Batboard

Hi All. I have a nice vhf astro spectra in a motorcycle configuration. The radio works , but only properly in one configuration.

When configured as a dash mount, using an old hln6066 interface board, the radio will read and write, power on and off, but it will not key transmit through the control head mic jack. The radio will program, and test mode will get the radio to tx fine

When configured as a trunk/motorcycle configuration, the radio will now tx with mic audio from the control head mic, but will not program from the remote head 15 pin accessory jack. The only reliable remote cable I have is one of the old spectra, non sys9000 connector style. Radio performs fine in all other respects. I also cannot get the radio to power up with the programming cable attached to the radio rear accessory connector when the remote head and cable kit are installed.

I did look through the detailed service manual I have for the astro spectra, but there is no reference to jumpers to enable/disable functions like you find in the analog spectras. Also, RSS knows that the radio is a motorcycle configuration and reports it in the radio wide options screen.

Do I need to put a non-motorcycle s-record into the radio to get around this, use a newer control cable, or are there jumpers documented in the basic service manual?

Other than that, the radio is awesome, the newer dsp revision is far superior to the older dsp revisions in some of my other astro radios.

Will

Try chopping off some of the pins as outlined in the Spectra Interconnect Boards Spection of http://www.batlabs.com/spectra.html to convert the interconnect board to a HLN6285

Spectra's can't be programmed from the old style remote head 15 pin accessory jack, the pins just aren't there.

Are you applying ignition power to the control head cable while trying to program via the 15 pin accessort connector on the radio?

Just a few thoughts.

Adrian

Do you have an Astro Spectra MCycle radio or Spectra? Just in the way I read your post, it seems (at least to me) its an analog spectra.

Anyways, shouldn't be any difference in the programming. Motorcycle/consolette/whatever is all the same.

I would tend to think it could be a control cable/hardware issue, possibly with the interconnect board or somewhere that has been damaged. It shouldn't be anything software related.

Hey All, It is in fact a MoCycle astro spectra. OK on the old style remote cable, I can drop that, I found a newer style remote cable in the junk pile (9000 series) and with it in place, I can program through the rear accessory jack while the radio is powered up in remote mode. Still don't know why the radio won't tx in dash configuration, I'll pull the pins from the 6066 and see if that fixes that problem.

Thanks for the help.

Will

All the Spectra Motorcycle radios I have seen do not have a plug for the mic on the front of the control head, the place for the plug on the faceplate of the control head is solid and plug is missing internally as well. The mic connects to a pigtail on the cable for the motorcycle setup. Yes, there is a different cable for motorcycle use than the standard remote head uses. I don't know for a fact but my assumption would be that since the radio is missing the hardware for a connection to the motorcycle control head the software won't allow for. If your control head has a place for a mic to plug in I would bet it really isn't a motorcycle control head.

Yes, the control head, courtesy of batdude, is a standard w5, and it all now works nicely. I removed the 4 additional pins on the 6066 interface board, and it works fine as a dash mount, and with the appropriate control cable, it works fine in remote configuration as well. I needed to remember all the spectra stuff I did 2 years ago before I started making headway with this radio.

Thanks to all, Will