AR5700D First impressions

marlbrook

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So @marlbrook you need to find some local owner of a 5700D then and only then can you compare the radios all side by side all working from the same antenna ( NOT PLUGGED IN AT THE SAME TIME ) But you know what I mean . Specs mean very little

I am not asking about the technical specs, and as to me comparing them it apparently can't be done, since there is 'zero comparison'. If that is true that has to mean 'anything' the 5700D can do, the others cannot do at all.
 

alanswebb

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Jan 4, 2020
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Cwmbran, South Wales. UK
Can someone please explain in 'detail' what exactly 'ZERO comparison' means in relation to the 5700D and all other AOR receivers?

If one tunes to 5.505 MHz USB on an AOR AR3000 and recieves an S9 signal and hears / understands the voice signal clearly, or on an AR-DV1 or other AOR Radio, then tunes a 5700D to the same signal what makes those other signals 'non/zero comparable' please? The only way those signals become literally 'non comparable' is if they suddenly cease to exist surely?

Does one then possibly realise that the signal that one was listening to on the other Receivers never existed at all, and one only 'thought' they were strong and intelligible.

Is the signal strength and audio quality of the 5700D so superior, that when switching back to one of the other Radios one can no longer understand the signals, or find them to have 'zero' acceptability and unintelligible?

I am really (honestly) pleased for 5700D owners who find the Radio what they wanted. Good for you.

I found my 'personal' ideal in having the AR-DV1 and Icom IC-R8600 joined up and working together, or individually. However rightly or wrongly I do see that as my 'very subjective and personal opinion', and do not feel the need to ever dream of re-enforcing my choice by using terms that denigrate the capabilities of other AOR receivers.

I do not own a 5700D, hence the questions. I never will own one for various reasons, not the least of which I am high if not top of AOR's blacklist, and the chances of me ever receiving the Radio back after a firmware upgrade would be very, very unlikely.

I suppose in some ways that may make me lucky, because if the 'zero comparison' statement is accurate, all the other AOR (and other make) Radios I use will keep functioning, and only if it is an 'illusion' I will 'think' they are receiving signals to my satisfaction, LOL.

Not really, but briefly.... back in the days of the AOR3030 my very first HF receiver, I had the experience of knowing just how good a receiver could be, and it`s been a very, very long time since I got my hands on anything that comes close. Until now, I got first hand experience of the 5700D. Here I find myself enjoying the experience once again. something that did not, does not exist with my DV-1.
You only know how good something really is when it hits the mark and you are fortunate enough to experience it first hand.
There are those who claim they never want to own one but are amongst the first to join an AOR 5700 facebook group. Who cares about that? They have their own reasons and best wishes to them.

Who was it that said the DV-1 looks like it was designed to be taken into the shower with you? `A shower radio?`
Something about the design of it? Obviously would advise against that!
It`s a good enough radio but compared to the AOR 5700D It doesn`t even come close. This radio takes me back to my very first embrace of radio communications, but I am still very much learning to drive it and wanting to take the driving seat every opportunity I get, unlike that experience the DV-1 offers.
 

G7HID

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Must admit I have never been enamoured by any radio, to me they are all tools used to receive various signals and as long as they do that without too much faffing around I am happy, If I find a radio troublesome - for instance the inability of AOR digital receivers to filter DMR groups - I use another receiver that has that ability for the task.
Like the attraction 5700D but with no intention of buying one, I don't expect to fly to the moon either, but I like to keep up with what is going on..
Regarding the shower radio look of the DV1, I suspect the colour was requested by a government user with plenty of aged Motorola kit.
It is interesting to find that rumours of big problems with the 5700D may not be completely kosher..

Mike
 

marlbrook

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Must admit I have never been enamoured by any radio, to me they are all tools used to receive various signals and as long as they do that without too much faffing around I am happy

I fully agree with your points about individual Radios, and that (up till now perhaps) none did everything perfectly.

I never doubted Brian's reported trouble with his 5700D, and still do not of course.

