AOR AR8600 Mk2 - mobile - base - trans-portable receiver

The AR8600 Mark2 is an amazingly versatile receiver which can be used mobile, base or trans-portable... powered from an external 12V d.c. power supply, 12V vehicle or from an optional internally fitted NiCad battery pack. Due to continuous development of our products, the AR8600 Mark2 has been enhanced in several areas. The upper frequency range has been extended to 3000MHz (3.0GHz), lower band sensitivity has been increased (now officially covering to 100kHz) with an enhancement to short wave performance by the addition of further bandpass filters and selection of alternative I.F. filters. Mini-Circuits RMS1 / RMS2 mixers have been employed with active SPM aerial switching devices (not diode-switching) abundantly employed throughout the signal path. The AR8600 Mark2 provides remarkable short wave performance, making other similar wide band competitors mediocre by comparison.

Portable operation is a reality, when the optional BP8600 battery is fitted, several hours operation is provided away from the base or vehicle power supplies. (Note, considering the BP8600, a 15V regulated d.c. supply is recommended for charging purposes so that the battery obtains a full charge, full charging time 48 hours. This may also be used as a power supply). It is suggested that the optional BP8600 is fitted in a workshop.

A strong twin metal case with die cast front panel characterises the multi-purpose role. All mode receive capability is provided including Single Side Band with programmable tuning steps down to a resolution of 50Hz with the frequency established by a highly accurate Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator (TCXO). An RS232 port further extends the capabilities with free supporting control software available from the AOR web sites.

Many microprocessor features have been adopted from the trendsetting AR8200 Series-2 hand portable receiver, with the addition of a lamp dimmer and squelch operated lamp. The AR8600 Mark2 RF front-end is an all new design with additional RF bandpass filters, sharper I.F. filters, SPM aerial switching devices for minimal signal path loss and Mini-Circuits mixers. RF preselection is provided through the crowded areas of VHF and UHF to ensure the highest levels of adjacent channel rejection with software spurii cancellation. In addition to a hinged telescopic whip aerial, the AR8600 Mark2 is supplied with a detachable plug in medium wave bar aerial which locates on the rear chassis of the receiver for localised medium wave monitoring. An additional BNC socket is mounted on the rear chassis so that 10.7MHz i.f. output may be extracted for use with external spectrum display and vector analyser units such as the AOR SDU5500. The TCXO ensures high stability with minimal internal spurii and is usually only seen in top of the range (more expensive) table-top models such as the AR5000 and AR7030.

Centre stage is a custom multi-section back-lit LCD, numeric keypad, navigation keys, rotary tuning control and separate controls for volume and squelch control, the LCD can also display alpha-numeric text comments.

The all important 8.33 kHz airband channel step is correctly implemented (eight-and-one-third, 33, 66, 00). Channel steps are provided in a menu and may be programmed. Step may be programmed by the operator in any receive mode using multiples of 50 Hz in any mode (i.e. 5 kHz, 12.5 kHz or even 1.25 kHz). Extensive step-adjust and frequency offset facilities are also provided (as per AR5000) to ensure tracking of the most obscure band plans, AFC (Automatic Frequency Control) is included for spot on tuning ensuring that nothing is missed.

A wide frequency coverage is provided from 100 kHz to 3000 MHz (no gaps). All mode receive: WFM, NFM, SFM (Super Narrow FM), WAM, AM, NAM (Wide, standard, Narrow AM), USB, LSB & CW. A 3.0 kHz SSB filter is employed with true carrier re-insertion resulting in non-offset frequency readout for easy tuning of SSB transmissions. Optional substitute SSB and AM Collins mechanical filters are also available. An attenuator and noise limiter are also featured.

A meaningful band plan is factory programmed specific to market area, this ensures that the AR8600 Mark2 automatically selects the correct receive mode and tuning step (although mode and tuning step may be manually selected at any time), the band plan may be edited via computer control.

