spectra RR prog. cable question

[The Kreick]

i have the cable to program the low power STD & 900 spectras & it has 12 vdc inbound to the radio on db15 pin 5, but the RR spectra shows VIP 1 IN on pin 5 & i dont see where the 12vdc needs to go. Is pin 5 still correct? The rest of the prog. cable looks the same.


tnx,

joe k8icv

[Pj]

The normal spectra low/mid power programming cable will work just fine unmodified for the railroad spectra.

However, you will need a SLOW computer to run the RSS if you don't have one (think 286 class).

[The Kreick]

PJ-

tnx - i see now that nO 12 vdc is applied on the RR rigs..... i am using a 25 mhz toughbook w/moslo at 10% - the software opens (any higher i get the divide by 0 error), but im wondering if it is still too fast? My guess is yes.......


joe

[Will]

On the RR Spectra, DO NOT connect the red wire from the programming cable, and do not short it to anything (GND).

The cable will provide power for your RIB. (If the cable and RIB are Orig Motorola)

The RR Spectra RSS only runs in pure DOS, ver 6 or later. It wil NOT run on a windows computer or with Moslow.
Spectra Railroad RVN-4099B Jul-95 per the compatibility listing should run on a Pentium......

[k2hz]

Spectra Railroad RVN-4099B Jul-95 per the compatibility listing should run on a Pentium......

I have that version (R04.05.01) it does not even like a 486/33 with a clean DOS 6.22 boot. It works on some radios but will error out after about 10-15 blocks read on others.

I have found a 486/25 is the fastest PC that it is stable on. It is happiest running on my old 386SX/20. It actually runs smoother and faster on the 368 than the 486.

[Will]

Spectra Railroad RVN-4099B Jul-95 per the compatibility listing should run on a Pentium......

I have that version (R04.05.01) it does not even like a 486/33 with a clean DOS 6.22 boot. It works on some radios but will error out after about 10-15 blocks read on others.

I have found a 486/25 is the fastest PC that it is stable on. It is happiest running on my old 386SX/20. It actually runs smoother and faster on the 368 than the 486.

Some computer-Motorola RIB combination will give you the same errors. There is an incompatibility with the Radio Interface Boxes and the RS232 Serial ports on some computers. The solution was to fix the RIB to speak better RS232.

[Pj]

One option that many overlook is to go into the BIOS and change the computer speed from normal or turbo to Compatable. This typically brings the computer down the the usual 10mhz or so and works well.

My RSS computer has one of those 486 to 586 chips in them, and doing that runs the oldest Moto software out there.