maxtrac 32 channel conversion..... deaf

mancow · Post by **mancow** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:27 pm

What's up with this?

MAXTRAC 840, 32 ch firmware installed, converted to high signalling, seems to work fine. The issue is that it's deaf as hell. The same thing happened to another of the same type and it's not the RF components.

I'm stumped.

kf4sqb · Post by **kf4sqb** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:45 pm

Did you convert them? If so, did they work properly before you converted them? I've never upgraded the firmware in one, so I'm not sure, but wouldn't you have to re-align it (softpot values) afterwards?

Max-trac · Post by **Max-trac** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:47 am

If you "saved tuning parameters" when you blanked and initialized, then you probably have to re-blank and don't do that.

You could try the full alignment first, but anytime I blanked a trunking maxtrac and initialized it as conventional and used the save tuning data, it did all kinds of screwing things like being MHz off freq etc....

kc7gr · Post by **kc7gr** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:12 pm

Max-trac wrote:If you "saved tuning parameters" when you blanked and initialized, then you probably have to re-blank and don't do that.

You could try the full alignment first, but anytime I blanked a trunking maxtrac and initialized it as conventional and used the save tuning data, it did all kinds of screwing things like being MHz off freq etc....

Agreed. If you're changing a board's bandsplit, blank the tuning values and do a full realignment. It's the only way to get reliable operation afterwards.

Keep the peace(es).

n5tbu · Post by **n5tbu** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:49 am

There are no rec tuning parameters in the alignment(other than crystal numbers and voltage) so,thats prob not your problem.
mod

kcbooboo · Post by **kcbooboo** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:44 am

"MAXTRAC 840, 32 ch firmware installed, converted to high signalling, seems to work fine. The issue is that it's deaf as hell."

How are you determining that it's "deaf as hell"? What frequency are you trying to receive? How much signal are you feeding into the radio? Does it transmit properly, on both repeater and talk-around frequencies, and make rated output power?

If the radio was working fine before you converted it, then replacing the firmware and blanking and initializing the board will not affect it, providing you're keeping it in the same band that it was originally. You CAN mess it up if you change the model number significantly, like trying to make a non-talk-around radio do talk-around.

Bob M.

mancow · Post by **mancow** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:18 pm

I haven't put it on the IFR yet but just from general use testing it sure didn't receive anything but static.

The model # is D45MWA5GB7AK

It has an HLN9313 board in it.

I didn't bother to test it prior to the change but it came from a lot of similar units given to me. I did another in the same fashion and it too is deaf now. I can't imagine they were all bad. They were pulled from a working system.

I can only guess that this model just freaks out when changed from what it's supposed to be.

mancow · Post by **mancow** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:23 pm

Max-trac wrote:If you "saved tuning parameters" when you blanked and initialized, then you probably have to re-blank and don't do that.

You could try the full alignment first, but anytime I blanked a trunking maxtrac and initialized it as conventional and used the save tuning data, it did all kinds of screwing things like being MHz off freq etc....

I think you may be onto it. I recall that's how I did it before and this time I was in a hurry and just told it to save it.

To answer another question asked, I'm not trying to receive anything out of range. It's just some regular stuff in the 851-869 range.

The first problem radio is with a friend and I can't find the other firmware chip to try on another right now or I would test the theory.

kcbooboo · Post by **kcbooboo** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:31 am

I had one MaxTrac that would operate fine on ch 1, but not open the squelch on ch2, no matter how strong the signal. If I opened the squelch via the MON button, it would hear signals just fine, down to 0.1uV. Something in the firmware was doing strange things to it. It didn't matter what frequencies I put into ch 1 or ch 2; ch 1 would work fine and ch 2 was totally mute.

I later swapped logic boards and it still had the same problem.

Turns out the VCO was way off frequency and the steering line had to go way out of range to make it receive. The microprocessor assumed there was a problem and wouldn't let the radio unsquelch.

Bob M.