There is a new version of firmware available for the Aeroflex 2975 service monitor, if anybody cares.
I just put 1.9.1 up on the servers. This version has a lot of bug fixes, faster update times on the CQPSK plots, support for Passport (TM) trunking (as an option - you don't get it free!), markers on the scope, a "tracking generator" on the audio spectrum analyzer, the ability to save screen images, and a bunch of improvements to the manuals.
If you download just the patch, you won't get the new manuals - they add 45 meg to the download. If you pull the full boat update, you will get the new manuals.
New 2975 firmware available
Moderator: Queue Moderator
New 2975 firmware available
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
It'll be 1.8.2.2 - that is what the line was loading before last night.
The easiest way, by far, is to connect the unit to a network that can access HTTP servers on the Internet, configure the unit for DHCP, and then use the internal downloader to pull the update down.
You'll probably want the full download (77 Mbyte) so as to get the new manuals. Then, once the update is done, you can download the manuals from the unit's web server and print them out (or look at them on your computer).
The easiest way, by far, is to connect the unit to a network that can access HTTP servers on the Internet, configure the unit for DHCP, and then use the internal downloader to pull the update down.
You'll probably want the full download (77 Mbyte) so as to get the new manuals. Then, once the update is done, you can download the manuals from the unit's web server and print them out (or look at them on your computer).
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
BTW: I hope this doesn't offend anybody
By the way: I hope that my posting things like this doesn't offend anybody on the list - I do feel this is on-topic, as the 2975 *is* ASTRO radio equipment, and I do know a few lucky Batlabbers have, or at least have access to a 2975.
But if this IS offending anybody, please do let me know.
But if this IS offending anybody, please do let me know.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
Tell you what - make your comparison, then post your honest opinion here.W4COJ wrote:Wowbagger
Thanks for the info
Cant wait to see how much better it is than
the 2670's we have now.
We can use all the user testimonials we can get
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
We have had an IFR 1000S, a 1500, and now a 2975. Our 1000 and 1500 were pretty old, and were showing their ages, but they were all we had for quite some years. And we thought we were doing a pretty good job fixing radios with them. When we got our 2975, we realized that our alignments were not nearly as tight as we thought they were, in terms of power, RF accuracy, etc. Speaking of which............will IFR still repair/calibrate the 1000S? I don't trust the Frequency Error meter on ours very much. The display is shot........but we can live without that, as long as we know the analog meter is accurate.
Eeeep - I don't know off the top of my head. I'd suggest contacting service about that.kmoose wrote:will IFR still repair/calibrate the 1000S?
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
"...Cant wait to see how much better it is than the 2670's we have now..."
____________________________________________________________
A person who is 'into' test equipment will really love the 2975.
Power users like field techs or field engineers that like / need maximum capabilities will prefer the 2975. ["That thing got a hemi in it?"]
A tech who sits at a bench / in the shop all day repairing radios may well have a different opinion.
What are the 2670 strong points?
It's quiet, it boots fast, it's quiet, it has a big easy to read screen, it's quiet, it has buttons that are easy to press, it's quiet, it doesn't overwhelm with features a radio bench tech isn't familiar with.
Oh, and did I mention it's quiet.
OK, so here are some numbers.
Boot time:
R2001D < 20 seconds
R2670B = 17 seconds
HP8920A = 22 seconds
2975 = 224 seconds [3 minutes & 44 seconds]
That's from the time you hit the on switch until it's functional.
Noise level [dBa]
Compaq Presario = 39.5 [for reference]
Motorola R2001D = 42.5
Anritsu MT8801B = 45.5
G.D. R2670B = 49.5
HP 8920A = 51
IFR 2975 = 58.5
Obviously, the IFR parts guy has never been to http://www.endpcnoise.com
BTW, I am not a sound lab, but I measured the noise from the position of a technician seated at a bench in front of the unit, as consistently as I could between units.
Measurements were made with a Phonic PAA2 [way cool device for the money]
http://www.phonic.com/pressroom/product ... io-Review/
____________________________________________________________
A person who is 'into' test equipment will really love the 2975.