His 5700D may be just be a 'rogue', or AOR have improved later ones 'on the quiet', as they were shown to have at least 'tried' to do with the AR-DV10, whilst still denying there were any problems with it, and 'blaming the Messengers' rather than themselves.

That was always likely to be their self inflicted problem, by compromising their reputation over the DV10 so spectacularly there would be people like myself who have little faith in any new Radios they bring out. By always denying any faults, and often putting the blame on the Customer AOR have done themselves no favours. They could have saved themselves a lot of bad publicity by swapping Brian's 5700D once it became apparent he had on going problems with it.

As I said, good luck and much pleasure to happy owners of the 5700D, but I could never bring myself to buy one, even accepting all other AOR Receivers have 'zero comparison' to it. I lost faith in AOR because of the way they dealt, and are dealing with the AR-DV10, but mainly because I would not dare take the risk of what they might do in retaliation if I had one and had to return it, even for a Firmware upgrade. Even if that was not a very real worry, eventually having to pay £125 for each upgrade (plus postage), and the risks involved in sending the 5700D either to a Dealer where possible or even worse to Japan is not for me.

I do admit the 'sin' of joining the 'open' 5700D Facebook Group to keep up with the AOR news. Possibly also the added sins of being a Member / Admin of the DV1 and DV10 Groups too. Perhaps that should negate any thoughts I post.

I also did not realise the 'look' of the DV1 was an indication of a possible lack of performance, but one lives and learns.

I have three different AOR Receivers 'active' here. It is as I mentioned lucky for me I do not have a 5700D here too, so I can keep my illusions that they produce satisfactory results, and never realise my mistake in 'thinking' they both find and I can listen to signals that I 'thought' were fine.

I will put it down to learning nothing in my short 65 years of Radio experience, lol.
 

sub101uk

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Jan 26, 2018
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Hi Guys sorry for the delay but thev whole of east anglian lost its internet yesterday at 15.30 and its only just returned at 10.00 am Monday

Ok back with the matters at hand regarding the 5700D well the radio has been out now for some time so I hope that there sorting all the bugs out because when it is working it does work well . The problem in my case is that it does not keep working and to make matters worse I find that when the radio is sent down with a deaf front to the importers they find nothing wrong and this is twice this has happen . I still feel that they have just reflashed the firmware and reset the CPU .So all there doing is just kicking the can down the road should the radio keep working fine as I have much better things to do .

Regarding the specs of radios I do not look at manufacturers specs I still find it best to go if possible to your local radio shop thats if you have one in your area and have a play with all and compare them . Unless AOR pull the finger out on servicing there just going to get one hell of a bad name as for starters the warranty needs to be 24 months not 12 as its far to short if the radio is returned to Japan for repairs .But after speaking to the importer it would seem that all AOR radio are returned to japan and its not only the 5700D I am assuming that the DV1 + DV10 have the same 12 months warranty .

As for the open 5700D group good luck to the guys the hard part is going to find owners who can exchange ideas and knowledge in the same way they do with the DV1 + DV10 group , But to be fair I dont own a DV1 or a DV10 but I am still a member of both groups but like I said before you need to speak with the admin of the group .

Most of the gear in my shack is Icom and in most cases over 40 years old except for the IC-7800 MKII all servicing has been done down at Herne Bay Kent with a turn round on most things about a week . This is something AOR should be looking at and not sending every thing back to Japan .

Sounds marlbrook that your only a few years younger than me as I retired 4 years ago but it was far straight forward buying gear in the early seventies things were alot straight forward in those days . The RAE was long hand and we had a CW test at broadstairs .
But it was always my understanding you you got what you paid for when I bought my IC-7800MkII it cost about the same as my 5700D and its been faultless over the 2 years that I have owned it but its a shock to the system to spend this amount of money and have so many ongoing problems and its 18 months old now and its still not right . Assuming its fully working when it returns are we going to take bets how long its going to last ?

