Theunit draws only 22 milliamperes, so battery life should not be amajor concern. It is designed to run from sixinternal AAA batteries or from an external source of 6 to 15 Vdc.
The Earth Monitor is a compact, portable unit measuring 3" (76 mm)x 4.5" (114 mm) x 2.25" (57 mm). It confirms mybelief that we are entering the "golden age" of natural radio. Eventoday, there are few commercial units available, so it's refreshingto see a new entry to the field from a respected firm. Not too many years ago, the only practical way to hear naturalradio was to build your own detector, or adapt some other piece ofequipment such as an audio amplifier or selective voltmeter. The unit detects a broad band ofsignals from 10 Hz to 15 kHz. These signalsinclude "sferics," "tweeks," "whistlers," "dawn chorus," and otherphenomena occurring in the Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) and Very LowFrequency (VLF) radio spectrum. The Earth Monitor iscapable of tuning into the fascinating realm of "natural radio"&emdash the study of signals from planet Earth. The new NWR-SAME weather alert radio is available for $79.95 fromGrove Enterprises and from Radio Shack outlets.Īlthough Kiwa Electronics is best known for their line ofreceiving accessories, the addition of the Earth Monitor nowputs a receiving device in their product lineup. The unit operates on 120 Vac, but an optional 9 volt battery keepsthe unit failsafe during power outages. The radio possesses excellent sensitivity, with the attached whipadequate for most metropolitan applications for fringe receptionareas, an RCA phono jack is provided for an external antenna, such asa conventional scanner antenna. The weather radio can store as many as three different alerts,user-retrievable, in case one or more were missed. Color indicators notify the observer whetherthe notification is a statement, a watch, or a warning. Allowing normal weather broadcast reception, the owner ofthe low-profile radio can also custom-encode the receiver to beactivated by NOAA/NWS warnings for his specified area.Īn LCD panel indicates the weather channel being monitored, butduring a storm reads out the text of any alert directed toward yourarea, while the speaker gives an audible (and volume adjustable)siren or beep warning. Radio Shack has released a seven-channel weather radio with atwist: NWR-SAME (National Weather Radio Specific Area MessageEncoding). Watchan upcoming "Scanner Equipment" column for a further assessment byBob Parnass. The AR7000 has a factory recommended retail price of $1459.95 andis available from Grove Enterprises and other MT advertisers. Rear-apron jacks provide video (PAL or NTSC)and audio outputs, tape recorder activation, headphone and externalspeaker feed, and RS232C computer control capability. Tuning steps can be selected from 10 Hz to 1 MHz, and an IF shiftof +/-8.5 kHz (in 100 Hz increments) allows rejection of adjacentchannel interference. Since 10 kHz-2000 MHz antennas don't exist on thecommercial market, the user will have to externally selectappropriate antennas for the desired bands. The entire frequency range is accommodated by one BNC antennaconnector. While the SDU5000 allowsup to 10 MHz span, the AR7000 allows only 80 channels to be slowlyswept at its 20-channel-per-second scanning speed.īarring these limitations, the receiver does have a lot going forit, including 100 kHz-2000 MHz frequency coverage (less cellularexcept on government orders), all-mode detection, triple conversion,excellent sensitivity, multiple selectivity options, 1500 memorychannels in 15 banks, and a built-in, 3.1 inch diagonal,multi-purpose, color LCD which can be alternated betweenfrequency/function display and spectrum display.
With only one knob and a few pushbuttons,the new receiver is operated almost entirely by its companion remotecontrol unit (or via computer using an interface and free software).When new functions are required, a menu must be brought up andstep-selected for desired characteristics. While the AR5000 has an assortment of front panel controls, theAR7000 is quite spartan. The AR7000(designated AR7000B in AOR's product announcement, but not indicatedon the receiver) is a complex little package with specifications andperformance, according to the manufacturer, falling between theirmodels AR3000A and AR5000 plus. With little fanfare, AOR has released a new, digital signalprocessing (DSP), wideband receiver to the U.S.
Please mention you saw it in Monitoring Times!ĪR7000 / Radio Shack weather alertradio / Kiwa Earth Monitor / Radio Max / MFJ Calendar Clock / Icom IC-T8A / BayGen- A radio headed for disaster / OptoelectronicsOptotrakk er / TheMFJ-418 Pocket Morse Code Tutor / TechtoyzMicro RF Detector / The Palomar Loop AntennaSystem / Ergo 3 Receiver ControlSoftware / Optoelectronics MicroCounterFrequency Counter