Power users like field techs or field engineers that like / need maximum capabilities will prefer the 2975. ["That thing got a hemi in it?"]
A tech who sits at a bench / in the shop all day repairing radios may well have a different opinion.
What are the 2670 strong points?
It's quiet, it boots fast, it's quiet, it has a big easy to read screen, it's quiet, it has buttons that are easy to press, it's quiet, it doesn't overwhelm with features a radio bench tech isn't familiar with.
Oh, and did I mention it's quiet.
OK, so here are some numbers.
Boot time:
R2001D < 20 seconds
R2670B = 17 seconds
HP8920A = 22 seconds
2975 = 224 seconds [3 minutes & 44 seconds]
That's from the time you hit the on switch until it's functional.
Noise level [dBa]
Compaq Presario = 39.5 [for reference]
Motorola R2001D = 42.5
Anritsu MT8801B = 45.5
G.D. R2670B = 49.5
HP 8920A = 51
IFR 2975 = 58.5
Obviously, the IFR parts guy has never been to http://www.endpcnoise.com
BTW, I am not a sound lab, but I measured the noise from the position of a technician seated at a bench in front of the unit, as consistently as I could between units.
Measurements were made with a Phonic PAA2 [way cool device for the money]
http://www.phonic.com/pressroom/product ... io-Review/
xmo hits the nail on the head, when it comes to the boot up time and the noise. Both of these are things that I, as a bench tech, have "issues" with. Having said that, I would never want to use another Service Monitor that WASN'T a 2975. The GUI is fairly intuitive, it gives you a digital (numerical) readout of the measurements you are taking, and the speed with which you can change channels, go from list to list, and change from one setup to the next, are fantastic from a "production" standpoint. Our logging department usually turns in the 15-20 radios from one logging job, at the end of the job, to be cleaned and tested before the next job. I sometimes will have 40-50 radios that need to be cleaned, tested, and tweaked, in about 1-2 days time. The speed with which you can process radios with the 2975 is great. And you can even set it up for visual clues..........for instance: You can have a bar graph type display for the transmitter power. Let's say you normally set output power for somewhere between 4.5 and 5.0 watts. You can set minimum and maximum "alarms" for the power measurement. The "bar" on the display will show green, as long as it is within the limits you set for it. If it exceeds the upper limit, the bar turns red. If it does not meet the lower limit, the bar turns blue. You can really pump out a high volume of radios, in a short time, when it comes to just testing the things. I guess I am a little biased, though. We have been using IFR avionics test equipment for some time, and it performs very well. I would say the IFR avionics stuff is superior to just about any other manufacturer out there.
From the introduction of the first IFR1000, their products have been solid, rugged, reliable and packed with features.
As it stands now - Aeroflex / IFR is virtually the only test equipment supplier seriously in the service monitor business.
GD is just coasting with the 2670 - it's based on the 2600 design that's over ten years old and was a mid-tier product from the day it was conceived.
As it stands now - Aeroflex / IFR is virtually the only test equipment supplier seriously in the service monitor business.
GD is just coasting with the 2670 - it's based on the 2600 design that's over ten years old and was a mid-tier product from the day it was conceived.
start up time, and fan noise
Well, let me say a couple of things:
Fan noise - agreed, it IS noisy. We are working on that. The biggest problem is dissipating the heat from the 2 YIG oscillators (gen and receive).
Boot time - agreed, the other instruments boot faster. They also have VASTLY less software to load up.
But let me ask this question - have you looked at the quoted stablilization times on the other instruments you mention? *IF* you are going to be making accurate measurements, you cannot start taking readings the instant the box comes up - you need to let it stabilize - usually for 5 minutes.
So, which is worse - a box that takes a minute or so to come up, and stabilizes in five minutes, or a box that comes up in a second, and takes five minutes to stabilize?
Fan noise - agreed, it IS noisy. We are working on that. The biggest problem is dissipating the heat from the 2 YIG oscillators (gen and receive).
Boot time - agreed, the other instruments boot faster. They also have VASTLY less software to load up.
