AOR AR5000 User’s Manual

AOR

63(&75800$67(5

Simon Collings 1997-2000

©

Software Published and Distributed by:

AOR (UK) LTD.,
4E East Mill,
Bridgefoot,
Belper,
Derbyshire DE56 2UA
ENGLAND
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
http://www.aoruk.com

Introduction

Minimum System Requirements

This software requires the following minimum requirements of your PC system:

• Pentium P60 PC processor (or higher)

• Colour graphics display with at least 800 x 600 pixel and 256 colours

• Windows

• 8M byte of system memory (640k bytes of base DOS memory); 16M bytes highly recommended if

running tuner and data base applications together

• Microsoft

• at least 8M bytes of free hard disk space (at least 2.6M bytes for tuner application and 5.3M bytes

for data base applications)

• At least one free RS-232 serial port (GPS feature requires an additional serial port and GPS unit –

not supplied)

• Windows

• AOR AR5000 Communications Receiver (with appropriate RS-232 cabling, not supplied)

Installing the Software

®

95, 98 operating system

®

mouse or equivalent (strongly recommended)

TM

compatible printer (optional)

In this manual, it is assumed that you are familiar with Microsoft® Windows® and the hardware you are
using with your computer. If you need further information on using specific Windows
consult your Microsoft

You should have a CD and a floppy key disk suitable for your operating system version (either

Windows

To install, first place the CD in your CD-ROM or DVD drive and follow the instructions that should
appear on-screen after a few seconds. If nothing happens when you insert the CD disk, you probably
don’t have autorun enabled on your system so to start the main application on the CD manually, just
navigate to it with explorer and launch it yourself by double clicking.

TM

95 or 98).

®

WindowsTM help system.

TM

features,

How do I use AR5000 Tuner?

The AR5000 Tuner package is simple and intuitive to use wherever possible. This means that a large
printed manual is no longer needed. The sections below describe how to use the software in more
detail in softcopy format

Use the substantial on-line help that is provided to navigate your way through the program and to find
out how to do tasks.

A good place to start is the “How do I...?” section of the help which is accessible from the contents
page.

Overview of AR5000 Tuner

This is a sophisticated control and spectrum surveillance application for use with the AOR AR5000
Wideband All-mode Communications Receiver - The New Horizon. It contains a number of powerful
features which are accessible from both the menu and tool bar. The AOR Data Base Toolkit may be
used directly with this control program to create a powerful communications monitoring system.

You can obtain context sensitive help at any time. From the main desktop, simply press
open this contents page. Most dialogs contain a help push button which allows you to select specific
help.

To display information about this application, click on the
menu option.

The sections of this manual are organised as follows:

Menu Options

File Menu
Edit Menu
Setup Menu
Tools Menu
Log Menu
Windows Menu
Help Menu

symbol or select the Help|About...

F1 to

Toolbar

Toolbar Commands

Procedures

How Do I...?
Operating the receiver from the Front Panel window
Rules for automode bandplan data (how to check data)

Other Topics

Copy Protection
About AOR

Menu Options

File Menu

The File menu provides commands for managing files of memory, automode, search and log data used
by the program. This includes creating new files, opening existing files, saving files and printing. You
can also exit the application from this menu.

New
Open...
Close
Save
Save As
Send to RX...
Get from RX...
Print
Print Setup
Send...
Exit

Note: Although new log files can be created from this menu, they cannot be used. You

should use the search, scan, bandscope, or SFW features to generate a log.

Create a new, untitled, document.
Open an existing file.
Close the current document.
Save the current document if its contents have changed.
Save the current document under a new name.
Send the current document from to radio.
Get a document from the radio.
Print the current document.
Set printer characteristics.
Send the current document as e-mail.
Exit from the program.

File|New Command

The File|New command opens a new, untitled file window, and makes it the active window.
You can select the type of data you want (memory, automode or search) from the pop-up menu that is
displayed.

The program prompts you to name untitled documents when they are closed.

Although it is possible to open a new log file, log entries are created from scan or search

operations.

File|Open... Command

The File|Open... command displays the standard ‘Open a File’ dialog box so you can select a
file to load into a new window. You can also create a new window by naming a file that doesn't
currently exist.

You can select the type of data you want using the “List Files of Type:” list box that is displayed in the
‘Open a File’ dialog. Choose from memory (*.mem), automode (*.aut), search (*.sch) or log (*.log).

File|Close Command

File|Close closes the currently active window. If you have modified the file without saving, you'll be
prompted to save before exiting.

File|Save Command

The File|Save command saves the file in the active window to disk. If the file is unnamed, the
‘Save File As’ dialog box is displayed so you can name the file, and choose where it is to be saved.

File|Save As... Command

The File|Save As... command allows you to save a file under a new name, or in a new location on disk.
The command displays the ‘Save File As’ dialog box. You can enter the new file name, including the
drive and directory. If you choose an existing file name, you are asked if you want to overwrite the
existing file.

File|Send to RX... Command

The File|Send to RX... command send the contents of the current window to your radio using
RS-232 commands.

If you are sending memory data, you will be asked if you want to send on ly the current selected
individual channel or the whole bank.

