I am posting this last message about the AR-DV1 in a separate thread because it seems to correspond to post on different threads about this receiver. If the moderators feel this should be part of an existing thread, please go ahead and move it.
I was already to go ahead and purchase this receiver after having beta-tested it for about 1 month. As many of you know, I have gone back and forth in my opinions about the AR-DV1. I finally concluded that this is worthy of consideration as a wideband receiver that has digital modes. For scanning function, it still leaves a lot to be desired. No trunking, very slow search/scan speeds, only able to currently scan one bank (50 channels) at a time, and no current software.
I had one final conversation with Taka today at AOR about this radio. I told him I consider the radio to be a decent wideband receiver, provided you add some preselection. Without an MFJ tuner on the antenna input to this radio, I can hear AM broadcast stations up to 21 Mhz (15 meters). It really overloads very easily.
I also have told Taka that without trunking and much better scan speeds, this would be of limited use to many of us reading these threads. I did tell Taka, however, that there have been some favorable responses to the radio. Taka is reading these threads, so he knows what I am posting.
Taka told me today that he has spoken to the president of AOR about the lack of trunking, slow scan speeds, etc; and he told me the president said "we are not competing against Uniden, we are selling a receiver, not a scanner." I asked Taka if that meant that "we won't see trunking or better scanner-like speeds on this radio" and his answer was "Yes, this is a wideband receiver and not a scanner, and not everyone will be interested in the receiver."
I told Taka that despite being a decent wideband receiver, that is not what I was looking for in this radio. I was hoping that trunking might be considered at some point, and that the scan/search speeds are not what I need. I don't expect 100 channels/sec, but I was hoping for better than 10 per sec (at best).
Taka said to me, "this radio probably does not meet your requirements." I agreed, saying "I'm sure some may find the radio useful, but that I already have good receivers for up to 30 Mhz, most notably my SDRs.
So I returned the radio today to its home at AOR, and my beta-testing and interest in the radio, despite some good qualities, is done. I told Taka that he can keep one of my 536HPs (he has been using it for a couple of weeks) for as long as he wants. He said he was done with it and returned it to me.
My final comment was "how did you like the 536HP?" His final comment was "I liked it very much, I am probably going to buy one next week."
So the bottom line seems to be that if you are interested in a "wideband receiver" with a lot of digital modes, the AR-DV1 may be your answer. For those of you, like me, who are looking more for a "scanner-like unit" with DMR and NXDN, that also has trunking, can scan at relatively high speeds, and has a lot of the features we have come to expect in higher-end scanners, you will not find it in the AR-DV1.
Now I have time to play with my new CS-750 and CS-800 and set these up for DMR, which we have quite a bit of here in Southern California.
I was already to go ahead and purchase this receiver after having beta-tested it for about 1 month. As many of you know, I have gone back and forth in my opinions about the AR-DV1. I finally concluded that this is worthy of consideration as a wideband receiver that has digital modes. For scanning function, it still leaves a lot to be desired. No trunking, very slow search/scan speeds, only able to currently scan one bank (50 channels) at a time, and no current software.
I had one final conversation with Taka today at AOR about this radio. I told him I consider the radio to be a decent wideband receiver, provided you add some preselection. Without an MFJ tuner on the antenna input to this radio, I can hear AM broadcast stations up to 21 Mhz (15 meters). It really overloads very easily.
I also have told Taka that without trunking and much better scan speeds, this would be of limited use to many of us reading these threads. I did tell Taka, however, that there have been some favorable responses to the radio. Taka is reading these threads, so he knows what I am posting.
Taka told me today that he has spoken to the president of AOR about the lack of trunking, slow scan speeds, etc; and he told me the president said "we are not competing against Uniden, we are selling a receiver, not a scanner." I asked Taka if that meant that "we won't see trunking or better scanner-like speeds on this radio" and his answer was "Yes, this is a wideband receiver and not a scanner, and not everyone will be interested in the receiver."
I told Taka that despite being a decent wideband receiver, that is not what I was looking for in this radio. I was hoping that trunking might be considered at some point, and that the scan/search speeds are not what I need. I don't expect 100 channels/sec, but I was hoping for better than 10 per sec (at best).
Taka said to me, "this radio probably does not meet your requirements." I agreed, saying "I'm sure some may find the radio useful, but that I already have good receivers for up to 30 Mhz, most notably my SDRs.
So I returned the radio today to its home at AOR, and my beta-testing and interest in the radio, despite some good qualities, is done. I told Taka that he can keep one of my 536HPs (he has been using it for a couple of weeks) for as long as he wants. He said he was done with it and returned it to me.
My final comment was "how did you like the 536HP?" His final comment was "I liked it very much, I am probably going to buy one next week."
So the bottom line seems to be that if you are interested in a "wideband receiver" with a lot of digital modes, the AR-DV1 may be your answer. For those of you, like me, who are looking more for a "scanner-like unit" with DMR and NXDN, that also has trunking, can scan at relatively high speeds, and has a lot of the features we have come to expect in higher-end scanners, you will not find it in the AR-DV1.
Now I have time to play with my new CS-750 and CS-800 and set these up for DMR, which we have quite a bit of here in Southern California.