AOR AR800 Operating Manual
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AR8000 operating manual 71 Each time the sequence [FUNC] [PASS] is keyed then the SELECT SCAN status “s” is toggled so that the channel may be “tagged” (chosen / registered) and “un-tagged” at will. Note: If memory channels are set as “PASS” (with a lower case “p” being displayed), the letter will be over-written by the letter “s” for SELECT SCAN. The status of PASS has not been changed for standard SCAN mode but SELECT SCAN “tagged” channels ignore the status of PASS. If the channel is “un-tagged”, the letter “p” will reappear indicating that its PASS status has not been changed. To initiate a SELECT SCAN press [FUNC] [5], the legend “SEL” will be displayed on the top left of the LCD to indicate that SELECT SCAN has been selected. 11-3 SELECT SCAN using the “SELECT SCAN” EDIT menu overview and terminology When using the EDIT menu, a LIST is used to SELECT and DELETE memory channels. For this reason the SELECT SCAN terminology is slightly different from that used in the SCAN and MEMORY RECALL modes. SELECT / CHOOSE / REGISTER = TAG: In SCAN or MEMORY RECALL modes channels are “tagged” when they are added to the list and a lower case “s” signifies the tag. In the EDIT menu there is no “tag”. The fact that the channel appears in the LIST indicates that it IS TAGGED! For this reason TAG = SELECT. DELETE = UN-TAG: The fact that the channel is deleted from the LIST indicates that it IS NO LONGER TAGGED, it IS UN-TAGGED! For this reason UN-TAG = DELETE. Once you have completed this section, try adding and deleting channels to and from the list then reviewing the “tag” status using memory recall to fully familiarise yourself with the terminology and process. To access the “SELECT SCAN” EDIT menu place the receiver into VFO mode then press [FUNC] [PASS]. The “SELECT SCAN” menu displays the legend “SELECT SCAN” to confirm operation. The left side of the second line of the LCD displays “CH-00” with the highlight cursor flashing on the first “0”. The “CH-00” refers to the 100 SELECT CHANNELS of the special list which are numbered 00 - 99 (examples are CH-00, CH-01, CH-03 etc). To review the contents of the SELECT SCAN LIST rotate the [DIAL] or use the UP/DOWN keys. Only SELECT SCAN LIST channels with data will be displayed plus the first vacant channel. Channels are allocated in ascending numeric order.
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AR8000 operating manual 72 11-4 SELECT new “SELECT SCAN” channels using the menu To access the “SELECT SCAN” EDIT menu place the receiver into VFO mode then press [FUNC] [PASS]. The “SELECT SCAN” menu displays the legend “SELECT SCAN” to confirm operation. The left side of the second line of the LCD displays “CH-00” with the highlight cursor flashing on the first “0”. The “CH-00” refers to the 100 SELECT CHANNELS of the special list which are numbered 00 - 99 (examples are CH-00, CH-01, CH-03 etc). To review the contents of the SELECT SCAN LIST rotate the [DIAL] or use the UP/DOWN keys. Only SELECT SCAN LIST channels with data will be displayed plus the first vacant channel. To add new channels, select the first vacant SELECT SCAN LIST POSITION by rotating the [DIAL] or using the UP/DOWN keys. A “vacant” position will have no data to the right of the LCD and the blank indicator “- - -” displayed. Press [ENT] to enter EDIT mode. The highlight cursor will move to the right hand data field of the second line of the LCD. The cursor will be placed above the memory bank “identifying letter” “A” and channel “00” is always chosen as the starting point unless there is data already stored. You may change the bank identifier via the keypad (for example for bank “C” press [3C]). A two digit memory channel may then be entered via the keypad (for example channel “33” press [3] [3]). If a mistake is made, the UP/DOWN keys may be used to alter the position of the cursor within the data field. Alternatively the [DIAL] may be rotated to select the desired memory channel for inclusion in the SELECT SCAN LIST. The third and fourth line of the LCD display frequency and accompanying text to aid identification of channel data. When you are happy with the channel selection press [ENT] to accept the entry and add the memory channel to the SELECT SCAN LIST. The “CH-xx” channel list indicator on the left of the second line of the LCD increments to the next numeric channel. It is possible to over-write SELECT SCAN LIST channels which are already in use with new memory channel data, the previous data will be deleted automatically. Note: By using this method it is possible to enter the same memory channel data many times at regular intervals into the SELECT SCAN LIST. This will ensure the channel is scanned more frequently to increase the chances of activity being detected. If you wish to “un-tag” the memory channel in memory recall mode, you will have to use the [FUNC] [PASS] sequence several times to remove the “layers” of tags.
