X9000 Dual Radio Control Head Woes...

Jonathan KC8RYW · Post by **Jonathan KC8RYW** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:47 pm

I don't get it.

I've tried different heads, different 2864 EEPROMs in the head.

Heck, I even tried blanking the control head EEPROMs by putting them in the radio drawer, and blowing a radio codeplug with RSS, like Mike B's site suggested. Then putting the EEPROMs back in the head and blowing a new control head codeplug into them. Still no use.

When I program with SP RSS, the mode names don't show up. All I see is "MODE 1". I only put one mode in each radio to make things simple until I have it working.

Also, the head will only mute the secondary radio, I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be, but it's the least of my worries right now.

When I program the head with ham RSS the mode names show up fine. OK, except that doesn't help me in a dual-radio config.

I'm using a real RIB, and an IBM 5150 PC running at 4.77 MHz [off-topic: does anyone have an 8-bit IDE controller I could have? The 20 MB MFM drive is amazingly slow.] You just can't get a PC slower than that!

What gives? I'm out of ideas.

jmr061 · Post by **jmr061** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:04 am

What RSS version are you using and what control head HCN # are you using.

Jason

Jonathan KC8RYW · Post by **Jonathan KC8RYW** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:05 am

KB9KST wrote:What RSS version are you using and what control head HCN # are you using.

Jason

HCN1033D (HLN4907D board w/ firmware 0180747T32)
HCN1047A-1 (NLN5104C board w/ firmware 0180749T11)

X9000 RSS Version 4.03.SP06

kb0nly · Post by **kb0nly** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:26 am

You need a different head, 1073 and 1063 have worked for me. The older 1033 will not work on the dual radio setup, been there done that. I've never tried a 1047 since it usually has the three rocker front on it and i avoid them like the plague, never know when it might be a useless X9000E trunking head in disguise.

Get a different control head and it will work, provided of course you did put the dual radio firmware in both drawers.

The last one i put together i used two drawers of course, a modified siren/pa cable, and a 1073 control head. I programmed each drawer seperately and the control head when i did the second radio, then shut it off and connected the other radio with the modified t-cable and powered it back and it worked like a charm.

I will have to check which version of the RSS i used, but that number sounds right, version 4 SP06.

jmr061 · Post by **jmr061** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:01 pm

That is correct. You have the wrong control head. It MUST be an SMD (1073,1063, etc) or the true SP head for the setup which maybe 1036SP04 but dont quote me on that. Any other control head will not work.

The RSS sounds right.

Jason

George · Post by **George** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:14 pm

It's not totally true that you MUST use a later version control head. All of my dual drawer units are 1033 or 1036 units with a processor blown for dual drawer operation. The Hitachi processor has on-board firmware that tells it what its purpose in life is and this is what makes the difference. I don't know the part number, but it's in the dual drawer manual.

Of course NOW, you will never get one of those old processors and be able to have it blown for dual drawer operation. But if you run across one and it acts strangely on startup, then you know what it is for. I was the one that bought last ones Motorola had almost fifteen years ago when I did my dual drawer packages. Someone in Rockford had to get them out of someone else's desk drawer and blow them for me.

The fast and simple way is the use the 1063 and the 1073 series heads. The 1047 and 1045 will work on either Spectra or X9000 but you may have to blank the eeprom in order to get them to program correctly.

Currently, two of my cars have 1045 heads with the T11 processor in them. They all work fine.

George