A group of four front panel navigational keys provide a natural and intuitive path through the on-screen menus. Tuning is primarily accomplished via the main tuning dial, arrow keys and keypad. The back-lit LCD with contrast control provides operational data with the ability to add 12 character text comments to each memory channel, memory bank and search bank, a text search feature simplifies identification and recall of stored information.

Many text prompts aid operation making programming of search banks etc straight forward. Two frequencies may be displayed along with operating legends and high resolution signal meter and multi-function band scope. The band scope provides adjustable span width from 10 MHz to 100 kHz , you can move the marker, operate peak hold, transfer the marker frequency to VFO and save trace for later recall.

Flexible dynamic memory bank layout is provided (memory banks may be varied in size between 10 and 90 channels each i.e. bank ‘A’ 80 channels / bank ‘a’ 20 channels with bank ‘B’ 40 channels / bank ‘b’ 60 channels etc). A total of 1,000 memories are provided in 20 memory banks, lockout, select scan, priority and auto store are also provided. In addition 40 search banks are provided with 50 pass channels per search bank and a further 50 for VFO search lockout. Comprehensive edit, move, swap and delete facilities are provided, it is possible to move whole memory & search banks. In addition you may write PROTECT memories, banks and search banks to prevent accidental over-writing of stored data including protection of the entire receiver! Scan & search rates provide a maximum of approximately 37 increments per second. Flash-ROM memory storage ensures that data is automatically saved without the need for a backup battery or capacitor.

Computer control is available via a standard 9-pin RS232 D-type connector on the rear chassis, just a standard RS232 cable is required for connection to a PC, the extensive RS232 command list is printed in the operating manual. A FREE software package is available as a download from the AOR web sites, this provides frequency control & management, searching, scanning, logging with support for geographic data from a GPS and audio recording to disk.

In addition, 'optional internal SLOT CARDS' (which fit into the rear chassis of the AR8600 Mark2) extend the capabilities even further, five cards may be fitted with two operational simultaneously. The slot cards are common to the AR8600, AR8600 Mark2, AR8200 and AR8200 Series-2.

AOR UK comment - AR8600 Mark2

Differences between the AR8600 and AR8600 Mark2 at a glance:

Due to continuous development of our products, the AR8600 has been enhanced in several areas. The upper frequency
range has been extended to 3.0GHz (3000MHz), lower band sensitivity has been increased (now officially covering to 100kHz) with an enhancement to short wave performance by the addition of further bandpass filters and selection of alternative I.F. filters. Mini-Circuits RMS1 / RMS2 mixers have been employed with active SPM aerial switching devices (not diode-switching) abundantly employed throughout the signal path. The AR8600 Mark2 provides remarkable short wave performance, making other similar wide band competitors mediocre by comparison. However daily operation of the AR8600 Mark2 is largely
unaffected, just a few operational changes need be noted.

• An LCD / keypad illumination (lamp) dimmer has been added

• The LCD / keypad illumination can be squelch activated

• The rear panel ACC configuration has been amended with audio, squelch controlled

• The calibration of SCAN / SEARCH LEVEL has been changed

The following comparison chart between the AR8600 and AR8600 Mark2 provides cross referencing to the specific page numbers of the operating manual:

Item	AR8600	AR8600 Mark2	Operating manual page number
Frequency coverage	530kHz - 2040MHz	100kHz - 3000MHz	P.143
Lamp dimmer	not available	added	P.106 - 107
Squelch operated lamp	not available	added	P.106 - 107
ACC socket Pin 6 & 7	audio not squelch	audio squelch controlled controlled with mute	P.8
ACC socket Pin 4 & 5	tape motor switching contact	Not used as audio is squelch controlled	P.8
Scan / Search - LEVEL	available	revised calibration	P.68 - 69

Performance:

At best IFDR matches the AR5000 on some frequencies, however more generally the AR8600 on average trails the AR5000 by 10dB to 15dB. Distribution of gain (sensitivity) is better than that of the AR8200 with some tail-off in sensitivity over about 1100MHz. The AR5000 remains more sensitive on the higher bands.

