AR-DV3 Overview, Features & Options

Summary: A tour of the AOR AR-DV3 desktop wideband digital receiver: coverage, decoding, main features and the optional extras.

What the AR-DV3 Is

The AR-DV3 is a desktop receiver covering 100 kHz to 3000 MHz in steps as small as 10 Hz (the US consumer version blocks cellular frequencies). Above 18 MHz it’s a double-conversion superheterodyne with a 31 MHz IF, and the signal is digitised at about 40 MHz and decoded by a DSP. The reference oscillator is a temperature-compensated 10 MHz source with +/-1 ppm accuracy.

Modes

• Analogue: CW, SSB (USB and LSB), AM, SAM (SAH/SAL) and FM, each with selectable IF bandwidth.
• Digital voice: DMR (Tier 1 and 2), NXDN / Digital CR, dPMR (dPMR446 Tier 1), P25 Phase 1, D-STAR (DV mode), Yaesu C4FM, Alinco EJ-47U and TETRA (direct mode and traffic channels).
• Digital Auto (D-AU): identifies the digital mode automatically for all of these except TETRA, which must be selected manually.
• Optional: TETRA GSSI user-group filtering and a COSPAS-SARSAT beacon decoder, each unlocked by an activation key.

Main Features

• 2,000 memory channels (40 banks of 50), 40 search banks, three VFOs, and 50 pass frequencies per bank or VFO.
• Cyber Search: an FFT-based fast search that analyses 500 kHz at a time.
• Auto mode (F-AU) that sets mode, IF bandwidth, step and offset by frequency and region (USA, Japan or Europe).
• Attenuator (20 dB) and RF amplifier (about 14 dB), AGC, manual RF gain, noise reduction and an audio equaliser.
• CTCSS, reverse tone, DCS, voice squelch and voice inversion descrambler (not on the US consumer version).
• Priority reception, offset reception, alarm and timer recording, sleep timer.
• SD card (SDHC to 32 GB, FAT32): recording with logs, memory backup and firmware updates.
• USB Type-C for PC control, USB audio and 12 kHz offset IF output; power from 12 V DC or USB-PD (15 V, 30 W or more).

In the Box

The instruction manual only. The international model doesn’t include the AC power supply or telescopic antenna; they’re sold separately.

Options

AC power supply ATM024T-W120V (12 V), telescopic antenna RA8600, 10.7 MHz IF output unit IFDV3 (+/-2 MHz bandwidth), digital I/Q output module IQDV3 (300 kHz bandwidth, for Airspy SDR#), TETRA GSSI activation key AKTT-0003, COSPAS-SARSAT activation key AKCS-0003, mobile bracket MMDV3 and galvanic isolation transformer GT-1MK2. (The manual notes some options may not have been available at release.)

Squawker

There’s no Squawker export, Connect or Programmer support for the AR-DV3. See AR-DV3 Loading Frequencies From Squawker PC & Squawker Online.