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Reviews For: AOR AR5000

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : AOR AR5000
Reviews: 11MSRP: Used - 1000.00
Description:
50KHz to 3GHz (depending on model) scanning receiver.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.aoruk.com/ar5000.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15114.8
UK1 Rating: 2022-12-03
Excellent receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I wanted one of these receivers when released in the 90s but couldn't afford one. I managed to buy a used one in great condition. Prior to this I'd been using an AR8600 MkII for VHF/UHF with satisfactory results, but I wanted something better.

These days I listen mostly to the air bands. The AR5000 is ideal here. Sadly there is no 8.333 khz step which is now pretty much essential for listeners in Europe. Whilst this isn't a huge problem since the unit allows the exact frequency to be stored into a memory channel, the filtering is not narrow enough so you will hear transmissions on the adjacent channels and won't necessarily know if these are on your frequency or not. You cannot do a band search in 8.333 khz steps as you can on newer radios such as the Icom R8600. However -- the audio quality on AM signals in particular is exceptional. It's no exaggeration to say it's almost hi-fi quality on a good external speaker, sounding much richer and nicer than my newer Icom IC8600 -- and it simply blows away the poor audio on my Uniden BCT15X.

I prefer its tactile keys to modern day touchscreens. Buttons and knobs are just superior to touchscreens most of the time.

I've enjoyed using my AR5000 without a glitch for over three years now and this is one radio I won't be selling.

Incidentally I had a disastrous encounter with the purchase of the newer AR5001D. I found it to be terrible on V/UHF with awful dynamic range, and I thankfully managed to return it. Newer radios are not always better.
G3WRT Rating: 2021-02-11
Swiss army knife RX Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used this receiver off and on for a few years. Recently I struggled to identify a ‘fault’. That was my faulty thinking and the mute plug that was faulty. I really appreciate this receiver; it is a quality piece of gear which I was dismayed to find that no one keeps spares any longer and AOR will not repair (2020). I have the service manual and studying the circuits ‘trying to identify my fault….’ I was impressed by the thorough design and the facilities it offers let alone the frequency span. The ‘+3’ are clearly bolt on (literally) afterthoughts but they work well enough and significantly increase its usefulness, especially the noise blanker, so I would look for that model. It made me think that for the design effort and what it does I now understand its original cost. Presently I am using it for AM with synchronous detection and the last sunspot cycle on 100kHz IF bandwidth it is sensitive enough to hear anyone coming up between 29 and 29.1 MHz without tuning. I have used it on Wi-Fi testing too. It is a real swiss army knife of an RX and adding a handle to the side, I find, helps. I dislike the man machine interface, the totally inadequate and small VFO tuning knob set up and feel, the S meter especially because its black background and inadequate lighting, the front panel cannot be read unless independently front lit at night, which is a real handicap, the front panel myriad functions and the LCD display and backlights are inadequate. I use the AGC out (ACC2 – find the connector) driving a small, cheap, DSO as an S meter so I can see strength versus time. It really adds another dimension to listening. That and the 10MHz ref input are useful. I have never bothered with remote control and it surely is designed for that via rs232 not USB. I wish the LO’s were easily output able because I would find that useful. If it goes wrong one is on one’s own, I have discovered. Which is a bit of a worry. I could find no one to help me and I was told spares are not available and AOR refuse to even look at it if shipped to Japan. I assume the latest versions from AOR are as good but awfully expensive and aimed at digital modes. Really their market is commercial (rich governments and airports) and not amateur. As a pre SDR radio it is one of the best. If they adopt the same philosophy as this radio, i.e., AOR do not support it after a few years, including spares, then I am afraid AOR will get a miss from me. I assume that will be their method. Because the screening cans and the build method make fault finding rather difficult. Well, I find it challenging but not impossible. I suppose all such builds are too expensive to economically repair. Just replace it is the philosophy. Because of the above I think the 2nd hand value of these receivers will rapidly drop and they will become bargains for those prepared to take on the risk. I notice, not surprisingly, several are appearing on eBay in early 2021.
G4GZG Rating: 2020-08-21
Essential in every shack Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my AOR5000+3 for several years. I've mused it as a second receiver in the shack and also for LF and VHF/UHF work. It is one of the most sensitiive receivers I have ever owned and sits neatly on a cornerof the shack desk, giving DC to Daylight coverage and taking up little to no room.
I would give it 5 stars but there are a couple of ergonomic niggles.

