Batboard

HI, I AM INSTALLING A MAXTRAC 32CH VHF RADIO IN AN AMBULANCE. WE HAVE AN EXTRA MICROPHONE IN THE BACK AND EXTERNAL SPEAKER IN THE BACK SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GO UP FRONT DURING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION TO TALK ON THE RADIO. I NEED THE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO WIRE THE EXTRA MIC AND EXTERNAL SPEAKER OFF THE MAIN RADIO UP FRONT. I INSTALL ALL OF OUR RADIOS BUT UP TO THIS POINT THEY HAVE BEEN YAESU RADIOS. DOES MOTOROLA HAVE A Y CONNECTOR FOR THIS APPLICATION OR DO I HAVE TO COME OFF THE 16 PIN CONNECTOR TO WIRE THE EXTERNAL SPEAKER AND MIC. I HAVE THE DIAGRAM JUST NEED A LITTLE HELP ON WIRING INSTRUCTIONS. WE ARE SLOWLY BUT SURELY SWITCHING TO MOTOROLA MAXTRAC. PLEASE HELP WITH THIS SITUATION. THANKS AND HAVE A GOOD DAY.

[ Subject changed to accuratly reflect what the person needs for info. -Alex ]

First - why are you switching to Maxtrac's for an ambulance service - don't get me wrong, they are good radios - your just going to need to replace them in the next couple of years due to FCC narrow banding. Why not spend the money and get the right stuff now.

Maxtrac's have a dual head kit which you can purchase through QuickMount. They are around $200 I think, maybe less. I don't remember to be hoenst with you.

There is probably a way to wire it, but You have to be very careful how you run the audio wires for the speakers with Motorola radios. You can't simply ground the (-) side of the speaker lead.

I'm going to also move this topic to vehicle installs, and please - find your caps lock key.

-Alex

First - why are you switching to Maxtrac's for an ambulance service - don't get me wrong, they are good radios - your just going to need to replace them in the next couple of years due to FCC narrow banding. Why not spend the money and get the right stuff now.

For persons who may read this, one can purchase
the " Narrow Band Parts " which is comprised as
2 IF Xtals, and 2 Ceramic Filters, and one can
stay within complience with this Narrow Banding
issue.

Some small adjustment to the the Transmitt Dev
will take care of this.

I have been converting the radios located on a Air Force
bases through out the state since they did not want
to buy new radios.

Also, if you radios have the 16 pin Connector on the
Back, you can have a Specail Cable made up to make
a extension.

Monty

If you need info on doing it very cheap and it looks good I have a diagram already drawn out on how to hook it up and what you need i do it all the time to save fire dept's.. money I can fax it to you if you want .....Joe [email protected]

Monty wrote:

First - why are you switching to Maxtrac's for an ambulance service - don't get me wrong, they are good radios - your just going to need to replace them in the next couple of years due to FCC narrow banding. Why not spend the money and get the right stuff now.

For persons who may read this, one can purchase
the " Narrow Band Parts " which is comprised as
2 IF Xtals, and 2 Ceramic Filters, and one can
stay within complience with this Narrow Banding
issue.

Some small adjustment to the the Transmitt Dev
will take care of this.

I have been converting the radios located on a Air Force
aeras thorough out the state since they did not want
to buy new radios.

Also, if you radios have the 16 pin Connector on the
Back, you can have a Specail Cable made up to make
a extension.

Monty

The only issue with this (IIRC) is that once they are narrowband - they are narrowband. You can't mix and match wide/narrow with them. The kit is $100 IIRC for the upgrade, and it takes a while to do the conversions.

This is what I hear - I probably wouldn't consider it worth it, but that's my oppinion!

-Alex

Hello:

Depending on your budget, and if you
can purchase your parts @ a NSO level.

Here is some information for you.

To convert a GM300 or Maxtrac to
Narrow band, you will need the following
parts:

$ 20.61 9180022M03 This is the 45 Mhz 2 pole Xtal. Package
includes both Xtals.

$ 4.58 9180097D04 6 element ceramic filter ( 1 Required )

$ 2.86 9180098D04 3 element ceramic filter ( 1 Required )

So, if you are not concerned about the need for multi-
bandwidths, it is possible to keep Maxtracs and GM300's in complience with newer systems without having to purchase
a New Radio.

My customer @ the Air Force Base Only uses Narrow band
Radios now, so it was not a issue with them.

The main issue was the 30.00 in conversion parts, verses a
new radio @ 300.00 ~ 400.00ea.


It was nice that the dealer sold them GM300's which were Wide
Band Radios, 4 Radios per site and 15 Sites ( you can do the
math ) and then a year or two later, wanted to " Replace "
the Radios " Again " for another 20 K plus. They were not
very happy about having to spend more monies when they
could have purchased the right radios the first time around.

In this case, conversion was a much more attractive to them,
and its pretty simple to convert back and forth.Monty

Well to answer his question. You can get the pins off the 16 pin connector for the microphone. Mic Hi, Mic Lo, PTT, Grnd. There maybe another. And you can also get your speaker common from there as well. Run some Cat 5E to the back... hook it up with a Jack and take the speaker leads to a speaker... presto chango. 2nd mic and speaker.

Although not the same radio, I helped Chuck finish up an MCS2000 install with the same configuration.

Hello:

I guess I should have posted this to the forum first, but
I responded by email.

This might be of some interest to others:

In order to set something up like this, is pretty much up to
the person.

I have done a few, and what I did is mount a Mic Jack onto the
Speaker ! AND install a L-Pad ( to control the speaker volume )

If you desire a professional job, I can do that for you, but I would
have to charge a fair amount for the time and effort involved.

So, its down to how much is your time worth vs how much my time
is worth.

Here are some of the related hardware that is needed.

New Mike
External Speaker suitable for the Maxtrac
10.00 for a L-Pad 0- ~ 20ohms
Mic Jack assembly
16 pin kit
Extension cable
1.00 mic hang-up clip

Labor... making up the 16 Pin jack, Cable, Mic Jack, L-pad,
etc.
================================

The above is a "just a generalization" of what would be required
if I just sent you a fully completed kit , and lets say 18 feet of cable
with a 16 Pin Plug, and all you would have to due is " Plug it in " and Mount the Speaker...

OR, you can build it yourself if you are savvy at construction.

Monty

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Monty,

On the sub-topic you have running in this thread...

The narrowband conversion of the MaxTrac radios...

This is assumed from what you state to be Motorola Factory Sanctioned and so is there a spec sheet that lists how this complies with NTIA?

I ask this for a reason as many companies with Maxtracs and Volunteer Owner / Members (IE: Civil Air Patrol) are of course moving forward with conversion to narrowband but are required that they be Factory Sanctioned and Spec'd to NTIA (of course for CAP to purchase they also need to be P25, but that is an issue wholely unique to its own).

However IF there is a Factory NTIA Sanction then this can be a good thing for those personnel that have their own equipment and wish to be allowed to conrinue to use it in the future when narrowband is rolled out.

Thanks,

Ted...

I would like to thank everyone for responding to my request. It was a complete success and it only took me about 45 minute to put it all together. I haven't put it in the ambulance yet (will next week) but it works well on the bench. thanks again guys.