AOR AR8600m Receiver Manual

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This is accomplished by using the “PRIO SET” menu accessed by
the key sequence 
   .
The legend “PRIO SET” appears on the top line of the LCD to
confirm selection.
6-2-1  Changing the priority channel data pickup channel
Should you wish the priority channel to use data contained in another memory location, access the
“PRIO SET” menu using the key sequence 
   , the legend
“PRIO SET” appears on the top line of the LCD to confirm selection.
Select the new location for data pickup by the priority channel, use the main dial to move through the
memory locations one at a time or use the ï ð keys to move between banks, alternatively quickly key
in a three digit memory location via the keypad.
For example, select memory location “A23” using the key sequence 
 
    .
The priority interval time menu may be accessed using the ò key or 
  to exit the menu.
The newly nominated channel data will be used for priority monitoring.
&Note: If you attempt to nominate a channel which contains no data, the input will be
ignored and the previously used data will continue to be employed.
6-2-2  Changing priority interval time
Should you wish to check the priority frequency more or less often, the sampling time (interval) may be
set using the “PRIO SET” menu.  Use the key sequence 
    to
access the “PRIO SET” menu.  
 the ò key to move the cursor to the “INTERVAL” input line.
Use the main dial to vary the interval time in increments of 1 second, the ï ð keys may be used to
vary the interval time in increment of 10 seconds.  Priority time may be varied between the range of
1s to 99s.  
 the  key to act as a short cut to 5 seconds (default).
The more often you check the priority channel, the greater chance you have of ‘catching’ activity,
however the greater the interruption to normal monitoring.
  to accept the input and exit the menu.
&Note:  Priority interval time is also used for VFO SCAN timings.
Section   6-2, 6-2-1, 6-2-2 
						

							62
(7)  SCAN - scanning memory channels & banks
The AR8600 has a SCAN mode whereby the contents stored in the MEMORY CHANNELS ARE
AUTOMATICALLY RECALLED AND MONITORED very quickly for activity - scanned.
* It is important that you do not confuse SCAN and SEARCH modes. *
SEARCH mode (covered later in this manual) automatically TUNES THE RECEIVER
THROUGH ALL FREQUENCIES between two specified frequency limits
looking for active frequencies.
7-1  SCAN - outline introduction
During SCAN, the AR8600 automatically recalls each memory channel which contains data in numeric
order and monitors it looking for activity.  When an ‘active’ memory channel is located (when a signal is
found and the squelch is open) the AR8600 will temporarily stop scanning.
At default when shipped from the factory, the AR8600 will remain on the active memory channel until
the received signal disappears and the squelch closes.  The CPU will then wait a further 2 seconds in
case a reply is audible (such as aircraft and air traffic communications) and will then resume scanning
the memory channels again.
If the ñ ò keys are pushed or the main dial rotated (while scanning or when stopped on an active
channel), the receiver resumes scanning in the direction of the arrow key or rotation.  This is particularly
useful for taking a second look a channels which have just been scanned.
Additional facilities available in SCAN
Memory banks may be “LINKED” and “UNLINKED” to effectively make larger or smaller groups of
memories which may be scanned together.
“PASS” may be used whereby memory channels can be skipped when not required (such as when
permanently busy), they may be easily reinstated at a later time.
“AUTO STORE” reserves memory bank “J” so that active frequencies found while conducting a
SEARCH  may be automatically written to memory.  This is a useful tool for compiling an activity list of
rarely used frequencies especially when unattended.  Refer to 
section 8-7-5 of this manual for further
information relating to auto store.
It is possible to alter the sequence of scanning events using the SCAN ENVIRONMENT menu.  There
are several scanning parameters which may be changed to suit your preferences and requirements
DELAY, LEVEL, VOICE, FREE & MODE, it is possible to mix combinations of all parameters.
7-2  SCAN considerations
It is presumed that you have already stored your favourite and commonly used frequencies into the
memory banks (as per section 5-2 of this manual).
A total of 1,000 memory channels are provided which are divided into 20 banks, each (at default) having
50 channels.  The memory 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) and numbered from 00 to 49.
Section 7, 7-1, 7-2 
						