1. The function button has to be pressed for some fairly basic features and this is a bit cumbersome.

2. The VFO knob is a little small but in keeping with the overall size of the receiver.

Apart from this it is a great receiver and with the newer 5001D being out now, should be available at good used prices. Every shack should have one !
NI6S Rating: 2015-08-19
Hands-down, AWESOME! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have the AR-5000A+3, loaded with Collins filters, the descrambler, and the NTSC Video converter. Of course, the video converter is only good these days for local, unencrypted surveillance video. I have this fed through an active multicoupler, so I am able to compare with other HF receivers. I find that, compared to the Drake R8B, JRC NRD-535D and JRC NRD-545, the AOR has the best signal recovery. It's also a huge bonus to have coverage up to 3 GHz. I have the matching SDU-5600, which I am still learning. Bottom line is that the AOR is small, self-contained and very capable. Yes, the VFO knob is small but this receiver highly mobile! Really glad I have finally gotten the chance to compare this with other high-end receivers. It truly holds its own!
2E0AYQ Rating: 2008-08-20
A Superb Receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
What More can I say.
The 5000 is the best receiver I have ever owned
I have used other base station scanners
but this one is in a class of it own.
Great coverage 50Khz to 3Ghz
Great Audio
you can set any step or mode for any frequency
If you are serious about your radios
Then this is worth every penny
N4AEQ Rating: 2007-06-17
Super receiver but PHD would help Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
As a ham i like to receive more than transmitt, also i like to receive everything out there and the 5000+3 has came closer than anything else I have found. The audio has to be the best out there, selectivity has to be the best also.
I would reccommend a SDU & digital decoder as options, I have a sdu5500 and would never do without one. The 5000 has endless features, but
youll need a PHD to master them all and be willing to spend a bunch (1k & up) even on the used market.
VK1ZIP Rating: 2004-12-30
Great bit of gear, but Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The AR5000 is without a doubt one of best scanners available today. Sensitivity, selectivity is excellent and overall performance is almost at IC-R9000 level, which is saying something! However there are a several aspects of this receiver that I did not like.

1. The tuning dial is too small and cumbersome.
2. Menu system is not easy to navigate
3. The front end is not bulletproof as others have eluded to.
Both IMD and BDR is below par for a receiver of this calibre.
4. Audio quality is not so good, I found it tiring to listen to for long periods.
5. Buttons and controls too small.

Overall I believe this receiver could have been so much better if the unit had a larger front panel, this would have provided the designers with the means to incorporate larger controls knobs and buttons. The ergonomics of the AR5000 need a lot of getting used to, if operated via PC the ergonomics will not be an issue. I would recommend that any potential purchasers seriously assess whether they are willing to operate the AR5000 via PC, if not then you MAY, like me, find the AR5000 a tad annoying to operate. However egonomics and IMD/BDR problems aside the AR5000 would rate as a close second (technical specs wise) to the almighty IC-R9000.

Ergonomically the AR5000 is one of the worst receivers I have ever owned.

