Search found 1144 matches

by Wowbagger
Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:13 am
Forum: Base Stations, Repeaters, General Infrastructure
Topic: Fuel Cells, How They Actually Work?
Replies: 4
Views: 3267

Re: Fuel Cells, How They Actually Work?

No, not really. Ignoring the issue of where to get the fuel, the advantages of a fuel cell are that it can be quiet, has few moving parts, and emits only water vapor. It's basically a battery that isn't a sealed system, and can be refueled rather than being recharged. But as you observed, it isn't a...
by Wowbagger
Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:43 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

No, the bootloader does not check the serial number. The serial number checks happen when the application is up. You don't have the disk parameters set correctly.
by Wowbagger
Mon Jul 10, 2017 3:18 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM 120B Real Time Clock Fail
Replies: 33
Views: 19119

Re: IFR COM 120B Real Time Clock Fail

I've been on a week's vacation, and will need some time to get caught back up.
by Wowbagger
Thu Jun 15, 2017 12:49 pm
Forum: MotoTRBO Portables and Mobiles (3xxx/5xxx/7xxx/SL) 2.0 Series Subscribers
Topic: MotoTrbo Audible Tone Over DMR?
Replies: 8
Views: 9808

Re: MotoTrbo Audible Tone Over DMR?

Motorola told me that if we would use a console to dispatch it could put out the tones...how would that work over DMR? It doesn't really "put out the tones" - it inserts bits into the DMR protocol frames for signaling things like that, rather than trying to encode the tones in the parts o...
by Wowbagger
Thu Jun 15, 2017 3:23 am
Forum: MotoTRBO Portables and Mobiles (3xxx/5xxx/7xxx/SL) 2.0 Series Subscribers
Topic: MotoTrbo Audible Tone Over DMR?
Replies: 8
Views: 9808

Re: MotoTrbo Audible Tone Over DMR?

Short answer: no, that won't work. Longer answer. If digital radio just sampled the data and pushed it over the air, you would need about 64kbits/sec to handle voice. That would require about 32 to 64 kHz of bandwidth to carry in any reasonable modulation for what we are doing. The point of digital ...
by Wowbagger
Thu May 25, 2017 3:59 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Appropriate cabling compliment for an R2001 test set?
Replies: 7
Views: 4292

Re: Appropriate cabling compliment for an R2001 test set?

I'm surprised Wowbagger didn't try to plug one of his Aeroflex Blue Streak cable sets: http://pdf.datasheet.live/datasheets-1/aeroflex_%5Bincorporated%5D/AC25068.pdf They're pricey but worth every penny IMO, especially if you get the full complement of adapters. That must have been out of Weinschel...
by Wowbagger
Tue May 23, 2017 3:33 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Appropriate cabling compliment for an R2001 test set?
Replies: 7
Views: 4292

Re: Appropriate cabling compliment for an R2001 test set?

I have one of these for my gear: http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualkey0virtualkey5748 Pomona Model 5748 adapter kit. Mates pretty much anything to anything else. Add a couple of cables: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Pomona-Electronics/5749-36/ and you can connect pretty...
by Wowbagger
Fri May 12, 2017 12:10 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR-1600 with no RF gen output below 0.317 mV
Replies: 14
Views: 5104

Re: IFR-1600 with no RF gen output below 0.317 mV

It sounds like the step attenuator has a bad relay in it, and when it kicks that stage of attenuation in, you get an open circuit.
by Wowbagger
Mon May 08, 2017 3:17 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults
Replies: 16
Views: 5731

Re: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults

That would be my guess, unfortunately.
by Wowbagger
Sat May 06, 2017 1:57 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults
Replies: 16
Views: 5731

Re: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults

In what mode? Analyzer, or Duplex? In Analyzer, that would be the tracking generator, which would show up as a "Track Gen" field in the lower right.
by Wowbagger
Fri May 05, 2017 12:24 pm
Forum: General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion
Topic: Radio Shack Closing - Remaining Electronic Parts Sources?
Replies: 26
Views: 12422

Re: Radio Shack Closing - Remaining Electronic Parts Sources?

