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plugging a dead MT ?
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:19 am
by WA3VJB
Symptom:
Dead MT1000 on UHF. 16 channel. Won't do jack, can't read with RSS.
Battery's good.
I've seen on other sub-pages (here) some advice to try unplugging and re-plugging the two controller connectors.
Presuming I should take the main chassis out of the housing and somehow get power to it in order to play with it, or is the assembly/disassembly part of the sequence.
Any additional experience and success to pass along if I try to revive a radio with this problem?
Tnx.
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 2:09 am
by AEC
First off, I would check the fuse.....It's on the bottom baseplate and is probably green in color and probably a 4 A rating as well(Picofuse).
Start with the obvious and progress..
Current inrush can kill a fuse if the PTT is depressed upon power up, but the fuse may also be open due to dropping the radio.
You failed to indicate if there was any indication of power getting to the radio itself, as in tones, lights or speaker noise.
This is why I start right at the fuse and go from there.
One other off-chance possibility is the battery contacts are not making solid contact with the battery, so no power is being applied to the radio, also caused by over-worn spring contacts, or the rubber pad under those contacts are missing and preventing proper pressure on the battery terminals.
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:48 am
by WA3VJB
Yes, the fuse is good (and I
did start there !)
No, the radio's totally kaput. NO tone on powerup, no LED indications, no speaker noise, not even any measureable current draw when clip-leading the battery to the terminals.
Also cannot get any interaction between RSS and the radio, with a "Serial Buss Err 003" popping up, just as if the radio was not connected to the RIB box.
Are you familiar with the resusitation methods I mentioned?
I'm willing to try them, but the process is clearly black magic.
Method 3 seems to match symptoms.
Posted for reference:
Clearing a MT1000 (or HT600) with an Invalid Codeplug
Here is something to try if you somehow get the wrong bandsplit programmed into the radio.
When the codeplug has invalid data, it may send out a continuous tone, from the VCO module being out of lock. To defeat this, you can try a couple of things:
- First, open the radio.
- As you look into the front of the radio with the cover removed, there are 2 white plugs near the bottom of the radio. You may have to remove the RF shield to see it, depending on which model you have.
- Now, you can try the quick and simple method of just unplugging both plugs going to the VCO module.
- The other thing you can do is to just ground the LOCK DETECT line.
- The left plug is the one you want. The pin closest to the right plug is the LOCK DETECT line. If you ground it with a jumper, the radio will lock and you should be able to program it. Be careful not to ground any other pins, it can be fatal to the radio.
Once you do this, attach the programming cable, power it up and program as normal.
Power unit down, re-connect cables and it should be back to normal.
Something else to try if you have a bad codeplug in your MT1000:
*
Make sure you are using a slow computer! This RSS was not meant to run on a fast machine
*
Try programming the radio a few times and monitor the percentage complete on the top of the screen
*
If the percentage is increasing, keep retrying until you hit 100%.
*
If the percentage doesn't change, give up for now, or try the method below.
Clearing a MT1000 with an Invalid Codeplug, Method 2
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For a VHF model, change the band split to a UHF, program radio. It will take the codeplug but will not work.
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Change the bandsplit back to VHF and reprogram. This will return the radio to all default values.
For a UHF, it is the same, just vice-a-versa.
Clearing a MT1000 (or HT600) with an Invalid Codeplug, Method 3
So, you have a radio that appears DEAD, no lights, no sound, nothing... would not write, sometimes read...
Well, then here is something to try. Open the radio, unplug the controller, and the other plug, playing with whichever would let the radio read/write by a plug/try, unplug/try method. We have heard of several radios being successfully revived in this manner.
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:13 am
by Al
"not even any measureable current draw when clip-leading the battery to the terminals. "
That in itself sounds suspicious....you should see 40-50 ma. drain if the controller and receive circuitry is operating at all....I would double check the switch for +10V at both sides when it's closed(on).
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:46 am
by hareless
Goodday.I have run into this problem before.You have probably got a bad flex circuit on the side of the radio.If you look at the side of the radio with the side buttons facing you and the radio controls on your left hand-there are five contacts on the bottom of the flex.Solder a wire fom the first one on the right to the bottom contact on the power switch.Thats the closest one to the ptt.This probably will bring your radio back on.Paul
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:07 am
by WA3VJB
THANKS for that guidance. Always happier to try to solve a hardware issue than, say, a fried mircoprocessor.
Will report results here.
Paul/VJB
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:47 am
by kb0nly
As mentioned make sure there is power at the small wire tacked onto the bottom of the volume pot, on/off switch. The power switches in these are known to go bad over time, and i have had many dead HT600's and MT1000's that was nothing more than a bad power switch.
If you have power from the output of the switch then chances are you have a dead controller.