Spectra "out of range" question

[alex4659]

Hi everybody,

I have a motorola A9 spectra 800mhz and it was picking up my local PD's just fine before i had a PA300 hooked up and now after the installation, its displaying OUT OF RANGE when it used to come in loud and clear...


Any suggestions?

thanks,
Alex

[Bill_G]

What happens when you disconnect the PA300 from the accy port?

[Jim202]

The "out of range" is a message that says the RX can't hear the trunking control channel.

By any chance did you check the antenna connection? My bet is the antenna is off the back of the radio
or they screwed up the connector / coax cable.

If the radio shop had to take the radio apart, I would say they either forgot to connect the RX cable back up
inside or it didn't get plugged back in correctly. The cable connectors are real small and take care when
trying to put the radio back together.

Jim

Hi everybody,

I have a motorola A9 spectra 800mhz and it was picking up my local PD's just fine before i had a PA300 hooked up and now after the installation, its displaying OUT OF RANGE when it used to come in loud and clear...


Any suggestions?

thanks,
Alex

[alex4659]

The "out of range" is a message that says the RX can't hear the trunking control channel.

By any chance did you check the antenna connection? My bet is the antenna is off the back of the radio
or they screwed up the connector / coax cable.

If the radio shop had to take the radio apart, I would say they either forgot to connect the RX cable back up
inside or it didn't get plugged back in correctly. The cable connectors are real small and take care when
trying to put the radio back together.

Jim

The shop did not take apart the radio its self but i tried messing with the antenna an the plug and that did not do anything so i think that might be the problem.

thanks,
Alex

[Batwings21]

What town are you listening to? Maybe they got rebanded at the same time you had your siren installed. Also, have seen many a 900mhz spectra-e go into out of range by one of the caps eating through a trace on the command board.

[alex4659]

What town are you listening to? Maybe they got rebanded at the same time you had your siren installed. Also, have seen many a 900mhz spectra-e go into out of range by one of the caps eating through a trace on the command board.

I'm listening to Fulton County, Georgia

thanks,
Alex

[Bill_G]

And disconnecting the siren package doesn't fix it?

[FireCpt809]

The PA300 has no interface with the radio other than if the radio rebroadcast is hooked up and that would affect the audio circut. Who did the siren install you or an istaller? I would check the power connections first. Then check the contntuity of the coax for the antenna the antenna may have a dead short causing poor reception.

What about on the outside chance since this is a trunked system that it got inhibited?

[jhooten]

Get a mag mount antenna for 800. Disconnect the antenna from the radio and hook up the mag mount. If the out of range goes away then you know it is an antenna or feed line problem and not a radio problem. If you still have the problem on the temporary antenna you start looking for other problems.

[alex4659]

And disconnecting the siren package doesn't fix it?

have not tried that... yet ill do so right now and get back to yall.

thanks,
Alex

[alex4659]

OK, its not the pa300 because i got a very weak signal near my house and then it said out of service again... so my guess is its the antenna; can i get one that will fit my spectra at radio shack?

thanks,
Alex

[FireCpt809]

What kind of antenna are you using now? You cant get the right antenna at Rat shack. The best way to go is a NMO Drill in mount with a good 800mhz antenna. There are plenty of options but the hole mount is optimal.

[Will]

Alex could have a weak receiver problem, not uncommon.

Let's see how the Spectra receives with the proper antenna on it. The stock mobile antenna is only about 3 1/2 " high.

Has Alex tried a simplex or DIR (NON trunking Mode) channel? And was there any error codes there?

[Jim202]

There is still a possibility that there is a problem with the receiver. The Spectra radios have a crystal in the
radio that has a history of either breaking loose from the circuit board, or going bad. If this crystal has gone
belly up, the receiver will be almost stone deaf.

I would start with attaching some form of another external antenna. The RF connector at the back of the
Spectra is a mini UHF. Not the norm for the average scanner buff. Normally you need a crimping tool for
the outer connection and a solder iron for the center pin. This will tell you if it is the antenna or the radio.
You don't even need it to be an exact match for the 800 band. Right now, just about anything will work.
If you get a good signal, you know it was the antenna system. If you still don't hear anything, then
you will have to bench the radio.

Jim

What kind of antenna are you using now? You cant get the right antenna at Rat shack. The best way to go is a NMO Drill in mount with a good 800mhz antenna. There are plenty of options but the hole mount is optimal.

[alex4659]

There is still a possibility that there is a problem with the receiver. The Spectra radios have a crystal in the
radio that has a history of either breaking loose from the circuit board, or going bad. If this crystal has gone
belly up, the receiver will be almost stone deaf.

I would start with attaching some form of another external antenna. The RF connector at the back of the
Spectra is a mini UHF. Not the norm for the average scanner buff. Normally you need a crimping tool for
the outer connection and a solder iron for the center pin. This will tell you if it is the antenna or the radio.
You don't even need it to be an exact match for the 800 band. Right now, just about anything will work.
If you get a good signal, you know it was the antenna system. If you still don't hear anything, then
you will have to bench the radio.

Jim

I think its my antenna because 1) i got a really bad signal the other day and then it said out of range after i drove like 60 feet; and 2) at the point where the coax cable meets the antenna, its really loose and slides around real easy...

Can i cut the cable and crimp the end and then solder the end to reattach it?

thanks everybody for you help,
Alex

[FireCpt809]

sounds like a magnet mount..

[MTS2000des]

What town are you listening to? Maybe they got rebanded at the same time you had your siren installed. Also, have seen many a 900mhz spectra-e go into out of range by one of the caps eating through a trace on the command board.

I'm listening to Fulton County, Georgia

thanks,
Alex

are you authorized to be on the system? just curious, aside;
Rebanding is scheduled next month, at which time no analog Spectra will work on the Fulton system. (all of the Spectras that FCPD, Roswell and Alpharetta used to have were replaced with XTL5000's and MCS2000's in 2005 and 2003 respectively). Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Milton all use XTL/XTS's now so rebanding will be a minor issue though techs will have to put hands on every radio to load the rebanded codeplugs in.

[Bill_G]

That's a common enough thing to have happen. Connectors break. If it's solid center conductor, you only get one chance, and then it's an open. Ohm it out. Run by a radio shop and either have them apply a new crimp on mini-uhf, or get one and put it on yourself. You may want to also eyeball the connector on the radio to make sure the female contacts have not been spread out, broken, or shoved back in. I've seen that happen too.

[Bill_G]

Rebanding is scheduled next month, at which time no analog Spectra will work on the Fulton system. (all of the Spectras that FCPD, Roswell and Alpharetta used to have were replaced with XTL5000's and MCS2000's in 2005 and 2003 respectively). Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Milton all use XTL/XTS's now so rebanding will be a minor issue though techs will have to put hands on every radio to load the rebanded codeplugs in.

And then there's that side of the equation.