In our part of the country (South-Central Kansas), one of our local stores was a DratShack affiliate, but carried a bunch of ham gear, surplus test equipment, and white goods. Some oxygen thieves from RS Corporate had come in, saw how much of the store was given over to ham gear, and said "oh n...
by Wowbagger
Fri May 05, 2017 12:20 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

And, when you make a backup image, get some form of checksum on it - MD5, SHA1, SHA256, something - and write it down. When you want to check the image, verify the checksum first. Make your life easier - write down the tool(s) used to make the backup (and the checksum) as well. Your future self will...
by Wowbagger
Fri May 05, 2017 3:32 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Things are moving solid state, but I don't know that I would say solid state is much more durable than spinning rust - I have seen SSDs fail from too many writes just as much as I have seen disks fail. The single biggest lesson learned is to use off-the-shelf as much as possible - buy your CPU board...
by Wowbagger
Fri May 05, 2017 3:25 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults
Replies: 16
Views: 5731

Re: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults

I don't have the service manual (I thought I did, but I didn't get it when I was getting manuals). But I can help on how to do the calibration, since I wrote most of that code.
by Wowbagger
Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:03 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults
Replies: 16
Views: 5731

Re: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults

What do you need - just the calibration procedure, or actual schematics for repair?
by Wowbagger
Fri Apr 28, 2017 3:51 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

There is a single file that contains the options information for the unit, and it is tied to the CPU. If that file is not corrupted, and you place that file on the image, you should be fine for your options. If you still have the original option install files from Aeroflex, once the unit has had the...
by Wowbagger
Thu Apr 27, 2017 3:08 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

I hate to say it, but not really. I don't have a 2975 image, and the FTP server that had the images on them was decommissioned some time ago. All I can suggest is that you try to find another 2975 owner you could meet up with.
by Wowbagger
Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:18 am
Forum: General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion
Topic: To newly registered users: Welcome! Please read...
Replies: 109
Views: 536889

Re: To newly registered users: Welcome! Please read...

I gave him a business card and asked him to email me with the info, so when he does I'll follow up.
by Wowbagger
Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:21 pm
Forum: General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion
Topic: To newly registered users: Welcome! Please read...
Replies: 109
Views: 536889

Re: To newly registered users: Welcome! Please read...

I just met somebody who drove from Winnipeg to Wichita to bring his 2975 in for service (he juuuuuuuusssssst squeaked under the cut-off for RMA support). He has been a lurker here, and asked the service guys if they could call me over to meet him (which I did). He said he's been trying to register w...
by Wowbagger
Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:06 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

kb6nzv wrote:Hello Wowbagger.

Would you mind confirming which version of VXworks you had chosen for the 2975 service monitors?

Respectfully,
Phil KB6NZV
5.3.1, with PC hardware BSP V1.2
by Wowbagger
Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:41 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

You need to use ddrescue on the original drive - the idea behind ddrescue it that it will try to read all sectors, at first skipping bad sectors in order to recover what it can easily recover, then going back and trying to read the the damaged sectors with the tenacity of a terrier going after a mou...
by Wowbagger
Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:48 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

(speaking of toeing the line - I too have a line that I'm not going to cross)

Have you tried getting a Linux machine, and running ddrescue to see if you can recover enough of the system to work?
by Wowbagger
Wed Apr 12, 2017 3:29 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

The options printed on the back of the unit don't help me - those were the option numbers sales used. Unless somebody else has a chart telling me what they mean, I have no means to convert them to the software level bit map that I feed into the tool to create the options codes. The single best thing...
by Wowbagger
Fri Apr 07, 2017 4:07 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

To get SSB you need hardware - the SSB mixer and filter. That's going to be tough because the only way you are getting that would be to find one on the used market, as the whole 120 family is totally out of support now.
by Wowbagger
Fri Apr 07, 2017 4:06 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults
Replies: 16
Views: 5731

Re: IFR COM120A rf power meter faults

The fact that the distortion isn't reading at all suggests there are still problems - check for a trace that got eaten by the electrolyte from the caps.
by Wowbagger
Mon Apr 03, 2017 3:12 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM 120B Real Time Clock Fail
Replies: 33
Views: 19119

