It is our pleasure to offer this AR7030+ to the Ebay
community. Because of the variety of high quality shortwave
receivers that we offer on Ebay, we have often been asked which receiver is our
favorite of all the receivers that we have owned and operated. Such a
question is difficult to answer because there is no perfect receiver, but there
are a couple receivers that come close and this 7030+ is one of them. We
would rank the 7030+ as one of our all time favorite receivers and own one of
these 7030's (non plus version) for our personal use and enjoyment.
Cosmetically, the receiver looks to be in very nice original condition with only minor signs of age and operation. We did not see any
truly noticeable cosmetic marks on this receiver, and if there are any to be
found, they can be overlooked with the eyes upon casual inspection.
Operationally, the receiver was tested the receiver and ran it
through a variety of operations. This included the primary functions, but
also the recalibrating the IF filter bank, verifying that the Sync auto-locked
on the signal, and that the RF gain would automatically attenuate if the signal
was too strong. We found no issues or shortcomings and the receiver was a
joy to use. The remote control worked perfectly and the sensitivity was
AOR wonderful.
This AR7030+ is later production with serial number of 103550. This 7030+ comes with 4 stock filters plus two optional filters, handheld remote, and does not have the NB7030 optional board installed. Over the years, we have sold slightly over 100 of the AR7030s and AR7030+ receivers and buyers seem to appreciate what the AOR offers with regards to performance.
We include information in the text below with regards to the
"plus" upgrades over the standard AR7030 receiver.
Please note that a former owner had a DRM mod installed. This is an aftermarket installation that includes extra circuitry and internal connections to enable such reception (see internal picture). We have no information about how to manage receiving these signals, but there is a connector on the rear panel for accessibility. DRM is an abbreviation of Digital Radio Mondiale that can receive high quality digital shortwave signals that rival commercial FM in audio quality. If you wish to read about DRM, you may find information at this website:
https://www.drm.org/ (please copy and paste link into your internet browser)
At the time of sale into the hobby market about 22 years ago,
the 7030+ carried a suggested retail of $1799. If we factor in inflation,
this same receiver presented here, would sell for over $3600 if purchased as
new in today's marketplace.
As mentioned previously, this receiver has the 4 stock filters installed (shown on the front panel as 2.1, 3.7, 5.2, & 9.5 KHz. In addition, a previous owner has installed 2 additional filters that display 6.6 and 6.6 KHz. You'll notice that there are two identical bandwidths of 6.6 KHz and we suspect that they were intended to be utilized with the DRM reception of the receiver.
We want to remind users that the narrower filters typically utilized for sideband can be used to tune AM signals. If tuning AM signals using SSB and utilizing ECSS (called exalted carrier single sideband) on these signals, the fidelity would resemble an AM filter at twice the bandwidth. Thus, for example, if you tuned Radio Romania in ECSS using either upper or lower sideband and utilized the 3.7 KHz filter, the fidelity would resemble a similar filter bandwidth of about 7.4 KHz using the AM mode.
Years ago, we met a gentleman who tuned over 100 NASWA countries on shortwave and he informed us that he always tuned his AM shortwave signals using sideband. Since receivers are more sensitive in sideband, he could hear the weak signals more readily and could copy them better than if using the AM mode. He would carefully tune the receiver using sideband to remove the audio distortion and thus could clearly hear the AM signals. This was his secret and he told us that he would regularly tune the tropical bands early in the morning very carefully to hear Papua New Guinea. Such tuning requires that the receiver have the ability to very fine tune.... typically in Hz.... and then the signal can be very clear. Sadly, unlike this AR7030+, many receivers lack this capability as they can't tune fine enough to remove the sideband distortion. However, this AR7030+ tunes with such precision that you can easily use ECSS (exalted carrier single sideband) tuning instead of the AM synchronous detection mode.
Selling price on this receiver has been set in accordance with
condition, demand, and desirability.
Also included in this sale and provided for free are an array of
other items as reviews and promotional materials for both the AR7030 and the
AR7030+ that is the most comprehensive collection of documents you will find
for this receiver as they were accumulated by us over a period of 20+ years:
Here is a list of differences with the upgrade from the basic
7030 and the "plus" version:
In our listening shack, we have a variety of radios and that
includes our personal AOR 7030. And like a fisherman who uses a variety
of rods, reels and baits to catch that fish, we use a variety of receivers,
antennas, preamps, & DSP devices to help us catch that elusive signal
across the spectrum of broadcast transmissions. The AOR 7030 is one of
our favorite receivers among the dozens of receiver we have used and enjoyed.
We are not the only user that loves this receiver and there are
pages and pages of praises for it across the internet and we have posted some
of the reviews, comments, and sales specs at these links below.
