8600 does.


AOR 5700D owners , Let's hear your pros and cons.

Concur with everything you said, it's a great old school style receiver.
Bought the AOR GP-5001 GPS unit to increase frequency stability for my AR5700D a few months back.

 

[Echo4Thirty]

I dont own one, but I will say that while I love the under the hood features, I think the design is way outdated. Of course, I dont have the pennies to own one anyway lol.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Yeah I was looking at that and wondered why they couldn't have kept the DV1's smaller form factor or something similar. They fell back a few decades with the 5700D's bulky, boxy design

 

[MStep]

Yeah I was looking at that and wondered why they couldn't have kept the DV1's smaller form factor or something similar. They fell back a few decades with the 5700D's bulky, boxy design

Agreed, but I believe several factors led to the larger, boxy design. They probably could not fit all of those buttons and S-meter into a smaller form factor. Likely you will also find more electronics built into the 5700. There also seems to be a certain "mindset" at AOR, whatever that may be. Then again, would you pay $6000 USD for something the same size and shape as the $1500 USD model DV-1 ?

And regarding "mindset", it appears to be a product geared more to the interest of commercial and military users, who would not give a second thought to the time, trouble and expense of shipping it back to Japan for firmware updates.

As SigIntel8600 points out, likely nothing in the world better for civilian and military airband. Unsurpassed digital decoding "on-the-fly" with the new "DALL" mode. Truly a connoisseur's digital receiver. At that price point, it HAS to look impressive.

 

[SigIntel8600]

Are you saying it doesn't resume scanning after stopping on a P25 signal? That's really odd. Most good receivers will resume scanning after a period of time. I would *want* to hear the ENC so I know there's traffic on that frequency. If I didn't care then I wouldn't be scanning it in the first place.

It resumes scanning, it just makes a horrific sound while receiving encrypted P25.

 

[Patrol1949]

Well I am going to bite the bullet and so next week I am going to order

The 5799D .

 

[Parkless]

Hi Folks, I am new to this forum as I am seriously considering buying a 5700D. I live in the UK and already have a dedicated airband external aerial and Wellbrook magnetic loop for HF. I was wondering if someone could advise what additional external aerial(s) I need to consider for the digital signals. I know that Tetra will not be available to listen to in the UK because of the complex encryption but the other modes such as DMR and D-STAR should be okay. Would a decent discone be suitable and if so any recommendations? Also what coax would you recommend? Unfortunately I live in a bungalow so need a 20 foot mast to get better signal reception. I would need a coax length of about 40 foot to get from aerial to my receiver. Any advice / recommendations on aerial and coax would be appreciated. Cheers, Peter

 

[G7HID]

Depending where you live in the UK, you might find that Tetra is receivable in the clear, transport systems in London, Nottingham and Newcastle use unencrypted Tetra.

Mike

 

[jayem1]

Another Con: Price

Nice radio but $6k nice?

 

[Patrol1949]

You wont regret it.

 

[HE9JYP]

AOR is very good in digital decoding but the overly retro look of the AR5700D puts me off. I own an IC-R8600 (very sensitive and nice interface),an IC-9700 (nice interface and screen) , a Yaesu FT-DX10 (nice SDR screen) and several AOR-DV1s among others hardware but the screen of the 5700 is not up to for his price. The second blocking argument for the purchase is the non-possibility of doing a firmware upgrade yourself, which is absurd for a digital receiver which could evolve by adding other digital modes.I am waiting for a next evolution or a new receiver at AOR

 

[marlbrook]

AOR is very good in digital decoding but the overly retro look of the AR5700D puts me off. I own an IC-R8600 (very sensitive and nice interface),an IC-9700 (nice interface and screen) , a Yaesu FT-DX10 (nice SDR screen) and several AOR-DV1s among others hardware but the screen of the 5700 is not up to for his price. The second blocking argument for the purchase is the non-possibility of doing a firmware upgrade yourself, which is absurd for a digital receiver which could evolve by adding other digital modes.I am waiting for a next evolution or a new receiver at AOR

Have you tried using your IC-R8600's 10.7 IF output fed into the ARDV1 antenna socket, enabling the reception of all the DV1 Modes whilst using the Icom as the 'front end'?

 

[SigIntel8600]

AOR is very good in digital decoding but the overly retro look of the AR5700D puts me off. I own an IC-R8600 (very sensitive and nice interface),an IC-9700 (nice interface and screen) , a Yaesu FT-DX10 (nice SDR screen) and several AOR-DV1s among others hardware but the screen of the 5700 is not up to for his price. The second blocking argument for the purchase is the non-possibility of doing a firmware upgrade yourself, which is absurd for a digital receiver which could evolve by adding other digital modes.I am waiting for a next evolution or a new receiver at AOR

Today my AOR DV-1 was monitoring a local TETRA system with lots of interesting traffic. I was searching UHF on my IC-R8600 at the same time and found a signal on 447 Mhz. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ could only be heard, I quickly tuned my AOR 5700D to the frequency with the DALL mode selected and identified a new DMR signal. I will agree the no user firmware upgrade SUCKS, but I do not regret my AOR 5700D purchase as my primary communications receiver to be used in conjunction with the IC-R8600 and DV-1 to complement my sig intel activities.

 

[HE9JYP]

Have you tried using your IC-R8600's 10.7 IF output fed into the ARDV1 antenna socket, enabling the reception of all the DV1 Modes whilst using the Icom as the 'front end'?

 

[HE9JYP]

I use it with the Icom receiver for the frequencies I listen to the most. Otherwise in SCAN mode I use the DV-1, a received signal opens the squelsh and stops on the frequency unlike the IC-R8600 which does not have a specific squelsh for TETRA. Both uses are effective.

 

[aliiiiiiiii]

I intend to Buy AR 5700D can someone guide me, what all accessories i must get along with it , like
GPS ,
Antenna is must or not , and which Antenna to Buy out of (DA 3200 or DA 6000)
Any other accessories to get
What is the cheapest source , as i am based in near Indian Ocean

 

[Patrol1949]

Have you bought it yet.