AOR AR1500 User Guide

5 (3)

AR1500 Operating manual

Power requirement...	6V DC from built-in NiCad battery pack or 11 - 18V DC
	from CHG jack or 4 x AAA dry cells (dry case provided)
Power consumption...	100mA approx
Size...	55mm (W) x 152mm (H) x 40mm (D) approx excluding
	projections
Weight...	360g approx including NiCad pack
Display...	Liquid Crystal (LCD) with switchable light for areas of
	low level lighting

** Specifications subject to change without notice due to continuous development of the receiver. E&OE.

(14)	Index
AC mains supply					6
accessories			31
Aerial		8
Aerial connection					8
Aerial input				10
Aerial Tuning Units						8
Airband		16
AM	15, 16
AM/FM		13
Amateur band				16
ANT	10
ARROW 13, 20
attenuator			8,	10
ATU	8
auto memory				19
Automatic memory input							29
AUX	21, 22
BANK		13, 21
Bank 9		26
banks	22
BATT		7
batteries		6
battery compartment						6,	7
Beat Frequency Oscillator							9
BFO	9, 10
breakthrough				8
Broadcast			16
cables		6
Charger		14
charger		6,	7
CHG	14
clean	6
CLEAR		12, 21
Clearing		15
Clearing memories						21
Controls		9
Conventions				14

DA3000	31
DA900	8, 10
defaults	26
DELAY	14, 20, 25
DELAY/HOLD		14
DIAL 9, 20, 26
discone	8
DOWN ARROW		13, 20
dry batteries 6
DX 10

EAR 10

Earphone 10

EARTH 6

EEPROM 19

ENTER 12

Entering 15

FM 15, 16

Fr.Err 15 Frequency list 16 Front panel 12 fuse 6

ground 6

HOLD 14, 20, 21, 25

internal NiCad pack 7

jack socket 6

AR1500 Operating manual

(1) Introduction & accessories

Thank you for purchasing the AOR AR1500 compact all mode hand portable receiver. The AR1500 is a highly sophisticated piece of equipment using the very latest in electronics design and technology. It is important that you carefully read this handbook and familiarise yourself with the receiver before placing it into operation.

Every effort has been made to make this manual correct and up to date. Due to continuous development of the receiver and by error or omissions anomalies may be found and this is acknowledged.

Most apparent faults are due to accidental misoperation of the receiver, carefully read all of the manual before deciding to return the receiver for repair.

Although carefully designed, the receiver (like all receivers) suffers from internal noises known as spurii. They are a product of the receiver’s circuitry and do not represent a fault.

The AR1500 is designed to be particularly sensitive for hand-held operation, for this reason strong signal mixing or overload may be experienced if used in strong signal areas or when connected to an externally mounted aerial such as a discone, microprocessor noise may also be audible on certain frequencies and modes.

This manual is protected by copyright AOR (UK) Ltd 1992, 1993. No information contained in this manual may be copied or transferred by any means without the prior written consent of AOR (UK) Ltd.

1-1 Accessories supplied

DA900	single wide band whip aerial for VHF and UHF
SW-wire	aerial wire terminated in a BNC plug for shortwave
AC charger
Internal NiCad	rechargeable battery pack
Dry battery case	(to house 4 x AAA Alkaline cells)
12V DC lead	fitted with a cigar lighter plug for mobile operation
Soft case
Belt hook
Earphone
Operating manual

This manual covers the AR1500, AR1500E and AR1500EX models.

