AR5700D First impressions

[dwell1650]

While comparing both receivers (DV1 & 5700) with the same set of headphones it is really hard to tell any difference while listen to DMR. I think the sound quality depends mostly due to the quality of the transmitted signal. Some ham operators always sounds great while others is harder to read. But the sound quality from the built in speaker is way better from the AR5700D.

I'll try do the a similar comparing with headphones while listening to TETRA as well.

 

[dwell1650]

just some SSB signals in the ham bands
Would be good

I made a short video.
The propagation where not as good as I was hoping for, but I made a few catches anyway.
https://youtu.be/zs3EWxO6jbE

 

[dwell1650]

I'll try do the a similar comparing with headphones while listening to TETRA as well.

Can't hear any noticeable differences in TETRA either.
It feels like the digital decoding firmware is the same or nearly the same as on the DV1.

Another con I just discovered:
Channel tag names will not show in select scan.

 

[dwell1650]

Latest news from AOR.
A TETRA GSSI group filtering function for trunked TETRA network will be released.
I guess they will probably implicate it with the first firmware update.

Press_Release_2020_0525 | What's new ? | AOR,LTD. Authority On Radio Communications
AR5700D OPERATING MANUAL ADDENDUM | Manuals | Download Area | Support | AOR,LTD. Authority On Radio Communications

 

[sub101uk]

Well this is not the first operating manual Addendum there has been others before . As for firmware as you know I am running here main_912C D0N1B P912A Which still means DALL ( AUTO MODE DETCTION ) still does not work and DMR mode no longer decodes .

If they do bring out a new firmware it maybe best to stick with your current firmware main _912C D9N5D P912A .

As for a update on my AOR - 5700D that was bought back in January of this year as you may remember after a few days it was found that DALL did not work plus it kept on crashing every 30 mins it was then return to AOR in Japan and after a month it returned however DALL still no longer worked plus DMR no longer decoded .On March it returned to Japan for a second time and its still there .

Soon it will be June which means I bought a radio 6 months ago for £4500+ used for a few days and the rest of the time its been in Japan , Why they did not exchange the radio when the problems first started I have no idea . If you were thinking of buying a 5700D please wait a few years by then they may have sorted out the firmware .

If any of you are thinking of buying a scanner I would stick to the DV1 which has been around for many years yes it had problems when it first came out but most things these days have been sorted out .

 

[rogress]

I am still hopeful that the 5700D will be a winner.

sub101uk, thanks for your updates. That has to be very frustrating. I wish we had more owners weighing in on their experiences. I guess time will tell.

 

[sub101uk]

Well in the 5 months of owner my 5700D I have found very few other owners . I wish I could say the same as you that the radio is a winner but in my experience its a total nightmare a Very expensive nightmare at £4.5+ But your right only time will tell .

 

[grosminet]

ARDV10 is still in Beta firmware after 2 years . AOR never aswer to customers as other manufacturers can do. They used to have goods products but this time is over. My very first AR5000 is running for 1994 every day . I'm still using it for TETRA, DMR with 10.7 MHz output .

 

[sub101uk]

Yes but the AR-5700D cost £4595 and it should be able to decode clear DMR + D-Star and all the other digital modes and mine does not but I fully understand it will not decode encrypted transmissions .

 

[sub101uk]

Ok Update on my AOR-5700D its just returned from its second trip from AOR in Japan with problems over DALL and decoding Clear DMR .My problems started with Firmware : main _912C D9N5D P912A with this firmware I found that DALL was not working and the radio was returned to AOR in Japan and they installed Firmware : main_912C D0N1B P912A with this firmware I still found that DALL still did not work plus DMR did not want to decode . The radio arrived back today and I can report that the Firmware has changed again to : main_005A D0N4B P005B .

So I will give it a soak test for a few days and report back .

 

[SandBagger1]

AOR are not showering themselves in glory are they, hope it is fixed this time and you have no further issues.

 

[sub101uk]

AOR 5700D Update , As you may remember the radio was bought in January this year and within a short time it was found that DALL" Auto Mode Detection " was not working and the CPU kept on crashing the radio was returned to Japan however a few days on returning to the UK a month later it was found that DALL still did not work plus DMR had stropped decoding so the radio returned to japan for a second trip to AOR in Japan . The radio arrived back the other day and I am happy to report that DMR is now decoding , Same goes for D-Star . As for DALL Mode yes it does work but not straight away it seems to sit and cycles through all the modes until it comes to the right one so it can take a few minutes to decode depending on traffic so its far better if you know the mode is DMR just switch to DMR Mode and not DALL . I did notice that the firmware has been changed once again .
The original firmware is : main _912C D9N5D P912A DALL not working and radio crashing every 30 minutes .
Next firmware installed was : main_912C D0N1B P912A this firmware still did not fix the DALL problem plus you could no longer decode DMR.
Current firmware fitted after a second trip to AOR is : main_005A D0N4B P005B , So far it seems to work fine I dare say that over the next few years the 5700D will have a few more firmware upgrades but we are on track now .
I have not had a play with TETRA ( klingon ) But I dont expect much success there since most is hard encryption I have yet to come across any off the shelf equipment that will decode this .However as we all know Tetra was hacked some time ago that I can confirm .
So after 6 months of buying the 5700D it was worth the wait but at a price tag of £4.5K plus this radio should have never left the factory .
So if any of the members who own a DV1 and live in Essex would like to meet up to compare the DV1 to 5700D I would love to see why the 5700D cost 4 times that of a DV1

 

[palmerjrusa]

ARDV10 is still in Beta firmware after 2 years . AOR never aswer to customers as other manufacturers can do. They used to have goods products but this time is over. My very first AR5000 is running for 1994 every day . I'm still using it for TETRA, DMR with 10.7 MHz output .

