Batboard

Anyone else noticed that when you turn the xts3000 volume all the way up or even half way up that the rx audio distorts?

Is there a way in cps to fix this? At times i need to turn it up loud in high noise environments and i cant do that now with out the audio becoming almost uninteligable.

I've definatley noticed that on my 3000. Whenever I use it for work, the audio is distorted- I then realized my co-workers didn't understand the concept of keeping the radio away for your mouth. I hate when people makeout with the mic....it totally distorts the audio.

Seriously though, I notice the problem when recieving analog- not so much digital though.

-Mike

My XTSs don't seem to exhibit this problem. Most of the time, I'm using them on fireground scenes with the volume close to max. What firmware/DSP revision do you have in your XTS?

As far as making out with the mic - not necessary unless the mic is a noise-cancelling variant (NMN6191?) and you're in a high-noise environment. Then, eating the mic is a requirement.

You can also adjust the min-vol setting in RSS. I find this to be a big help by lowering it.

If you have access to/coult, have all the radios reprogrammed with the audio gain options. I find this to be very useful. Analog, Securenet, digtial all gets set to 0, and overall +6. This is especially useful with DSP8 firmware running digital.

My host is 8.02.06. I can only test this in analog mode since i have no one with whom i can talk digital to.

Right now my Minimum Vol is set to 50 and the ALert tones are set to 0. Should i change these?

The gain settings work analog as well. However, in order for it to work correctly, the other radio's need to be reprogrammed with the new setttings.

What works well for my Astro Sabers and the XTS3000's and Astro Spectras/XTL's at work is:

Mobiles:
Min alert tone 70
Alert tone offset -18
Audio Gain Options:
Analog (checked)
Securenet (checked)
Digital (checked)
Type: AGC
Output: 0
Total: 6

Portables:
Minimun vol: 65
Alert tone: -15
(rest same as above)

Thankx PJ, that seems to be a little better with your advised settings, but its almost as if when my vol is turned up loud it vibrates the speaker to the point of distortion. kinda like one of those white trash stereo systems that people put in a gremlin. LOL

Ok, its not that bad, but i would prefer it to sound a little better.

kinda like one of those white trash stereo systems that people put in a gremlin. LOL


GREAT, I LOVE IT, just keeled over laughing!!!!

Hope i didnt offend anyone with that statement about the Gremlin. But seriously, i have thought about putting a thin piece of foam between the speaker and the grill to cut down on distortion but i wanted to trying the volume settings in the CPS first. I made the adjustments last night but couldnt really tell if it made it any better. I will op test it today and post results this afternoon.

Not to compare apples to oranges but the GP-300 and P-200 had the same problem with their speakers vibrating and causing distorted audio during periods of peak output. Most times a little piece of foam put behind the speaker clips, as you said would fix the problem just fine. I have to admit though, I have not seen this yet with all of the XTS-3000's I have serviced at the shop.

Chris,
I will have to try the foam. does it need to go between the grill and the speaker or what? and can you recommend and special type of foam?

Just a note: my MTS2000 does not do this. Its just the last 1/4 turn of the volume nob pushes the speaker to far. I am curious to see if it would do this with a different front on it. If i can ever find one i will try it.

Now that I think about it, I think there was a SRN about it a couple of years ago. Lemme see if I can dig it up.

Hey PJ, did you ever find this SRN to correct this problem? I get a slight audio distortion when I turn the volume. It sounds like the speaker vibrates at high volume. When I firmly (with my hand) press over 1/2 the speaker, the "vibration" distortion goes away completely.

Is opening up the case on a XTS3000 just like opening up a HT1250's case? Pop the top knobs off and remove the antenna I assume....

Thanks in advance guys

DONT TAKE OFF THE KNOBS!!!!!!!

but other than that, yes, it opens like most all other radio's. And, in case you didnt know. Motorola even sells a special little plastic tool thats made for opening the cases on these radios. How sweet of them.


For the record, my xts still distorts the audio when i turn it up loud.

Does your radio have the square foam pad on the speaker/front cases flex connector ? I have some newer XTS3000's and they have a approximately 1/4 inch thick by 1/2 inch square foam pad on the top side of the flex connector which places this pad just above the LCD when the radio is put together. This seems to keep the case on my radio from vibrating at high volume levels. If I can get a camera I'll try and post a picture of it.


Mike

mike m wrote:Does your radio have the square foam pad on the speaker/front cases flex connector ? I have some newer XTS3000's and they have a approximately 1/4 inch thick by 1/2 inch square foam pad on the top side of the flex connector which places this pad just above the LCD when the radio is put together. This seems to keep the case on my radio from vibrating at high volume levels. If I can get a camera I'll try and post a picture of it.


Mike

If you can, I'd like to see a photo. Maybe next time you take one apart, shoot a photo for us to see. I'd appreciate it

After trying two other XTS3000 (VHF), they both exibited audio distortion at high volume. Part of the distortion comes from the keypad on model III's. Every keypad button has a small metal disc taped to the circuit board - At high volume these small discs vibrate slightly. When you get 18 little discs all vibrating slightly, they make a noticable noise (try this, turn the volume 3/4 up and cover the speaker with your hand and stick the radio's keypad up to your ear) On all 3 XTS3000 model III's I tested, all exibited this "rattling distortion" To fix this problem, I just sliced a piece of electrical tape lengthwise and placed it over all the silver discs on the keypad. Now I can turn the vol. 100% and don't hear any rattling comming from the keypad area. The factory tape over the silver discs just doesn't hold them firmly against the circuit board - rather some/all discs are floating ontop the board and prone to rattle when the audio is turned to high volumes.

Now with one problem fixed, onto the next. The radio still distorts at higher volumes, but a little better because the keypad ain't vibrating. I replaced the speaker with 3 new speakers - all specifically designed for the XTS3000 - OEM part. The radio still distortes with these new speakers installed. For the heck of it, I dropped in a XTS5000 speaker and WOW - NO DISTORTION. From the looks of the speakers, the XTS5000 speaker has a slightly bigger magnet, and the basket looks slightly different.

Well, now I can turn this XTS3000 model III volume 7/8 up and there is no distortion. At that volume I can still hear my radio 2 blocks away!!

mike m wrote:Does your radio have the square foam pad on the speaker/front cases flex connector ? I have some newer XTS3000's and they have a approximately 1/4 inch thick by 1/2 inch square foam pad on the top side of the flex connector which places this pad just above the LCD when the radio is put together. This seems to keep the case on my radio from vibrating at high volume levels. If I can get a camera I'll try and post a picture of it.


Mike

I experimented with this little pad. The reason for it is to prevent the connector from loosening/vibrating loose. It has nothing to do to prevent audio distortion.