AR1500 Operating manual

(2) Table of Contents

(1)	Introduction & accessories....................................................................................		1
1-1	Accessories supplied................................................................................................		1
(2)	Table of contents (this page)...................................................................................		2
(3)	Major features........................................................................................................		4
(4)	Precautions.............................................................................................................		6
4-1	Location...................................................................................................................		6
4-2	Look after your receiver...........................................................................................		6
4-3	Power requirements..................................................................................................		6
4-4	Aerial connection.....................................................................................................		8
(5)	Controls and functions...........................................................................................		9
5-1	Top panel.................................................................................................................		9
	Close-up views of the AR1500..................................................................................		11
5-2	Front panel ...............................................................................................................		12
5-3	CHG - Charger input socket......................................................................................		14
(6)	Basic operation........................................................................................................		14
6-1	Background..............................................................................................................		14
6-2	Conventions..............................................................................................................		14
6-3	Basic manual operation............................................................................................		15
	1.	Entering a frequency through the keypad.........................................................	15
	2.	Clearing incorrect frequency input...................................................................	15
	3a.	Changing mode................................................................................................	15
	3b.	Frequency list audible from various parts of the UK: .......................................	16
	4.	Tuning the receiver...........................................................................................	17
(7)	Single Side Band Operation ...................................................................................		18
(8)	Scan mode - memories ...........................................................................................		19
8-1	Storing frequencies to memory.................................................................................		20
8-2	Recalling previously stored memory channels...........................................................		21
8-3	Clearing memory contents.........................................................................................		21
8-4	Priority (AUX) channel.............................................................................................		21
8-5	Scanning memory channels and banks.......................................................................		22
8-6	Problems with scanning.............................................................................................		23
8-7	Program bank scan.....................................................................................................		23
8-8	Memory lockout.........................................................................................................		24
8-9	Memory bank lockout................................................................................................		24

AR1500 Operating manual

Notes:

This procedure resets the microprocessor and clears the contents from the memory channels - they will now be blank! The search banks may differ from the defaults shown in this manual, in this case you will need to reprogramme them.

You have instructed the operating system of the AR1500 to receive selected bands with selected Intermediate Frequencies (IF), if your keystrokes faithfully followed the above then you will have an unbroken coverage from 500 kHz to 1300 MHz without gaps. If you receiver a <Fr.Err> message, you have probably made a mistake - try again.

Note: To ensure the best microprocessor stability never delete ALL memory channels from a scan bank, it is a good idea to leave at least one active channel in each bank... i.e. 000, 100, 200 etc. Do not limit the scan range to a memory bank which is totally empty.

(12) Optional accessories

DA3000	Wide band discone aerial 25 MHz - 2,000 MHz *
WA7000	Active wide band compact aerial 30 kHz - 2,000 MHz *
LA320	Longwave - shortwave active desktop loop aerial *
NiCad pack	Additional internal NiCad pack (State if EX 3-Pin)
ABF125	VHF Airband filter *
Service information
* See the notes regarding aerials in section 4-4

(13) Specification **

Model...	AR1500
Receiver coverage...	500 kHz - 1300 MHz
Receiving modes...	AM, FM(Narrow), FM(Wide) and SSB with the BFO
	switched On (USB, LSB & CW)
Number of memory channels...	900 plus 100 reserved for ‘auto-memory’ in bank 9.
	1000 total (10 x 100)
Scan rate...	20 channels per second (approx)
Number of scan banks...	10 total. Bank 9 reserved for ‘auto-memory’
Scan delay time...	2 seconds (approx)
Search banks...	9 standard search banks plus one search bank for the
	automatic search pair of bank 9
Search rate...	20 steps per second (approx)
Search step size...	Programmable in 5 & 12.5 kHz steps to a maximum of
	995 kHz (i.e. 5, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 50 etc.)
Priority channel (AUX)...	Any one of the 1000 memories may be used as priority.
	Sampling is every 2 seconds (approx)
Receiver sensitivity...	FM(Narrow) 0.5uV or better for 12dB across most of the
	range.
	AM 3.0uV or better for 10dB S/N across most of the
	range.
	SSB 1.5 uV or better across most of the range
	Note: Reduced sensitivity below approx 2 MHz all modes
BFO range...	Continuous -4 ~ +6 kHz (approx)
Aerial connection...	One 50 OHM BNC socket on top case
Audio output...	>100mW @ 10% distortion

