AOR AR5000 Receiver

AR5000A & AR5000A+3
Evolution in Action - new 'A' versions
2,000 memory channels, 40 search banks, 10 VFOs, 10 kHz - 3 GHz

The AR5000A provides amazing sensitivity and strong signal handing across an unprecedented wide frequency coverage with all mode receive tunable down to 1Hz steps... all this in a compact cabinet weighing just 3.5kg. No wonder this receiver has been adopted as the definitive receiver for professional operators, top-end hobbyists, government departments and armed forces throughout the world. The short wave performance is so good that separate receivers need not be considered.

Whether sitting on the desktop monitoring short wave transmissions or connected to aerial farms for wide band VHF-UHF monitoring (via the optional AS5000 4-way aerial switch with automatic bandplan switching), operators have been astonished how the seemingly impossible has been achieved... unparalleled high performance, an amazingly flexible operating system, high build quality featuring a metal cabinet - yet still remaining very compact.

Multiple units have been interconnected at airports for communication monitoring, others have been ported via RS232 into dial-up or LAN monitoring applications. The receiver has even been combined with the optional spectrum display unit and located in distant concrete bunkers controlled via a laptop computer and dial-up connection. There is little competition for comparison, 'the rest of the pack' are significantly larger, heavier or many times more expensive!

A TCXO forms the building block which is fitted as standard to ensure a very high degree of stability, provision is made to feed the AR5000A from an external 10 MHz reference signal should one be available (commercial organisations etc). A Numeric Controlled Oscillator (NCO) provides smooth tuning with steps right down to 1Hz. The receive circuitry is a triple conversion superheterodyne with I.F.s’ of 622.0 / 622.4MHz, 10.7MHz & 455kHz. Multiple switchable I.F. bandwidths are available in both the 10.7MHz and 455kHz I.F. stages: 3kHz, 6kHz, 15kHz, 30kHz, 110kHz & 220kHz with provision for an optional 500Hz Collins mechanical filter, also a substitute 2.5kHz Collins mechanical SSB filter and Collins mechanical 5.5kHz narrow AM filter option is available.

The AR5000A is housed in a stylish custom solid metal cabinet and is powered from the supplied external 12V d.c. power unit but may be operated from any regulated supply or battery capable of providing
12-16V @ 1.0 Amps approx. Aerial input is via a high quality N-TYPE connector with a second SO239 connector which is switchable manually or automatically from the front panel. A switchable preamplifier is employed (below 230 MHz) plus a switchable 10dB attenuator, this may be configured as "auto" so that the receiver selects the optimum setting automatically.

Not only is the RF performance outstanding, the microprocessor facilities also point to the forward and innovative thinking which forms the core of the success. There are 1,000 memory channels, 10 scan banks, 20 search banks with auto-memory store and a total of 2100 PASS frequencies, 5 independent VFOs, alpha-tag memory & search banks... TWICE, frequency offset, step adjust and auto-mode tuning and much more.

The 1,000 memory channels (10 banks x 100 channels), 20 search banks (TWICE) are stored by EEPROM so that no external supply, battery or capacitor is required for data retention.

True base receivers are few and far between, some have simply evolved from the hand held equivalents with little tangible improvement in performance or facilities over their smaller counterparts (or use switched wide band converters) - the AR5000A is not like this! AOR have been synonymous with pioneering receiver design from many years and this tradition continues with the AR5000A. A great advancement in wide band front end design has been made, partly due to the introduction of automatic electronic preselection between 500kHz - 999.999999MHz with low pass, band pass and high pass filters for other bands. The preselection may be "manually tracked" when monitoring spot frequencies to help reduce any potential effects of interference caused by nearby monster transmitters, this results in excellent strong signal handling yet maintains high sensitivity.

Not only is the RF performance outstanding, the microprocessor facilities also point to the forward and innovative thinking which forms the core of the success. There are 1,000 memory channels, 10 scan banks, 20 search banks with auto-memory store and a total of 2100 PASS frequencies,
5 independent VFOs, alpha-tag memory & search banks... TWICE, frequency offset, step adjust and auto-mode tuning and much more.