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AR8000 operating manual 73 11-5 DELETE individual “SELECT SCAN” channels To access the “SELECT SCAN” EDIT menu place the receiver into VFO mode then press [FUNC] [PASS]. The “SELECT SCAN” menu displays the legend “SELECT SCAN” to confirm operation. The left side of the second line of the LCD displays “CH-00” with the highlight cursor flashing on the first “0”. The “CH-00” refers to the 100 SELECT CHANNELS of the special list which are numbered 00 - 99 (examples are CH-00, CH-01, CH-03 etc). To delete channels, select the desired channel by rotating the [DIAL] or using the UP/DOWN keys. A “vacant” position will have no data to the right of the LCD and the blank indicator “- - -” displayed. Press [ENT] to enter EDIT mode. The highlight cursor will move to the right hand data field of the second line of the LCD. Press [PASS] to DELETE (un-tag) the memory channel from the SELECT SCAN LIST. The data in the list will “shuffle” down to fill the empty channel and a vacant channel will appear at the top of the list. 11-6 Deleting all SELECT SCAN channels in one go It is often convenient to delete ALL the SELECT SCAN channels in a single operation. This makes the list ready for a fresh start perhaps using a totally different selection of SELECT SCAN channels. While this may be accomplished by deleting each and every SCAN SELECT channel individually or “un-tagging them”, a faster method is available especially if you have previously selected all 100 select scan channels. First place the receiver into the 2VFO operating mode by pressing [2VFO]. Access the main “SELECT-DEL” by keying [FUNC] [9]. Use the UP/DOWN or [DIAL] until “SEL-SCAN appears as an option on the fourth line of the LCD. Position the cursor to the left of the “SEL-SCAN” option then press [ENT]. All SELECT SCAN channels will be “un-tagged” and deleted from the SELECT SCAN list. The receiver will return to 2VFO mode. 11-7 START, PAUSE and CANCEL SELECT SCAN To initiate a SELECT SCAN press [FUNC] [5], the legend “SEL” will be displayed on the top left of the LCD to indicate that SELECT SCAN has been selected. To stop the SELECT SCAN process while scanning press [SCAN]. To resume select scan again press [FUNC] [5]. To cancel select scan return to VFO by pressing [2VFO].
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AR8000 operating manual 74 (12) Priority operation The PRIORITY feature enables you to carry on scanning, searching or monitoring while the AR8000 checks a frequency taken from one of the 1000 memory channels (A00 default) every 5 seconds (default) for activity. The priority checking is accomplished by momentarily moving to the priority frequency to see if it is “active”. If activity is found, the receiver remains on the frequency until the signal disappears. If no activity is detected, the receiver returns to the VFO frequency, scan channel or search bank from where it originated. The priority facility has a large number of applications and is particularly useful for keeping an eye on a distress frequency while scanning or searching another frequency band. Note: Depending upon the frequency and mode stored as priority, an audible “click” may be heard when the priority facility is in operation. This is quite normal and is caused by the internal switching of circuitry necessary to accomplish the frequency change as two frequencies cannot simultaneously be monitored by the receiver. The priority mode is automatically suspended during entry of frequencies via the keypad, this prevents the receiver from changing frequency while you are busy programming. Note: Selecting priority operation while displaying the BAND SCOPE will cause the band scope to be cancelled and will return the receiver to 2VFO mode twin frequency display. 12-1 Engaging PRIORITY channel Once engaged, the default channel used for PRIORITY is “A00” and the frequency is checked for activity every 5 seconds. First ensure that there is data stored in memory channel “A00”. To engage the priority facility press [FUNC] [4]. This may be carried out while in SCAN, SEARCH or VFO modes. The legend “P” appears toward the centre of the top line of the LCD to indicate that PRIORITY IS ENGAGED (switched On). Once priority has been activated, the data contents of the memory channel used (default A00) may be altered without affecting the data used for PRIORITY operation which is stored separately and assumes an identity of its own irrespective of the data contents of memory A00. Should you subsequently wish to alter the priority data, you will have to use the “SET PRI CH” menu detailed in 12-2 of this manual.