DATA IN YOUR RADIO WILL BE OVERWRITTEN

File|Get from RX... Command

The File|Get from RX... command gets a data from the radio and places it in the currently
active window. You should open a new window before getting new data if you do not want to
overwrite the current window.

If you are getting memory data, you will be asked to select a bank (0-9). Please note that getting a
memory bank can take several minutes to complete.

DATA IN THE CURRENT WINDOW WILL BE OVERWRITTEN

File|Print... Command

The File|Print... command prints the contents of the active window. Use File|Print Setup... to
select a printer, and to set printer options.

Note: blank lines are not printed in order to save paper.

File|Print Setup... Command

The File|Printer Setup... command displays the Printer Setup dialog box which allows you to select and
configure the printer to be used to print documents in the application.

File|Send... Command

File|Send... launches Microsoft Exchange and pre-loads it with the current active file. You
will need to have a memory file open before you can send it. Exchange can be used to send the file as
an e-mail attachment over the Internet or as a FAX.

See your system help files for more information about setting up and using Microsoft Exchange.

This feature is only available if you are running Windows 95 and have installed MS-Exchange

(this need not necessarily be installed by default).

File|Exit Command

The File|Exit command exits from the application. You can also click on the power button in the Front
Panel window to exit.

If you have modified files without saving, you'll be prompted to save before exiting.

Edit Menu

The Edit menu provides a range of commands for altering data items in the currently active window.

Cut Delete selected text and move it to the clipboard.
Copy Copy selected text to the clipboard.
Paste Move text from the clipboard to the current document.
Clear Clear the selected text and leave a blank line.
Delete Delete selected text removing it completely.
Add Item... Add a new item below the selected item.
Modify Item... Modify the selected item.
Check Check the data (auto mode only).
Renumber Renumber the items into ascending order.

Edit|Cut Command

The Edit|Cut command removes the selected items from the active window and places the text in the
Clipboard. Choose Edit|Paste to paste the cut text into another window. The text remains selected in
the clipboard, and can be pasted several times.

Edit|Copy Command

The Edit|Copy command leaves the selected items intact and places an exact copy of them in the
Clipboard. To paste the copied text into another document, choose Edit|Paste.

Edit|Paste Command

The Edit|Paste command inserts the text currently in the Clipboard into the current window at the
cursor position.

Edit|Clear Command

The Edit|Clear command removes the selected items and leaves blank lines in their place. The text is
not placed in the Clipboard.

DATA CANNOT BE RECOVERED ONCE IT HAS BEEN CLEARED.

Edit|Delete Command

The Edit|Delete command deletes the currently selected items from the current window removing it
completely. The text is not placed in the Clipboard.

DATA CANNOT BE RECOVERED ONCE IT HAS BEEN DELETED.

Edit|Add Item... Command

The Edit|Add Item... option allows you to add a new item of data just below the currently selected
item.

The appropriate Add/Modify dialog is opened for the type of data you are editing:

Add/Modify Memory dialog
Add/Modify Search dialog
Add/Modify Automode dialog (automode frequency offsets can be altered using the Automode Offset
Frequencies... dialog)

Edit|Modify Item... Command

The Edit|Modify Item... opens a dialog which lets you alter the current item of data in the
active window.

The appropriate Add/Modify dialog is opened for the type of data you are editing:

Add/Modify Memory dialog
Add/Modify Search dialog
Add/Modify Automode dialog (automode frequency offsets can be altered using the Automode Offset
Frequencies... dialog)

Edit|Check Command

Note: This option is only available with auto mode data.

This menu option allows you to check the syntax of each line of auto mode data and report any errors
that will prevent AR5000 Tuner from creating RS-232 commands for sending to the radio. The checks
that are done are explained in the help topic entitled “How Do I Check Automode Data?”

If an error is detected, you will be told what the error was and on what line it was found. Go to the
relevant line, correct and try again.

YOU SHOULD CHECK AUTO MODE DATA CAREFULLY BEFORE SENDING THE
DATA TO YOUR RADIO, IMPROPER OPERATION OF THE RADIO MAY OTHERWISE
RESULT.

Edit|Renumber Command

The Edit|Renumber menu option allows you to renumber the lines of data items so that they are in
ascending order (by channel number).

You will need to use this option after editing using Clipboard or whenever the channels are not in the
right order before sending the data to the radio.

Setup Menu

The Setup menu allows you to tune your radio directly, alter key controls, cycle power to the radio
remotely and configure the AR5000 Tuner application for operation with your radio.

Tune... Select frequency and mode from desktop.
Increment Increments receiver frequency
Decrement Decrements receiver frequency
Select VFO Selects VFO A to E
Power Toggle the receiver power ON/OFF
Toggle Bank Toggle between banks 0 and 1
Automode Toggle automode operation
Cyberscan Toggle cyberscan operation
AFC Toggle automatic frequency control operation
NB Toggle noise blanker operation
Attenuator... Adjust the attenuator
DTMF Toggle DTMF operation
CTCSS... Select CTCSS tone operation
Sound Recording Enabled Select use of sound card
Data Base Directory... Location of AOR Data Base Toolkit.
Communications... Select serial port parameters.
Automode Offsets... Change frequency offsets used with automode

Setup|Tune... Command

The Setup|Tune... command opens a dialog box which allows you to set the frequency, mode,

step size, auto attenuator and auto mode by tuning the radio d irectly.

