Batboard

Hi all, i ve a old X Government MSF5000 C63CXB-7106BT wich seems to all
power up fine but i think the techs corrupted the codeplug before they
auctioned them to clear the old frequency/pl data..the 3 digit display
has all of its segments lit up like 8.8.8. also the red fail led
and the 3 yellow Leds Line PTT, Fail Soft and TRC Encode are all
illuminated. when i try to read the unit from both the control port on
the front and the 40 pin on top i dont get any communication with the
computer? im using the same old dos that i use to program GM300 and
MTS2000 radios so im guessing it isnt my cables, ribbox or computer.
i may be in need of a Codeplug to drop directly in to the unit to
ressurect it? if someone could send me a codeplug to try out it would
be greatly appreciated also any input or information would be great also
.im trying to ressurect this repeater for a local non profit club to put
up on the local hillside.thanks for your time and help all.

shadowman

MSF's are a HUGE PITA if you screw up one single paramater in the programming. I have a codeplug from mine if you need it. Mine is the 110 watt VHF MSF that I have for Ham, but mine had all kinds of extra BS that I had to disable and/or remove to make it work. Mine was a US Marshalls' Service repeater fro Atlanta GA, in like new condition. You may also need a newer version of SW to read it. I can't remember what rev mine is, but I had to have it to get it working. It was something ?.21 but it works like a champ, now. Let me know if I can help.

Jim

gday mate, mine has the acesory option on the top of the controler with the wild card option. and also has the RS232 interface on the wildcard option wich is another small board wich pushes on top of the wildcard board, i have no idea what this was used for but should i remove it ? also the dos rss im trying to use is 5.21 when i try to read the unit it tells me it cannot communicate and to check cables and what not.. it also tells me when i try to read unit with fatal error that the sccb board isnt responding... im not sure its got me buggerd . it may have a internal problem ?

In your archive directory you should have several default code plugs with names like CONV.DEF but you need to find out why you cannot communicate with the station first. Are all the proms still on the station control board, if they removed them to disable the station you will need to replace them.

As I remember the MSF when using the 40 pin on the control tray you do not use the RIB Box, only a db25 to db9 adapter. It's been a long time so I could be wrong.

il remove the unit from the rack today and see if the proms are still in there. are they remnoveable from the IC saddle or are they usualy solderd in ? cheers

Shadowman

Under your get/save menu are you able to do an F5 read station with fatal error?
The error code that you describe directs you in the direction of Random RAM error or software programming error.
Doug

gday there mate, it wont let me do a read station with fatal error, it tells me that the SCCB is not responding . i havent gotten around to removing it from the rack yet to peep inside .

Let me ask you this... when you initially power the station it goes through several self tests the display may say things like E47 etc. If you could write down these codes and post them it may help to lead in the right direction
I am assuming of course that 8.8.8. is last code you see
Doug

Look for a single 24 or 28 pin (I can't remember which) 27C256 or 27C512 EPROM on the SSCB. It will be socketed.

If it's missing (which I am going to guess it is), you're hosed. Not sure if that is still stocked by Motorola or not.

If you aren't getting past all FAIL LED's illuminating and the display is sitting at the self-test pattern (8.8.8.), this means the station is not booting.

Seeing as how the station won't boot, I'm guessing something is missing. That EPROM contains the operating system for the MSF 5000 station. As far as I know, there's no difference between versions so far as VHF/UHF/800/900, but there are different version numbers from different software releases, enhancements, etc.

If the EPROM is ineed missing, you MUST obtain one for the station to work properly. If the EPROM is there, make sure it is plugged into its socket correctly (not backwards, bent pins, broken pins, etc.)

Remember, the notch on the chip must be oriented the way the notch on the socket is.

If you are missing parts and can't come up with them, it's probably not a bad idea to watch eBay for SSCB trays. I've seen quite a few go by over the years. These MSF stations can be a REAL beeotch if you don't know what you're doing, and when they break, they generally break big.

But when they work, they're damn reliable. I've seen some that are still in service after nearly 20 years of continuous operation.

Early model MSF's were not PC programmable. The only way to program them was with the R1800(?) suitcase programmer and the on-board software. What age is the unit? The serial number would tell you the manufacture date.

both ttrc board 27C prom is missing and the SSCB 27C firmware prom is missing , anyone have bin images???

all good peoples im trying to talk to motorola localy lets see if i am sucsessfull:)

gday again all, can anyone please confirm if both these eproms are 27C 256 or 512? does it matter if i use both 27C512 for them ? cheers

The SSCB takes 48k (4000 to FFFF). The TTRC takes 32k (8000 to FFFF).

I've used 27C512 on both and had no problems.

Bob M.