Batboard

Well, I got one I can't figure out. XTS3k model 1, vhf, host 5.xx, dsp 6.xx. DRMO most likely. All the 5v supplies are present, radio will tx with no modulation in analog, radio will tx with no modulation in astro but hangs in tx untill powercycled. Radio has no alert or self test tones, or audio of any type, radio will not show busy led when there defintely is signal on frequency. I'm thinking about the depot, what's it going to set me back?

Will

Never mind, Found it, $375. Oh Well.

Will

willbartlett wrote:Never mind, Found it, $375. Oh Well.

Will

POSTerbating again Will, you might go blind


BTW try a shop...save yourself 50-75 bucks. My last one out was $250 plus $50 for S&H&Ins both ways.

Just a thought since it may have been a DRMO radio. Are the audio paths interupted in an XTS series radio if the secure module is removed? Do you have to have a "dummy" module in place to complete the audio paths in a secure capable radio if there is no secure module in the radio. I will bet you that if it had one, the secure module was pulled from the radio to "demil" it before it went to sale.

jhooten wrote:Just a thought since it may have been a DRMO radio. Are the audio paths interupted in an XTS series radio if the secure module is removed? Do you have to have a "dummy" module in place to complete the audio paths in a secure capable radio if there is no secure module in the radio. I will bet you that if it had one, the secure module was pulled from the radio to "demil" it before it went to sale.

Nope, no bypass module required in the XTS series.

willbartlett wrote:Never mind, Found it, $375. Oh Well.

Will

$375 isn't too bad a deal Will.. especially for all of the problems stated above.

I programmed my Systems Saber once and just after I uploaded the changes the radio went completely dead. No display, sound, etc. I had the local MSS send it to the depot for repairs. When I got it back I couldn't believe it. It seemed to be completely new. Infact, I'm not sure if its not the same radio. I believe it was a CON 5 when I sent it in and it was returned a CON6 so the software was upgraded along with a new case, keypad, and controls.

Just out of curiousity, how far much damage can occur before they write the radio off completely or red tag it? Say for instance, I accidentally drive a 26 ton pumper over an XTS crushing it beyond recognition . Does the $375 flat rate still apply?

Thanks in advance.
Tim

Most of the time, they would call that physical damage. Then you are at T&M cost. Now I say MOST of the time. We sent in a HT1000 that got ran over by a fire deept tender. The housing did not show it, but the rest of the radio did. It got a new contorler, RF PCB, rear chassis, and housing kit. (a whole new radio). This was all done for flat rate. That was about 6 moths ago.



Jim.

i can speak for this from personal experience (sorta)

ladder truck vs. xts 5000.


bill from depot was $1710.


Flat rate repair does NOT cover water damage or physical damage to the radio. Such repairs are quoted on a per radio basis... which if you figure, $1710 for a $3900+ radio ain't too bad... beats buying a new one.



doug

Doug, I would assume that they had to replace most, if not all parts on that radio. Is that correct? If so $1710.00 is not to bad at all.

I know I was very pleased when we got the HT1000 back in a few days after sending it in. We had asked for a price if it was T&M, but they never called. The customer was ready to replce the radio.

Jim.

i think the only piece that was not replaced was the rubber DTMF pad.

the housing (cracked)
the lcd (smashed)
the rf board (hahahahaha)
the vocoder (hahahahaha)

pretty much everything else.


one thing i have noticed - when the depot does a per radio quote like this --- they don't seem to be using "real" MOL prices for the parts... which goes to figure...

sometimes it's hit and miss....i've seen cracked up railroad radios go in and come back good as new.... and i've seen perfectly good radios come back with "WATER DAMAGE" stickers on the housings.....along with a quote to repair.

my take on the depot:

they rock. IF you are sending in high end stuff (MCS/Spectra/Astro Spectra/XTS) and you have multiple problems with a radio. Building "hangar queens" can be pretty smart too... taking a DOA RF board and sticking it into a radio with a toasty controller.... makes your bang-for-the-buck a heck of a lot better.

if we are talking waris and lower... it can still be a good deal, you just have to be more diligent with what you are getting for your buck.

overnight UPS to and from the MSS is covered under the flat rate repair charge too --- and i've never seen anything not fixed and returned in over 5-6 days



doug

OK, So I'm looking into this radio a bit more closely. It has firmware 05.00.02, (no R before the rev#) and the DSP is N06.04.12. THe thing that bothers me about this is that my AsII has a host of R05.51.00 and a DSP version of N06.04.11. I was doing some reading of r0f's primer, and wonder about both the lack of the R before the host and the fact that the host version is lower than my astrosaber while the dsp is higher? does this seem correct? I wonder if someone was mix and matching vocorder boards.

I did test the radio with an analog only vocorder with a dsp version of A08.something, and it exhibited the same issues. Will a host/dsp pair mismatch cause this kind of issue, or really any kind of failure? The inability to read error codes (model I) leaves me with few troubleshooting options. Possibly I should send it back for a firmware lift before trying the depot route.

Will