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write your own review of the AOR 8200 MarkIII B.
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ATC43
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 19, 2009 02:38
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one of the best
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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hi,i know its hard to get to grips with the manual,but that is the onley fault,i was lucky to get the 8200 mk 111 B,on ebay,and i have found this to be the best reciever hand held,i have used,better than the yupiter in all ways,it works well on all hf, lf, mw,i have it set up next to my icom 735,and the recieve on the 8200 is just as sensitive,yes it eats batts,but what set is ever going to please everey one,so if you ever get a chance to get the mk111B GET IT.
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KC2OYZ
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Rating: 3/5
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Oct 9, 2008 00:38
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Cryptic
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I think this is actually a very good radio - extremely sensitive, good audio quality, numerous modes and rx options - amazingly good for BCB DX with a CCrane Double Ferrite antenna.
BUT - I have owned and used MANY radios over the years, and I think the 8200 has the steepest learning curve of them all.
In short - excellent performance, but serious work required to leverage it.
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N1SQB
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 30, 2008 15:06
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Nice Wideband Receiver!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have to say that I did not warm up to this radio at first. It has a bit of a learning curve. In fact, I almost returned it at first. Once I got to playing with it and reading the manual, I was hooked. As with all radios, there is some good and some not so good. The first thing to keep in mind is that while this radio has "scanner-like" features, it is NOT a scanner. The top front face plate of the radio says it all in big white letters, "wide range receiver". Keep that in mind, and you will enjoy this radio for all it has to offer. Having said that, here goes my humble attempt at reviewing this radio.
The good:
Tremendous coverage. 500KHZ-3GHZ. with the ususal gap for cellular freqs. Please note that the 800MHZ coverage ends at 869.00MHZ then begins at 894.025 MHZ. This is far better than what Icom does which is eliminate the entire 800 MHZ band, thus depribing you of legitimate public safety freqs.
Very Very bright backlit LCD and keys.
Like a neon green almost. Really great at night or low light situations.
Runs on 4 AA batteries. 1700mAh supplied, you can use whatever you want. I prefer Sanyo 2700mAh myself.
Black color is an improvement over the old green.
The viewable screen area is huge. 1,1/4 X 1,3/4 inches. The numbers, letters are large.
Dual VFOs are nice,as well as the band scope. Signal strength meter is also fairly accurate.
Audio is crisp though not very loud.
Sensitivity above 30 MHZ. is very good.
Sturdy belt clip. ALthough I doubt, if you are like me, that you will EVER put a $580 receiver on your hip or belt. For us, AOR included a carrying strap. Nice touch.
Wall wart-and removable MW-AM antenna are included.
Tunning steps are very generous ( 50HZ in all modes). 8.33 KHZ step for airband (mainly over seas) is supported.
Alpha tags with 12 character capacity per channel.
Ok, those are SOME of the features that make this radio a winner. Now for the down and dirty little not-so-good things about this radio.
No CTCSS/DCS included. There is an OPTION for a ctcss board but no DCS. This should be built into the radio itself. Paying that much money for a receiver(@$580) and then having to shell out another $80 for a tone board is ridiculous.
Battery life. This radio is a battery HOG! Be prepared to have back up batteries on hand especialy if you travel.
Audio. The audio is good but you have to crank the volume up to hear anything in a vehicle or outdoor environment. Again, battery life drained. The radio has a poor audio amp that only puts out 120Mw at best.
Below 30 MHZ. this radio is mediocre at best. A local .600 KHZ AM commercial station comes in fuzzy and full of static. Shortwave stations better be coming in on skip otherwise you get nothing but static.
Four way rocker switch. That is the most anoying place to put a switch. You have to be very careful not to accidently hit it and knock yourself over into another band.
Backlight. Why inthe world would you not give the user an on/off button is beyond me.
Again,these are just some of MY personal gripes. If this were a SCANNER that I just purchased without all the features I mentioned, then I might be really upset. I have plenty of dedicated scanners. This radio is good for particular things like milair monitoring,civil air monitoring, strong shortwave signals,casual broadcast band listening(88-108MHZ.) With the flexibilty in the tunning steps, the true carrier reinsertion on SSB,the large well lit LCD,signal strength meter that works well, ALpha taggs ect...
this radio is mostly a pleasure to own. Again, its a reciver, NOT a scanner and it should not be judged as such.
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IRONBOUND
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 11, 2004 15:24
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BEST HANDHELD SCANNER BY FAR!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Having owned several different Uniden and Radio Shack scanners over the years, I've found the new AOR 8200 MKIII beats them all hands down. Superior performance above even the better base scanners makes this handheld a definite winner!
When my brand new 8200MK3 first arrived, I was a bit overwhelmed by all of its multiple features, and I have to confess that I was somewhat perplexed with its operating procedure. Let me just say for starters, this is not your ordinary run of the mill scanner by a long shot. The AOR 8200MK3 is a sophisticated receiver that is smartly designed with capabilities that far surpass all others in the class of handhelds.
It honestly took me a little while getting used to operating this unit, but, after a few days I finally got a good handle on navigating through its menu set up and the programming sequence. Once you master the technique and get the hang of it, it's really not complicated at all.
The instruction booklet is very comprehensive and very well written. A good amount of thought was obviously given so that every detail would be fully understood by the owner. Some of the instructions seemed even a little repetitious...but, the manufacturer is credited for making each step as clear as possible in order that the owner can avoid making mistakes.
As I spent more time becoming familiar with this radio, I became more and more impressed by its features and performance in every aspect. It proved to have excellent sensitivity across the entire spectrum of its wideband 530KHz - 3GHz coverage, along with good spurious signal rejection too.
If there is anything negative to be said about this unit, I'd say that the side panel arrow keys can sometimes be awkward and be accidentally triggered if you're not careful. You actually have to make concentrated effort as your holding the radio that your fingers don't accidentally trigger the arrow keys that are located on the side panel.
Aside from that, the AOR 8200MK3 is truly a remarkable scanner. It is well worth the $579.00 (average) price tag, and it is highly recommended to any scanner enthusiast who is ready for a more advanced handheld receiver.
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