AR5001D General Coverage Receiver Notes by Jim Hawkins - K2JHV

I created this page to help others struggling through the manual of the AR5001D. I have found it a very fine receiver and enjoy the versatility. For the most part, the manual covers things well, but is lacking important illustrations and is often written in a way that I find confusing. So, I am attempting to provide this page to help others get through some of the less well-documented features. Most YouTube demos I find are just videos of someone tuning around and sometimes changing a few parameters, but have no instructional voice. I'm still learning more about this receiver, so I will try to update this page as I find other areas that I can clarify. I mainly purchased this receiver to monitor my own signal to make recordings and adjustments to modify the sound quality of my voice signals. Although my older receivers (Drake R8B and NRD 525) are very fine receivers, they are too outdated to provide me with a true reproduction of my audio. Two other notable "super" receivers available are the Ten-Tec RX-340 and the Icom R9500. AOR also has a wider range 6 GHZ version of this receiver. I opted out of the RX-340 immediately because there was no spectrum display. The R9500 was too expensive and physically larger than I wanted and the AR6000 is too expensive and more than I need. They may have features that are more suitable for your purposes so they are worth checking out. A PDF of the AOR AR5001D manual can be obtained HERE.

Memory Card Storing a file Assuming you have set up all you parameters, such as freq, step, mode, Band Width, etc. Proceed Press and hold [MHZ] Key for 2 seconds Using keypad, enter Bank (two digits) then Channel (next two digits) or use main dial to select Channel , then subdial to select bank Press [MHZ] (display will be ready to accept a filename) Use Subdial for character selection and use [UP]/[DOWN] for character position Press [MHZ] to accept named file Delete Data from card (book already shows how to delete audio file) Press [Func] then [KHZ] as if you were preparing to read Select the file using the [UP][DOWN] keys and the Subdial to select the page Pres [FUNC][.], then [MHZ]

Panadapter adjustment The manual already shows how to change freq span and moving the spectrum. What should be included in that section is: Change Spectrum Amplitude Press [FUNC] (as you would to change the span) Turn Subdial to change the amplitude of the display (instead of the span) Press [MHZ] to accept and exit panadapter adjustment mode

eSSB or High Quality SSB Amateur Radio Listening Some Notes on IF bandwidths and IF-SHIFT This is only important if you want to listen to eSSB (Extended/Enhanced Single Side Band) When you select a bandwidth for SSB, the IF-BandPass Filter has a rather slow rolloff on the upper and lower ends, say about 300HZ. There are many radio amateurs who LEGALLY transmit in SSB with IF frequencies ranging from 50 or less HZ to more than 3KZ, in fact, as much as 10 KHZ! More normally from about 50HZ to 3.5, 4, 4.5 KHZ. Although the manual states that 3 KHZ is automatically assigned to SSB modes to eliminate interference, simply switching to 6KHZ can give you a more satisfactory sounding signal if there is little or no interference to block. For the "Hi-Fi" guys, this still cuts out the warm low end, which extends below 80 Hz. To be able to listen to the warmer low end, Press [FUNC] [0] Press the [UP] Key 8 times to highlight IF-SET For USB, shift the frequency DOWN by 300-1000 HZ (-300) to (-1000) or as low as -1500 using the Subdial. This causes the IF bandpass to cover the missing low frequencies. Of course, this also slides down the upper end, so increase the bandwidth to 6KHZ or even 15KHZ! Press [FUNC][IF.BW] Select 6KHZ of 15 KHZ by turning the Subdial. For LSB it's the opposite. The low end of the shift bust be shifted UP by 300-1000 (300) to (1000) or as low as (1500). The bandwidth rule applies the same. Some will argue that increasing the IF bandwidth will cause interference or more noise to be included. Yes, it could, depending on the conditions. But, this is all about having choices and it's your choice and your ears. You're not setting this up to please someone else. This movement toward wider band, higher quality SSB sound has been going on for decades and many modern ham transceivers like KENWOOD and, especially Flex and other SDR transceivers are designed to cover these bandwidths. In fact, the Flex-6000 will transmit SSB at widths of 10KHZ! You can find eSSB hams on 20M around 14.178 or above or below; 40M hang around 7.168 and 75 meters on 3.63, 3.636 or thereabouts. Most hams are not equipped to hear this quality, but many of them drool to achieve this quality once they hear it. Others think it's interfering with their operations, or just plain think it's a mortal sin, but, the fact is that some hams who still operate at 3 KHZ or less use older equipment, which puts out 3KHZ of audio or less, but have a span of splatter 7KHZ wide and this is acceptable to others. Most hams who are running wideband try their best to stay out of the way to avoid interfering and totally refrain from operating on contest days where contesters are occupying every cycle of the bands, sometimes overlapping each other. If you are an SWLer you can enjoy listening to eSSB without having to participate in the bandwidth holy wars, in which case, you can just sit back and enjoy the squabbles.