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When in SCAN MODE, the memory banks are referred to as “SCAN BANK A”, “SCAN BANK B”,
“SCAN BANK f” etc rather than using the full title “SCAN MEMORY BANK A”, “SCAN MEMORY BANK
B” etc.  This terminology has been employed to make the explanation of and referral to SCAN MEMORY
BANKS (SCAN BANKS) less long-winded.
When shipped from the factory, memory bank “J” is reserved for auto-store of memory channels from
search mode so may already have frequencies stored.
Keep your memory banks tidy - for best scan speed
In order to achieve the maximum scanning speed, it is advisable to keep all similar frequencies and
modes grouped together within the memory banks.  The greater the frequency change between memory
channels, then the further the receiver’s VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) has to travel and the
slower the scan rates.  Similarly, when many changes of mode are called, more switching has to be
accomplished and the scan speed may be reduced.
Memory channel data may be entered in duplicate into several channels.  This will ensure the
channel data is scanned more frequently to increase the chances of activity being detected.
Limitations of SCAN mode
Should a number of different modes and wide range of frequencies be used, then the SCAN process
may be affected by noise or differences in squelch characteristic on some frequencies and modes.
To help provide the best operation of SCAN, additional facilities have been provided (configurable via
the SCAN ENVIRONMENT menu).  Should you listen to noisy frequencies or bands containing carriers,
make liberal use of the AUDIO, LEVEL and FREE scan facilities.
7-3  Starting to SCAN
Presuming that some memory channels are programmed with
data, to start the scan process will take one or two pushes of the
 key depending upon which operating mode is currently
employed (in VFO and search mode the first press accessed memory read):-
Memory read mode “M.RD”
 
VFO mode “VFO” or “2VFO”   
Search mode “SRCH”   
The legend “SCAN” is displayed toward the top left of the LCD to indicate that the SCAN process has
been started, a bank letter will also be displayed representing the current bank.  Ensure that the
squelch control is advanced clockwise to threshold point so that background noise is cancelled
and the squelch closes (otherwise scan will not operate).
Section  7-2, 7-3 
						

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When SCAN has been selected, only the currently displayed memory bank WHICH CONTAINS DATA
will be SCANNED (as bank link is default off), receive mode and frequency are unimportant.  Any
memory channels which contain no data (empty) will be ignored (skipped).
7-3-1  Transfer of active memory to VFO
When the scan process is paused on a busy channel,   to transfer the current memory
frequency to VFO where it may be monitored.
7-4  Selecting a scan bank
The memory bank identifier (such as “A”) will be
displayed on the left of the LCD under the legend
“SCAN”.  If more than one memory channel is
programmed into the current memory bank the
channel numbers will be changing.
When an ‘active’ channel has been located
(busy, so the squelch opens) the scan process will
temporarily pause on the active channel, the memory
location (such as “A03”) will be displayed along with
any accompanying text (displayed underneath
the memory location).
To select another
memory bank for
scanning, use the
ï ð keys or
 the
corresponding
letter on
the keypad from A to J,
for lower case banks
 the 
CASE SHIFT key first.
If no data is available, the next bank with valid data will be recalled (empty memory banks are skipped).
To scan more that one memory bank at a time, please refer to the scan bank linking 
section 7-7 of this
manual.
7-5  Channel PASS
When scanning, you may encounter active memory channels which you do not wish to currently monitor.
It is possible to manually force the scan process to continue by pressing the 
 key or ñ ò keys
but this manual intervention can be an annoyance.  For this reason it is possible to temporarily PASS
unwanted channels so that they are skipped when scanning.  PASS does not delete the memory
contents but simply ‘tags’ the channel to be skipped.  In memory read, the PASS tag may toggled on/off
and the tags removed in one operation using the delete pass channel facility of the DELETE menu.
Section 7-3, 7-3-1, 7-4, 7-5 
						