All ok there Mike on Diamond X50 fed to the multicoupler , The X510 works very well on VHF + UHF but its a waste of space on HF . I use my full size G5RV for HF or the KLM beam but thats only good on 20 , 15 + 10 m

Well lets hope the internet keeps running as every thing went off all the way from ipswich right down to the east of london .
 

marlbrook

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Sounds @marlbrook that your only a few years younger than me as I retired 4 years ago but it was far straight forward buying gear in the early seventies things were alot straight forward in those days . The RAE was long hand and we had a CW test at broadstairs

Older than that. Although RADIO intrigued me from an early age I did not begin my fascination with Radio until I was 10, when my Cousin became a Radio Amateur.

I was a SWL for a few years. My first Receiver used valves and ran on a 110v battery and an Accumulator, lol. I loved it. I was lucky in that in my Teens propagation was brilliant, and listening to the World was easy even on a relatively short wire antenna, plus hardly any surrounding electrical interference. However even then I was deeply involved in electronics and antenna design so had amassed a lot of Professional test gear.

I eventually took and passed the RAE, and the Morse test a few months later. The addiction continued, but I took a short radio break for a couple of years in the early seventies when home computers became available, and started programming. Quite quickly I was combining Radio and Computer programming. however. The first Scanner I wrote control software for was the AR3000.

I have lost count of the Radios I have had (sigh), and all the experiments time and fun I had with them, let alone all the Books and studying I immersed myself in on the subject. Now I tend to just sit back and enjoy Radio as a hobby,

The advent of SDR is yet another marvel to me, but I draw the line on learning the science behind it, hence my interest in the DV1, IC-R8600 and what transpires with the 5700D. Programming keeps me far too busy anyway.

As far as Radios go, I welcome anyone who wants to join my Facebook Groups, whether they actually own a particular radio or not.

Out of interest at the weekend I received a Malahit SP1 SDR receiver. I was very sceptical but for £150 I decide to take the plunge. Fits in the palm of my hand, 50Hz to 2GHZ coverage with a superb built in Scope. No Digital modes but I am amazed at how well it works. On HF, sharing the same antenna it rivals all my other Receivers. Not really tried VHF/UHF yet as it does not 'scan'. If only it had a 10.7 Mhz output like the R8600, then the fun would really begin using it as the 'front end' with the DV1 doing all the digital work. I am contacting the Developers in Russia to see if it can be done.

I really hope your 5700D issues are finally resolved soon, to your benefit. Posting the results of my experiments with the DV10 really did get me blacklisted by AOR, and I could never buy another AOR product again without risking almost certain retaliation if I gave them the opportunity. Anyway I have found my (almost) dream system with the IC-R8600 acting as the front end to my AR-DV1. Well unless I ever see a 5700D side by side with them, I can keep my illusions that they actually do work, lol. Till then I will continue in my unenlightened state and just 'think they do'.
 

sub101uk

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I really hope your 5700D issues are finally resolved soon, to your benefit. Posting the results of my experiments with the DV10 really did get me blacklisted by AOR, and I could never buy another AOR product again without risking almost certain retaliation if I gave them the opportunity. Anyway I have found my (almost) dream system with the IC-R8600 acting as the front end to my AR-DV1. Well unless I ever see a 5700D side by side with them, I can keep my illusions that they actually do work, lol. Till then I will continue in my unenlightened state and just 'think they do'.

Yes and me as this cannot continue like this as if it has the same problem again in a few months time we are going back to square one all over again but after spending all that money I feel that its only right I own a radio that works and not one that spends half the time in the work shop . But it would be nice to see the 5700D along side the DV1 , DV10 and the IC-R8600 and see how they all compare all on the same antenna .

As for the good old days of the early seventies it was army surplus like a 19 set all bought from GW Smiths down lisle street in the west end or Edgware road .

Just had a idea we should start a new group up on facebook and call it Blacklisted by AOR !!
 

marlbrook

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As for the good old days of the early seventies it was army surplus like a 19 set all bought from GW Smiths down lisle street in the west end or Edgware road

Many probably now have no idea of the wonders that Tottenham Court Road, the Edgware Road, and the streets leading off them held regarding Radio equipment, new, second hand and Government Surplus. Once a year I would go up to London just to wander around those Shops, a long way from my home.

