Astro Spectra W3 to W9 conversion

[NSPD]

I have been doing some searching and have not been able to find a concrete answer on this.

I have a UHF W3 Astro Spectra that I want to convert to a W9 model. I also have a VHF L9 Astro Spectra that I want to convert to a W3 model.

Other than the new S-Records, exactly what parts need to be swapped for these to work correctly?

[motorola_otaku]

You have a UHF W3 and a VHF W9 (I'm assuming the L9 is referring to a L-series consolette pull.) You want a UHF W9 and a VHF W3.

Just swap the front panel interconnects around. No other hardware work is necessary.

[NSPD]

Excellent, thanks for the info.

Should I be able to power up the former W3 with a W9 head after the hardware swap long enough to do the software end?

[motorola_otaku]

Yes, as long as the interconnects are swapped around it'll power on. Be sure not to plug a W9 head into the W3-boarded radio (or vice-versa) or magic smoke will be let out.

[Jim202]

Excellent, thanks for the info.

Should I be able to power up the former W3 with a W9 head after the hardware swap long enough to do the software end?

Slightly a different question here. If you have an AS that had a W5 head, what needs to be done to convert it to a W9 head? You mentioned doing the software. Just what does that entail?

Jim

[NSPD]

All you need is a W5 S-Record with the appropriate flash options (make sure you have firmware that supports them). Write down your tuning values, force the S-Record in with the appropriate software, and fix the tuning values using the ones you have recorded.

The W3 interconnect board is different than that of the W4/W5/W7/W9, all of which use the same interconnect board.

[Jim202]

All you need is a W5 S-Record with the appropriate flash options (make sure you have firmware that supports them). Write down your tuning values, force the S-Record in with the appropriate software, and fix the tuning values using the ones you have recorded.

The W3 interconnect board is different than that of the W4/W5/W7/W9, all of which use the same interconnect board.

Maybe I am missing something here in the translation.

You say to use a W5 s record with the appropriate flash options. Can you explain this in more detail.

It is confusing me with what your saying. Again I want to go to a W9 head when all is done and said. Been programing these radios a number of years and never remember anything that mentioned creating an s record.

I did make a miss statement in that the radio currently has a W4 head on it (rotary channel selector) and not the w5.

Do have an Astro Spectra radio with the W5 head on it.

Jim

[motorola_otaku]

You say to use a W5 s record with the appropriate flash options. Can you explain this in more detail.

He just means to make sure that your W5 s-rec has the flash options you want - P25, trunking, etc.

It is confusing me with what your saying. Again I want to go to a W9 head when all is done and said. Been programing these radios a number of years and never remember anything that mentioned creating an s record.

Changing head types on an Astro Spectra is a little more involved than with an analog Spectra. To do it, you need a s-record read from a radio that matches your radio's model and band/range with the head type you want. You use MTSX Lab typically to read and write s-records. It doesn't unpack or even recognize the radio data - it just functions as a tool to read data from a radio, save it, and write it back in. SInce the s-record also contains the tuning data, you need to manually write down the existing values and plug them back in after the s-record swap.

[NSPD]

Again I want to go to a W9 head when all is done and said.

My bad... I misread that. You will need a W9 S-record with the appropriate flash options then. Same procedure.