Spectra Not Rocking and Rolling

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 5:35 pm

Alright experts, give me some ides on what the hay is going on with my radio

I remotely mounted a Spectra VHF A4 Dash unit in my car and I can program channels to my radio just fine, but the radio wont do a couple of very important thigns.
- The frequencys that are programmed work fine as long as you are within 100 feet of my vehicle, and it isnt raining, and you are on a lucky streak, but when i "Close Call" on my BCD396T, the frequencies come out correctly.
- I can program a scan list and the can works just fine while the programming cable is connected, but once the cable is removed form the back, the scan function ceases to operate and does the Monitor Toggle. We originally thought that we had the wrong remote head cable (i have HKN4356B), and that maybe the remote head cable should have came from teh serial port in the back that i using to program through and the programmign should be dont through the serial port in the front, but this is originally a dash unit and the dash units dont have the serial port in front.

Here are the things i know
- iam confused
- the antenna coax run i is patent
- the unit fi properly powered
- all of my cable runs are patent

So is this a power issue (loss of power when porgrammign cable is removed and are there some issues with how my radio processes the antenna? the other name for this quesiton might be "is this going to cost me alot fo money because i will have to drag it to the moto dealer to get fixed"?

I am sure that i ahve missed osme vital bit of information, so please rely or pm me with questions.

dave

Jim202 · Post by **Jim202** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 5:52 pm

The first question I will ask is are you doing an F8 in the RSS
to save the programming to the radio?

Nex question, have you checked the antenna to make sure
the cable isn't shorted? It is easy to make up the mini UHF
connectors and have a short between the center conductor
and the shield of the coax. Depending on the type of antenna
you have, I would just unscrew the antenna from the mobile
mount and check the cable with an ohm meter. You should
not see any resistance on a standard NMO type mobile mount.

The scan issue is a whole different world. There are a number
of ways to program the radio for scan. You need to provide
the group with the details on how you think your programming
the radio.

The Spectra can be programmed to scan with or without the
use of a hook switch. There is the possibility that someone
has messed with the wiring for the mic hook switch.

There is the possibility that the radio isn't programmed with
any channels in the scan list. Depending on which model radio
you have, most of them can have a scan list for each mode
(channel) in the radio.

These are just a couple of thoughts that come to mind.

Jim

mmtstc wrote:Alright experts, give me some ides on what the hay is going on with my radio

I remotely mounted a Spectra VHF A4 Dash unit in my car and I can program channels to my radio just fine, but the radio wont do a couple of very important thigns.
- The frequencys that are programmed work fine as long as you are within 100 feet of my vehicle, and it isnt raining, and you are on a lucky streak, but when i "Close Call" on my BCD396T, the frequencies come out correctly.
- I can program a scan list and the can works just fine while the programming cable is connected, but once the cable is removed form the back, the scan function ceases to operate and does the Monitor Toggle. We originally thought that we had the wrong remote head cable (i have HKN4356B), and that maybe the remote head cable should have came from teh serial port in the back that i using to program through and the programmign should be dont through the serial port in the front, but this is originally a dash unit and the dash units dont have the serial port in front.

Here are the things i know
- iam confused
- the antenna coax run i is patent
- the unit fi properly powered
- all of my cable runs are patent

So is this a power issue (loss of power when porgrammign cable is removed and are there some issues with how my radio processes the antenna? the other name for this quesiton might be "is this going to cost me alot fo money because i will have to drag it to the moto dealer to get fixed"?

I am sure that i ahve missed osme vital bit of information, so please rely or pm me with questions.

dave

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:05 pm

we did the f8 thing, All fo the channels that we wrote to teh radio stayed after the programming cable was removed.

We did the Ohm meter on the antenna and it is perfect.

We tried to program the scan list with the RSS and write it to the radio and that wokred, until the programming cable was removed. then we enabled the scan feature, btu set no scan list and the scna function was programmable, until the programming cable was removed.

