XTL2500 Control Station

[matthew]

I am looking for some specific info on the XTL2500 Control Station.

1. Can the control station have dual heads or at the very least dual mics that can be placed approximately 30 feet away from each other? (The thought is the two heads/mics would not be used simultaneously. Only if the primary radio user was tied up, a second person stationed nearby could take over the radio traffic.)

2. Is it possible to hook up the control station to recording software and record all radio traffic on a talkgroup (TX and RX) while still having the receive audio come through a speaker?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Matthew

[wavetar]

I'm not positive, but almost sure if you want dual control heads you need the XTL5000. Two mics is easy though, you can just hook up an external mic to the rear accessory connector.

There is no 'standard logging' output on the radio that will capture both TX & RX on the same pair. You'd have to tap both the mic input & rx discriminator output...you could either feed them into a Dictaphone type logger separately & use the logger software to play them back simultaneously, or use some sort of audio summing circuit to get them onto a single pair.

Some simple summing circuits can be found here:

http://www.all-electric.com/schematic/simp_mix.htm

I suggest a 2-input version of circuit #3.

Todd

[Jim202]

Yes the XTL2500 can be ordered with dual control heads. If
you look through the documentation on this series of radios,
I believe you will find that up to 4 control heads can be connected.

There is one catch, they have to be of the XTL2500 model
and not the W series. This head as some call it the MS head
is a LCD with the ability to have two lines of characters.

The top line will be the Zone and the lower line the channel.
These are set up in the RSS.

You can order some fairly long remote cables if needed.

The audio cab be pulled off of either the 26 pin accessory
conector (on the low and medium power radios) or off the
DB25 pin connector on the front of the radio. These are in
the trunk mount version. You will need this in order to have
the multiple head configuration. Use the speaker output
pins for a muted audio when no signal is present. There
are other pins that may also suit your application. Only trying
them will determine which is the best choice.

Jim

I am looking for some specific info on the XTL2500 Control Station.

1. Can the control station have dual heads or at the very least dual mics that can be placed approximately 30 feet away from each other? (The thought is the two heads/mics would not be used simultaneously. Only if the primary radio user was tied up, a second person stationed nearby could take over the radio traffic.)

2. Is it possible to hook up the control station to recording software and record all radio traffic on a talkgroup (TX and RX) while still having the receive audio come through a speaker?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Matthew

[Bruce1807]

In CPS a logging output can be set to the rear of the radio to log either tx/rx or both.
To order as duel control head you will need to order the base tray and PS as seperate line items as the remote mount does not come as a base unit.
We have done exactly what you are attempting with XTL5000 W4 units.

[matthew]

Thanks for the help! This was exactly the information that I was looking for.

Matthew

[wavetar]

In CPS a logging output can be set to the rear of the radio to log either tx/rx or both.
To order as duel control head you will need to order the base tray and PS as seperate line items as the remote mount does not come as a base unit.
We have done exactly what you are attempting with XTL5000 W4 units.

Bruce, could you point me to where in the CPS this can be set? I cannot find it, nor can I find reference to it in the CPS help. I have a customer who wants to do logging from his XTL5000 W4 base, and if I can do it this way as opposed to building a circuit, it would be great.

Todd

[Bruce1807]

Will send when I get in the office.
It is on one of the general setup screens I think on the same page as the ignition sense, you can change the audio out.

[wavetar]

Will send when I get in the office.
It is on one of the general setup screens I think on the same page as the ignition sense, you can change the audio out.

Ah, you are correct. It is called "record audio". Unfortunately, the option is greyed out in my customer's radio, as well as any other codeplug I happen to have The help says it's model/option dependant, but doesn't say which option the radio needs in order to have this capability.

If it's not a bother, could you post the model# & flashcode of your radios when you get a chance? It'd be nice to know what option to order in the future. Also, what accessory pin does this affect? Is it Pin 21?

Thanks,

Todd

[Bruce1807]

Ok I just looked at my archives and it is on an XTL2500 at our prison,
sorry i thought they had a W4 XTL5000.
So my guess is that if you upgrade to the 05 control head the feature will be available.
the xtl2500has the basic SZ code 100008-000000-0
and firmware is 7.20 from memory
And i believe you are right it is pin 21.
I will check the next time I'm in jail

[wavetar]

Gotcha. For the record, it's greyed out in all of my XTL1500 codeplugs as well, even some with fairly "loaded" codeplugs...it's probably just not a feature for the lower-tier model.

I've never worked with a 2500 yet. If possible, I'd appreciate a codeplug if you get a chance...with all the customer info removed first, of course!

Todd