Re: IFR COM 120B Real Time Clock Fail

Hook a serial cable from the RS-232 port on the instrument to a serial port on your computer - either a built-in or a USB to serial adapter. Set up a terminal program - Procom, Windows's terminal program, Minicom, whatever. Set the terminal program to the same settings as under the "Settings->S...
by Wowbagger
Fri Mar 31, 2017 3:32 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Oh my. The answer is "maybe, but it is a pain in the ass". A modern PC is a testament to the power of used chewing gum, duct tape, bailing wire, and stubbornness - layer upon layer of cruft for compatibility's sake. One of these stacks of crap is hard drive access - due to the limits of co...
by Wowbagger
Sun Mar 19, 2017 4:21 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM 120B Real Time Clock Fail
Replies: 33
Views: 19119

Re: IFR COM 120B Real Time Clock Fail

OK, everybody, from the top: 1) I will help who I can, when I can. The most assured way you can get me to put you last on my to-do list is to keep pestering me by IM. 2) I need your serial number, the options you had (don't give me every option - I don't take well to being snowjobbed). Either give t...
by Wowbagger
Fri Jan 20, 2017 3:54 am
Forum: General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion
Topic: Syntor x9000, LB - favorite 29-54 MHz antenna?
Replies: 27
Views: 10633

Re: Syntor x9000, LB - favorite 29-54 MHz antenna?

Syntor9k - you are still new enough that your posts need to be approved before they actually show up.
by Wowbagger
Sat Dec 24, 2016 4:48 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

So at work we have two of the TS-4317 test sets. This is the military version of the IFR 1600S. One of them has an LCD display and one has a CRT display. Has anyone here successfully integrated an LCD display in the 1600S? If yes, what model display was used and was there anything special that need...
by Wowbagger
Thu Dec 22, 2016 4:47 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Ah, I was helping them on the COM-120B version.

Which, I'll bet, is also no longer supported (sigh).
by Wowbagger
Sun Dec 04, 2016 5:33 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

You need to understand that the T/R path adds a 40dB attenuation to the signal, and the TR/Aux RF switch is on the upstream side of that - so the RF leakage "seen" by the receiver is 40dB higher than the real signal. In other words, what you are seeing is operation as designed. Really, if ...
by Wowbagger
Sat Oct 01, 2016 4:28 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Lovingly restored COM-120A
Replies: 8
Views: 7227

Re: Lovingly restored COM-120A

Yes, I decided I'd be nice and turn it on for you as well.
by Wowbagger
Fri Sep 30, 2016 3:29 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Lovingly restored COM-120A
Replies: 8
Views: 7227

Re: Lovingly restored COM-120A

IFR SYSTEMS INC,COM120A, 1385 ,0105-0103-0101-0101 *OPT? 144 The option sticker states O01020412. Sorry I had assumed 05, error on my part, I read -13 not +13. The response to the *IDN? is giving the version numbers of the software: main code, BIOS, GPU, Keyboard. The response from *opt? is the opt...
by Wowbagger
Fri Sep 30, 2016 3:16 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Lovingly restored COM-120A
Replies: 8
Views: 7227

Re: Lovingly restored COM-120A

That was a wholly unnecessary Adam Henry type comment, Wowbagger... Check yourself? If you're that worried about it, don't even offer dude. I can't stand Adam Henries. Sorry, but no, it was necessary. I have in fact had several people IM me asking for me to do exactly that - enable all options. I h...
by Wowbagger
Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:49 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Lovingly restored COM-120A
Replies: 8
Views: 7227

Re: Lovingly restored COM-120A

In order to have SSB, you would need to get the 3kHz IF filter and SSB board - it's not just a software option. As for some options not showing up on the options screen: only options that have a software impact will show up, so things like the hi stability OXCO don't because software doesn't care ab...
by Wowbagger
Tue Aug 16, 2016 1:17 pm
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Sad news for IFR/Aeroflex 2975 owners
Replies: 4
Views: 6685

Re: Sad news for IFR/Aeroflex 2975 owners

Damn it, another of my children dead.
by Wowbagger
Fri Aug 12, 2016 4:45 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR 1900CSA Adjustment Advise and Maint. Manual Needed
Replies: 7
Views: 3284

