XTS5000 help

[bulletproof-791]

i have a xts5k uhf..yesterday it was working fine on all repeater ch.(4-14-09) now today the 15th i can NOT tx on any repeater ch....i tried blowing another code plug in it..tried diff. batts, tried to talk around /direct on a diff button with no change.....PLEASE ANT and ALL info will help

[Jim202]

My guess is that the TX blew the PA. Maybe a poor antenna connection. If it is the antenna
connection, then I would expect to see an issue with the RX sensitivity also.

You could also be having an issue with the antenna switch on the side of the radio. Some
speaker mics provide an external antenna connection. When you attach the speaker mic
to the radio, it disconnects the normal screw on antenna. If that connection isn't making,
then you would have the same problem. Again it should also show up in RX.

Maybe the battery is poor and can't supply enough voltage for the TX to work right. This
should show up with the radio going into a reset or turn on type condition every time
you try to TX.

Jim

i have a xts5k uhf..yesterday it was working fine on all repeater ch.(4-14-09) now today the 15th i can NOT tx on any repeater ch....i tried blowing another code plug in it..tried diff. batts, tried to talk around /direct on a diff button with no change.....PLEASE ANT and ALL info will help

[n7maq]

When you say you can not TX, do you mean that you are not getting a red LED on PTT? If so try a SP/MIC and if that works you need a new housing, the PTT switch was an issue on some (there is an ISB for that) 5000's.

Now if the radio does show that it is transmitting, and the issue is poor/no range then let me ask trow out a few questions.

How is the RX sens?

What are you using for an antenna?

Does the repeater need a PL to open?

Jim

[bulletproof-791]

update...to it it the local M shop...they tested it and found no power out...he said it was a bad "PA"...what is was that when i keyed up on a repeater ch got nothing...but if i keyed up next to a scanner of other radio with same T/A freq & dpl it worked so i have no idea..so now i have to wait and see..he said it will be done next week



"radio does show that it is transmitting, and the issue is poor/no range"

"Maybe the battery is poor and can't supply enough voltage for the TX to work right".......NEW BATTERY

"What are you using for an antenna?" factory "M"

"Does the repeater need a PL to open?" yes..but it did not hit ANY repeater ch's today..last night no problems all i did was turn it of last night and turned it on this AM...

[tvsjr]

A friend's Q-split XTS5 failed... same symptoms, about 250mW out. Solution: new PA. $350 in parts later and one FULL alignment, and it works like new.

[MTS2000des]

update...to it it the local M shop...they tested it and found no power out...he said it was a bad "PA"...what is was that when i keyed up on a repeater ch got nothing...but if i keyed up next to a scanner of other radio with same T/A freq & dpl it worked so i have no idea..so now i have to wait and see..he said it will be done next week



"radio does show that it is transmitting, and the issue is poor/no range"

"Maybe the battery is poor and can't supply enough voltage for the TX to work right".......NEW BATTERY

"What are you using for an antenna?" factory "M"

"Does the repeater need a PL to open?" yes..but it did not hit ANY repeater ch's today..last night no problems all i did was turn it of last night and turned it on this AM...

My 800 MTS2000 failed exactly like that. One day I was using it at an event, worked perfectly...no signs of impending failure. Next week I turned it on during our daily morning radio test- could not access the system. Radio was putting out next to nothing. RX was fine.

[Tony.RI]

update...to it it the local M shop...they tested it and found no power out...he said it was a bad "PA"...what is was that when i keyed up on a repeater ch got nothing...but if i keyed up next to a scanner of other radio with same T/A freq & dpl it worked so i have no idea..so now i have to wait and see..he said it will be done next week



"radio does show that it is transmitting, and the issue is poor/no range"

"Maybe the battery is poor and can't supply enough voltage for the TX to work right".......NEW BATTERY

"What are you using for an antenna?" factory "M"

"Does the repeater need a PL to open?" yes..but it did not hit ANY repeater ch's today..last night no problems all i did was turn it of last night and turned it on this AM...

My 800 MTS2000 failed exactly like that. One day I was using it at an event, worked perfectly...no signs of impending failure. Next week I turned it on during our daily morning radio test- could not access the system. Radio was putting out next to nothing. RX was fine.

Is this something I should be worried about with my Jedi/Astro units?

[bulletproof-791]

from what i was told when i dropped my off at the "M" shop it is common on the older XTS5K for the "PA" to go out......mine was made Feb-04 ,,so i guess 5 years aint to bad.........but seems funny i have a mt500 on the same freq & pl wokrs A+ 100% with np problems.....

[MTS2000des]

the MT500 could be run over by truck, thrown at a brick wall, and still function perfectly

I also have a late 2003 XTS5000, but seems to be working well. I wonder what flat rate is for these anyway? that is most likely the route I will go if mine craps out, one of the advantages of having a legit tagged radio is being able to get Mexidepot service if needed.

[bulletproof-791]

well got it back today......they replaced the "PA" and it still has some what low TX?? they told me it colud be either the VOCON or the TRANSCEIVER ??? there price is $650.00 for the VOCON board or $450.00 for the TRANSCEIVER..or thay can send it to the depo fpr 400.00 and they can fix it

[akardam]

Did they bother to re-tune it after they replaced the PA?

Did they in fact replace the PA with the proper part?

Do they warranty their work?

[MTS2000des]

if you took it to a real MSS, you need a refund. Any legit radio shop would not charge you if they cannot fix the problem. If they replaced the PA and that did not solve the problem, it is on them for not diagnosing it correctly. This is akin to taking your car into an auto shop and they tell you that you need a new transmission and the problem is in the engine.

The flat rate option from the depot is probably the best bet anyway, you'll end up getting all updates (firmware, hardware fixes, etc), if you have a legit tagged radio this might be the most productive route for you. Good luck.

[bulletproof-791]

they did replace the "PA" i have the old 1 "so they say" all i had to do was pay the $50.00 bech fee...they guy who did the work is a friend so i know he did what he colud he only charged me for the EST. as for the re-tune i have no idea at this point i may just get rid of it cuz i dont have 400.00 to sent it to the depo. right now it seems to work and i can hit the repeater that is about 7 miles away . so i really dont know if it is working 100% or not so if anyone has any other ideas pleas elet me know

[akardam]

OK, you don't need to send it to the depot to have the radio tuned. Any bench tech worth his salt should be able to see to that. Not to be bagging on your friend but if that's all they could do then I'd worry. There's any number of techs on this board that could help you out. Perhaps one of them in your area will chime in.

First off, ASSuming they did in fact replace the old (busted) PA with a proper, functioning replacement then the very minimum would be a bench check to verify that the radio is currently transmitting within spec. If not, there's the possibility that retuning the radio will bring it within spec. If that doesn't work, then its possible that the PA is the wrong one or that it's got a problem of its own, or that it was not installed correctly, or that there is some other problem with the RF board unrelated to the PA. Try the simple/easy stuff first and then move on to the hard stuff, that's what troubleshooting is all about.

[bulletproof-791]

he could only do so much when his boss was not around..they only charged me was for an EST. only but he did replace the "PA"

[akardam]

he could only do so much when his boss was not around..they only charged me was for an EST. only but he did replace the "PA"

Well, that's between you and your friend, but you're asking for help and we're trying to tell you what you need to do. As I suggested above, find someone local (whether it be this guy or someone else) who is a competent bench tech and ask them to check the radio for in-spec operation, and to tell you what's wrong and offer options to correct the problem if not.