But let me ask this question - have you looked at the quoted stablilization times on the other instruments you mention? *IF* you are going to be making accurate measurements, you cannot start taking readings the instant the box comes up - you need to let it stabilize - usually for 5 minutes.
So, which is worse - a box that takes a minute or so to come up, and stabilizes in five minutes, or a box that comes up in a second, and takes five minutes to stabilize?
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
Just got my 2975 back from being calibrated at IFR. It has Ver. 1.9.1 in it. In the duplex screen, we are back to an old bug. If you are using lists in the duplex screen, and you change the "setup" (channel) #, the receive side of the screen changes to the frequency that you have stored in the list, but the generate side does not. Not a huge deal, as you can just select the offset box, and set it to 0, but annoying nonetheless.
No, you have to set the generate side to LIST mode as well, then both will track the list.kmoose wrote:In the duplex screen, we are back to an old bug. If you are using lists in the duplex screen, and you change the "setup" (channel) #, the receive side of the screen changes to the frequency that you have stored in the list, but the generate side does not.
That way, you can use a frequency list for gen, receive, both, or neither.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
*kicks himself* Ah, so it is. The devil is in the details. I should have known this. Sorry for wasting your time, Wowbagger. (You will never get back the three minutes that it took you, to read and respond to my eariler post)Wowbagger wrote:No, you have to set the generate side to LIST mode as well, then both will track the list.kmoose wrote:In the duplex screen, we are back to an old bug. If you are using lists in the duplex screen, and you change the "setup" (channel) #, the receive side of the screen changes to the frequency that you have stored in the list, but the generate side does not.
That way, you can use a frequency list for gen, receive, both, or neither.
At least you didn't submit it to Service as a bug, and make me go through dealing with that.kmoose wrote:Sorry for wasting your time, Wowbagger.
BTW and OT: Thanks for asking this in the forum rather than as a private message - I'd really rather have questions like this out where other people can benefit from them.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
-
ASTROMODAT
- Posts: 1825
- Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2002 12:32 am
I'm sure Wowbagger can provide more info on this, but I have used a 2975 to decode the P25 "Digital DTMF" data.
The "P25 Logger" or "P25 Data Logger" (I forget what it was called) option is required on the 2975 to do this.
From what I remember, you basically put the unit into "logger" mode, and set a log file (text file) name, and start logging. Then transmit the data with your radio, stop the logging, and review the log file.
Although I haven't tried it, I would think you could examine the Astro status/messaging data this way, as well.
The "P25 Logger" or "P25 Data Logger" (I forget what it was called) option is required on the 2975 to do this.
From what I remember, you basically put the unit into "logger" mode, and set a log file (text file) name, and start logging. Then transmit the data with your radio, stop the logging, and review the log file.
Although I haven't tried it, I would think you could examine the Astro status/messaging data this way, as well.
The unacknowleged packet go to the logger, so you would need that option.ASTROMODAT wrote:Does anyone know if the 2975 can decode APCO P25 unacknowledged Data 12 packets (ASTRO dialed digits)? How about APCO P25 acknowledged Data 18 packets?
larry
Any of the acknowleged packets are not supported at this time.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.
I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
-
W4COJ
- Batboard $upporter
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2004 3:09 am
- What radios do you own?: To Dam Many
2975
Wowbagger
I have had some time to use my 2975 now and here's what i think.
I think its a great bench machine, love being able to control it with a mouse connected, Field use is a little more difficult to navigate around.
The fan is a little loud but thats no problem, overall i prefer the 2975 over my 2670. We are going to get a training session from the Areoflex rep soon and i am looking foward to that. I have not been able to get it to upgrade the software yet, ( it connects to the server but never downloads anything- prob operator error on my part).
I have had some time to use my 2975 now and here's what i think.
I think its a great bench machine, love being able to control it with a mouse connected, Field use is a little more difficult to navigate around.
The fan is a little loud but thats no problem, overall i prefer the 2975 over my 2670. We are going to get a training session from the Areoflex rep soon and i am looking foward to that. I have not been able to get it to upgrade the software yet, ( it connects to the server but never downloads anything- prob operator error on my part).