astro spectra Rx.... or lack thereof...

IMBEJames · Post by **IMBEJames** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:55 am

hi all, im running into a problem with a 110W astro spectra W7. actually, a couple problems. here's the Info i have for it:

T99DX+093W_ASTRO
T04KLH9PW7AN

first of all, Id post the DSP and firmware versions, but as soon as i read the radio, the CPS told me the versions of both were unknown. But it does have IMBE... so its at least new enough for that. is this normal?

the REAL problem is with the Rx. The raio transmits ok, both analog and IMBE without any issues, but there is absolutely NO Rx. i tried multiple simplex channels to eliminate the possibility of programming mistakes and everything, but the "busy" LED never lights up, and nothing ever breaks the squelch.

any ideas? you guys have helped me out tremendously with every problem i've posted about before, hopefully this wont be too much different

if it might be a hardware issue, if you can let me know what part numbers id be looking for, it would be much appreciated.

also, one last thing.... i have an analog spectra A9 (110W as well) kicking around that is fine except for an MLM. are any components compatible?

thanks for everything!
-jamie

Post by **batdude** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 10:02 am

what is the origins of the radio?

was it purchased new?

is it an ebay model?

put the radio into self test (home 5x upon power up)

write all that info down and post it here

make a special note if any of the info in the self test screens DO NOT match the factory serial tag (i.e. flashcode)

don't worry, the batlabs remote radio diagnostic team is standing by

doug

Post by **alex** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 10:08 am

You can swap some stuff between radios.

In order to get the firmware versions, you must first hit home 5x after powering up the radio, and it will report the HOST/DSP versions of the radio.

In the end, it sounds like you have some tuning issues with the radio, or maybe a bad reciever.

Do you notice degregated performance in only astro? or also in Analog?

-Alex

Post by **wavetar** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:04 pm

As far as hardware issues, it could very likely be the 2nd I.F. oscillator crystal, 109.2MHz. The 16.8MHz reference oscillator is fine, since the TX works ok. Do you have access to a service monitor?

IMBEJames · Post by **IMBEJames** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:22 pm

wish i did, but nope. im heading out to get more info on this thing (host/dsp and label info), ill post it in a few....

IMBEJames · Post by **IMBEJames** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:05 pm

i got the dsp/host info. when i entered the service mode at startup, it read:

R 08.01.00
N 06.02.00
flash code 580001-00100-8

everything matches the label, and i found out the history.... everything is unchanged since 1997 and is all legit.

IMBEJames · Post by **IMBEJames** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 10:05 am

i would have put this all in one reply, but im figuring this stuff out as i go....

i did a search for spectra audio and receive issues... i do still get a beep when pressing buttons, but no receive. no leaking caps, not even any slight discoloration on the boards. and still no busy LED.

the radio was set up for encryption, i think.... but no module installed, at least that i could find. so i checked the CPS, and no secure options were enabled, and "secure hardware equipped" was UNchecked in the radio config menu.

jmr061 · Post by **jmr061** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 1:40 pm

My guess is one of the boards in the radio is bad. I knew of a radio that did a similiar thing and the RF board was bad. If you want to send it to me, I have extra boards to swap out.

Jason

Post by **wavetar** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 2:32 am

No RX problems are generally pretty easy to fix...90% of the time it's either a crystal or a filter. A reputable shop should be able to fix it for an hours labour plus parts. Of course, the other 10% of the time they can be a real pain...so getting an estimate is always recommended.

Todd