The AOR UK workshop carried out a 'typical performance' comparison between the AR8600 and AR8600 Mark2. The Mark2 version was noticeably more sensitive on HF and generally more consistent across its range. SSB audio quality is excellent with nice clear 'full-rounded' sounding SSB and clean CW note... sounding much more like a short wave radio than a scanning receiver. Typical IFDR is measured at 69dB

Frequency (MHz)	AR8600	AR8600 Mk2
0.2 AM	22uV (-80dBm)	0.71uV (-110dBm)
0.5	12.5 (-85)	0.40 (-115)
1.2	1.4 (-104)	0.32 (-117)
6.1	0.25 (-119)	0.20 (-121)
7.05 LSB	0.17 (-122)	0.12 (-125)
14.2 USB	0.17 (-122)	0.10 (-127)
21.2 USB	0.12 (-125)	0.10 (-127)
29.2 FM	0.22 (-120)	0.15 (-123)
85.2 FM	0.25 (-119)	0.23 (-120)
124.2 AM	0.28 (-118)	0.28 (-118)
145.2 FM	0.20 (-121)	0.20 (-121)
245.2 AM	0.25 (-119)	0.30 (-117)
445.2 FM	0.20 (-121)	0.25 (-119)
1030.2 FM	0.23 (-120)	0.23 (-120)

The figures presented here are not intended as part of a formal specification, they are our observations only, AOR UK. Remember, the manufacturers published specification usually relates to the worst case.

Initially designed to provide up to two hours of operation, tests have shown that once the internal battery has been fully charged using an optional 15V regulated DC power supply, the monitoring time extends to around FIVE HOURS (with back-lit LCD lamps off).

Note: Operational times are for guidance but depend upon the style of operation (volume level, backlight, scanning etc) and are not guaranteed.

*EM8200 Memory slot card*	(increase storage to 4,000 memories, 160 search banks)
*CT8200 CTCSS slot card*	squelch & search
*RU8200 Record chip slot card*	(records up to 20 seconds of audio) with 'continuous loop' capability
*TE8200 Tone eliminator slot card*	useful for scanning past transmission pilot tones
*VI8200 Voice inverter card*	demodulate analogue scrambling

EM8200	memory slot card, (increase storage to 4,000 memories, 160 search banks)
CT8200	CTCSS slot card, squelch & search
RU8200	record chip slot card, (records up to 20 seconds of audio) with 'continuous loop' capability
TE8200	tone eliminator slot card , useful for scanning past transmission pilot tones
VI8200	voice inverter card, demodulate analogue scrambling
CR5000	tape recording lead
DC8600	d.c. lead with cigar plug
BP8600	optional internal NiCad battery pack, provides a few hours of operation, requires workshop fitting
PSU8600	optional a.c. power supply (12V)
PSU7030	optional a.c. power supply (15V) - recommended for use with BP8600 battery
MM8600	wrap around mobile mount
MF2.5	substitute Collins SSB mechanical filter, requires workshop fitting
MF6	substitute Collins AM mechanical filter, requires workshop fitting
ASM8600	*NEW* Analogue external signal meter for AR8600MK2. Serial numbers below 072661 require a small modification. *Cannot be used with MK1 version*
MA500	VHF/UHF whip aerial on magnetic base with 4m of coaxial cable. Base is 85mm in diameter, total height is 720mm. Coverage is 25 to 1300 MHz.
DA3000	16 element discone aerial with 15m of coax. Coverage is 30 MHz to 2 GHz.
SA7000	passive twin element wide band aerial with 15m of coax. Coverage is 30 kHz to 2 GHz.
LA320	desktop loop aerial 1.6 MHz to 15 MHz. Optional elements available for LW & MW. Supplied with BNC lead.
LA350	desktop lopp aerial 3.0 - 30MHz. Optional elements available for LW & MW. Supplied with BNC lead and a.c. power supply
ABF125	VHF airband filter for increased adjacent channel selectivity.