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AR8000 operating manual 75 To cancel priority operation press [FUNC] [4], the legend “P” will be removed from the top line of the LCD. 12-2 Changing PRIORITY channel parameters The default channel used for PRIORITY is “A00” and the frequency and data copied from the channel is checked for activity every 5 seconds. You may select a different memory channel from which the data will be copied or may vary the sampling time for priority activity checking. This is accom- plished by using the “SET PRI CH” menu accessed by pressing [FUNC] then holding the [4] key for more than 1 second. The legend “SET PRI CH” appears on the top line of the LCD to confirm selection. To the left of the second line of the LCD, the legend “INTERVAL” is displayed with the highlight cursor flashing over a two digit number. This numeric value in seconds determines how long the receiver will wait between checking the priority frequency for activity once the priority facility has been engaged. The default is “05” (5 seconds) and the acceptable range is 1 - 19 seconds. Either rotate the [DIAL] until the desired value is displayed or key in a two digit number via the keypad. Next press the [DOWN] key to move to the third line of the LCD, to the right of the legend “A00”. This is the memory channel used to copy data to the priority facility. Either rotate the [DIAL] until the desired value is displayed or key in the memory channel location via the keypad. (The UP/DOWN keys are used to move the highlight cursor between data fields). The fourth line of the LCD initially displays the letter “P” followed by the current priority frequency and text alternatively. When new memory channels are reviewed, their frequency and text details are displayed on line four to aid identification. Once you are happy with the new selection of priority frequency (frequency and mode taken from the chosen memory channel) press [ENT] to accept the changes. The display will return to SCAN, SEARCH, MEMORY RECALL or VFO mode from wherever it originated. Note: If you should attempt to select a blank memory channel, a low pitch “beep” will sound when you press [ENT] (if the “beep” is On) and the display “- - -” will indicate that the channel is blank. When selecting suitable channels using the [DIAL], blank channels will automatically be skipped. Of course should you have the password facility activated, you will need to key in your password before the protected channels and banks may be selected.
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AR8000 operating manual 76 (13) SEARCH - search banks and frequency pass The AR8000 has a SEARCH mode whereby an upper and lower frequency limit may be defined and the receiver instructed to look for activity on all frequencies in predetermined step size in an upward or downward direction. The mode and channel step will change automatically when set to the default of AUTO-MODE but data may be specified specifically if preferred. * It is important that you do not confuse SEARCH and SCAN modes. * SEARCH mode automatically TUNES THE RECEIVER THROUGH ALL FREQUENCIES between two specified frequency limits looking for active frequencies. SCAN mode automatically recalls and monitored SPECIFIC SPOT FREQUENCIES which have been stored into memory. The great advantage of SEARCH over manual tuning is that it is so fast! There are many different options available for SEARCH mode which will be explained in this section. The search instructions may be programmed into banks. There are a total of 20 programmable search banks so that data entry and recall is simple and efficient. Continuously active or busy frequencies such as amateur band repeaters may be PASSED (skipped) and active frequencies stored to memory. There is even an AUTO-STORE facility whereby active channels are automatically written to memory bank “J”. When the receiver stops on a genuine active frequency during search, the [ENT] key may be pressed to transfer the frequency to VFO where it may be monitored for long periods of time or tuned. Pressing [ENT] for more than 1 second will initiate the process of storing the frequency into a memory channel. Limitations of SEARCH mode SEARCH mode is extremely effective for AM & NFM use in the VHF and UHF bands. Searching the shortwave bands is usually ineffective due to the relatively high background and in-band noise especially when propagation conditions are good and bands open. Searching using the modes of USB, LSB and CW will produce mixed results depending upon frequency band and whether any strong signals are encountered which will affect the receiver’s AGC (Automatic Gain Control) circuitry. Usually, short wave band and SSB monitoring is carried out with the squelch control “open” (fully anticlockwise) and manual tuning by rotating the [DIAL] - not by scanning or searching.
