Batboard

I have one Motorola spectras 110w vhf T83 with two db 25 pin connectors Drawer unit ONLY. I am trying to program the Spectra with HiPower program cable and R6.00.05 for a TX Frequency on Ham Repeater. On which port goes the cable? Do I need the Head and interface coble to program it? Can it be programmed w/out it?
Thank for help.

Left
Yes
No.

On which port goes the program cable?

Control head cable goes under the main power plug. Programming cables goes in the connector which is surrounded by the handle.

Jason

I don’t have the Control head cable or head; can the radio be programmed w/out Control head cable or head?
I did not have the power cable but I did figure were goes -- & + in the main power plug.

YES you will need the control head and the control cable connected and working to program the radio.

I can't think of a way to turn on the radio without the head and cable. Of course, I have not tried that..yet!!

Hi Will,

Actually, you can program (and use) the spectra rear-mount without a head - make a DB-25 that jumpers pins 20 & 22, plug it in and it will turn on. (to be safe, put a couple amp fuse in line)

BUT... if it's an A9 set up with an A9 head, it will fail out when you go to read it without the head (ditto if it wants an ASN attached). All you can do in this case is clone in another non-A9 control head codeplug and go from there. If it's looking for the ASN, it may not take a clone however (I've never tried that).

They will work just fine without the head, too - even the A9, though I suspect one that wants an ASN won't work. Everything comes up in whatever the default setting is and it works well. I've set up several of these as stand-alone links and packet node radios.. the speaker leads give you a nice COR output, too

73 DE Hartley

Thank everyone

I`l try it now. Well DB-25 that jumpers pins 20 & 22 w/fuse goes in plece of the head cable.

I get back to you. 73 Jaknico

Yep - if it''s a low/medium power, I really don't know if you need the "ignition" wire in the DB-15 - never tried one of those.. and you can plug it into either DB-25 socket.

One note - if it's one of those "Dual-band" drawers, it WILL be looking for an ASN...

Hartley

On a related note, which piece actually carries the codeplug on a trunk mount? Can you, for example, switch out control heads and have no loss of programming?

what good will it do with out a control head,were will the mic be hooked up to use it?..if it was me id just wait and get the rest of what is needed,and program it then

Dave

The spectra codeplug works like this:

A3/A4/A5/A7 - full codeplug info including control head information stored in the mlm

A9 - radio information stored in the mlm and control head info stored in the control head eeprom

Jason

Hi Y'all,

What a great topic for October 28th.."Headless Spectra"

Jason is 100% correct about how the Spectra holds it's info - and this is why it won't read with RSS if you try to read an A9 (that is programmed as an A9) without a head - the RSS tries to read the head and it fails. The same process takes place if the ASN is invoked in the codeplug. Since late-model Spectra A9s can usually be set up as an A5/A7, changing the head type solves the problem. Incidentally, "Control head info" is the mode names - everything else (freq, button functions, PL, etc. ) is in the MLM. Wanna make an A9 user wacko? - chenge out his head for another one with different programming - the radio works the same, but the names change.

Dave, a headless Spectra wouldn't be very useful as a mobile, but if you need a single-channel radio for something like a packet setup, link or (the original application) a repeater transmitter, running it without the head makes sense. Mic, Speaker and PTT are all available in the connector, as well as RX (discrim) and TX (flat) audio. Speaker provides COR, as it goes to +8V or so on unsquelch. BOTH speaker leads have good, undistorted audio to ground - DON'T ground either speaker lead, tho (unless you like smoke and don't need any more audio output )

73 DE Hartley

Hi
After jumped pins 20 & 22 w/fuse it try to rich code plug but it give me these
Error Number 79 has occurred:
Cannot access the S9000e control head
Consult manual for list of error codes
And possible solutions

Is this a set up with an A9 headset?

Yes it is looking for an a9 head since the programming for that resides in the head. You will need to force a non a9 head codeplug in it to get it to read without a head.

Jason

The ones at http://www.codeplugsupersite.com/ can’t get then open after put then into the archive.

Hi Jaknico,

Did you do the steps to add it to the program's archive? If you don't the program won't recognize them.

If you need a High Power VHF A5 "plain" codeplug, I should be able to create one for you. Please tell us the exact model # your radio has.

Hartley

Thank.

SPECTRA

MODEL:TA9GX+078W

ID No:T83GXA7HA9AK

Hi Jaknico,

Send me your email address (PM me if you like) and I'll send U the CP.

Hartley

Hi Hartley:
My email is [email protected] it will be only one channel simplex 146.750 encode/decode PL 100.0

Thank Jaknico[/b]

Hi,


The CP is in flite - don't forget to use the proper procedure to add it to your archive.

73 DE Hartley

Hi
can’t get to open after put it into the archive. I try copy paste and sefeas... Which is the proper.

Hello Jackeline,

In order to use an archive you have copied into the archive directory, you have to do an "add archive". From the main screen, press F3 ("GET/SAVE/PROGRAM...") then F3 again ("Get Codeplug data from Archive...") Then F3 again ("Add Archive") enter the serial number ("671ASQ0332") in the small box that opens up at the bottom of the screen. At this point, the archive should appear in the list of available archives, you can highlight it (using "Tab") and read it by pressing F8 ("Get selected...")
Make sure the directory listed at the top of the "Get Codeplug data..." screen (identified as: "Archive Path") is correct and that the codeplug file is in that directory.

Once it has read it, you can F10 back to the main menu, then F4 will allow you to check it out and modify it.

To clone it into the target radio (once the program has loaded it), select F5 ("Clone Menu") from the "GET/SAVE/PROGRAM" menu and then F8 as needed to have it clone (it will complain about a serial number mis-match, just press F2 to go on - it will NOT change the target radio's serial number).

73 DE Hartley

F3 again ("Add Archive") enter the serial number ("671ASQ0332").
I hit enter and appear another box that opens of the archive name I did put a name and hit enter and does not appear in the archive in the list. I did use a different computer W98 333Mhz and the same happens.

From your email on XP I forward it to my w98 computer and copy paste to the archive on the program. Is this correct way and then do the above?

Hi Jaknico,

OK, I made a mistake and didn't fully describe the process... Starting at the Main Menu, once you have pressed F3, F3, you should be looking at a page that has "Archive Path:" at the top, followed by a DOS directory path for wherever you have your archive files stored. For example: "Archive Path: C:\MRSS\SPECTRA\ARCHIVE"
Note that all of these words might be different, depending on how your computer/RSS is configured. You can change the entry by hitting F2, editing it and hitting "enter"

Once you're there, and everything is set OK, pressing F3 again causes a small "fill-in" box to appear at the bottom . Type the serial number I gave you into this box and press "enter". Another, slightly longer box will appear to the right of the first one - you can enter a customer name in there, or just hit "enter" again. It should give you a message about "Archive successfully added" and the serial number will appear in the list of available archives. Highlight it with the tab key and hit F8 to load it.

The most common error at this stage is that the "Archive Path" is wrong, usually in some subtle but annoying way...

Oh - the CP of mine you sent back appears to be uncorrupted, so you should have it OK. Your method of cut & paste shud work fine. Keep in mind, you HAVE to be in "pure DOS" to have the RSS program the radio properly - no DOS Windows running within Windows (of ANY version). Spectra RSS seems to work fine in a Windows "DOS box" for editing and such, but I would NEVER try to read or write a radio from a Windows environment.

73 DE Hartley