AR1500 Operating manual		AR1500 Operating manual

(11) Microprocessor reset	(9)	Search mode ...........................................................................................................	25
	9-1	Notes on scan & search .............................................................................................	25
The information stored in the memory channels (scan banks) and search bank is permanently	9-2	Pre-programmed search banks..................................................................................	26
held in a ‘chip component’ called an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only	9-3	Searching all banks...................................................................................................	26
Memory). No battery backup is required.	9-4	Problems with searching..........................................................................................	27
	9-5	Program search bank................................................................................................	27
In the extremely unlikely event you should encounter problems with memory loss or corruption	9-6	Search bank lockout.................................................................................................	27
it may be possible for you to RESET the microprocessor. This scenario may occur due to static	9-7	Releasing Search bank lockout (or individually locked out frequencies)..................	28
discharge from mobile operation, connection to an external aerial, shipping in plastic &	9-8	Re-programming search bank limits.........................................................................	28
polystyrene materials or from noise on the power feed to the receiver.	9-9	Storing search frequencies into memory...................................................................	28
A small RESET slide switch is located in the battery compartment of most (BUT NOT ALL)	(10)	Automatic memory input.......................................................................................	29
AR1500 receivers. This switch is covered by a protective tape and is connect to a short length	(11)	Microprocessor reset	30
of wire. If you cannot locate the switch and are not comfortable with ‘lots of button pressing’
please contact your dealer.	(12)	Optional accessories	31

1.Switch the AR1500 Off and remove the battery cover and NiCad pack.

Remove the protective tape from the slide switch.

(13) Specification............................................................................................................

3.The switch has two positions, carefully slide the switch from the first to the second

position.

(14) Index.........................................................................................................................

4.Insert the NiCad pack and switch on the receiver.

5.The display should be blank at this time.

6.Carry out the following key strokes very carefully, take your time. If you make a mistake switch the receiver Off/On and start again. If the first sequence of [BANK] [PROG] has no effect repeat these key presses as required. The key strokes should appear on the LCD as you progress.

7.Execute exactly as shown! (ignore the " - "separator):

AR1500 & AR1500E

BANK - 1 - PROG - 0.5 - LIMIT - 1.995 - SEARCH - 556.325 - ENTER

2 - PROG - 2 - LIMIT - 299.995 - SEARCH - 556.325 - ENTER 3 - PROG - 300 - LIMIT - 419.995 - SEARCH - 249.125 - ENTER 4 - PROG - 420 - LIMIT - 606.995 - SEARCH - 249.125 - ENTER

5 - PROG - 607 - LIMIT - 797.995 - SEARCH - 58.075 - ENTER

6 - PROG - 798 - LIMIT - 1105995 - [DOWN KEY] - 249.125 - ENTER

7 - PROG - 1106 - LIMIT - 1300 - [DOWN KEY] - 556.325 - ENTER

AR1500EX (it's slightly shorter)

BANK - 1 - PROG - 0.5 - LIMIT - 95.995 - SEARCH - 556.325 - ENTER

2 - PROG - 96 - LIMIT - 299.995 - SEARCH - 556.325 - ENTER

3 - PROG - 300 - LIMIT - 512.995 - SEARCH - 249.125 - ENTER 4 - PROG - 513 - LIMIT - 797.995 - SEARCH - 58.075 - ENTER

5 - PROG - 798 - LIMIT - 1105995 - [DOWN KEY] - 249.125 - ENTER 6 - PROG - 1106 - LIMIT - 1300 - [DOWN KEY] - 556.325 - ENTER

8.Switch Off the receiver and remove the NiCad pack.

9.Carefully slide the switch into it’s original position and replace the protective tape.

10.Insert the NiCad pack once again and switch On.

11.Test the receiver fully.

AR1500 Operating manual

(3) Major features

The AR1500 is the World’s first true hand-held wide range receiver offering SSB as standard from the factory. Coverage is from 500 kHz all the way to 1300 MHz without any gaps in the range.

Channel steps are programmable in multiples of 5 kHz and 12.5 kHz up to 995 kHz, the BFO will allow tuning between these steps for SSB operation.

All popular modes are provided NFM, WFM, AM and SSB (USB, LSB & CW) with the BFO switched on. A rotary tuning control is fitted to the top panel to further increase operating pleasure, convenience and versatility.