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AR8000 operating manual 77 Searching using the mode of WFM may not be possible in certain frequency bands due to the level of background noise and adjacent channel activity. 13-1 Manual SEARCH between the twin VFO frequencies The simplest form of SEARCH is achieved by programming different frequencies into VFO “A” and VFO “B” while in 2VFO mode. Starting manual search To start MANUAL SEARCH press and hold [2VFO] for more than 1 second. The mode and step size will always be taken from the “active” (top display frequency) VFO rather than the stand-by (lower display frequency). Changing the direction of manual search Depending upon whether the active VFO frequency is numerically higher or lower then the stand-by VFO, the search will continue upward or downward. The direction of search may be reversed by rotating the [DIAL] or using the UP/DOWN keys. Example of manual search For example, to search manually between 145.000 and 146.000 MHz key 145.000 into VFO “A” and 146.000 MHz into VFO “B”. Ensure that VFO “A” is on the active upper line by pressing [2VFO]. Press and hold [2VFO] for more than 1 second. The search process will start in an upward direction. The legend “MANU SRCH” appears on the third line of the LCD to confirm manual search is in progress. Moving on from active frequencies Should the receiver stop on an active frequency during manual search, you may force the search to continue by pressing the UP/DOWN keys or rotating the [DIAL]. To cancel manual search To cancel manual search press [2VFO] and the operating mode will return to 2VFO with the VFO frequencies of 145.000 and 146.000 MHz displayed. Transfer of an active frequency to VFO Should the search process stop on an active frequency, you may stop the search process by pressing [ENT]. The receiver will monitor the active frequency in VFO mode and may be tuned using the [DIAL] or UP/DOWN keys.
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AR8000 operating manual 78 To restart the manual search process from the start To start the manual search from the original frequency press [2VFO] to return to 2VFO mode than press and hold [2VFO] for more than one second to restart manual search over again. To resume manual search from the current frequency Once you have pressed [ENT] to place the active frequency into VFO mode, you may resume manual search from the current frequency. Press [FUNC] [2VFO] to transfer the current active frequency to the active VFO. Press and hold the [2VFO] key for more than one second to initiate manual search. If the frequency is still active (preventing manual search) press the [UP] key to force the search process forward. Writing active frequencies to memory and continuing manual search If an interesting active frequency is found while in manual search mode, it may be written to a memory channel. Press and hold the [ENT] key for more than one second to enter memory write mode. The legend “BANK” is displayed on the left of the third line with a memory location to the right. Either key in the desired memory location for storage via the keypad or use the [DIAL] (the UP/DOWN keys change the cursor position if you make a mistake). Press [ENT] to accept the chosen memory location. The cursor moves to the fourth line where a maximum seven character comment may be added. Use the [DIAL] and UP/DOWN keys to change the text comment as desired then press [ENT] to accept the complete entry. (If you do not wish to make a comment just press [ENT] to skip the entry and accept the complete data). The display returns to the same frequency in manual search mode. If the frequency is still active and you wish to move on press the [UP] key. Writing active frequencies to memory and staying in VFO mode If an interesting active frequency is found while in manual search mode, it may be written to a memory channel and you may remain in VFO mode to continue listening to the frequency. Press [ENT] to cancel manual search and transfer the active frequency to VFO. Press and hold the [ENT] key for more than one second to enter memory write mode.