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While paused (during scan) on a busy channel which you do not
currently wish to monitor, 
  to skip it.  The scan
process will immediately move on to the next memory channel of
the current bank in the direction (up or down) which has been
previously used for tuning or memory read.  This tagged memory
channel will be skipped during subsequent scans until the tag is
removed.  The legend “PAS” will have been assigned to the
skipped memory channel which may be reviewed in memory read
mode.
7-5-1  Toggling memory channel PASS
The  key may also be used to tag (skip) unwanted channels when in memory read.
To cancel channel pass tag on a particular memory channel, recall it in memory read mode then
 .  The LCD legend “PAS” indicates when the channel is locked out, the  key
toggles “PAS” on/off.
7-5-2  Removing ALL memory PASS tags in one go
It is possible to remove the memory PASS tags of ALL memory channels in all banks in one operation
using the DELETE menu.
    to access the DELETE menu.   the ò key six times to
display the menu option “DEL MEM PASS”.
&Note: It will take a little while for the AR8600 to look for PROTECT channels and PASS
channels as you work through the menus.
If at least one memory channel has been tagged PASS, the third line from the bottom of the LCD will
display a memory location such as “PASS-CH A17” with the “A17” simply confirming that at least one
memory channel is tagged PASS.  If no memory channels have been tagged PASS, the LCD will display
“PASS-CH ---”.
To remove all memory PASS tags in one go 
 , the legend “MEM PASS CH ALL OFF!!”
will be displayed to show that removal of pass tags is in process followed by “
MEM PASS CH SEARCH !!”
as the AR8600 checks that all tags have been removed.  The LCD will then display “PASS-CH ---” to
confirm that no channels are now tagged as PASS.  To exit the menu and return to the standard display
 .
Section  7-5, 7-5-1, 7-5-2 
						

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7-6  Deleting memory channels
Although it is possible to over-write memory channels with new data, edit memory channels, swap, copy,
move and to PASS (skip) them, there will be occasions when you want to delete memory channels
completely.
7-6-1  Deleting single memory channels
While in memory read mode,     to delete the currently
displayed memory channel.  As a safe guard against accidental deletion you will be instructed to
  to execute the deletion, alternatively   to abort delete.
Once memory channels have been deleted, the data is destroyed and cannot be recalled again.
7-6-2  Deleting whole memory banks in one go
Should you wish to delete the entire contents of a memory bank, the DELETE menu may be used, this is
quicker than recalling each memory in memory read mode and deleting them individually, especially if
there are more than about five or six channels involved.
    to access the DELETE menu.   the ò key three times to
display the menu item “DELETE MEM-BANK B00”.  The LCD will display a memory bank location such
as “MEM-BANK B00” with the “B00” being the last memory bank used.  Use the ï ð ñ ò keys to select
the desired memory bank for deletion, alternatively type in the required bank letter via the keypad (the
CASE SHIFT key 
 will be required to access the lower case memory banks).  If there are no
channels which contain data in the selected memory bank, the LCD legend “B --“ will be displayed with
“B” being the current bank and “--“ indicating that no channels are available for recall or scan (as they
are empty).
To delete all memory channels from the displayed bank 
 .  After a few seconds the
LCD will display “DELETE MEM-BANK B--“ indicating that the selected bank no longer contains memory
data.  To exit the menu and return to the standard display 
 .
7-7  Scan bank link (scan group)
It is possible to custom define scan parameters for a single bank or group of memory banks.
Use the key sequence 
    to
access the “SCAN GROUP” menu.  Bank “SCAN GROUP 0”
contains a default listing and cannot be overwritten (so displays
“LINK OFF” on the bottom line of the LCD), banks 1 to 9 are
available for custom programming.
Use the main dial or ï ð keys to select the SCAN GROUP
number, for SCAN-GROUP numbers 1 to 9 the legend
“BANK LINK” will be displayed on the bottom line of the LCD
indicating that programming 
is possible.
Section 7-6, 7-6-1, 7-6-2, 7-7 
						