You can select auto mode operation from this dialog in addition to the push button on the tool bar. If
you have ‘Auto Mode’ checked, the mode and step size in the dialog is ignored in favour of the
settings stored in the radio.

Use the Tune dialog to select the parameters you want and click on OK to accept or CANCEL to abort.

The RS-232 command needed to change the radio are sent and the status display on the tool bar
updated when you press OK.

Setup|Increment Command

This command tunes the radio up in frequency by one step.

Setup|Decrement Command

This command tunes the radio down in frequency by one step.

Setup|Automode Command

This command toggles auto mode operation. Automode is ON when the associated push
button on the toolbar is depressed and OFF when it is up. A tick mark appears next to this menu
option when the feature is enabled.

It is also possible to toggle automode operation from the Tune... menu option.

Setup|Cyberscan Command

This command toggles cyberscan operation. Cyberscan is ON when the associated push
button on the toolbar is depressed and OFF when it is up. A tick mark appears next to this menu option
when the feature is enabled.

Setup|AFC Command

This command toggles automatic frequency control operation. A tick mark appears next to this menu
option when the feature is enabled.

This feature available only where supported by the AR5000 hardware.

Setup|NB Command

This command toggles noise blanker operation. A tick mark appears next to this menu option when the
feature is enabled.

This feature available only where supported by the AR5000 hardware.

Setup|Sound Recording Enabled Command

If you have a Windows compatible sound card fitted to your PC (not supplied), you can use it to record
audio from your radio to the hard disk while searching or scanning or using certain other features.

This menu option must be checked (so that a tick mark is visible) before sound recording is enabled
even if you have a sound card fitted and in operation. This allows you to disable audio recording and
prevent large amounts of unwanted files from accumulating on your system if you don’t intend to use
this feature.

To enable sound recording, ensure the tick mark is visible on the Setup menu next to Sound Recording
Enabled by repeatedly selecting this menu option. To disable, simply remove the tick.

The setting you select is stored in the initial values file for re-use nex t time you run the application.

Disabling sound recording will not affect the log.

Setup|Data Base Directory... Command

This option allows you to selected the directory where the AOR Data Base Toolkit was installed. You
must set this parameter so that this program can launch data base applications.

YOU MUST ENSURE THAT THE DIRECTORY SELECTED HERE IS THE SAME AS

THAT SELECTED WHEN YOU INSTALLED THE DATA BASE.

Setup|Communications... Command

The Setup|Communications... command opens a dialog box which allows you to select the
parameters of the PC serial port you want to use for bi-directional RS-232 communications with your
radio.

YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT THE RS-232 PARAMETERS SET IN THE RADIO
EXACTLY MATCH THOSE SELECTED FOR YOUR PC SERIAL PORT BY THE
SOFTWARE HERE.

Setup|Automode Offsets... Command

Conventional automode data can be added/modified in an automode file using the Add/Modify
Automode dialog. However, it is also possible to associate frequency offsets with each automode entry
from a table of values stored in the AR5000’s EEPROM.

This menu option allows you to launch the Automode Offsets... dialog and add/delete frequency
offsets.

EXTREME CAUTION IS REQUIRED WHEN ENTERING AUTOMODE OFFSET
FREQUENCY INFORMATION. This is because the values are sorted in a lookup table in the
AR5000 when they are stored in the automode area of EEPROM and recalled by index number.
If you add or delete offset frequencies, then the position of each offset frequency value in the
EEPROM’s lookup table could change leading to unexpected results with previously defined
automode entries referencing the table.

Setup|Power Command

This menu option toggles the power on the AR5000. You can also do this by clicking on the power
switch in the Front Panel window.

A tick mark appears on the Setup menu next to the Power option when the receiver is powered up and
is absent when it is powered down.

Setup|Toggle Bank Command

You can operate the AR5000 on either of two independent banks of 1000 (10x100) memory channels ­2000 in all!

This menu option allows you to toggles between banks 0 and 1.

When switching between banks, the Front Panel window display is blanked for about 2 seconds before
normal operation is restored.

Setup|Select VFO Command

This sub-menu allows you to directly select one of the available VFOs A to E. Simply choose the
VFO you require.

It is also possible to select VFOs using the VFO button on the Front Panel window to cycle through
each VFO in turn.

Tools Menu

The Tools menu contains special tools for searching, scanning, traffic analysis and provides a link to
the AOR Data Base Toolkit.

Maps... Tune using TX sites projected on a map.
Scan Operation... Scan memory channels from file
Scan Expert Options... Expert options for scan operations
Search Operation... Search between two frequency limits
Search Expert Options... Expert options for search
Bandscope Operation... High-speed bandscope (with spectrum)
Single Frequency Watch Operation... Traffic analysis of a fixed frequency
Offset Simplex Reconstruction Operation... Reconstruct offset simplex transmissions