| SM0O |
Rating:      |
2020-06-15 | |
| Suprisingly good! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
As it now is quite a few generations old, this receiver is suprisingly good.
Quick scan, better selectivity than most new China made plastic boxes (all new rx no matter what the label says) and definitely most SDR-based receivers in the low and middle price segments.
Not to be compared with it´s big brother, the AR-5000 / AR-5000 3+ but for normal use as a straight up scanner it beats even the new DV-1 / DV-10 hands down any day of the week.
Sounding, well, great actually for what it can do, and with the addition of a discriminator output and external software (such as DSD+ for instance) it will do all digital modes as well, and at a bargain price.
And while you are at it, that output into your computers audio input wil make all kinds of software plugins for DSP software or sound enhancements possible.
If you want to be true to the era, there are lots of great outboard DSP:s from back in the day on the used market too.
Both SGC and BHI made some pretty cool outboard boxes that will be a great companion to your AR-3000.
But belive me, even the internal speaker is fantastic compared to the above mentioned newer DV-series receivers.
Only problems I have noticed is age and memory fatigue, but that can be cured.
All the rest is positive beyond expectation IMHO, it does every mode, every band (of interest to me at least) and is always on duty in my radioshack 24/7.
Nice retro-feeling with the slanted front too :)
If you find one that is in decent condition, buy it. Period.
They don´t make ém like this anymore, that´s for sure! |
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| KE4AMQ |
Rating:      |
2019-06-12 | |
| great classic reciever |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have had my aor for a few years now i paid like 150.00 at a ham fest its like brand new with manual and power supply and antenna. I use mine on a dicone and rec everything from hf to vhf |
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| AD0AR |
Rating:      |
2019-02-03 | |
| Tiny tabletop performer! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I was at a hamfest last year and grabbed one for $60.
Compared to all my other scanners, pro2006, IC-r10, Pro34 to name a few, this thing is head and shoulders above them all!
Whether I am listening to just the local weather broadcasts or the local repeaters, this thing leaves little to be desired!
There is a learning curve using the keypad entry, but nothing that can't be learned.
I am shocked that this thing does AM/FM/USB/LSB/CW all in one tiny box!
I added a external speaker to increase the audio dynamics as the internal speaker leaves more to be desired when listening to shortwave broadcasts.
This is my go-to for any frequency. Just type it in and hit enter. BAM! You're listening to it! If you wish to go up or down a bit from the entered frequency, just twist the tune knob to drop the radio on the desired frequency! Granted for best performance, use the proper antenna matched to the frequency you wish to listen. I just wish it had DSP noise reduction.
Highly recommended!
Now to explore adding a internal AA battery rechargeable battery pack for portable listening.... |
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| EI5JS |
Rating:      |
2015-04-06 | |
| Absolutely loved this thing!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| We all have rigs we should have kept hold of but didn't. For me the AR3000A is that rig. It is highly sensitive, very selective, wide dynamic range across its RX freqs and is an absolute joy to use. It's dated now for sure but you can't mark it down for that. I'm dated too. I bought mine second hand in 2001 and enjoyed it for several years before upgrading to the IC-R8500. I can honestly say the AOR scanner is better built, a better performer and more fun than the R8500 and it was the worst thing I ever did trading it in. I would absolutely recommend it 100% to anyone who is considering is as a wideband receiver. |
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| KE5DXV |
Rating:      |
2009-11-07 | |
| Love at first sight |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I wanted a small portable table model communications scanner receiver, that was able to receive CW. The AOR-3000A, is perfect for what I wanted it for. I have a Icom IC-PCR1500, that I really like but it has to be hooked up to my computer to use it. Hey thats how it was supposed to work! I wanted a stand alone receiver that covered all the ham bands and aviation. I also listen to foreign broadcast, and it works great. I operate CW for the most part but I listen more then I operate so I did not want to tie up my transceivers just for SWL. I found just what I wanted in the AOR-3000A, tuned to my Carolina Windom dipole, it will pick up everything that my Icom and Yaesu rigs do, and it is small and portable, and with the original wip antenna attached it works fine in the backyard, pic nic bench or anywhere 12VDC is available. I have a Yaesu VR-500 that can't hold a candle to it. I use it too with my qrp in a box station, and it has never let me down, it is just a super little radio, that when used right, will not disapoint you. Sure the front face and modes are hard to see but it is very small, and crams a lot of info in a very small space, use good light and glasses if you need them and it is very user friendly, it will never leave my shack until it is pried from my SK hands. |
|
| BEAM |
Rating:     |
2007-08-02 | |
| Oldie but Goodie - Vecchia ma Buona |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
L'AR-3000A è senz'altro un ottimo ricevitore scanner adatto per le VHF e le UHF, in queste gamme non soffre di intemodulazione e non farà fermare lo scan a vuoto su di una frequenza immagine (a parte gli inevitabili birdies che affliggono qualsiasi ricevitore ad ampio spettro).
La sensibilità è buona in alcune gamme e ottima in altre, ma oggigiorno non è più questa la caratteristica cruciale dei ricevitori (almeno nei centri urbani), quanto l'impermeabilità ai segnali adiacenti e alle spurie provenienti dai trasmettitori FM 88-108.
Anche con lo squelch chiuso il ricevitore non è del tutto silenziato, ma emette un fruscio che in cuffia diventa molto fastidioso.