The 1,000 memory channels (10 banks x 100 channels), 20 search banks (TWICE) are stored by EEPROM so that no external supply, battery or capacitor is required for data retention.

Should you wish, auto-mode may be easily cancelled by selecting a different step size or mode. A special Frequency Offset facility plus step adjust has been provided to simplify DUPLEX frequency monitoring and for tracking unusual band plans. A wide variety of search and scan types are available including memory scan, select scan (your temporary favourite frequency notepad!), mode scan, bank scan, pause scan, search bank link etc with channel edit facilities for changing memory contents. The squelch too may be configured for noise, signal level, audio level etc.

Audio low pass and high pass filters may be configured and are switchable around the following frequencies: LPF 3kHz, 4kHz, 6kHz & 12kHz, HPF 0.05kHz, 0.2kHz, 0.3kHz & 0.4kHz. De-emphasis is also selectable: THRU, 25uS, 50uS, 75uS & 750uS. A DTMF decoder is provided to display DTMF characters in use with an optional CTCSS board to display the CTCSS frequency.

A front panel accessory socket provides audio break-out / return for use with external signal processing units, detector output and switching control for tape recorders. The AR5000A has a switchable 10.7MHz I.F. output ready to plug straight into the optional spectrum display unit for "real time" band occupancy evaluation and measurements in both frequency and dBm signal level, finding those elusive transmissions has never been so easy. Extensive facilities are available via the RS232 port which is standard on the AR5000A. Even the volume and squelch controls may be remotely controlled. Output terminals are provided for an external speaker, headphones & transmit mute. Provision has been included for an optional built-in signalling unit, external aerial switching unit plus CTCSS and other decoder options.

An analogue S-meter provides easy to see relative signal strengths. Other useful facilities include a built-in dual time clock 12hr/24hr with On/Off timer, sleep and alarm, variable beep tone... plus much, much more! The English language operating manual comprises 77 A4 size pages with graphical key presses and lavishly illustrated LCD representations, a booklet containing the RS232 protocol listing is also supplied.

The "+3" version offers even more with synchronous AM, AFC and Noise Blanker. Popular with government agencies throughout the world. The AR5000+3 is a 'feature loaded' version of the AR5000 receiver with three enhanced options fitted, these options can only be fitted in the factory during manufacture or AOR workshop:

1. Synchronous AM:
Synchronous AM is a useful tool to help reduce distortion due to selective fading, in particular on the short wave bands (long & medium wave bands too). In synchronous AM, the original carrier is phase locked to a stable internally generated synthetic reference which is used to replace the (variable) original carrier resulting in more stable reception with greater recovered audio, especially during deep fades. A wide lock rage is provided by this detector to enable simple, quick & efficient operation (unlike some other synchronous units on the market which require extremely accurate tuning).

AM transmissions are constructed of a carrier and both upper & lower sidebands. Usually both side bands carry the same information so both or either may be selected with the same recovered resulting audio, however when adjacent interference is present, selecting synchronous single side band (SAL or SAH) can provide improved results.

2. Automatic Frequency Control (A.F.C.): Automatic frequency control is a 'global' facility, either OFF or ON (default is off). When A.F.C. is used in AM, FM and synchronous AM modes, the receiver is automatically tuned on to the centre frequency to provide the best signal strength and recovered audio. When used in synchronous AM modes, A.F.C. ensures that the signal is pulled within lock range for no-fuss operation. A.F.C. is particularly useful on the VHF-UHF bands to ensure that the AR5000 is receiving spot on frequency, especially when searching through unusual band plans or when the exact band plan is not known.

3. Noise blanker: The noise blanker is another a 'global' facility, either OFF or ON (default is off). This facility is particularly useful to help reduce impulse noise and interference from vehicles ignition systems, whether from passing traffic or while the AR5000 is fitted into a mobile installation.

*x2 - the 'A' version has switched EEPROM banks to double memory / search bank capacity.