SSB (Single Side-Band)

SSB is a general term given to two additional modes of operation. SSB is used by many services especially those on shortwave (including oceanic airband) to increase the operational coverage of their radio transceivers.

It’s inclusion on the AR1500 adds a new dimension in listening potential to the receiver. The two forms of SSB are Upper Side Band (USB) and Lower Side Band (LSB), it is also possible to receive Morse code (CW) using this method. The BFO control allows selection of either side band and tuning in between the 5 kHz channel steps.

All Mode

As well as SSB, the AR1500 can receive all other popular modes: AM (Amplitude Modulation) used by broadcast stations airband and some other services. NFM (Narrow band Frequency Modulation) used by VHF Marine band, Amateur band and most other services. WFM (Wide band Frequency Modulation) used by Band-2 VHF broadcast stations and TV sound. Any mode can be selected on any frequency within the receiver’s operating range.

High sensitivity

The AR1500 has been designed to provide maximum VHF-UHF sensitivity in a hand-held format. The unit should easily compare or better other hand-held wide band receivers on the market place today in this respect.

A top panel attenuator is provided to help combat cross-modulation and mixing effects in areas of strong signals (such as built-up areas or hill top locations).

Memories, Scan and Search

There are 1000 memories in total arranged in 100 memories x 10 banks, there are also 10 additional programmable search banks. Each memory will store frequency and mode (NFM, WFM or AM - not SSB), the search banks will also store the step increment. There is a massive EEPROM store for all memories and search banks so that no memory backup battery is required. The memories may be over-written time and time again.

Automatic memory

The AR1500 has a new ‘automatic memory’ feature which automatically stores busy channels found when hunting for activity using search bank number 9 into the 100 memory channels of scan bank number 9 (900 - 999).

AR1500 Operating manual

Press [ENTER] the bank indicator will flash

[6] the channel indicator will start flashing

[73] you don’t press enter - that’s it.

It is sometimes worth pressing the [DELAY/HOLD] key so that <HOLD> is

indicated on the LCD, this prevents the set from continuing it’s search and gives you plenty of time to enter the memory details.

(10) Automatic memory input

The AR1500 features an Automatic memory function. Search and Memory Bank 9 is reserved for this special function. For this reason you should not manually enter frequencies into bank number 9.

To perform the automatic memory function, you first need to program a pair of frequencies, mode and step size into bank 9 as shown in section 9-8.

Carefully set the squelch threshold to allow the receiver to search then press [SEARCH] [9].

As soon as an active frequency is detected the AR1500 stops searching and automatically writes the frequency to the first (indexed) channel of memory bank 9. The receiver waits for about 2 seconds then resumes searching even if there is still activity on the frequency and continues until another active frequency is located. When all of the 100 memory channels of bank 9 are filled, the process starts all over again.

As the receiver will search in this mode even if there are constant signals, the unit may be left unattended building a library of activity. The same busy frequency may however be ‘Auto saved’ a number of times.

When you are sure plenty of active channels have been located, you may place the receiver into SCAN mode and select bank number 9. All the active frequencies located during automatic mode will be quickly scanned to ensure that nothing is missed.

Lockout may be used to remove unwanted channels from the list of channels to be scanned. Memory contents may also be ‘copied’ to other memory banks for later scanning, this reduces the risk of them being accidentally over-written.

For example, let’s say memory channel 912 has an interesting frequency which we wish to copy to memory channel 123. First recall memory channel 912 [MANUAL] [BANK] [9] [1] [2] then copy it [PROG] [1] [2] [3] .... easy! This will save hours of searching and button pressing.

Note: Auto memory only operates in AM and NFM (not WFM).

AR1500 Operating manual

9-7 Releasing Search bank lockout (or individually locked out frequencies)

Search bank lockout functions by locking out the first frequency in the search bank. To release the lockout status requires this frequency to be released.