Re: IFR 1900CSA Adjustment Advise and Maint. Manual Needed

If the master oscillator is locked, and the PLLs are locked, maybe you have a problem with the dividers, like a stuck bit? Have you reseated all the cards?
by Wowbagger
Sun Aug 07, 2016 7:11 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

I think the 1600 is similar to the COM120, and so the power term switches RF out between the T/R and Duplex (gen) ports, and there is a separate switch for the ANT/TR switching for receive. If you switch from ANT to TR on the analyzer, what different does that make on the display when in tracking ge...
by Wowbagger
Sat Aug 06, 2016 10:07 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

IIRC the 1600 uses a relay to switch the TR and GEN ports, so it sounds like you might have a bad relay - or bad cables; I have seen cases where cable leakage screws up the readings. Are your cables known to be well shielded?
by Wowbagger
Sat Aug 06, 2016 5:01 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

It sounds like your generator is not locked, and thus is not putting out a signal where the analyzer is looking, just noise. Does the generator work in normal mode - e.g. can you set up FM and get a clean signal?
by Wowbagger
Thu Aug 04, 2016 3:21 am
Forum: ASTRO Series (Astro Saber, Spectra, XTS3000/3500) Subscribers
Topic: XTS3000 SmartNet/SmartZone Type II Question
Replies: 3
Views: 7777

Re: XTS3000 SmartNet/SmartZone Type II Question

It sounds like it is an ASTRO-25 system. That is a Motorola bastardization of APCO-25, using a Smartnet control channel but using P25 CAI on the voice channel. But since it ISN'T APCO-25, they use a different manufacturer ID on the P25 voice frames. It could be that since you have programmed the cha...
by Wowbagger
Mon Aug 01, 2016 1:39 pm
Forum: General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion
Topic: Using DOS In Programming an HT1000
Replies: 9
Views: 6253

Re: Using DOS In Programming an HT1000

No, safe mode has nothing to do with "Pure DOS" in any Windows other than Win3.11, Win95, or Win98. When people talk about "pure DOS mode", they mean really running MS-DOS on the bare metal, and you cannot do that with WinNT, Win2K, WinXP, Vista, Win7, Win8, or Win10, because the...
by Wowbagger
Sat Jun 25, 2016 4:14 am
Forum: General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion
Topic: 0185417U05 (PD526-4-2) duplexer tuning issue
Replies: 7
Views: 3467

Re: 0185417U05 (PD526-4-2) duplexer tuning issue

Ideally, you want to check return loss on all three ports - remember, "return loss" is another way to say "power acceptance", which is another way to say "impedance match". You want the Transmit port to have a high return loss, so that all the power developed by the tra...
by Wowbagger
Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:43 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

About all I can suggest is checking the monitor. I think I remember that the jumpers to set the orientation are on the display itself - I suppose one could have either worked loose or have some corrosion buildup.
by Wowbagger
Tue May 10, 2016 3:12 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

You've lost all your options. What is your unit's serial # (as printed on the back), and what options should you have?
by Wowbagger
Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:02 am
Forum: General Motorola Solutions & Legacy Radio Discussion
Topic: Repeater De-Sense
Replies: 14
Views: 7611

Re: Repeater De-Sense

1.4:1 on the end of 60 feet of feed line isn't that great. Remember that any feed line losses will attenuate the reflected signal, reducing the VSWR. It sounds like you may have a bad antenna.
by Wowbagger
Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:21 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM-120B Generator Mode Problem
Replies: 28
Views: 9070

Re: IFR COM-120B Generator Mode Problem

Bad caps? Check the board and see if you have any leaking parts.
by Wowbagger
Thu Feb 18, 2016 4:13 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions
Replies: 629
Views: 295213

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

You might be able to get the 1900 manual, but the COM-120 manuals are unobtainium - even for me.
by Wowbagger
Wed Feb 10, 2016 4:22 am
Forum: Test Equipment & RF Equipment Alignment
Topic: IFR COM-120B Analyzer problem
Replies: 2
Views: 2185

Re: IFR COM-120B Analyzer problem

The filter being a bit off could be. Try slowing the sweep down and see if that shifts it.

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