Batboard

I would like to program an HT1250 and I have a Motorola RIB box (RLN4008D). Looking at the actual Motorola datasheet for this device and its included RIB schematic, it looks like:

RLN4008D RIB - DB15 connector:
* pin 9 (GND)
* pin 10 (RX)
* pin 11 (TX)

are the necessary pins to connect to the HT1250.

On the HT1250 accessory connector, I understand the pins are zig-zagged, with pin 1 closest to the antenna. Now looking at the 1550svc.gif from the Batlabs site which details the RKN4074 programming/test cable, the accessory connector pinouts on the HT1250 are:

* pin 7 (GND)
* pin 8 (RX)
* pin 9 (TX)

Therefore, can someone please confirm the following hardware interconnection to allow programming with the Moto CPS R6.x software:

1. DB9 serial connection from PC (running CPS) to DB25 on RLN4008D RIB.
2. DB15 on RLN4008D RIB connects directly to HT1250 accessory connector in the following manner:
i. Pin 9 (GND) on RIB ties directly to pin 7 (GND) on HT1250
ii. Pin 10 (RX) on RIB ties directly to pin 9 (TX) on HT1250
iii. Pin 11 (TX) on RIB ties directly to pin 8 (RX) on HT1250

Is this correct?

When looking at the 1550svc.gif which is supposed to apply to HT1250's as well, it shows HT1250 TX and RX pins tied together and connected to pin 15 (BUS+) on RLN4008. This pin 15 also is tied through a 10KOhm resistor to pin 1 (GND) on the RIB DB15 connector. Should I be following this instead? But in this case the gif also shows a RIB connection to pin 25 which would have to be on the PC DB25 side since the radio connector on the RIB is 15 pins so that doesn't make any sense to me.

I suspect that the initial method described above (steps 1 & 2) are correct in this configuration (not the latter). Can some please validate this for me?

Thank you!

First off, I really hope you haven't already hooked the RIB up to your computer as described. If so, you may have damaged the RIB, the computer, or both. The DB25 connector is the radio end of it, while the DB15 end is the computer end. I'm not sure why they used a DB15 on the computer end, but they did. The proper wiring of the cable to go from the computer's COM port to the RIB can be found here Anyway, on to the connections.

Pin 1 on the RIB will connect to pin 7 on the radio.

Pin 15 on the RIB will connect to both pins 8 & 9 on the radio.

Pins 4 & 11 on the RIB connect together, but do not connect to the radio.

Pin 25 on the RIB needs to be connecteed to pin 12 on the radio only if you are using a SmartRIB to flash the radio. In other words, you probably don't need to worry about making this connection.

The schematic on Batlabs also shows a 10K Ohm resistor connected between pins 1 & 15 of the RIB. I don't think I have this resistor in my Waris series cable, but I would suggest including it if it is in the schematic. I don't think it was included in the schematic I built my cable from.

Hi There,

Thanks for the posting. Nope, no damage. Fortunately, I managed to work this out last night after studying the schematic further and mapping the inputs and outputs. There was a natural tendency to think the DB15 was the TTL side of the RIB and the DB25 interface was the RS-232 side (given all the VRM's I have played with in the past). However, as you mentioned, for some strange reason, the interfaces are transposed and its not like the TTL side to the HT1250 requires the extra 10 pins. I was also surprised that the DB15 pinouts wrt tx, rx & gnd didn't match the standard

Accordingly, I came up with a makeshift solution last night with a PC board strip, a machine screw, some hookup wire and a DB15 and DB25 shell and some solder. Works great. I did in fact isolate the BUS+ from GND using the 10K.

Thanks nonetheless for your posting.

You're using a makeshift POS programming cable on a Waris? Good luck - you might want to get familiar with the phrase "EEPROM CS ERROR" and the address of Moto's depot (Elgin or MexiMoto).

Hi There,

Could you please expand on your posting. Do you mean the TTL side interface with the 10K resistor shunted across BUS+ and GND will lead to this EEPROM error?

The rig I am using is a HT1250 and the RIB is a Motorola factory device. So all I did was construct two cables (radio side and PC side) that conform to cable schematics published here on Batlabs, so whether I paid for a commerically molded cable or constructed my own, not sure why this would lead to an EEPROM error? Please let me know !

thanks,
AG

The Waris series radios are finicky... I've had more than one go into EEPROM CS ERROR (which is usually a brick error - send it home to Mother to get fixed) when using a good computer, RLN4008E, and genuine Motorola cables.

There simply isn't enough error checking in the radio to verify the data stream - thus, you can turn the radio into a brick pretty easily, especialy with older firmware.

If your homebrew cable comes apart, bingo, same problem. My main concern would be physical failure.

The finicky nature of the Waris-series handhelds is one reason you'll find quite a few detractors of them on this board. Also one reason I'm about to order 20 Kenwood TK-2180s rather than HT1250s.