Batboard

Has anyone heard of a 99ch gm300. I have only seen 16ch gm300. A friend of mine claims he just bought a 99ch gm. I would love to have one.

Tim

you can hex edit the rss to allow 40 channels on a model by model basis. I've never tried to get more.

I have enought of a hard time filling up and remembering 40 channels. I think I have 19 in it now.

Seth

Can't you change the 'names' of the channels to reflect "99" even though it is only channel 10?

I think I remember seeing something like this...

RESCUE161 wrote:Can't you change the 'names' of the channels to reflect "99" even though it is only channel 10?

I think I remember seeing something like this...

Oh yeah, I've got my radio on railroad frequencies and the display reflects the AAR channel scheme. So, 160.800 is displayed as 46- who needs any other aliasing?

I've got channels as high as AAR 92 in there, but my radio is A) only hacked for 32 channels, and B) only running 20.

-Josh

I have made the GM300 do more than the 16 ch but as i remember doing so eats up too much code plug memory and you loose the scan option.

Just info for you to check out . (Not saying this is gospel )

EKLB

I'm pretty sure the one I had 40 channels in still did scan.

S

Like most Motorola radios, only 16 channels can be scanned.

The GM300 can scan it's first 16 channels- that's it. You can have 16 channels, you can have 32, you can have all 40- but the radio will only scan the first 16.

-Josh

On A GM300 Mobile You Can Type Any Number From
17-99 In The Display Window For A Channel
Location.
For Example On Channel 16 You Can Call
It Mode 99 And This Will Display 99 When
You Turn The Radio On To Channel 16.

You Can Mode The GM300 Speaker Wires
On The Control Head. (Cut Out The Two
Wire Pin Slots With A Knife And Now You
Can Plug A GM300 Head into The Older
Maxtracs.(Maxtracs Use Two Less Wires ).
We Have Maxtrac Factory Radios That Are
99 Channels.Yes We Could Plug A GM300
Head On This Radio.

You can make the GM300 with the eprom board into a 32ch
Maxtrac;
It will scan 32ch.
http://www.batlabs.com/gmmax.html

Josh and Max-Trac have good points that I can vouch for.
I run a GM 8ch that is hexed to 16 and it scans right along.
HOWEVER, putting 18ch into it is just too much and it has fits.
Two easiest ways are to either accept the total channels you end up with in your hack (experiment, it's fun you know!) and be happy, or do as suggested and simply lab it into a Maxtrac 32ch hi-sig. The latter makes for a bad sale item though, if the time ever comes.... i.e. once you go 'trac you never go back. It depends on the size of the EEPROM I guess. It boils down to space available to fill and (of that) space needed by the radios functions, that's all.
I suppose you can change the EEPROM and put it back to a GM though. I've never tried it.... Anyone?

Woody_99 wrote:Josh and Max-Trac have good points that I can vouch for.
I run a GM 8ch that is hexed to 16 and it scans right along.
HOWEVER, putting 18ch into it is just too much and it has fits.
Two easiest ways are to either accept the total channels you end up with in your hack (experiment, it's fun you know!) and be happy, or do as suggested and simply lab it into a Maxtrac 32ch hi-sig. The latter makes for a bad sale item though, if the time ever comes.... i.e. once you go 'trac you never go back. It depends on the size of the EEPROM I guess. It boils down to space available to fill and (of that) space needed by the radios functions, that's all.
I suppose you can change the EEPROM and put it back to a GM though. I've never tried it.... Anyone?

Well, my "all radios can be made to 40 channels" is only applicable to radios that were originally 16 channel radios to begin with because they have the expanded logic board, a load of signalling features and more.

The 8 channel radio won't do more than 17. I think that's documented here on batlabs but, you can alter the mode-name settings so that the display reflects whatever 2 digits you want.

-Josh

Just remember if you do the mode renaming trick in RSS, when you scroll through your modes, they'll still be in order, 1-16. It can be disconcerting at first to scroll through and see 1, 2, 3, 18, 5, 6, 19, 98, 9, 10 . . . etc.

And while on the subject, I have a pair of GM300s. I don't really feel like screwing around with them. Is there something about the Maxtrac that's less desireable? I wouldn't mind having a 32 mode high band Maxtrac. I use all 32 modes in my Syntor X, but that thing is going to be a tight squeeze in my lil pickup truck. And I really don't need 130+ watts either on 2m. Thoughts?

Thanks.

The bus door is on the wrong side.... whaddya mean backward????

