Handy trick for clearing X9000 heads

[kc7gr]

Fellow techies,

Here's a handy trick I've discovered for "clearing" the EEPROM in a Systems 9000 series control head. It comes in particularly handy for converting a head from Syntor X9000 to Spectra and vice-versa.

Note that I cannot take any responsibility for damage caused to equipment by use of this process. If you're not comfortable manipulating the innards of electronic devices, or you do not have the appropriate tools or work environment, DON'T TRY THIS!!! The potential for damage to the head is fairly high if you don't know what you're doing.

PREREQUISITES:

(1) The control head in question must have a SOCKETED firmware (EPROM) chip. It doesn't matter if the EEPROM is socketed or soldered, but the FIRMWARE chip must be.

(2) If you're transferring the control head involved from a Syntor X9000 to a Spectra, the head MUST be a type that is compatible with Spectras to begin with. This includes, but may not be limited to, HCN1036, 1047, 1063, and 1073 series. The HCN1033 series heads are, to the best of my experience, NOT COMPATIBLE with the Spectra.

(3) Also, if the head is coming from an X9000 and going to a Spectra, it MUST be an 8K model (check the EEPROM).

HOW-TO:

(1) Open up the head, and pull the top shield off the microprocessor section. With some heads, you may need to desolder the top shield.

(2) Using a PLCC extraction tool, or an angled dental pick down the designated extraction slots in the socket, CAREFULLY extract the firmware chip from its socket. DO NOT USE A SCREWDRIVER OF ANY KIND! You will break the socket corners if you do.

(3) Connect the control head to a working radio setup and, while keeping the boards separated, flip on the power for about ten seconds and then power off again. During this time, the head will display some gibberish and the display may flicker.

(4) Reinstall the firmware chip, put the head back together, connect it to your desired radio setup, and power up. It will likely display at least 'FAIL 05/82,' possibly some other errors if the radio programming is goofy.

(5) Program as desired!

I've followed this process with two A9 Spectras to date, and had great success with it. However, as I've said above, DON'T attempt this if you're uncertain of your tools or your skills.

Happy tweaking.

[kb0nly]

Awesome!

I take it that powering up the head without firmware must somehow overwrite or corrupt the EEProm which then allows reprogramming to either radio since the codeplug is no longer radio specific?

[kc7gr]

Awesome!

I take it that powering up the head without firmware must somehow overwrite or corrupt the EEProm which then allows reprogramming to either radio since the codeplug is no longer radio specific?

It sure seems to (corrupt it). The funny part about this is that I discovered it completely by accident. I had been archiving the firmware from a Syntor X9000-initialized head at work, and I forgot to put the firmware EPROM back in for a pre-reassembly test. I have to admit that I panicked a bit when the display did its gibberish thing.

After reinstalling the EPROM, and getting the head back together, I was also a bit annoyed (initially) when I got the 'FAIL 05/82' message. Then I started getting ideas. Acting on said ideas, I decided to try what I didn't think would work: Putting a Spectra program into a head that had formerly worked on a Syntor X9000.

Lo and behold, it worked like a champ! Just to be certain, I deliberately bestowed the removed-EPROM treatment on a Spectra head, and tried reprogramming its guts to be on a Syntor X9000, and that worked just as well!

I would certainly encourage others to make further experiments along these lines. Who knows what may be turned up?

Keep the peace(es).

[akardam]

Can't you do the same thing by inserting a new or blanked EEPROM? My recollection is that certian 8k sys9000 heads can be used on either a x9000 or a Spectra and all 8k heads are the DIP type...

[kb0nly]

Nope, he's talking about SMD heads. You can't remove the EEProm, it's not socketed, it's permanently soldered to the board.

[kc7gr]

Can't you do the same thing by inserting a new or blanked EEPROM? My recollection is that certian 8k sys9000 heads can be used on either a x9000 or a Spectra and all 8k heads are the DIP type...

Only if the EEPROM is socketed as well. For the control heads that have a soldered-in EEPROM, this method is much easier.

Keep the peace(es).

[kb3jkp]

would the A9->W9 conversion work the same way???

[kc7gr]

would the A9->W9 conversion work the same way???

The 'W9' conversion is not one I'm familiar with. If you'll refresh my memory, I'll hazard a guess.

Keep the peace(es).

[jmr061]

Any head that can work on a spectra can be converted from x9000 to spectra simply by reprogramming it hooked up to a spectra. You don't need to take out the firmware chip and power it up.

That is a nice trick to convert from spectra to x9000 however. Many years ago (its also documented on MB's x9000 site) I discovered you can take a program x9000, hook it up to a spectra, read it (RSS will report errors), hook up a spectra head you wish to convert to x9000 and re-program the radio and it will convert that head from spectra to x9000.

To convert an smd systems 9000 head from a9 to w9 you have to swap firmware in it.

Jason

[kb0nly]

What exactly is the difference between an A9 and W9 head? That is what advantage is there to upgrading it to a W9?

[jmr061]

An A9 head is used for the x9000 and/or Spectra. The W9 head is used only on the astro spectra. If you have an SMD type systems 9000 head (has surface mount ic's versus DIP style) it can be made into either a spectra/x9000 or astro head depending on the firmware in it.

Jason

[kf4sqb]

Only difference between the A9 and W9 is the firmware. The only 'advantage' to upgrading to a W9 is if you are using it for a trunking system. Thats pretty much all the 'W' means. 'A' is conventional, 'W' is trunking. There are a few other 'letters' (I know 'B', and 'C', not sure what others there are), but I don't know what all of them mean. I believe Mike goes into a fair amount of detail on the subject on his website.

[Mike B]

Actually the W9 is for Astro Spectra and later radio models that use this type of head. The firmware and the way the heads work is different.

One big operational difference is the radio drawer stores the mode names for the W9, while the control head stores the mode names in an A9, B9, C9 or E9. I have never tried it, but I doubt a W9 would work on a Spectra or Spectra II. The display on a W9 would probably just garbage out if you put it on an A9, B9, C9 or E9 code plug radio. The W9 works more like the A7 head does, but is not interchangeable with the A7.

Of course Motorola stopped making the old A9 control head plastic for a while. I think they reinstated it sometime later after getting all the complaints. This did result in lots of people installing Astro labeled replacement front plastic on the old non-Astro control heads. You cannot trust the label on the front of used heads, you actually have to check the part number on the back, check the firmware part number on the U0007 PROM chip or plug it into an Astro Spectra radio drawer and try it to know if its really an Astro W9 head or not:
http://www.open.org/~blenderm/images/smdheadc_t.gif

[jmr061]

A factory W9 head will work on a regular spectra by changing the firmware to that of an A9 head.

Jason

[kf4sqb]

Actually the W9 is for Astro Spectra and later radio models that use this type of head.

Sorry about the misinformation . Thanks for the correction Mike.