My favourite was the Standard Radio Company dealer's shop. I bought several of their ground breaking receivers and handhelds, and still have them, including the very first scanner with a built in, interactive Bandscope, decades before any others appeared. Strangely I came across an article recently that hinted that 'Standard' was the for-runner of AOR, so a small link to this thread, lol. Those were the days.
 

SigIntel8600

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Not really, but briefly.... back in the days of the AOR3030 my very first HF receiver, I had the experience of knowing just how good a receiver could be, and it`s been a very, very long time since I got my hands on anything that comes close. Until now, I got first hand experience of the 5700D. Here I find myself enjoying the experience once again. something that did not, does not exist with my DV-1.
You only know how good something really is when it hits the mark and you are fortunate enough to experience it first hand.
There are those who claim they never want to own one but are amongst the first to join an AOR 5700 facebook group. Who cares about that? They have their own reasons and best wishes to them.

Who was it that said the DV-1 looks like it was designed to be taken into the shower with you? `A shower radio?`
Something about the design of it? Obviously would advise against that!
It`s a good enough radio but compared to the AOR 5700D It doesn`t even come close. This radio takes me back to my very first embrace of radio communications, but I am still very much learning to drive it and wanting to take the driving seat every opportunity I get, unlike that experience the DV-1 offers.

Now that I have the 5700D, I think I'll relegate the DV-1 to portable operations and while traveling or vacationing. I need to spend a few more weeks with the 5700D to get comfortable with even the BASIC features of this rig. I can report during a VFO search of civilian air frequencies between 118.00 and 137.00 (AM) I had no birdies, intermod or hash. That in itself was pretty frigging awesome.
 

MStep

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I'm happy to see that there are finally some happy users of the 5700 after all the past failed attempts to get the product launched properly. Perhaps that is some indication that AOR is finally taking user feedback seriously, and that perhaps the comments in this thread may have had some positive effect.

Let's hope that sub101uk gets some satisfaction when he gets his rig back. And SigIntel, I have to agree with you that 118 - 137 MHz with no birdies, intermod or hash is an awesome accomplishment for any radio. Don't know where on the East Coast you are; for listeners like me, located almost equidistantly between the World Trade Tower and the Empire State Building here in New York City, that would be a "dream machine". Unfortunately, the HOA regulations in my building would inhibit my getting the kind of results that you lucky folks can achieve with the kind of antenna system that garners such great results.

Looking forward to your continued posts and reports.
 

sub101uk

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Jan 26, 2018
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Well the radio is due back in the next few days and I bet you its fully working again I only wish it keeps working again other wise we are just going round in circles . Should the radio go deaf again I will find a commercial RF Lab and get it fully test with a full report on its sensitivity to show its not fit for purpose .
AOR and the importer may not accept it in the same way they did not accept the first however when both reports are submitted at the small claims court . Its going to be very clear that there is a problem only they just dont want to admit it plus how do they explain the difference on sensitivity ?

All scanners are a compromise any owner of a good old SX200 will tell you that with a front end the size of a barn door plus all the birdies that spring up all over the place and all the microphonic pickup generated from within the receiver but its just something that you accept .

Yes Marlbrook technology has come along way since the early seventies my first rig was a 19 set I think the whole thing cost about £25 I used that on 160m + 80m with the output of just over 10 watts . Be interesting to compare it with a AOR 5700D costing £4599 .
 

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sub101uk

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Just to let you know that I received my 5700D back yesterday and its now fully working with sensitivity back to normal . But its still very confusing how they got the sensitivity back ? As in there words " That No Changes or adjustments other than the normal user controls " Should this be the case then why did the radio remain deaf after I and the local independent communications workshop did a factory reset method 1 + 2 this should have brought the radio back to factory default settings.However the radio still remains deaf on local VHF / UHF frequencies so again something does not add up unless the radio left the factory deaf ? In my view I think they have re-flashed the firmware . The truth of the matter is one day the radio was working and the next when I turned it on it was found to be deaf .When I say deaf DMR signals were so weak that you could no longer decode them ,The only control touched was the on + off switch and this is the second time that the radio has had this problem and like the first time they found no fault . So I have asked for there technician who worked on my radio, What " Normal user control settings he changed " As it makes No sense since doing a factory reset would have brought all settings back to default and it should have brought back the receiver back to full gain but after I carried out a signal check it remain the same " Deaf " So like I have said something does not add up .If you compare the same signal on 2m with a Icom 275H the signal on the 5700D is way down . So there you have it the radio is working again Lets hope it keeps working .
 