One diference between the Maxtrac and the GM300 is the factory freq spread.

And as an example i will refer to the UHF 450 to 470 area of operation.

Maxtrac being 449 to 470 mhz spread.

GM300 being 438 to 470 mhz spread.

Maxtrac scan = 32 ch . (Assuming you have the 32ch model or have modded it ect. )

GM300 factory scan =16 ch. (Assuming you have the 16ch model or have hacked it ect. )

I really have no explanation as to why i prefer the Maxtrac over the GM300 but i do.

Both radios have served me and my customers very well.

I do have more GM300 radios out and about on my systems and customers and when i look at the servicing needs between the two and taking into account that i have more GM300 radios than Maxtracs in service = I see they both come in pretty much a tie as servicing needs ect.

I dont see the freq spread diference as a problem in the maxtrac as the shift key method will allow the radio to program further down into the 2 meter ham band for the amatuer users.

EKLB

Josh wrote:Like most Motorola radios, only 16 channels can be scanned.

The GM300 can scan it's first 16 channels- that's it. You can have 16 channels, you can have 32, you can have all 40- but the radio will only scan the first 16.

-Josh

If memory serves, you are half right, Josh. It will, indeed, only scan 16 channels, but are you sure it has to be the first 16? I think that one I mod'ed to 40 channels for a friend will scan any channel in it, you just can't go over 16 channels in the list.


To Fireman1910:

Your location is listed as Leesburg GA. That's practicaly right down the road from me, as I live just North of Moultrie GA. E-mail me with more info about yourself, if you don't mind. I wonder if I might know you, just not by your Batboard username. My e-mail address is located at the bottom of this post.

If someone has a 16ch GM300 that they have made 40, here is something to experiment with.
Try just plugging the 5.34 Maxtrac eprom into it and see if it works and you can program more than 16 in the user scan.

Here is what made me think of this;
I blanked and initialized a maxtrac high signalling radio with HLN9499B ver 21.01 radius eprom to see what would happen.
All seemed OK until I could NOT program more than 16 ch in the user scan,,,,um wait, maybe it was any channel above ch16 would not select....
Anyway, I just swapped in the 5.34 eprom (radio powered off, hee hee) and all was fine (without blanking)...

I thought, if I remember correctly, that the Maxtrac/GM300 is the same logic and RF deck as a Maratrac, except the maratrac has a higher power PA on it. In fact I dont know who said it but I am fairly sure of this. Now with that being said, there is a Maratrac model that is 99ch, and if the Radio portion is the same, then that means that there should be a hack to take the dash mount Maxtrac up to 99ch. I would try it with a High end model (32ch, mdc 2 digit decode, Best scan options) because this things all represent memory on the radio that are being used for these options, but maybe can be taken away leaving room for the 99ch, and tricked into thinking it is a maratrac by dropping a maratrac S/N into it (almost like a MTX8000). What do you guys think? I'm not a technical maverick, but I do know there are some relationships between the two models, and this is what ran through my head when reading this post. Let me know, im always learning.
Steve

I know nothing of the Maratrac, but there is a method to get 99 channels in a Maxtrac detailed on Batlabs. Unfortunately, it involves special firmware which is no longer available, and an extra memory chip as well. It was specifically for low-band, but I think could be adapted to other bands.

Todd

I have seen a couple maxtracs turned into 99ch maxtrac by using the codeplug out of a maratrac since it is basically the same radio with a 110w pa

The Maratrac logic board is slightly different than the Maxtrac/Gm/Radius.
I experimented with both of them to try to get the 99 ch Maxtrac. I have several Maxtracs in each band, and a couple of Maratracs. I never got the 99 ch idea to work, but I am going to try it again, just for the heck of it.
But I can tell you, its not just a simple as trying to "tell" the Maxtrac its a Maratrac. I belive the problem to be not enuf "ram" space in the Max boards. Maybe a swap of those chips (like the Maratrac board) and Maratrac or M400 prom and it might work. Anybody recall if you can blank a Maratrac board with MaxLab? Then re-init with M400?

I took a maratrac logic and RF board blanked it, put in a Maxtrac eprom and made it a 2ch Maxtrac (mounted in maxtrac frame, with maxtrac front)

The 99ch lowband special works, but I cannot figure out how to make it other than lowband (that is the ONLY choice when initializing, and hacking the freq entry to allow everything was of no help)

Does that mean its possible to make a 99 ch lowband Maxtrac? I use a few of those as six meter radios, and 99 ch WOULD BE EXCELLENT! Much easier to install than the Maratrac for a temp setup.

