AR-DV1: My final evaluation

[prc117f]

So if this is a communications receiver and not a scanner,

Does it recieve better that a 536?

Because serious communications receiver, if that's what this dv1 is supposed to be. It better have better ears than a 536 priced at half and it includes a free scanning capability?

 

[KC1UA]

So if this is a communications receiver and not a scanner,

Does it recieve better that a 536?

Because serious communications receiver, if that's what this dv1 is supposed to be. It better have better ears than a 536 priced at half and it includes a free scanning capability?

This is what I intend to find out when I evaluate it. It'll be up against several Uniden scanners, two quality SDR's, and another communications receiver, the Icom IC-R7100. I can test them all at the same time, using the same antenna via a Stridsberg multicoupler.

Stay tuned! Pun intended...

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[tom01]

its new and firmware updates will sort issues out. It's better than dsd with computers in a car and i would be happy to buy one

 

[XTS3000]

What ever happened to QC and QA? It seems like the customer is now the alpha & beta testers for radios and their firmware now. Rather than a company taking an additional month or two to refine their products firmware, they dump them on the market with unfinished/untested firmware.
It's like the people designing the products don't have a clue how they are supposed to work.

 

[prc117f]

What ever happened to QC and QA? It seems like the customer is now the alpha & beta testers for radios and their firmware now. Rather than a company taking an additional month or two to refine their products firmware, they dump them on the market with unfinished/untested firmware.
It's like the people designing the products don't have a clue how they are supposed to work.

People voted with their wallets and lined up to buy alpha quality hardware. So why spend money on such foolishness like QA or QC if the customer is willing to buy broken and or buggy hardware and pay top dollar for the honor.

Look at the uniden debacle.

 

[N8OHU]

What ever happened to QC and QA? It seems like the customer is now the alpha & beta testers for radios and their firmware now. Rather than a company taking an additional month or two to refine their products firmware, they dump them on the market with unfinished/untested firmware.
It's like the people designing the products don't have a clue how they are supposed to work.

You've never read "Flight of the Old Dog" by Dale Brown, have you? For those that wonder how that is relevant, one of the characters makes a request of those he's working for, is asked why his request is needed because the plane has a state of the art navigation system installed, and he proceeds to do something that renders the navigation system inoperative. In other words, WC can test for basic stuff, but end users can often trigger things that QC would never think of testing for.

 

[MStep]

I thank you also Steve for your evaluation of the AOR receiver. I love radios. Have loved them since I've been 5 years old. At 6 years old, I wanted a "police radio". My parents were a little taken aback and really never encouraged my interest until I was in my very early teens.

So what happened between then and now? I've done what many of us have likely done (and continue to do)--- I over-compensated.

I've got a few R7100's and an R9000 (cellular capable), and what are they doing right now? Sitting in storage. I've got RS scanners, Uniden scanners, 3 or 4 shortwave receivers from a Hallicrafters S-120 up to a Watkins-Johnson. They're all securely in storage in a fireproof storage facility in New Jersey. No, they're not looking for new home right now, so don't ask, but I someday may be looking for a new home so I can finally set up all my equipment and start enjoying it all again. I need something a little bigger than a studio apartment !

I've looked at some of the AOR receivers. I love radio equipment, but I said that already. Why would I want more--- it's a psychological "sickness" that lingers somewhere between being denied as a child and a gadget freak as an adult.

I've only got two ears, and I'm already listening to 5 radios at once. My favorite up until a month or so ago, was the HP1. Then I got the itch again, because I felt that I was missing something without having Phase II. I wanted more than just an HP2-- I wanted something with more bells & whistles. The obvious choice was the 536. Despite the "issues" facing the radio, it was an excellent choice. I read this thread with much interest, because I love all the buttons and knobs on the AOR receivers. But I think you guys have convinced me that a purchase at this point would likely be illogical, considering how much stuff I have hanging out in storage.

To those who know me on the Uniden forums, you know that I think that the 536 is one of the best scanners ever produced. And you also know that I've criticized Uniden for not providing a three year warranty on a radio that they advertise to be in their "Professional Series".

I'm going to peruse the AOR pages again, but I don't think that any triggers are going to be pulled, at least not at this point. And I appreciate AOR's position that they make receivers and not scanners. I'm also a guy that didn't like seeing video modes incorporated into high-end digital cameras because I think it pollutes and dilutes the original intention of a still camera.

Enough of my "introduction" to the group--- it's definitely on my favorites list right now--- sometimes reading about some of these great radios can help relieve the tension on my trigger finger (and the debt on my credit card).

Thanks for the great information you guys have provided here.

 

[BamaScan]

Well looks like I have been called out to post. The way I set up my AR DV-1 is program ONLY digital frequencies in it. Program analog VHF and UHF in an analog scanner. Program P25 in s Uniden Scanner. Don't program Analog in the DV-1 . I have DMR, DStar, C4FM Yaesu and Nexedge only in my DV-1. I do wish the scan speed was faster. I can live with it. I can scan trunked DMR and Nexedge systems daily. Just figure out the voice channels and program them in. No big deal. I recently took my AOR on a road trip to a larger city and found several DMR systems. No overload at all. I can use a VHF antenna and pickup shortwave on the Reciever. The last update AOR did improved the audio when I'm the search mode it made the analog signal louder in auto mode. I to have called Taka and talked him to tell him THANK YOU. Living in a Hurricane Prone area it's easier to hook up my DV-1 to a cig plug and presto its on. Vs Trying to get a computer on and a monitor and speakers on. Bring out the generator for that set up. With the DV-1 it does not stop on the data frequencies it scans right over them unlike DSD it stops. Still waiting on Butel for some software also,

 

