Batboard

something cool I noticed last night

the power connector for a hard drive fits the convertacom


pretty cool


btw does anyone have the pin out from right to left for the plug?

I think it is

ground, charge disable, power, illumination?

Seth:

Yellow: Ignition (if not connected to 12V the unit won't turn on)
Red: 12VDC
Black: Ground
Green: Headlight flasher

Yep, same connector as the 5V/12V connectors inside your computer.

Now, tell me what meter is the best buy out of all those you have listed for sale on the website, okay?

Regards,

Tom, W2NJS

Seth: I forgot to give you the orientation since the power cable I gave you was aftermarket, so to speak:

from left to right:

1 - black/ground
2 - green/headlights
3 - yellow/ignition
4 - red/power

Hokay?

Tom, W2NJS

Is there a way to disable the charger or atleast toggle it? I would like to put mine in the car as a hideaway unit but I don't want it constantly charging the battery all the time, every time the radio is in the convertacom.

mancow

I'm not sure if switching the ignition/yellow wire will cut off the charger, but if it doesn't then you could just switch the red wire on and off. I have an idea that switching the ignition sense wire will kill the whole unit. You can't hurt anything by trying both ways. If you cut of the yellow wire with the red wire connected AND the charge light stays on then you'll have to switch the red wire instead.

Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.

thanks tom

on the meters

they all seem ok

I do not like the digital/analog combo we have. It seems cheap to me.


If you want to drop by when I am working, you can take a look.

on my initial install I had the ignition and power wire reversed

it worked fine and turned off with the car


now I have it right

when the car is off I can turn the radio on and the convertacom comes on

controls light up
amplified speaker works
controls on the mic work
ptt does not work
battery charge light does not come on


when i turn the car on
everything works, including the charging light

if while the car is on, I turn the radio off, the convertacom is still it up, and the battery charging light is still on.



I am using a system saber 3, with the control head mic on the convertacom. Is this a funky thing about the control head mics?

Seth: Doesn't sound right to me, but if it works what the hell.
Are you using a 6169 control mic or a 6150? The 69 is for your radio while the 50 is for a regular Saber, and they are not the same mic at all.

I have the SVA install sheet and can make you a copy if you think it would help.

Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.

THat sounds right,

My AVA convertacom works the same way, once u turn off the ignition, the radio in the convertacom will still be on with the lights led up, stops charging and wont let u key the PTT. once there sense on the ignition againn everything is back up and running. found out the hardway lol

Does anybody know the digikey part number for the plastic power connector as well as the connection pins for the Saber convertacom? I noticed someone had the info for the MT1000 convertacom, how about the saber?

Thanks,
Paul

OK. Looking at the connector on the back of the SVA, can someone tell me which side is ground? I can work from there with the above information but, I want to make sure I don't get this wrong.

Thanks!

--
John

John,
Starting from the left: Black Ground
Green headlight flash
Yellow Ignition Sense
Red B+ (13.8v)

73, Paul

kc2dla wrote:John,
Starting from the left: Black Ground
Green headlight flash
Yellow Ignition Sense
Red B+ (13.8v)

73, Paul

Works like a charm! OK. next question: What triggers the headlight flash? How would one use it? I can think of a few nifty things. IE; Hook it up to my beacons and when some punk gets too close to my vehicle when I'm at dinner or whatever, remote trigger the beacons.

Anyway, can someone tell me how it is used, triggered, blah blah?

Thanks!

--
John

Next question...

Can you (safely, without damaging the Saber or SVA):

(1) Leave the duck antenna on the Saber while it is in an SVA with external antenna attached to the mini-UHF connector or do you need to remove it?

(2) Use a Saber with the duck antenna attached in an SVA without connecting an external antenna to the mini-UHF connector on the SVA?

Thanks!

--
John

John,
Perhaps I am describing this wrong. As I understand, the 'headlight' power pin is to be connected to a 13.8v + source that is switched with the lights of the vehicle. When you turn your headlights on, the SVA display lights will also turn on. Someone PLEASE correct me if I am mistaken.
See this post for an interesting discussion of how the saber switches to an external antenna via the universal connector:
http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?t=20310
Basically, if the saber is in the convertacom and the universal connector is engaged, you should connect an external antenna to the mini-uhf connector. Leave the handheld's antenna on, it is how you get your saber out of the convertacom!

I just got a used ht1000 convertacom w/ no manual and I have a few questions. I have a ht1000 convertacom w/ a powered amp. Do I need to connect the 2 red wires (connected to different pwr connectors on the control unit) to vehicle pwr, the two black ones (connected to two different ground connectors on the control unit) to vehicle ground, and the yellow wire (connected to the 25pin plug) to vehicle starter power?

(2 red to battery pwr)
(1 yellow to starter pwr)
(2 black to ground)

Also in that link to the discussion I did not see anyone mention
that the saber only switches by reading the diode upon
"boot up" of the radio. In other words if a speaker mic
or ps speaker mic or an accessory is attached to a powered
saber it will be ignored. On the other hand when a saber is pulled
from a sva or inserted in one, the handshake that takes place
tells the radio to re read the diode and reset it's status.
Just an additional bit of info I thought might be helpful
to those working with this setup. Phrawg

Oh yes, the headlight line does just that, turns the sva lights on.

I've never had any problems removing saber accessories (mics, headsets, etc) and having the radio figure out that this had happened without doing a power cycle.