I would like to be able to run 99 ch on my lowband high split maxtrac. I'm not averse to moving the logic board from my (almost) useless 36-42 maratrac to the max with the intention od a blank/re-initialize. I can also move the firmware/eeprom to the max too, I have the tools to do so. Ideally, I'd like to be able to enter every repeater split in 6m such that if I want 53.31 Repeat, I would go to ch 31, 53.41 repeat would be ch 41, with the reverse (rx on 52.41, tx on 53.41 on ch 42. I have a synX9000 set up this way and it's nice, but I'd like to reclaim the acreage in the cab of the truck.

Alternately, can you alias the maxtrac the same way one would a gm300? like ch 2, 53.27 could be labled ch 27? I haven't seen this in the max software, but I haven't played with a hi sig board yet. I have a 16pin board I'll try next

Is there any way to get rid of some of the MDC1200 features to make extra room? Kinda like the other post where you guys were adding modes to a 5D core 8k saber and kind of substituting one feature for the other. I figured it was wortha shot in the dark
Steve

The only 99 channel Maxtrac that I'm aware of are the Ontario Hydro 99 Channel Low Band maxtrac's.

Interms of "removing" mdc from it, it would probably require rewriting the firmware, which really isn't in the cards.

-Alex

Yes, the 99ch Maxtrac was a special radio done for Ontario Hydro. They're sometimes available at the Ontario Hydro surplus store. They usually got for under $30Cdn.

The RSS was also a special version called Max99. It's NLA from Motorola.

Hi Will,

You can alias the channels on a Maxtrac. You can even get "trailer park" alpha out of them with the zone enable on the main radio page. A close readiing of the help pages will let you figure it out. I have all my ham channels under A1-A8, county sherrif is C1-C8, State Patrol is H1-H8 (Highway), you get the idea. Only 8 channels per "zone" and only letters you can make with a 7-segment display. Better than nothing and it's nice that they put it in. You can't mix numbers and zones though, it's one way or the other.

The canadian ontario hydro 99 channel
maxtrac low band is replaced by a 32 ch.
radio when one dies.
Bell Canada does all the servicing and
the 99 ch. gets trashed.
Yes these radios do still pop up.
They have the 60 watt pa's also.
We see them the odd time.

yes shops still have the maxtrac 99
rss.Not every shop deletes rss when
a newer version comes along.
They do not believe all from
Big "M".

I know this is an ancient thread but- Scholer-Johnson made a kit that converted the GM300 into a 99 channel radio.

I have seen seen working radios with the conversion already done in them. I think Scholer-Johnson was or is in Florida. Never done business with them myself. Google says Scholer-Johnson Inc, (407) 645-5093, , Winter Park, FL 32789 looks like they belong to IDA now.

Further investigation reveals this .PDF http://www.idaco.com/Cvt2.pdf looks like what I remember, but unknown if the same.

Regards,
Mike

I blanked a 32 channel max board in max lab,then re int. with m400 rss.
the most channels I could get was 16,any more and it went to 2 channels
on the display.
Next time I have some time on my hands,I will take a maratrac logic board and try it in a maxtrac but I will leave it as an m400.
I will report my findings.
mod

Scholler-Johnson in Florida makes/made LTR boards for these radios. Used in conventional mode they make the radio 99 channels with no aliasing......poke around inside and look for an after market addition.

BYE




.

ok, but do you need special rss to program the radio, even if capable of 99 channels? Or can you mod your existing rss to do it?

VE3TUH wrote:ok, but do you need special rss to program the radio, even if capable of 99 channels? Or can you mod your existing rss to do it?

I'm assuming you are talking about a GM300 with the Scholer-Johnson board in it, as it's the only way anyone's seen it done. Yes, you require special Scholer-Johnson software to program the radio.

Todd

The canadian maxtrac 99 ch
RSS will program the NEW eProm.

I have a VHF Maxtrac I use for the State of Texas Interop channels and have them named as follows. I did it by using the tricks on the main batlabs site. It makes the channels immediately identifiable.

Texas Law1 = L1
Texas Law2 = L2
Texas Law3 = L3
Texas Fire1 = F1
Texas Fire2 = F2
Texas Fire3 = F3
Texas Med1 = E1( M1 was not possible, obviously)
Texas Air2 = A2

http://www.tamu.edu/ticc/radioplan.pdf