where to start???

sos · Post by **sos** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 3:20 pm

first off ide like to say hi and what a great site this is, just what im looking for..., just hope ive posted in the right sub forum...

..

well ive been interested in citizen band radio, walkie talkies and all things radio... ive been looking around the internet for quite some time now looking at amateur radios and stuff and im currently thinking about getting a radio again but something that will reach out of england so i can talk to new people, anyway i remembered i had this motorola gp300 radio in one of my shoeboxes in the spare room and whent and got it, i done a search on google and was amazed on the info that came up. anyway too cut a long story short i ended up looking for the rss , hex editor and now i want to either buy or make the rib myself...

can anyone help me sort this radio out and other general info ile need to know if im going to get into it...
thanks people...

jnglmassiv · Post by **jnglmassiv** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 3:45 pm

sos wrote:an anyone help me sort this radio out and other general info ile need to know if im going to get into it

You're on the right track!. You'll need a RIB, the RSS software, some cables (PCtoRIB & RIBtoRADIO), an appropriate programming computer. Actually, its all written up here:
http://www.batlabs.com/newbie.html

You'll also want to read this if you haven't already:
http://www.batlabs.com/gp300.html

The GP300 is a great starter radio. Take care when programming, do your research and ask if in doubt. You'll find much help here.

AND..before you do it, NEVER, EVER ask about obtaining RSS or any other Motorola software here on the board or anywhere else. Don't ask to buy it, trade it, copy it, pirate it, borrow it...You are on your own for that. They take this really seriously here and you 'll have to wear an humiliating 'badge of ignorance' if you slip up.

jnglmassiv · Post by **jnglmassiv** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 3:46 pm

Almost forgot..Never ask about getting RSS. I mean it.

Sat Oct 09, 2004 10:37 pm

Also, you may want to check with Motorola as to what version of RSS that you need to program your radio. If I am not mistaken, the GP300 came in a 5 tone format in Europe and requires a special software to program it.

doi · Post by **doi** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 3:26 am

station house is right, there are two kinds of gp300 in europe: a normal one and a select5 one. look up your model number and you'll find out which type it is.

Moderated:::

otherwise, good luck!

sos · Post by **sos** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 5:17 am

thanks for the replies guys... well im not sure what to doo now i thoght it was just a gp300 its got no keypad on the front and theres no stickers or anything like that to say what model number it is, my father bought it from a police auctions a few years ago he got a load of stuff from them auctions, anyway it works i know that for sure becuase ive tested it...

so is there anyway i can tell what model it is if i take it apart?

and ive got software for it but im not sure now if its the right one.
also how do you get the software to run in dos?, yep i can see this being a long process for me now, its a good job im eager to get cracking aint it guys....

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 10:42 pm

The Model and Serial number tag is on the Radio chassis, remove the battery to access the tag.

Tag missing?,
Read the radio and if it is 'supported' it will read it and you can look up the serial number and Model numbers on the Radio Wide Screen.

If the radio will not read or RSS says Model 'not supported, try the other RSS.

sos · Post by **sos** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:34 am

whank oyu my friend but unfortunately theres no tag.. right well i know i can buy a rib of someone on here?, anyone want to sell me one and then give me a hand sorting it out? i could post a bit extra money for the time?, well ile see if anyone replies, there was one on ebay uk but not no more, thanks alot people..

ps cant anyone tell me how to get the rss working in dos?, that would be an achievment for me on its own .... cheers..

doi · Post by **doi** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:47 am

sos wrote:ps cant anyone tell me how to get the rss working in dos?, that would be an achievment for me on its own .... cheers..

what do you mean getting it working in dos? did you launch the program and it did not work? you don't know how to start your computer in dos?

your problem is most likely covered here: http://www.batlabs.com/newbie.html

generally it is better to ask specific questions. they are easier to answer. what exactly did you try and had no success at?

sos · Post by **sos** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:25 am

hello. right all i wanted to doo was get the rss running in dos?, ok i havent got the rib orr leads yet but i have got a couple of versions of the rss and thought it would be best if i familiarise myself with the software, so i put my start up disk in to my computer turn it on start running dos i look in the floppy drive after ive put in the rss from another floppy i can see whats on the floppy but i dont know how to open it. the only exsperiance ive got with dos is when i format my hard drive and reload windows...

im sorry if i sound like a bad idiot to you, im just trying to learn, am i jumping the gun a bit and just by a new setup and skip this moto 300 malarky...

anyway i appreciate you taking time out to reply, thank you very much indeed mate...