Nelle HF il ricevitore non brilla, tende ad andare in saturazione con le grandi antenne filari, in SSB la frequenza è imprecisa (di circa 0,5 - 1 Khz), e comunque l'ascolto non è piacevole. Anche se il tipo di encoder utilizzato per la sintonia, che non ha scatti nella sua rotazione, e la possibilità di impostare, programmandoli, anche tuning step molto piccoli denotano una volontà dei progettisti di avvicinare la radio alle onde corte. Tentativo non del tutto riuscito.
Il frontale inclinato è molto comodo e permette di gestire bene il ricevitore, la manopola del VFO prevede molti step per ogni rotazione e anche questo è un aspetto piacevole (c'è comunque la possibilità, premendo un tasto, di impostare meno step per rotazione), però le diciture dei tasti sono difficilmente leggibili se non in piena luce, anche se alla fine l'uso è molto semplificato e l'utente impara ad utilizzarli a memoria, senza necessità di leggere. Il problema si pone quando si va alla ricerca delle funzioni che si usano meno spesso.
La gestione delle memorie e dei banchi di memoria risente dell'epoca di progettazione della radio, non è infatti possibile associare tag alfanumeriche di riferimento alle frequenze in memoria.
L'AOR AR-3000A brilla nello scan delle frequenze che è piuttosto veloce, considerata la sua età, ed è molto semplice da gestire. Peccato che questo ricevitore, pur dotato di una porta seriale per il controllo da PC non sia utilizzabile tramite Ham Radio Deluxe, che avrebbe sopperito alla scarsa gestione delle memorie interne della radio.
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|
| VK7ZJA |
Rating:     |
2007-03-02 | |
| Nice all-in-one receiver |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Back in 1990 when I had just started working, I had wads of cash to spend on my radio listening hobby, and purchased an AR3000 (not the "a" model). Pretty soon had it listening to all sorts of interesting freqs in the military airband, VHF lo band etc.
Fast forward some 17 years. I recently became the owner of an AR3000a - advertised on ebay as not working, so I got it for a song. Long story cut short, it was pretty much operator error - the thing works fine.
But you're here to hear how well the 3000a works, right? Well, as far as scanners go, back when it was first released (as the AR3000) in the late 1980s, it was definitely 'top of the tree' back then, both in frequency coverage, and RF performance.
It's a very sensitive unit, with selectivity that's quite good (supposedly improved in the 3000a over the older 3000). AM filter is far too wide for anything but wide 'n easy, laid back broadcast reception...
I note the dynamic range of the 3000a has definitely and noticably improved over the old 3000 on VHF. Sensitivity is about the same from what I remember.
Audio quality is not great - I hear constant whistles behind SSB signals, and FM audio sounds a bit too 'peaky' on all but broadcast signals. An external speaker helps with this. It's not the worst I've heard, not by a long shot, but listening with good headphones became tiring.
The user interface is not all that good, it will take me a while to get used to it all over again - though with the free-wheeling VFO dial, it can be used more like a comms receiver than it's older 3000 brother with the click-click-click knob.
As mentioned in another review, the key labels are very hard to read.
I noted the frequency accuracy of the display was out by at least 1kHz on USB, and 1.2kHz on LSB. To be fair, my unit is second hand, but not all that old...
As a scanner, it's not all that flexible. It's more suited to spot monitoring of frequencies. You can only scan 1 bank at a time. Each 'bank' is effectively a complete scanner personality on its own, in isolation.
So how does the 3000a compare to todays scanners?
Well, most modern 'everyday' scanners are almost as sensitive, almost as selective, just as quick if not more so, generally have a better user interface, and generally have nicer audio, and definitely more flexible in scanning options.
If the AR3000a had better audio, a narrower AM filter as standard and a better front panel & user interface, I'd say it should be rated as a 5, especially now that the second hand price of these are quite acceptable for what they are. But those minor points relegates it to a 4 in my opinion. Yesterdays 'top of the tree' is only just managing to stay ahead in a few areas of todays 'average' scanner. Well, that's what I think, anyway. |
|
| KF4HR |
Rating:     |
2006-04-14 | |
| Nice receiver. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought a AR-3000A off of eBay. Right out of the box I realized it had battery back-up storage problems, so it went back to AOR for repair and a full check out & alignment. (Note: if you buy one of these receivers off of eBay make sure you ask the seller if the unit will retain its memory when the power is disconnected!) I also had AORm add the 10.7mhz output modification.
Does it work now? Yep! It scans pretty fast, although it seems to "hang" for a fraction of a second on each time around the channels (not sure why - but it's barely noticeable). AOR performed the 10.7mhz mod but instead of installing a new BNC jack (as other 3000A's have), they used unused pins on the DIN (record) jack on the back. Of course this means, (without a "Y" connector for the DIN plug), there's no way to record and make a connection to a scope, at the same time now. But to AOR's credit, they did supply me with a cable to connect the receiver to one of their SDU units.
As for sensitivity, I noticed in the specs it has a 1.5uv/10db-S/N sensitivity in the VHF-FM range; not great, but acceptable. Minor gripe; it has 4 banks of 100 channels each. You can only scan one bank of memories at a time and can't link all 4 banks (to the best of my knowledge anyway). My only real grip about this receiver is its hard to see the very small text on the display, other than that, its a nice little receiver.
Can anyone suggestion a software package that will work with the AOR receivers such as the 3000A? |
|
| VK1ZIP |
Rating:     |
2004-12-30 | |
| Good but not great |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Very sensitive little receiver, low noise RF/IF stages and very good selectivity. Ergonomics are not so good, very small tuning dial is a nuisance. A great little scanner overall. I liked it but only wished it had a better interface and more features. Front panel labels are hard to read in all but very bright lighting.
Drab looking cabinet is depressing. An external speaker is a must.
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