palmerjrusa

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Frederick
Just to let you know that I received my 5700D back yesterday and its now fully working with sensitivity back to normal . But its still very confusing how they got the sensitivity back ? As in there words " That No Changes or adjustments other than the normal user controls " Should this be the case then why did the radio remain deaf after I and the local independent communications workshop did a factory reset method 1 + 2 this should have brought the radio back to factory default settings.However the radio still remains deaf on local VHF / UHF frequencies so again something does not add up unless the radio left the factory deaf ? In my view I think they have re-flashed the firmware . The truth of the matter is one day the radio was working and the next when I turned it on it was found to be deaf .When I say deaf DMR signals were so weak that you could no longer decode them ,The only control touched was the on + off switch and this is the second time that the radio has had this problem and like the first time they found no fault . So I have asked for there technician who worked on my radio, What " Normal user control settings he changed " As it makes No sense since doing a factory reset would have brought all settings back to default and it should have brought back the receiver back to full gain but after I carried out a signal check it remain the same " Deaf " So like I have said something does not add up .If you compare the same signal on 2m with a Icom 275H the signal on the 5700D is way down . So there you have it the radio is working again Lets hope it keeps working .

So everything is working now, including VHF/UHF frequencies?
 

sub101uk

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Yes its working fine at the moment its just I find it strange that in there words " That No Changes or adjustments other than the normal user controls " This makes no sense as I did a full factory reset more than a few times and it made no change to the sensitivity it remained deaf .Also the independent communications workshop also did the same and again no change so I would love to know what they did to bring back the sensitivity . Any way its working again plus it was free , So lets hope it keeps working .
 

alanswebb

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Jan 4, 2020
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Cwmbran, South Wales. UK
I one sense you must almost be afraid to touch it. I put up a Diamond X-510 last weekend, connected it up and nothing! I almost died at the thought of having to take it all back down again to investigate, then I discovered the centre pin on the N type plug had been recessed back into the plug and was barely making contact. So happy I found out the quick and easy way.
 

sub101uk

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Jan 26, 2018
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Well I only hope it keeps working the good news is it only cost me shipping the radio to the importer as they found no fault with the radio and like In there words all they did was " No Changes or adjustments other than the normal user controls " Where made ? After I did many factory resets and had no change in sensitivity not forgetting the radio had been with the local independent communications workshop they also found it deaf and tried like me full factory resets but the radio still remained deaf so all very strange . I still think they reflashed the firmware unless there is a some secret cpu reset button thats not in the manual or your enter some code and that resets it . But the radio is back working again for how long I have no idea . Yes the X510 has a N female and not a SO239 some silly buggers screwed the N connector up by screwing in a male SO239 and breaking the N female , If you do that your need to remove the whole base .
 

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SigIntel8600

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I'm sitting here listening to NY Air Oceanic on 6.577 USB. Beautiful copy on the 5700D. Hearing the pilots and the controller. My antenna is the AOR LA-400. My IC-8600 is covering the local P25 system as well as our statewide analog system. My DV-1 is parked on a Tetra transit frequency. Monitoring heaven. I can report no issues (knock on wood) with my 5700D. I have had it for a month now. When not listening to HF, I scan a mix of VHF and UHF aircraft, UHF P25 and analog, 800 MHz Tetra, P25 and analog systems. On my DV-1, scanning the same mixed banks will occasionally result in the DV-1 stopped on a memory channel with no signal received, the scan has stopped. A reboot usually clears this up. The 5700D has not had any lockups as of yet. That's all I have to report so far.
 
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