M3SGC · Post by **M3SGC** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 1:46 pm

As for the amateur radio bit of your posting go to http://www.rsgb.org and look for info on the M3 (foundation) licence and courses etc. Although a basic licence it will allow you to "play" radio, good luck with it and if you need more info just ask.

mancow · Post by **mancow** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 2:40 pm

Dos is all command line driven. If you look in the drive by doing a DIR command you should see a list of files. There should be one called GP300 or something similar. Just type this and hit enter and it should run.

mancow

sos · Post by **sos** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:56 pm

honestly my friend ive tried that and it didnt work, but ile double check now, oh will it matter if im running on windows me?. also its a winzip file so how do i put it on to floppy, ive already put it on like this,, unzip file then go to unzipped folder and copy to floppy, ive also just copied the winzip file and it wont work,thanks 4 the reply ...

mancow · Post by **mancow** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:06 pm

I thought you were past that point already.

You will need to unzip the file in windows and point the output of the files to the A: drive.

It may not write all the files on the disk in a nice listed format. They may reside in directories.

Once you get them to the floppy open it in windows and tell us what you see. We can help you from there and then talk you thorugh the dos commands when that time comes.

mancow

sos · Post by **sos** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:12 pm

hurray ive done it, i just forgot to put them 2 dots at the end of the command, anyway its worked, great thanks people, well i need to get my rib or ribless setup sorted out now where can i buy it from in the uk... and then i need to get a 486 pc, thats going to be a mission, im good at building pcs thoe so i might av an edge on that,, any ideas guys... the next step

sos · Post by **sos** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:41 pm

ok the two versions ive got are ver 7 and 8 i think the version 7 is crek and i think ive got another version 7 that isent crek, i can get them to run now in dos. theres other stuff in the folder but i dont know what its for there called, hdinstal and isr theres also stuff that wont open as well...

sos · Post by **sos** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:46 pm

ok to put it properly heres the versions ive got..

ro7.00.00, and this is the crek version.

i think ive got another two versions of ro7 but not the crek version. they both look identical when i go in them. and the crek version has more options.

ro8.01.00 09/july/96. the file says gp35096.

just thought i would try and explain a bit clearer.

M3SGC · Post by **M3SGC** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:01 am

Hi do you fancy building a rib? If so go to http://www.personales.jet.es/colinlowe/hammods to find a simple version. Have you looked up the foundation licence yet and where abouts in the UK are you? If you want to buy a rib go to http://www.eastlondoncommunications.co.uk look at the PMR progging kit for /\/\ and they do one for about thirty quid. Any probs e-mail me neil.duggan@blueyonder.co.uk To find any radio amateurs in your area do a search on qrz.com. For a local radio club check out the rsgb site I posted earlier.

Tom in D.C. · Post by **Tom in D.C.** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:13 am

sos:

I read through all of the posts about your questions and may have some information which would be helpful. In no particular order here it is:

1. When you run the computer to program the radio, you can NOT be running the DOS program "under" Windows of any form. Rather, you MUST be running DOS by itself. The DOS that runs under Windows will not control your serial port correctly and you will have a mess on your hands. Doesn't matter if the machine is running W98 or W2K, or any other GUI platform.

2. The RSS for the GP300 was made for the US market in two versions. The first one was for the P110 and GP300 radios. The second one was for the GP300 and GP350 radios, and it sounds like this might be the one you have.

3. Some have had good experience running DOS on higher speed computers, but others have not. It's probably best to use a 386 or 486 running at slow speeds. I run an old P60 which is a very early Pentium and it works fine, but the slow machine principle still applies.

4. Make a thorough check of the Batlabs files for more information. Some useful stuff can be found in the general files, in addition to the model-specific locations, particularly regarding software versions, rib construction, programming connections, etc.

5. The GP300 files which open the program usually end with the standard .exe command. Other files that you can't open are associated with the running of the program, such as indiividual radio files, usually called overlays, so leave them alone because they take care of themselves.

sos · Post by **sos** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:14 am

some exellent info upto now guys.

anyway ive just remembered my m8 az got a old pc, its b4 pentium was out he said so it should be a 486 or something anyway all ive got to doo now is get the rib and leads...

thanks again everyone...

ps to m3sgc, im not sure what the foundation licence is but ile look it up anyway, thank you my friend...

Andreas · Post by **Andreas** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:54 am

You can check the type of your radio without reading it.
Switch it on and hear the beep.If it sounds less one second,you have the
PL GP300.If it sounds longer than 1 sec. you have the select 5 GP300.