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AR8000 operating manual 79 The legend “BANK” is displayed on the left of the third line with a memory location to the right. Either key in the desired memory location for storage via the keypad or use the [DIAL] (the UP/DOWN keys change the cursor position if you make a mistake). Press [ENT] to accept the chosen memory location. The cursor moves to the fourth line where a maximum seven character comment may be added. Use the [DIAL] and UP/DOWN keys to change the text comment as desired then press [ENT] to accept the complete entry. (If you do not wish to make a comment just press [ENT] to skip the entry and accept the complete data). The display returns to VFO mode with the same frequency displayed and does not continue to search. PASS frequencies in manual search mode Although it is possible to manually register PASS frequencies (frequencies that will be skipped and not searched such as blank carriers) they cannot be entered automatically and will not be skipped in manual search mode. DUPLEX stations A = B Often services such as Marine, amateur band repeaters and utility services including PMR (Private Mobile Radio) use DUPLEX frequencies. This means that either a transmission is being re-broadcast on a different frequency by a well sighted repeater station or the two halves of a conversation are taking place on two frequencies (often simultaneously). This being different from SIMPLEX where all transmissions take place on the same frequency. The following example will make more sense when you have completed the SEARCH section of this manual. We will assume that PROGRAM SEARCH or MANUAL SEARCH has located an active 2m repeater output transmission on 145.600 MHz, we know that the input will be on 145.000 MHz (lets assume that the the duplex shift for this band is - 600 kHz). Press [FUNC] [2VFO] to transfer the frequency to the “active” VFO, the 2VFO mode will also appear on the LCD. Press [FUNC] [2VFO] again to equalise the VFO contents. Press [FUNC] [UP] [UP] so that the cursor is highlighting the “6” after the decimal point. Press [0] [ENT] to change the top frequency to 145.000 MHz. Press [2VFO] to bring the output frequency of 145.6000 MHz to the active (top) VFO. Each time the [2VFO] key is pressed, you will swap between the repeater input and output frequencies.
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AR8000 operating manual 80 13-2 Program search banks It is possible to save parameters of frequency, mode, step step offset and comment into any of the 20 program search banks for easy access at any time. The program search banks (referred to simply as search banks) are identified by letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J (upper case letters) and a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j (lower case letters). Remember: It is possible to set a PASSWORD to prevent unauthorised access to banks with lower case letters (a, b, c, d etc). If the password has been set, you must first key in your password before the protected banks may be accessed. For your convenience the microprocessor (depending on world market area) has been preprogrammed (possibly with 10 or 20 search banks) at the factory, these being specifically chosen for each market area. An example of typical programming is as follows (in these examples the mode, step and step offset are taken from the AUTO-MODE bandplan data): A 118.000 to 137.000 MHz CIV AIR B 225.000 to 410.000 MHz MIL AIR C 410.000 to 425.000 MHz USAF D 156.000 to 163.000 MHz MARINE E 88.000 to 105.000 MHzBAND 2 F 145.200 to 145.775 MHz 2M HAM G 433.000 to 433.600 MHz 70c HAM H 1297.000 to 1298.000 MHz 23c HAM I 71.000 to 87.000 MHz LO PMR J 163.400 to 225.000 MHz VHF PMR Assuming that the AR8000 is preprogrammed with similar data to that shown above, to initiate PROGRAM SEARCH press [SRCH]. The legend “SRCH” appears on the top left of the LCD to confirm selection. To select a specific search bank press the key corresponding to the desired search bank identifier. For example, to search bank “F” press [6F] while in search mode. The lowest frequency in the bank will first appear on the LCD and will change in an upward direction. Use the UP/DOWN keys or [DIAL] to reverse the direction of search. Should the receiver stop on an unwanted active frequency, press the [UP] or [DOWN] keys to force the search process to continue.