Note the frequency you are looking for (if still using defaults, refer to the table in section 9-2). The following process allows you to scroll through the list of locked out frequencies, the first locked out frequency in the bank may be easily located:

[SEARCH] [BANK] [PROG] [LOCKOUT]

The first of the locked out frequencies will appear on the display. The <L.OUT> indicator will be flashing on the LCD to show the status. You must unlock frequencies one-by-one.

To unlock a frequency press [LOCKOUT]. To skip over the frequency without altering it’s lockout status press [ENTER]. Locate the first frequency of the desired search bank and unlock it. To escape from this procedure, press [MANUAL].

9-8 Re-programming search bank limits

Before you change the pre-programmes search bank limits, it is a good idea to note the existing data (section 9-2) so that they may be re-programmed back to their original defaults at a later date. In fact you may be happy with the defaults, in which case you may choose not to alter their content.

Let’s assume you wish to re-programme SEARCH BANK 2 to cover a specific part of the 2m Amateur Band:

145.600 - 145.775 MHz, 25 kHz steps in NFM

The format is:

[SEARCH] [PROG] [START FREQUENCY] [LIMIT] [END FREQUENCY] [ENTER] [STEP] [ENTER] [MODE] [ENTER] [BANK NUMBER] [ENTER] [SEARCH]

Example: [SEARCH] [PROG] [1] [4] [5] [.] [6] LIMIT] [1] [4] [5] [.] [7] [7] [5] [ENTER]

[2] [5] [ENTER] [FM] [ENTER][2] [ENTER]

The previous stored frequency will be permanently over-written. Press [SEARCH] [2] to start searching the new programmed band.

9-9 Storing search frequencies into memory

When in search mode, you may find an interesting frequency which you wish to store for later listening. Let’s assume that the receiver has stopped on 133.700 MHz AM during search and you wish to store the information to memory bank 6 channel 73:

AR1500 Operating manual

For example, imagine you wish to store all active VHF airband channels automatically into memory. First program search bank number 9 with the lower and upper frequency limits of the VHF airband (118 - 138 MHz), the required step size (25 kHz) and mode (AM). Press search then key number 9, the AR1500 quickly locates active channels and automatically stores them into the 100 memory channels of scan bank number 9 (900 - 999).

After a short while you need only scan the contents of scan bank number 9 knowing that all active local channels have been automatically stored there for you. This makes the job of locating and storing active channels easier and the use of the receiver more pleasurable.

Of course you can choose to search any frequency range you wish by simply reprogramming the parameters of search bank number 9. If you prefer, you can still locate and store frequencies into the receivers vast memory store using conventional manual methods.

Lockout

Memories and search banks may be ‘locked out’ for the days when you don’t wish to listen to something you have previously programmed. The search banks may be programmed time and time again by the user. In search mode up to 1000 continuously occupied frequencies (100 in each of the 10 search banks) may be locked out so that annoying noises and unwanted signals can be eliminated. Should you encounter noise, mobile control signals or beacons, they can be locked out with a single press of a button so that the frequency will be skipped when next searched.

Versatility

The AR1500 can meet a number of requirements to satisfy Airband or Marine enthusiasts, Professional off air monitoring and of course casual listening too. The World’s shortwave and Amateur bands can be monitored, even the longer range Oceanic Airband and ship to shore. The AR1500 is supplied with all the accessories required to enable you to start listening straight away.

The AR1500 is powered from an internal NiCad rechargeable battery pack (supplied). This pack can be recharged using the supplied AC charger or 12V DC lead and may be used over and over again. Spare NiCad packs may be purchased and the internal pack replaced by a fully charged pack within a few moments adding to the operational time when away from the home or vehicle.

When connected to a nominal 13.8V DC power source using the supplied lead (in the car or at home) the AR1500 may be operated with the NiCad pack still fitted.

A dry battery case is provided as a standard accessory. 4 x AAA Alkaline cells may be fitted and carried with you as an assurance against flat batteries just when you need to use the receiver most.

Aerial input

The aerial input is of the standard BNC type allowing straight forward connection to almost any VHF / UHF aerial. There is also a top panel switchable attenuator to increase versatility in areas of strong signals.

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