Where did all the AOR DV-1's go?

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mrkelso

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It seems no one has any availability on the DV-1 for a very long time now. Anyone know why?
 

mrkelso

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Buddrousa Many Thanks for the heads up, i just put one in the cart. Ebay has some at very high prices. That is the only other place that have any.
 

iMONITOR

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Dealers in the U.S. do not stock them typically as A.O.R. does not accept returns. The dealers order them and have A.O.R. drop ship them directly to the end user. I don't think A.O.R. is shipping to the U.S. since COVID.
 

EricCottrell

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Hello,

I noticed over the years it seemed like AOR would announce a radio and then take their time releasing it, sometimes years it seems. I sometimes wonder if they wait until they get a major contract to supply the radio before they build them.

They seem so low-key, I would not be surprised if there are AOR AR7400 radios already sold to airports in Japan

73 Eric
 

marlbrook

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Hopefully it may have something to do with the 2020 DV1 batch that had USB connection problems, and despite denying there were any faulty USB chips , or some had not been connected correctly, AOR are carefully checking their current stocks.

Over a dozen reports from Buyers worldwide that the new DV1's they purchased had this USB problem. The Radio's USB port either not working on delivery, or failing within a few days. I have posted details on the Forum, with Serial Numbers.

Many Dealers made the Buyers wait whilst the 'new' Radios were sent back to Japan. AOR fixed them, but in many cases the Buyers were blamed and had to pay all the costs. Disgraceful.

Despite AOR's apparent lack of support for Buyers, and tendency to always deny any faults exist, surely only a suicidal Company would not have taken steps to check all their existing stocks of AR-DV1's, which means 'soak testing' each one for several days at least. However I am not even convinced they would bother despite the overwhelming evidence from Buyers. Many probably either never try to control the Radios externally, or if they eventually do after such a length of time since the purchase AOR and the Dealers can persuade them it was not an initial fault, and charge for repair and carriage.

The AR-DV1 is still a fantastic Receiver, and one might think a good source of Revenue for AOR. It does appear Dealers, especially in the U.S. are reluctant to buy DV1's in direct, given the AOR attitude re. returns and support. If that means the Dealers do not fully trust AOR's policies, where does that leave the Consumer?

I have supported AOR for decades, buying many of their products. I want them to continue in business and to thrive, but this apparent blanket refusal to take responsibility for a Manufacturing problem in this recent batch of DV1's has shaken my confidence in them, even more so than their release and attitudes regarding the AR-DV10.
 

palmerjrusa

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Hopefully it may have something to do with the 2020 DV1 batch that had USB connection problems, and despite denying there were any faulty USB chips , or some had not been connected correctly, AOR are carefully checking their current stocks.

Over a dozen reports from Buyers worldwide that the new DV1's they purchased had this USB problem. The Radio's USB port either not working on delivery, or failing within a few days. I have posted details on the Forum, with Serial Numbers.

Many Dealers made the Buyers wait whilst the 'new' Radios were sent back to Japan. AOR fixed them, but in many cases the Buyers were blamed and had to pay all the costs. Disgraceful.

Despite AOR's apparent lack of support for Buyers, and tendency to always deny any faults exist, surely only a suicidal Company would not have taken steps to check all their existing stocks of AR-DV1's, which means 'soak testing' each one for several days at least. However I am not even convinced they would bother despite the overwhelming evidence from Buyers. Many probably either never try to control the Radios externally, or if they eventually do after such a length of time since the purchase AOR and the Dealers can persuade them it was not an initial fault, and charge for repair and carriage.

The AR-DV1 is still a fantastic Receiver, and one might think a good source of Revenue for AOR. It does appear Dealers, especially in the U.S. are reluctant to buy DV1's in direct, given the AOR attitude re. returns and support. If that means the Dealers do not fully trust AOR's policies, where does that leave the Consumer?

I have supported AOR for decades, buying many of their products. I want them to continue in business and to thrive, but this apparent blanket refusal to take responsibility for a Manufacturing problem in this recent batch of DV1's has shaken my confidence in them, even more so than their release and attitudes regarding the AR-DV10.