eSSB or High Quality SSB Amateur Radio Listening Some Notes on IF bandwidths and IF-SHIFT This is only important if you want to listen to eSSB (Extended/Enhanced Single Side Band) When you select a bandwidth for SSB, the IF-BandPass Filter has a rather gradual rolloff on the upper and lower ends, say about 300HZ. There are many radio amateurs who LEGALLY transmit in SSB with IF frequencies ranging from 50 or less HZ to more than 3KZ, in fact, as much as 10 KHZ! More normally from about 50HZ to 3.5, 4, 4.5 KHZ. Although the manual states that 3 KHZ is automatically assigned to SSB modes to eliminate interference, simply switching to 6KHZ can give you a more satisfactory sounding signal if there is little or no interference to block. For the "Hi-Fi" guys, this still cuts out the warm low end, which extends below 80 Hz. To be able to listen to the warmer low end, Press [FUNC] [0] Press the [UP] Key 8 times to highlight IF-SET For USB, shift the frequency DOWN by 300-1000 HZ (-300) to (-1000) or as low as -1500 using the Subdial. This causes the IF bandpass to cover the missing low frequencies. Of course, this also slides down the upper end, so increase the bandwidth to 6KHZ or even 15KHZ! Press [FUNC][IF.BW] Select 6KHZ or 15 KHZ by turning the Subdial. (I haven't measured it yet, but it appears that the 6 and 15 KHZ filters are much narrower with even more gradual rolloffs.) For LSB it's the opposite. The low end of the shift bust be shifted UP by 300-1000 (300) to (1000) or as low as (1500). The bandwidth rule applies the same. Some will argue that increasing the IF bandwidth will cause interference or more noise to be included. Yes, it could, depending on the conditions. But, this is all about having choices and it's your choice and your ears. You're not setting this up to please someone else. This movement toward wider band, higher quality SSB sound has been going on for decades and many modern ham transceivers like KENWOOD and, especially Flex and other SDR transceivers are designed to cover these bandwidths. In fact, the Flex-6000 will transmit SSB at widths of 10KHZ! You can find eSSB hams on 20M around 14.178 or above or below; 40M hang around 7.168 and 75 meters on 3.63, 3.636 or thereabouts. Most hams are not equipped to hear this quality, but many of them drool to achieve this quality once they hear it. Others think it's interfering with their operations, or just plain think it's a mortal sin, but, the fact is that some hams who still operate at 3 KHZ or less use older equipment, which puts out 3KHZ of audio or less, but have a span of splatter 7KHZ wide and this is acceptable to others. Most hams who are running wideband try their best to stay out of the way to avoid interfering and totally refrain from operating on contest days where contesters are occupying every cycle of the bands, sometimes overlapping each other. I will add more to this page as time allows and as I learn more about the operation of the receiver. This is not a blog, obviously, but if you have something useful to add or see something that is incorrect, please let me know and I will check it out. If nothing else, try using the 6KHZ filter for SSB most of the time instead of 3KHZ. You might be pleasantly surprised that it sounds a bit bitter if there are no nearby stations interfering. And, remember, with the 3KHZ filter, you are not getting a full 3KHZ, you are getting about 2.7KHZ. Newer DSP transceivers are filling out the 3KHZ better than older units that use reactive components in filtering. 3KHZ can sound quite pleasant.

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times since September 20, 2014.