AOR3000A HF SCANNING QUESTION

[flyM6RDP]

Hi everyone,

I would love to introduce this classic radio into my shack next to the 2002 and my primary interest is HF utility monitoring.

The Tecsun PL660 and Yaesu FRG100 receivers both allow you to scan through a selection of HF memories with no squelch activated, pausing on each channel for 5 seconds. It is an invaluable feature for the way I like to listen and check for activity on a small number of channels over the course of a few hours in the shack.

But try as I might I can't find out if this is possible with the AOR 3000A.

If any of you have one, I wonder if you can tell me the answer to this question I am pulling my hair out to try to find an answer to!

Thanks
Adam M6RDP (GOING BALD!)

 

[AOR-262]

I had all of HF NAT frequencies programmed into a Bank. 5.649, 6.622, 6.628, 8.864 etc. The receiver will not stay on a memory channel for x amount of seconds before moving to the next - however, there is a workaround.

You will need to have the receiver under remote conditions. To achieve that, you will need a serial cable if your PC is very old, though it is likely you have a modern PC/Laptop with USB ports. See link below!

Using a program such as Microsoft HyperTerminal, you can send/receive commands to the receiver; such as which memory channel to choose. You could easily write a script to call up a memory channel, set a pause wait time before calling up the next memory channel. Take a look at the programming commands in the AR3000A manual.

There are cheaper USB to 25-Pin Serial Cables ... this is just an example ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Control-Transfering-Serial-Compatible-US-232R/dp/B0859YX2J1?th=1

 

[flyM6RDP]

Fantastic to finally have an answer to this puzzling question! The hours I have spent Googling. Thanks so much for taking the time and trouble to reply and for offering that really cool workaround with great instructions etc. Really appreciate it. I bet it looks great, scanning away like that for activity. I remember I did a similar thing with a TX years ago an Icom 703. But it had a really annoying click when the.... I forget what they're called now but is it relays?.... clicked in and out as you went up into a different band range. So went back to dedicated RX sets for short wave listening after that.
73 and thank you again. Adam

 

[flyM6RDP]

Hi AOR262

BTW it sounds like you used your set just the way I will be using mine, so I wanted to ask you if I may how did you find it for HF aero? I know people say you should have a dedicated HF receiver which I have had over the years.... but for you how was the experience of listening to HF aero on it. Always better to hear someone's experience than generalized theory! Thks. 73 Adam

 

[AOR-262]

@flyM6RDP

(apologies for the delay in replying) ...

I never really used my AR3000A for HF as I preferred to use my AR3030 which gave a much clearer audio than any other receiver. Still today I call that my 'dedicated HF receiver'. I use my AR3030 (see picture below for reference) and it outperforms the audio quality of other receivers; such as the Icom IC-8600 and even when used with the Icom SP-38 speaker.

It's current audio is about 1.2kHz off frequency. That's expected of a receiver 20+ years old. The Shannon Volmet transmitting on 5505 kHz would sound high pitched frequency centred so an off set tune to 5506.5 approx. would give a near perfect audio. Of course, in accordance with the 'service manual', that can easily be calibrated.

The AR3000A was made as a wideband receiver. That said, you cannot expect great results. The HF audio quality was 'OK'. I might actually do a side-by-side video comparison of the AR3000A v AR3030 and upload that to my YouTube channel (when I get the chance) - I'll let you know on that.

There are quite a few dedicated HF receivers out there, only had the AR3030 so cannot compare and watching YouTube videos isn't the same as having the actual receiver in front of you, especially if you can run them side-by-side; though you will get to hear a difference in audio quality.

The AR3030's are rare and pop up one in a blue moon on sites like eBay. They are usually listed at high prices, though, like me, after spending a lot of time researching, while I did pay a lot for mine, I most definitely do not regret it. I was lucky, the AR3030 I bought was in brand new/mint condition. It hadn't been used much as was stored for many years in its original box.

 

[flyM6RDP]

Thank you for the really fascinating reply. I remember this radio, the AOR AR3030, when it first came out. It cost about a year's worth of my savings then and it was only a dream. So after your informative msg I looked up in the manual and, sure enough, it scans through HF memories just like I was hoping the AR3000 would in my original question, pausing on each sequentially for a user-determined time of between 1 and 10 secs. So this is perfect for inputting lots of mostly inactive (these days anyway) frequencies, searching for signs of HF aero life! I've listened to enough HF sets now to know that the inclusion of the Collins mechanical filter is a really big deal. I didn't understand back then what all the fuss was about. I bet it sounds awesome. It is now DEFINITLEY on my radar to replace my aging Realistic DX400 and DX394 for HF.
Thank you for taking the time to tell me all about your recommendation.
73 Adam