I dont have a hook switch mic nor do i have it enabled, and as i recall, it still show the radio in scan mode even when you have the mic out of the holder.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:47 pm

So what you are syaing is that you cannot go back and hold in on the scan button for 2 seconds to enter the scan programming mode when you are done programming the radio?

Mikey

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 7:13 pm

No, i can set the scan list from the control head as long as the programming cable is still hooked up, but once the cable is removed, the scna feature vanishes and i cant pull it up no matter hwo hard i try.

Rick Rock · Post by **Rick Rock** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:07 pm

Can you meter the output power of the radio to make certain you are putting out full power? Also see if you still have 12-14v on the power lead when you're transmitting.

As for the scan problem, that may be your remote adapter board- the older boards don't play well with the newer spectras. Try putting the head back on the radio and see if everything works right, and go from there.

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 2:56 pm

no, we dont have full power coming out of the radio, and that dosent chanegs when we have the programmign cable hooked up or not, btu we did load the radio to output at 50 watts. we are getting 12 volts off of the battery going to the radio, so power supply to the radio is not an issue.

Rick Rock · Post by **Rick Rock** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 10:04 pm

mmtstc wrote:no, we dont have full power coming out of the radio, and that dosent chanegs when we have the programmign cable hooked up or not, btu we did load the radio to output at 50 watts.

How much is it putting out? It sounds like you may have the classic 'leaky caps' syndrome.

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 6:36 am

the wattmeter is showing nothing for output

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:47 pm

It may be too late, the caps have already done their serious dammage.

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 4:27 am

so does this mean that i have a junked out radio? explain what these magical leaky caps are please

Rick Rock · Post by **Rick Rock** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:45 am

Here is one of the bigger threads on this problem- http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?t=50332

There is another link in there as well for more info.

kb0nly · Post by **kb0nly** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:29 am

The Spectra's self destruct as they get older thanks to the crappy quality components that Motorola used in them.

I'll stick with my X9000's, i haven't had much trouble with them and i don't have to worry about those leaky caps.

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:54 am

well, i decided to take it to my moto dealer and i found out what the problem was with the antenna, apparently the internal antenna receptor pin got pushed too far back for my antenna to make contact with it.
but on the programming issue, i got a WTF, so he has it on the bench today and it old him if it gets to be spendy, let me know and i will just junk that, plus i bought a mcs2k model II yesterday with my tax refund, so whatever
ill keep you posted and i really appreciate everyones help in this matter.

Will · Post by **Will** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:59 pm

"on the programming issue, i got a WTF, "

What does this mean? Did the RSS mess up or was it operator failure?

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:11 am

What The Hell, But replace Hell with another word that starts with an F- and ends with a -uck and it is not "fire truck". we havent figured it out and i dont know when it will get off the bench as my moto dealer is really busy with the public safety digital 800mhz conversion going on

RESCUE161 · Post by **RESCUE161** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:59 am

mmtstc wrote:Here are the things i know
- iam confused
- the antenna coax run i is patent
- the unit fi properly powered
- all of my cable runs are patent

Don't mean to laugh at your bad luck, but that quote is funny as hell!

mmtstc · Post by **mmtstc** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:26 am

so, i guess there is this plug that is supposed to sit where the programming cable goes that is a jumper that i apparently didntget when i bought the radio. hopefully this fix wont be too spendy, but then again, i am dealing with my authorized motorola national service center

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 3:52 pm

Dave, the EMERG jumper should be on the dangle cable at the control head with the speaker leads, and IGN lead. If that does not cure it it may be a problem with the interface board between the Command board and the Remote cable connector.

There has been some known problems with interface/interconnect boards and the A4 Rotory heads.

Spectra Not Rocking and Rolling

Spectra Not Rocking and Rolling

Re: Spectra Not Rocking and Rolling

Re: Spectra Not Rocking and Rolling