[MStep]

Well looks like I have been called out to post. The way I set up my AR DV-1 is program ONLY digital frequencies in it. Program analog VHF and UHF in an analog scanner. Program P25 in s Uniden Scanner. Don't program Analog in the DV-1 . I have DMR, DStar, C4FM Yaesu and Nexedge only in my DV-1. I do wish the scan speed was faster. I can live with it. I can scan trunked DMR and Nexedge systems daily. Just figure out the voice channels and program them in. No big deal. I recently took my AOR on a road trip to a larger city and found several DMR systems. No overload at all. I can use a VHF antenna and pickup shortwave on the Reciever. The last update AOR did improved the audio when I'm the search mode it made the analog signal louder in auto mode. I to have called Taka and talked him to tell him THANK YOU. Living in a Hurricane Prone area it's easier to hook up my DV-1 to a cig plug and presto its on. Vs Trying to get a computer on and a monitor and speakers on. Bring out the generator for that set up. With the DV-1 it does not stop on the data frequencies it scans right over them unlike DSD it stops. Still waiting on Butel for some software also,

Thanks BamaScan for your insight. Now that I have been reading the threads a bit more, it appears that some of the issues are being addressed with firmware updates. I am concerned a bit about overload, and I'm glad you touched on that point, as I am pretty much in the heart of New York City. I watched with some dismay the YouTube videos highlighting some of the deficiencies of the AOR Alpha, particularly with strong signals wiping out the front end of the receiver. I'm not sure how the DV-1 holds up against AOR's flagship receiver, but those videos were a little disconcerting, to say the least.

I do like the idea of having a stand-along wide-band receiver capable of decoding various digital modes. It would probably be a nice companion piece to my Uniden 536. While I am not anticipating Armageddon (at least, not right now), I do like to idea of having so much frequency coverage in such a small, easily mobile package.

Finally, I am a gadget-guy, and who can resist a pretty, new face. While I'm not quite ready to commit, I'll keep my eyes and ears open to see what develops over the next month or so. Thanks again for your informative posts.

 

[EricCottrell]

Thanks BamaScan for your insight. Now that I have been reading the threads a bit more, it appears that some of the issues are being addressed with firmware updates. I am concerned a bit about overload, and I'm glad you touched on that point, as I am pretty much in the heart of New York City. I watched with some dismay the YouTube videos highlighting some of the deficiencies of the AOR Alpha, particularly with strong signals wiping out the front end of the receiver. I'm not sure how the DV-1 holds up against AOR's flagship receiver, but those videos were a little disconcerting, to say the least.

I do like the idea of having a stand-along wide-band receiver capable of decoding various digital modes. It would probably be a nice companion piece to my Uniden 536. While I am not anticipating Armageddon (at least, not right now), I do like to idea of having so much frequency coverage in such a small, easily mobile package.

Finally, I am a gadget-guy, and who can resist a pretty, new face. While I'm not quite ready to commit, I'll keep my eyes and ears open to see what develops over the next month or so. Thanks again for your informative posts.

Hello,

The only overload problem with the AR-DV1 so far is from strong AM radio stations when receiving below 18 MHz. The AR-Alpha appears to have more front end filtering below 18 MHz, so performs better. The problems go away if I use a MW Band reject filter. Almost all my radios have problems with LW to 3 MHz due to several strong nearby MW stations. An exception is my WJ-8711A, noted for having exceptional strong signal handling capability even without the optional preselector.

I remember trying to use a couple of Ham HTs at a Manhattan hotel years ago, so I can appreciate how rough the NYC RF environment can be.

From the comments about the AR-DV1 having an 18 MHz wide IF, I think the 18 MHz direct conversion receiver is also part of the IF chain.

The recent fixes improved receiver operation. It may take awhile, but at least AOR is listening to user feedback and fixing problems.

Wideband radios tend to have problems with nearby strong signals. I have the AR-Alpha and notice some problems when the Preamp is used on certain frequencies that are different from the ones highlighted in the Youtube videos. It depends on what frequencies any nearby strong stations are using. There are several workarounds and no situations where the AR-Alpha was totally useless.

73 Eric

 

[MStep]

Hello,

The only overload problem with the AR-DV1 so far is from strong AM radio stations when receiving below 18 MHz. The AR-Alpha appears to have more front end filtering below 18 MHz, so performs better. The problems go away if I use a MW Band reject filter. Almost all my radios have problems with LW to 3 MHz due to several strong nearby MW stations. An exception is my WJ-8711A, noted for having exceptional strong signal handling capability even without the optional preselector.

I remember trying to use a couple of Ham HTs at a Manhattan hotel years ago, so I can appreciate how rough the NYC RF environment can be.

From the comments about the AR-DV1 having an 18 MHz wide IF, I think the 18 MHz direct conversion receiver is also part of the IF chain.

The recent fixes improved receiver operation. It may take awhile, but at least AOR is listening to user feedback and fixing problems.

Wideband radios tend to have problems with nearby strong signals. I have the AR-Alpha and notice some problems when the Preamp is used on certain frequencies that are different from the ones highlighted in the Youtube videos. It depends on what frequencies any nearby strong stations are using. There are several workarounds and no situations where the AR-Alpha was totally useless.

73 Eric

Thanks for that information Eric. These are things that I will have to consider, depending on if I am planning on using the receiver here in the New York City environment, or if it is to be used when I am out in Central Jersey, an area considerably less saturated by high-powered transmitters. Speaking about New Jersey, I noticed the DV-1 is capable of P25 Phase I, but not Phase II reception. I'm pretty sure that this is not firmware related, but more hardware driven, and it's another factor to consider for those of us in areas where Phase II is starting to achieve some prominence.