AOR UK workshop comment:
The published specification for the 'A' versions appears more conservative than the original model. However, testing indicates that the sensitivity and dynamic range is near-identical by comparison. It is assumed that the manufacturer (AOR Japan) simply wish to reflect a 'worst case' scenario.

AS5000	4 way external aerial switch
CT5000	Internal CTCSS unit
DS8000	Voice inverter unit (analogue)
CR5000	Tape recording lead for AR5000A
DC3000	12V DC lead for the AR5000A etc. Can be fitted with cigar plug
8MINI	8 pin ACC1 mini-DIN plug for AR5000A
8LMINI	8 pin ACC1 mini-DIN plug with free end lead for AR5000A
5000PC	RS232 lead to 9-way PC serial plug (other connections made to order) for AR5000A
MF500	Collins 500 Hz mechanical CW filter
MF2.5	Collins 2.5 kHz mechanical SSB filter
MF6	Collins 6.0 kHz mechanical AM filter
DA3000	16 element discone aerial, usable coverage 25MHz to 2,000MHz (2GHz). Supplied with 15m of coaxial cable and terminated in a BNC plug
SA7000	Twin Element ultra wide band receive aerial 30kHz to 2,000 MHz (2GHz). Supplied with 15m of coaxial cable and terminated in a BNC
Spectrum Master	Windows/95/98/ME/XP control software for the AR5000 (maximum input frequency 2600MHz), bundled with software for the SDU5000 + SDU5500
TV5000	A new TV demodulator has been produced for the AR5000, it is called the TV5000. Currently it is available in NTSC format only, primarily being produced for the USA and Japanese markets. It is hoped that a PAL version (for European & UK operation) will become available in the future. For your information the USA list price for the TV5000 (NTSC) is US$199.00 - February 2003

Due to continuous developments, AOR reserves the right to make design and specification changes for product improvement without prior notice. The performance specification figures indicated are nominal values of production units. There may be some deviation from these values in individual units.

Model	AR5000A
Frequency range	10kHz - 3000MHz *Cell blocked in the USA for FCC rules
IF frequencies	1st IF 622.0 / 622.4 MHz 2nd IF 10.7 MHz 3rd IF 455 kHz
Receive modes	AM, FM, USB, LSB & CW
Nominal filter bandwidths	3kHz, 6kHz, 15kHz, 30kHz, 110kHz & 220kHz (provision for 500Hz option)
Tuning	NCO 1Hz to 999.999999kHz
Typical sensitivity	10db S/N AM 6kHz (uV)	12dB SINAD SSB/CW 3kHz (uV)	12dB SINAD FM 15kHz (uV)	12dB SINAD FM 220kHz (uV)
10kHz - 40kHz	- -	22.30	- -	- -
40kHz - 100kHz	4.46	1.58	- -	- -
100kHz - 2MHz	2.23	0.71	- -	- -
2MHz - 40MHz	1.58	0.71	0.89	2.81
40MHz - 1,000MHz	0.89	0.40	0.50	1.58
1,000MHz - 3,000MHz	0.71	0.32	0.40	1.25
IF output	10.7MHz with maximum +/- 5MHz bandwidth
External reference	internal TCXO @ 12.8MHz, external input 10MHz
Frequency stability	+/- 2.5ppm (0 to +50 degrees C)
Operating temperature	0 to +50 degrees C
Memory channels	1000 (100ch x 10 banks) x2*
Search banks	20 banks x2*
Memory scan speed	45 channels per second (max)
Search speed	45 increments per second (max with step size of 100kHz or less)
PASS frequencies	2100 total x2*
Aerial input	50 OHM unbalanced N-TYPE & SO239
Audio output	1.7 WATTS into 8 OHMS (@ 13.5V) @ 10% distortion
Power requirements	nominal 13.5V DC (12 - 16V) @ 1A approx with 1W audio output
Size	217 x 100 x 260mm (W.H.D.) approx. excluding projections
Weight	3.5kg