Eham site of consumer reviews and overall rating of 4.7 out of
5.0 from 22 different reviewers:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/475 (please copy and paste this link into your
internet browser)
And here are some other detailed reviews of this receiver:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200126225634/http://www.mwcircle.org/mw_rec_aor7030.htm (please copy and paste this link into your
internet browser)
https://web.archive.org/web/20180425093811/http://www.radiointel.com/review-aor7030.htm (please copy and paste this link into your
internet browser)
Often we will introduce the people looking at our listings to
the joys of shortwave listening and give some background on the hobby. We
assume that everyone looking at this receiver does not need that introduction
and you are most likely a more experienced shortwave listener. However,
let us list some of the features of this receiver. You may click on the
links above for specifications and other technical data, but here are some user
points of interest. It would be easy to look at the front panel of the
AR7030+ and think that it is a bare bones receiver.... it is not and it offers
the user many nice features:
· Modes
of AM / USB / LSB / CW / NFM / DAT
· Tuning
range of 0 thru 32000 KHz
· Four
stock bandwidths (with two optional filters installed)
· Passband
tuning
· Notch
filter (option is not installed)
· Noise
blanker (option is not installed)
· Bass
/ Treble tone controls
· Dual
VFOs
· 400
Scanable memories (can be alpha tagged)
· Synchronous
Detector (manual or automatic)
· AGC
of fast / med / slow / off
· Preamp
· RF
gain (manual or automatic)
· Attenuator
(four levels)
· BFO
· Squelch
· 24
hour clock / timer
· Headphone
jack
· RS-232
port for remote computer control
· Dual
speed tuning
· Rock
solid stability of + or - 2.5 ppm
The 7030+ also has some unique features not often seen, if seen
at all, in other receivers. For instance, there is automatic filter
alignment. Thus, you can install the filters, get into the configuration
menu, and watch as the 7030+ aligns the filters without you needing to do
anything special. The process takes about a minute and automatically
cascades the filters and sets them in the receiver according to bandwidth.
On this unit, the sync detector can be manually or automatically
tuned. Thus, if you are off frequency and the receiver tunes
automatically, you will see the receiver literally search and then center
itself on the signal until the sync is fully engaged and locked. Many receivers
do not have a sync detector, and for those that do, we have never seen this
automatic search feature.
Another feature is memory sequencing. How many times do
you store frequencies in memory and then find that the memories make no sense
with regards to memory number and frequency location. Thus, with the 7030+, you
can place a large variety of memories in the bank and then hit a button for it
to sequence the memories from lowest to highest frequencies in perfect
order....a wonderful convenience.
Some people complain about the ergonomics of this unit and the
lack of buttons on the front. The 7030+ operates by using the same
buttons to access menus and submenus. We would say that it took us about
a day or two to catch on to the operation, and after that, we never had a
problem accessing or using any of the features. Once familiar with the
controls and menus, the operation becomes second nature and we only had to
refer to the manual a couple of times when the 7030 was new to us.
For those people who may prefer, there is a remote control with
keypad that allows easy and direct access of the commonly used features.
While we have personally never felt the need to use this remote with our 7030
receiver for operation, we are familiar with others who have informed us of the
advantage of placing the remote control in front of the receiver and using it
instead of the front panel controls.
One of the things that we love about this receiver is its
compact size. When we go to our camp in the mountains, it is very easy to
pack due to its ease of portability. We use solar panels to power the
receiver, but the user could also power the AR7030+ using a car battery or
battery pack for the same result. We also use an EF-SWL antenna and use
one both at camp and at home. At night, we receive such good reception
(our camp is in the mountains and about 7 miles off the power grid) that we can
log stations that are difficult to hear with other receivers using the
same parameters here at our home. Here is a video that we made of a trip
a while back ago using our personal AR7030 (non-plus version) where we could
hear Radio North Korea at early evening on 13.760 KHz ....a
difficult catch on the East Coast of North America (please note that the audio
was better when hearing the signal in person than what our video seemed to
capture with our camera and the resulting echo):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3m6H9ieDqs (please copy and paste this link into your
internet browser)
This receiver not only excels on shortwave, but on mediumwave as
well and to the delight of many of its owners. The circuitry is so quiet
that we have sometimes wondered if the receiver was powered on while operating
at normal room volume and when tuning between stations as you do not get the
same degree of hiss and white noise common with many other receivers.
This receiver is built like a tank and is bound to give many
years of enjoyment.
Passport to World Band Radio gives this receiver a 5 star
"Passport's Choice" rating and describes the unit as:
"a smashing performer, with audio quality that can be a
pleasure hour after hour".
Personal note - this is one of the better sounding receivers we
have ever used and it has separate bass / treble controls which are not common
on serious receivers and certainly not typically heard on units of this size.
Radio Database International's White Paper describes the 7030
as:
"one of the best performing receivers
available, with a degree of professional-grade performance and a number of
touches rarely found elsewhere. Almost every performance variable that
should be right has been executed properly and often exceptionally".
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Those buyers living outside the USA are also welcome to purchase
from us. We have shipped to 113 countries during the past 26 years on
Ebay and we are happy to ship virtually anywhere in the world if served by Ebay's Global Shipping Program. You may
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Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to look at
our Ebay items!