VK7ZJA Rating: 2004-06-05
Pay hommage to the GOD of scanners! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This receiver is to be treated with pure reverence!
For years, I had wanted a do-it-all base station receiver/scanner, and purchased a AOR 3000. I was pretty happy with it. Not perfectly happy, but very content.
Then the AR5000 came along, and I sold the 3000, and got the 5000. The 3000 is a quantum leap ahead of most other base station scanners, well, the 5000 is another quantum leap ahead of the 3000. It is one serious piece of equipment!
When I first got it, I was using it with a good HF antenna for shortwave & utility listening and it was brilliant. Very sensitive, very selective, and easy to tune.
For VHF & above, I had a discone at 12 metres up being fed by LDF4-50 heliax cable. Again, performance is genuinely flawless. NO interference at all, even with rock-crushing signals on the adjacent channel, very good sensitivity, brilliant selectivity.
Example: in our 7MHz wide VHF TV broadcast at 200 or so MHz, blasting out about 250kW ERP line-of-sight, 20km from my shack, I could hear a 10mW wireless mike that was jammed between the video & audio carrier, and that mike was 5km distant!
Another: I could hear (just!) a microwave link that is on the same mountain as the TV transmitter at 1.5GHz - and the thing is pointed away from me!
Another: A VHF taxi data transmitter 5km distant, blasting out 300 watts ERP, and if on the narrow setting, I don't even know it's there by 25kHz away from it's frequency.
And yet another: a friend has a NRD535D and a AR5000. He says that if it wasn't for the DSP on the JRC NRD535D, the two would be the equal of one another on HF, and he is using the standard IF filters like I am. You can refit Collins mechanical filters to the unit for even better selectivity performance - which apparently makes quite an improvement. I must say, where I am, I don't think I'd need it.
This thing is quite complex to drive, and the manual does an excellent job of describing the operation of the unit.
The audio quality is great, even from the internal speaker. The audio quality can be tailored to your taste with several settings.
In fact, all manner of settings can be tinkered with from the front panel. Even more can be played with by using a PC and fiddling with the unit's EEPROM settings.
The 5000 can be fitted with a CTCSS board (which I don't have) and a audio-inversion de-scrambler board - but save your money on the descrambler - it only has 8 discrete settings, and a PC sound card based software descrambler works better.
The 5000 plus model has AFC, Noise blanker & sync-AM reception - I don't have these. It's so brilliant without them.
The thing has front end bandpass filters that are switched in & out with relays, so if you scan between VHF & UHF, you will get a relay click. This can drive you nuts, and there's no cure for it. But you are assured of the absolute highest performance possible by this arrangement, and I am happy to accept this aspect.
As an example, I now live 500 metres from a VHF paging base station, probably something in the order of 500 watts ERP. I get only the slightest bleedover from that transmitter. Heck, my handhelds on their own antenna even when inside my house, desense and go crazy when that transmitter fires up, yet heres the AR5000 with external wideband antenna and very low loss coax, and it hardly gets upset at all.
The frequency stability when new is brilliant - I measured (indicated) less than 10hz drift listening to WWV for two hours.
Now that my unit is some 5 years old, that's more like 100hz drift over two hours. Still not bad.
PC interface with several software packages available.
True S-meter that seems pretty good & accurate.
I could go on and on about it, but suffice to say, this thing is the BEST do-it-all scanner receiver for VHF & UHF, and its pretty darn good on HF too. The nearest direct competition, the Icom 8500, concentrates more on HF, with bonus VHF & UHF reception.
The 5000 is more aligned to VHF & UHF, but the HF will definitely not disappoint!
Definitely would have to class this as semi-professional. In fact, change that to professional - I know of at least two government agencies that use these things in a full time operational capacity.
They really are that good.
VE3BEE Rating: 2004-01-23
Great receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First radio I have ever bought brand new. Fantastic receiver. Great sensitiviy way down too the graveyard frequencys. Makes INMARSAT listening a breeze. Nexit project is to do some 2.4ghz video snooping. The analog descrambler works great, makes listening too the bootleg fishing boats on 31.mhz when the skip is in a joy.
All in all a great receiver, will never part with mine.
G1HBE Rating: 2004-01-08
Incredible Time Owned: more than 12 months.
And now for a review in English.I've owned this receiver for a few years now, after a few others including an old SX200, a Yaesu 9600 and an Icom 7000. This is the best of all. I am constantly amazed by its accuracy and stability - it can be used as a piece of test equipment. In conjunction with my active loop antenna, it works extemely well from 50 Khz (Rugby MSF on 60 KHz roars in!) to 30 MHz, and beyond this it works beautifully on home-made dipoles and beams. It never suffers from the horrible breakthrough and spurii that I've suffered with other wide-range RX's. I don't think I'd ever willingly get rid of this receiver!