Same for my AOR AR5000+3, it's simply the best receiver I've ever owned, wont ever part with it
Ditto for AORUK's AR7030 for HF, the gold standard for HF receivers.

Now with all the problems with the AR-DV10 that still haven't been resolved (and I was seriously interested in buying one, bought an Icom IC-r30 instead) and problems with some of their other gear...
What has happened to AOR in the last decade or so?

 

[palmerjrusa]

AOR 5700D Update , As you may remember the radio was bought in January this year and within a short time it was found that DALL" Auto Mode Detection " was not working and the CPU kept on crashing the radio was returned to Japan however a few days on returning to the UK a month later it was found that DALL still did not work plus DMR had stropped decoding so the radio returned to japan for a second trip to AOR in Japan . The radio arrived back the other day and I am happy to report that DMR is now decoding , Same goes for D-Star . As for DALL Mode yes it does work but not straight away it seems to sit and cycles through all the modes until it comes to the right one so it can take a few minutes to decode depending on traffic so its far better if you know the mode is DMR just switch to DMR Mode and not DALL . I did notice that the firmware has been changed once again .
The original firmware is : main _912C D9N5D P912A DALL not working and radio crashing every 30 minutes .
Next firmware installed was : main_912C D0N1B P912A this firmware still did not fix the DALL problem plus you could no longer decode DMR.
Current firmware fitted after a second trip to AOR is : main_005A D0N4B P005B , So far it seems to work fine I dare say that over the next few years the 5700D will have a few more firmware upgrades but we are on track now .
I have not had a play with TETRA ( klingon ) But I dont expect much success there since most is hard encryption I have yet to come across any off the shelf equipment that will decode this .However as we all know Tetra was hacked some time ago that I can confirm .
So after 6 months of buying the 5700D it was worth the wait but at a price tag of £4.5K plus this radio should have never left the factory .
So if any of the members who own a DV1 and live in Essex would like to meet up to compare the DV1 to 5700D I would love to see why the 5700D cost 4 times that of a DV1

That's probably because this receiver is primarily aimed at the government agency market so who cares how much it costs.
It really sucks you're having these issues.
The AR5700 had been "just about to be released" for must be over 6 years before it made an appearance. It may perform very well but it's whole design approach (just compare it to the IC-R8600) resembles receivers that were in production well over 25 years ago. Twenty-five years in high tech is the same as a geological era in geology.

 

[sub101uk]

In the paperwork that was sent back with the unit it says " No Fault was found " should that be the case why did they change out the firmware ? New Firmware main_005A D0N4B P005B In fact the case is my case but the radio feels different for starters DMR now works and you can turn the radio off then wait a few hours and it still decodes were as before it was very intermittent so if the truth is known the case is mine but I think they have changed out the main CPU everything from S meter readings are so different but it just goes to show you that if there pushed they can produce a good radio . Ok DALL is not perfect but its far better than what it was .

Maybe in a few years they would have sorted out the bugs lets face it when the DV1 came out it was a nightmare but now its not a bad receiver as for the DV10 right from the time it came out it was a nightmare . Then comes the 5700D its taken them 6 months to sort out the firmware but we are getting there . Its just a pity that Icom dont make a scanner that does the same modes that the AOR receivers do .

 

[marlbrook]

AOR never find any fault, even when they actually fixed them, and even charge for the Repair. Their Radios are always perfect, it it the Customers who have to be 'mended' (sigh)

 

[sub101uk]

Sad and very true but we are learning .

 

[grosminet]

Maybe radioreference managers could offer a premium member to AOR staff . With this option, they can read our comments (Joke)

 

[sub101uk]

Well I bought my 5700D from the UK but I did check and found buying one from Hongkong or Singapore was over a £1000 cheaper than the UK but in the Uk the going rate is £4599 but bought mine for £300 cheaper but its still a hell of a load of money to have poor performance but its now working well sort of ! DALL seems to work but it just goes through all the modes untill it comes to the one you want . As for decoding DMR again you wait for a few minutes in that time you see the Col and Slot and away you go .

 

[devicelab]

The radio arrived back the other day and I am happy to report that DMR is now decoding. As for DALL Mode yes it does work but not straight away it seems to sit and cycles through all the modes until it comes to the right one so it can take a few minutes to decode depending on traffic so its far better if you know the mode is DMR just switch to DMR Mode and not DALL.

Remember that just because you're hearing DMR doesn't mean it's voice. DMR transmissions are probably near 50% data now.