It's been terrible to watch consumer confidence in AOR and their products plummet with their continual denial of problems in their receivers and their "blame the consumer" attitude. I know they were separate entities, but AORUK (where AR7030s were made) were famous for their outstanding customer support and technical service. I own three AR7030s (probably the best HF receiver ever made) with one back in the UK and will never part with them. Had to contact AORUK on one occasion over a technical issue and was immediately contacted with the needed information. To paraphrase John Stossel, "businesses thrive on repeat customers who return because they've been treated well in the past, businesses that don't get repeat customers tend to go out of business".

Previously I was interested in purchasing an AR-DV1, presently I wouldn't risk buying a new one at all and would be more likely seek out a second hand unit with a known history of functioning properly. As for the AR-DV10, forget it. Their AR5700D was "forthcoming" for 6 or 7 years, and when it did finally appear it resembled receivers produced more than 20-odd years ago, I also know there were problems with that model when it finally arrived. Likely the majority of AOR's business are government agencies where the prevailing attitude is "who cares, it's not my money on the line, if it stops working just order another one". How long a company can stick around with that "business model" will be interesting to see. Maybe they'll do just fine.

Out of personal interest I'm keeping an eye on the AR7400 to track how long before it hits the marketplace, if it ever does.

I forgot to mention their now discontinued AR-Alpha which clocked in at around the $13,000,00 mark. There are YouTube videos documenting the serious problems with that high-end receiver which AOR apparently just ignored. Problems that don't exist in receivers costing less than one tenth of the price of an AR-Alpha under receiving conditions that the AR-Alpha should have been able to handle without breaking a sweat and where, under the same conditions, an IC-R9500 did just that passing with flying colors.
 
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SigIntel8600

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The display of my DV-1 failed about six months after my purchase. HRO referred me to AOR USA. I had to ship the DV-1 out to California and then AOR USA sent it to Japan for the repair. The whole process took two months. AOR advised that the display failure was an "extremely rare occurrence" and they replaced the screen, no charge (as they should, it was brand new). Since it's return, I have not had any further issues. I use ESPYonARD and Butel software and I have had no USB issues yet (knock on wood). The DV-1, despite its numerous quirks, pairs nicely with the Icom IC-R8600 for DC to Daylight COMINT. It's a real shame that AOR has pissed off and ignored the hobbyist crowd. My experience has been that they could care less about hobbyists as their bread and butter lies in government contracts. Me, I'm still a fan of AOR products but I will be a bit more wary to purchase from them in the future.
 

MStep

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Right now, for AOR enthusiasts in the Western Hemisphere, a major issue is that all radios (warranty and non-warranty) will end up going to Japan for repair. They are no longer doing repairs at the California location, as they had done in the past. This is especially bad for non-warranty repairs, where the end-user will be charged all shipping costs to and from Japan. I recently sent in my out-of-warranty DV1 for a minor repair, and while the cost of the actual repair was very reasonable, the shipping charges were over the top. I believe that that closing of the California repair facility was a major factor in some of the U.S. dealers dropping the AOR line.

I have read some comments and have to agree that it would appear the AOR is foregoing the hobbyist market by no longer doing repairs anywhere but in Japan. They really need to reconsider and reopen a repair facility closer to us folks in the U.S.A.
 

palmerjrusa

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Right now, for AOR enthusiasts in the Western Hemisphere, a major issue is that all radios (warranty and non-warranty) will end up going to Japan for repair. They are no longer doing repairs at the California location, as they had done in the past. This is especially bad for non-warranty repairs, where the end-user will be charged all shipping costs to and from Japan. I recently sent in my out-of-warranty DV1 for a minor repair, and while the cost of the actual repair was very reasonable, the shipping charges were over the top. I believe that that closing of the California repair facility was a major factor in some of the U.S. dealers dropping the AOR line.

I have read some comments and have to agree that it would appear the AOR is foregoing the hobbyist market by no longer doing repairs anywhere but in Japan. They really need to reconsider and reopen a repair facility closer to us folks in the U.S.A.

AOR no longer even service their AR8600 receiver, so I'm completely on my own there.
So far no problems with my trusty old AR5000+3. (I'm hesitant to even type this for fear of...)
I'm skeptical that their AR7400 will ever actually make an appearance in the marketplace).
 
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