Batboard

I have a genuine RIB box that I have been using with no problems for the last seven years.....bought it directly from Monty (back in the day). I tried using it today, on three different radios and two different computers. I keep getting a no connection error #5. I have checked the pinouts on all cables and they are good. The power light for the RIB comes on, I took it apart and have check some of the connections via the schematic (all seems good). Is there a known issue?? Can someone give me a direction to go on? I made sure the COM port is correct. Not sure where to go from here. This RIB has never given me a problem and neither have the computers or cables.

1st computer is a 386 Toshiba T5200 (My X9000 programmer) and second one is a P1 166MHz (used for most everything else I do).

Mike

I did install a fresh battery

on three different radios and two different computers? WOW! I got one from Monty the same year! Still works! I suspect a cable, can you try another radio? another program cable? check the continuity of the RIB to PC cable, change the battery again.... Try the AC power transformer to power the RIB. (with or without the battery) I use mine with AC power plugged into an APC UPS system... reboot the pc, & start the program again. made any upgrades in programs.... thats all I can think of outside! Hope its not inside.....Jim

Judging from what you've tried already I would suspect either the computer to rib cable, or a hardware failure in the rib.
The easiest thing to check in the rib is the + and - 5 volt supply, check the schematic and measure both. I believe a few people have had trouble with the diodes on the BUS+ and BUS- lines, they're for over voltage protection and a voltage spike could have damaged them.

I still repair those RIB's here.

Check Zener diodes CR3, CR4, CR5 and CR6 for shorts. They are about a eight volt zener.

OK......thanks so far. I printed out the schematic from the main page Here is what I have:

This is all with the power switch on and the comp to RIB cable connected

--Pin 11 and 13 are Bus+ and have 5V as needed
--Pin 11 and 13 are BUS- and I have no voltage present
--I used Pin-1 on the 25-pin as a ground
--Coming out of Q1 to CR3 and CR4 I have +5V. I lose voltage after diode CR3 and CR4. So from Q1 to pin-11 and pin 13 of the 25-pin the voltage goes to 0.
--I have the proper voltages at every other place I checked throughout the board.

Mike

If you look at the schematic for the RIB,

http://www.batlabs.com/images/rib.gif

it is not too hard to figure out if it is working. It basically consists of a bunch of transistor switches.

For example, with nothing connected to the "TX" line on the computer side, the "BUS+" line should be high and the "BUS-" line will be low. Connecting +5 volts to the "TX" line will cause the "BUS+" and "BUS-" lines to toggle. Also notice that the "BUS+" and "BUS-" lines are looped back to the "RX" signal on the computer side, so toggling them by changing the "TX" line will also cause the "RX" line to toggle high. It is a similar story for the "BUSY" lines.

The point is, with a clip lead and a voltmeter it is easy to troubleshoot the whole box. I recently went through this exercise on one of my RIBs only to find that I had a bent pin in the computer interface cable.

OK.....can anyone point me to a place where I can get a new 9-pin/15-pin computer to RIB cable? I think that is my culprit.

Mike

I wass looking for the same cable, Motorola offers it for $60.00, WOW. Easiest is to make your own from the diagram on here.

I was able to use a working RIB to verify and that was the problem. Thanks to all who replied. I have obtained a new RIB as a result. Will I am sending a PM to see about fixing the bad one.

Mike

If you're looking for cables, any type of cables really, go to www.monoprice.com.

I've bought a ton of stuff from them, and they're all working just fine. You don't get fancy flashy packaging though, usually comes in a clear plastic bag inside a brown box.