Enable Zones on Spectra radios

[HA5BRG]

Hi there,

Here is my problem: I have 2 analog Spectra radios. One is a dash-mount 45W VHF radio with A7 control head (supports Zones in the RSS, I can select the option). The other one is a trunk-mount 110W VHF radio with an A9 control head (this one does not support Zones, I can not select it from the RSS).

I saw somewhere on the net, that it is possible to manually change the control head type of the radio by manually HEX-editing the "S-record" of the personality prom. I would like to enable the Zones on my 110W VHF radio too. Is it possible to somehow HEX-edit the radio's data contents to enable the Zone-support?

I have the special equipment and the skills if needed to physically get the EPROMs and Flash chips put of the radio.

[Jim202]

Hi there,

Here is my problem: I have 2 analog Spectra radios. One is a dash-mount 45W VHF radio with A7 control head (supports Zones in the RSS, I can select the option). The other one is a trunk-mount 110W VHF radio with an A9 control head (this one does not support Zones, I can not select it from the RSS).

I saw somewhere on the net, that it is possible to manually change the control head type of the radio by manually HEX-editing the "S-record" of the personality prom. I would like to enable the Zones on my 110W VHF radio too. Is it possible to somehow HEX-edit the radio's data contents to enable the Zone-support?

I have the special equipment and the skills if needed to physically get the EPROMs and Flash chips put of the radio.

Calm down and put the soldering gear away.

First of all, depending on what version of the software you have, there is a section of the service area that allows you to get into the MOFLAG settings. You need to get there and go through the selections and find the zone selection. You can turn it on there.

You may also need to find a codeplug that has the zones set up in it and clone it into your radio. Been a long time since I set it up and can't remember the exact sequence of steps that I had to take. Part of this may depend on what model of radio you have. I don't have the radios in front of me, but will have them tomorrow at work.

Jim

[Jim202]

Hi there,

Here is my problem: I have 2 analog Spectra radios. One is a dash-mount 45W VHF radio with A7 control head (supports Zones in the RSS, I can select the option). The other one is a trunk-mount 110W VHF radio with an A9 control head (this one does not support Zones, I can not select it from the RSS).

I saw somewhere on the net, that it is possible to manually change the control head type of the radio by manually HEX-editing the "S-record" of the personality prom. I would like to enable the Zones on my 110W VHF radio too. Is it possible to somehow HEX-edit the radio's data contents to enable the Zone-support?

I have the special equipment and the skills if needed to physically get the EPROMs and Flash chips put of the radio.

Forgot to ask what is the version of the MLM board in the radio? This is the board mounted on the control board under that funny looking rectangular metal cover. If my memory is still with me, you will need a version of at least 6.0 to have zones.

Provide the group here with some more details on your radio, like at least the model number that begins with the T83GXAxxxxx or what ever you have.

You might also take a look at this web site: http://www.batlabs.com/moflag.html
It has some good info in the area your trying to fumble through.

Don't forget to save a copy of the codeplug onto a floppy disk or what ever. Don't rely on it being saved in the normal directory your using for the radio programming software. You do this by changing the save location in the software. Once you have saved it, restart the program so you get back to the normal save location.

If after you have made some software changes and you end up with the error code 01/82 after doing the save to the radio, just read the radio again, make no changes and write back to the radio. The error code should go away.

Jim

[HA5BRG]

Hello there,

And good evening It is 7:16PM here. Here is some info about my radio:

MODEL NO: T83FWA7HA9AK
ID NO: T83FWA7HA9AK


Under the funny rectangular shaped little tin can I found the following text:

HLN6160B

and

HVN6026A V5.21

[Jim202]

Hello there,

And good evening It is 7:16PM here. Here is some info about my radio:

MODEL NO: T83FWA7HA9AK
ID NO: T83FWA7HA9AK


Under the funny rectangular shaped little tin can I found the following text:

HLN6160B

and

HVN6026A V5.21

I guess my message didn't get posted. You will need at least MLM version 6.00 to be allowed to use zones. The MLM will have to be replaced by either pulling it from another VHF Spectra or finding one in another radio from another band.

Changing out the MLM is not that hard, but you will have to walk slow using the software and make sure you change the serial numbers in the MLM when you do the change. There should be a selection in the service section of the software to let you make the serial number change.

Next I would suggest that you obtain a zone codeplug from someplace and clone it into your radio. You will probably not find one that will match your radio exactly to the model you have. That means you will have to hack it by reading the codeplug, changing the model number it has to the model number of your radio by bit banging it. Do this carefully as you can cause more damage than you fix if you mess it up. It's called "HEX EDIT" in the service section of the software.

I would suggest that you do a search on there for Spectra bit banging and look for the page that you can print out that shows all the hex addresses and what they are for. You will need to know the hex location to change in order to bit bang the changes.

Jim

[HA5BRG]

Unfortunately Spectra and Saber series radios are unknown in my country. My local Motorola dealer does not support analog Spectra and Saber radios. They don't support Astro Spectra and Astro Saber radios neither.

So it is impossible to find a zone-capable MLM board here