Andreas

sos · Post by **sos** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:21 am

well my friend ive just turned it on now and it just made 1 quick beep,,, but the battery is a bit flat if that matters ? if not its the pl gp300 then, nice one, exellent....

sos · Post by **sos** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:54 am

wel people i think there might be something wrong with the radio now, heres why..

turn the radio on leave it for a bit and press the squelch button and it make a hisssing noise like it should doo only it cuts out, imagine if you pressed the squelch button fast and for a splitt second you can here the hissing then nothing. when i turn it onto another channel the hissing is constant but after a minute or so it starts hissing then stops hisses then starts and this is all very quick az it happens, i can also here people speaking for a second then they cut out and come back in again, jusy like the hissing ..

well all ide like to know if the radio is broke because i dont want to go threw programming it and sorting the old pc out and buying the rib and that and it turns out broke, any info would be greatly appreciated, thank you,,, sos..

va3wxm · Post by **va3wxm** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:38 am

Sounds like the "battery saver" function is on. It's a setting that's activated/deactivated using the RSS.

sos · Post by **sos** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:03 pm

hello ,, so i wont know for sure wheather the radio is broke or not until i programme it??, i remember it wasent likle that at one point, could be wrong thoe, but anyway would using the wrong power pack or something like that cause this to happen? does the battery saving options effect anything to do with transmitting because that works ok... so to recap this is what happens...

ok. when i turn the radio on and press the squelch button in to here the hiss it hisses without any interruptions,, leave it on that channel for a bit and then press the squelch in and the hissing is interupted, I.E it hisses then stops and goes silent this is repeated about 3 to4 times per second..

ok. so when the hissing is interupted ile let go of the squelch button and switch to another channel and the hissing isent interupted, normal..

ok so the hissing is interupted and i press the ptt button for a second and then press the squelch button in and then the hissing isent interupted again..

if you can imagine a steam trains chimley puffing out smoke well the hissing is like that...

thank you all..

va3wxm · Post by **va3wxm** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:53 am

The radio should still technically work even with the battery save enable. All that it does is put the receiver in "sleep mode" so that it checks the frequency every 2-3(?) seconds instead of being on all the time.

I don't know what difference it makes to battery life but it won't affect transmitting ability.

Using the wrong battery might cause problems if the voltage was very high or (usually) the polarity was reversed. In the latter case the radio probably wouldn't work at all.

sos · Post by **sos** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:56 am

hello. well i was messing around with it today and i also noticed when i heard voices it would still cut out in the same way has ive allready explained...,, anyway thanks for the input...

reason i asked is because i wired up a 12v dc power pack upto it once when the battery was flat , it did work thoe so i presumed it never done anything wrong to the radio....

could it have anything to doo with the battery being flat,, ive been using a alinco charger rigged upto the batt with wires, it does charge the battery up thoe,,, heres the output ive got it on to charge.

6volts dc,, 80 ma....

thanks guys...

ps theres also two other ratings i can rig it upto here they are..

9volts dc,, 120ma and 12 volts dc,, 90ma..

if anyone thinks ile brake the radio using any of these dc s please let me know..
ps ive got a proper charger on its way...

M3SGC · Post by **M3SGC** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:58 am

Hi there DO NOT allow the radio to transmit with anymore than the 7.5 volts from the batterey or you will burn out the PA stage, honest!

M3SGC · Post by **M3SGC** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:00 pm

Also I can't spell BATTERY (Just finished a 12 hour shift

sos · Post by **sos** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 3:00 pm

so whats the effects of burning out the pa stage then ???

thanks,, sos..

M3SGC · Post by **M3SGC** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 9:03 am

Well I'm only an M3 licencee (the lowest of the low in the UK amateur licence pecking order) but I will try to explain to you. Basically your voice is turned into a radio signal on the frequency that you are going to transmit on, but this signal is only very low power. So before it goes to the aerial socket on the radio it goes to a power amplifier stage that will contain 1 or 2 powerfull transistors that "boost" the power to the required level. These are known as the PA transistor(s) in the PA stage. If you give the radio too many volts the PA transistors will amplify too much (work too hard). Then they will overheat, then DIE! I hope this helps and if I have got it wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.

sos · Post by **sos** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 8:28 am

thanks for that my friend.. so basically when the transistors go will the radio not work at all?, just wondering if the problem ive got is the effects of over powering the radio,, because like i was saying even when i can hear people talking, even they cut out... anyway thank you for your time everyone......

doi · Post by **doi** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 9:14 am

anyway the radio was not designed for operation at 12vdc so don't try it again. in my experience i can say you were quite fortunate the caps didn't blow when you put 12v on the radio directly.

it is normal that the hissing cuts in/out when you press the squelch button. it is only a sign that the battery saver is on

the voices cutting in/out might be because you had scan on that channel with priority channel enabled. so during the time the radio reverts to the priority channel the voices on the current channel cut out.

just get the leads, rib and program the radio. you'll find more about it as time goes

good luck

raymond345 · Post by **raymond345** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 9:15 am

So time has past so do u have any
updates?

where to start???

where to start???

As for the amateur radio bit try.....

Do you fancy building a rib....

GP300 stuff...

DO NOT......

Also...

Well..........

So Time has PAST.Any update