							67
 ò to move to the memory bank letters, then
reverse highlight the letters you wish to link together
as a group of memory channels to scan using the
ï ð ñ ò keys, 
  to mark desired
memory banks, both upper and lower case letters
may be highlighted in the same group.  The selected
banks (which will form a large scan group) will be
displayed in REVERSE contrast on the LCD.
It is also possible to use the keypad to quickly select the required banks for inclusion as a group, this
saves having to use 
 to toggle selection, The CASE SHIFT key   is used to toggle
between the upper and lower case memory bank listings.
  to accept the data input.    (one or twice) to start scanning if the
AR8600 is not already in scan mode.  The memory banks grouped together in the SCAN GROUP will
form a large group during scan.  The SCAN GROUP number (and associated data) will be used to define
current scan parameters.
For example:  If you group banks “B, E, F, a, h” as SCAN GROUP number “1”, then when any one of
these banks is scanned, all other banks in the group will be scanned in sequence over and over…
B > E > F > a > h > B > E > F > a > h etc (providing each of the banks contains stored memory
channels).
It is possible to scan ANY memory bank, even if it is not contained in the current SCAN GROUP list by
manually selecting the bank using the ï ð keys or keypad while in scan mode.
You can individually configure each of the nine SCAN GROUPS
1 to 9 with a different collection of banks.  SCAN GROUP 0
cannot be changed as it contains the default of LINK OFF so
that you can quickly disable bank link when individual memory
scan is required.  SCAN GROUP 0 also contains default
settings for DELAY, LEVEL, VOICE, FREE and MODE
parameters.
To change the active SCAN GROUP, access the SCAN GROUP
menu using the key sequence 
  
, select the desired SCAN GROUP (0 to 9) using the main dial or ï ð keys then
  to accept the change and exit the menu.
7-8  Additional scan facilities(Scan group environment - DELAY, LEVEL, VOICE, FREE, MODE)
It is possible to further customise the scan parameters for
each of the nine SCAN GROUPS (group 0 cannot be altered
as it contains the default information).
Section  7-7, 7-8 
						

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Use the key sequence     to access the “SCAN-GROUP” menu.
Use the ï ð keys to select the SCAN-GROUP number between 1 and 9.  
 ò three times to
move down beyond the bank link facility and onto the additional scan environment facilities: delay, level,
voice, free, mode scan.
1. DELAY OFF / 0.1 - 9.9 seconds (default 2.0s)
2. LEVEL OFF / 1 - 255 (default OFF)
3. VOICE OFF / 1 - 255 (default OFF)
4. FREE OFF / 1 - 60 seconds (default OFF)
5. MODE ALL, WFM, NFM, SFM, WAM, AM, NAM, USB, LSB, CW
7-8-1  Scan DELAY
The scan DELAY parameter affects the time the AR8600 will remain on an active frequency in scan
mode once the received signal has disappeared and the squelch has closed.  This is particularly useful
for customising how long the receiver will wait for a reply before resuming scan.  For example, when
communications are passed back and forth between a control tower / aircraft which may take a few
seconds.  The limits are OFF and 0.1 to 9.9 seconds in 0.1s increments (default 2.0 seconds).
Scan DELAY is configured via the SCAN-GROUP menu.  Use the key sequence 
 
  to access the “SCAN-GROUP” menu.  Use the ï ð keys to select the SCAN-
GROUP number between 1 and 9.  
 ò three times to display the scan environment parameters
starting with the DELAY.
  to toggle the status between 2.0s  and OFF,
the default is 2.0s.  Use the main dial to increment delay time in
0.1s or the ï ð keys to increment in 1.0s.
2.0sThe AR8600 will wait the specified time after the
squelch closes before scan.
OFFThe AR8600 will resume scan instantaneously
when the squelch closes.
  to accept the changes and return to the display prior to accessing the SCAN
environment menu.  Alternatively you may move to the next option (scan LEVEL squelch) by pressing
the ò key.
7-8-2  Scan LEVEL
The scan LEVEL squelch parameter causes the AR8600 to check the signal strength and to only open
the squelch when the signal strength is above the stated level (which is programmable in 256 steps).
The limits are OFF and 1 to 255 (default off).
Scan LEVEL is configured via the SCAN-GROUP menu.  Use the key sequence 
 
  to access the “SCAN-GROUP” menu.
Section 7-8, 7-8-1, 7-8-2 
						

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Use the ï ð keys to select the SCAN-GROUP number between 1 and 9.   ò four times to
display the scan environment parameter of LEVEL.
  as a short cut to off (which is the default).  Use the main dial to increment value by
1 or use the ï ð keys to increment by 10.
While adjusting level squelch, the “
¬” legend will be displayed to the left of the value “LEVEL  ¬  3”
indicating that the current value will 
not cause the squelch to close.  Increase the value until the “¬”
legend is just extinguished (this may typically be around a value of 5 - 60), the current transmission and
signals below this level 
will be skipped.  There will be no audio produced when a transmission is
encountered below the level configured even though the “S” squelch legend is displayed.   This is a
useful alternative to regular squelch on noisy bands such as short wave.
The approximate relationship between signal meter segments and level value is as follows:
             1         2         3         4        5        6        7        8         9       10      11      12       13      14
             8        13      18       24       29      35      39       44      50      55      58       62       71      77
&Note:  When level squelch is in operation, the rotary squelch control is usually best
rotated to the fully anti-clockwise position.
  to accept the changes and return to the display prior to accessing the scan
environment menu.  Alternatively you may move to the next option (scan VOICE squelch) by pressing
the ò key.
While scanning, the LCD legend “LSQ” is displayed to indicate that scan LEVEL squelch is in operation.
7-8-3  Scan VOICE
The scan VOICE squelch parameter causes the AR8600 to check the current frequency for valid audio
and to only open the squelch when audio above a specified level (which is programmable in 256 steps)
is detected.  The limits are OFF and 1 to 255 (default off).
Scan VOICE is configured via the SCAN-GROUP menu.  Use the key sequence 
 
  to access the “SCAN-GROUP” menu.  Use the ï ð keys to select the SCAN-
GROUP number between 1 and 9.  
 ò five times to display the scan environment parameter
of VOICE.
  as a short cut to off (which is the default).  Use the main dial to increment value by
1 or use the ï ð keys to increment by 10.
While adjusting voice squelch, the “
¬” legend will be displayed to the left of the value “VOICE   ¬  12”
indicating that the current value will 
not cause the squelch to close.  Increase the value until the “¬”
legend is just extinguished (this may typically be around a value of 1 to 100), the current transmission
and signals with audio below this level 
will be skipped.  There will be no audio produced when a
transmission is encountered with audio below the level configured even though the “S” squelch legend is
displayed.
Section  7-8-2, 7-8-3 
						

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&Note:  When voice squelch is in operation, the rotary squelch control is usually best rotated
to the fully anti-clockwise position.
  to accept the changes and return to the display prior to accessing the scan
environment menu.  Alternatively you may move to the next option (scan FREE time) by pressing
the ò key.
While scanning, the LCD legend “VSQ” is displayed to indicate that scan VOICE squelch is in operation.
7-8-4  Scan FREE
The scan FREE time parameter determines how long the AR8600 will remain on an active frequency
before resuming scan even though the frequency is still active.  This is useful if you wish to gain a snap
shot of activity without the AR8600 being tied to a busy frequency for long periods of time (such as when
monitoring active amateur band repeaters etc).  Scan FREE time saves you having to manually
intervene to force the scan process to resume and saves the need to lockout memory channels using
the channel PASS facility.  The limits are OFF and 01 to 60 seconds (default OFF).
Scan FREE time is configured via the SCAN-GROUP menu.  Use the key sequence 
 
  to access the “SCAN-GROUP” menu.  Use the ï ð keys to select the
SCAN-GROUP number between 1 and 9.  
 ò six times to display the scan environment
parameter of FREE.
  to toggle between OFF and 5 seconds (the default is off).  Use the main dial to
increment value by 1s or use the ï ð keys to increment by 5s.
  to accept the changes and return to the display prior to accessing the scan
environment menu.  Alternatively you may move to the next option (scan receive MODE) by pressing
the ò key.
While scanning, the LCD legend “FRE” is displayed to indicate that scan FREE time is in operation and
the scan process will only pause on active frequencies for the specified time.
7-8-5  Scan (receive) MODE
The scan receive MODE parameter enables selected receive modes to be scanned in isolation even
though memory banks may contain many different receive modes.  This saves the need to lockout
memory channels using the channel PASS facility when only a certain receive mode is desired
(such as AM for airband monitoring etc).
Scan receive MODE is configured via the SCAN-GROUP menu.  Use the key sequence 
   to access the “SCAN-GROUP” menu.  Use the ï ð keys to select the
SCAN-GROUP number between 1 and 9.  
 ò seven times to display the scan environment
parameter of MODE.
Section 7-8-3, 7-8-4, 7-8-5