Spectra Info

[racerman1cars]

I bought a Spectra,Thanks id: T84GXA7HA9AK at a hamfeast a while back some one said it might be the useless gov't split. I tried to power it up and it says something about a security box needs hooked up. will the chassis # id the split? it is: HLE6039C.

Steve

[Will]

Steve,

That is a Securenet Hi power UHF radio. To tell the 'split' or Range you would need the numbers from the VCO and RF frontend modules.

Range 1 403-433 Range 3 450- 483

If it was setup for the external Securenet encription box, the RSS will not read all the codeplug without a box there.

You appear to have a range 3 with the 2.5ppm RF board.

[racerman1cars]

Will, What does the HLE6039C translate to?
Steve

[35echo]

Steve,

HLE6039C is a Range 3 450-482 100W PA Deck

Regards,

Allen

[Hartley]

I'd give about 99% odds that it is a 403-433 split unit. Unless you have a way to hook up an external ASN (secure) unit to it, you won't be able to get it to behave at all. The FBI/IRS/who knows surplussed out a LOAD of those a couple years ago, and they are turning up everywhere.

I tried, and I couldn't get one to lock much above 438 mHz.

Hartley

[kc7gr]

Not with a Range 3 PA deck in it.

Sounds like it would be perfectly usable on 440 amateur. However, there are some caveats.

(1) The 'time-bomb' electrolytic caps. If they haven't been replaced as yet, do so. Even if they look OK, replace them (or send the radio to myself or Will for re-capping if you don't do surface-mount parts).

(2) You have a 50/50 chance of the receiver front-end filter working into the 440 band. If it doesn't, you'll note the receive sensitivity will drop off pretty sharply below 449MHz. Clearing this up requires either replacing the filter, P/N 91-80209N02, about $67 list from MOL, or doing some -very- precise and mind-bending surgery on the original filter.

(3) The VCO will likely need a drop of conductive ink to pull its center frequency low enough to lock reliably in the 440 ham band. Relatively easy to do, but must be done carefully. Pull it too low, and you'd have to clean off the microstrip and substrate completely and start over.

(4) Programming should not be an issue if you use the last version of Spectra RSS (R06.05.00). It allows entry of amateur frequencies in a Range 3 radio without hassle.

(5) While the idea of 110W on 440 might sound attractive to some, using that much power all the time is going to have a nasty effect on the long-term lifespan of your final PA output transistors. They are, as far as I know, no longer available from Motorola, and they were a pain in the ass to change even when they were available. With that in mind, I would recommend setting your high power point to 75 watts. The receiving end won't notice hardly any difference (it's less than a 3dB change), and you'll be assured of reliable operation for many moons.

Happy tweaking.

[Hartley]

Hi Bruce,

You're absolutely right about the freq range - I missed that.

But you didn't address the "external ASN" problem - I have a setup with an ASN in it specifically to "fix" those radios, but I've never found a way to do it otherwise, as the radio will NOT allow you to blow a new codeplug on top to get rid of the error.

Is there a way I haven't found?

Hartley

[kc7gr]

Gaah! Sorry, you're right, I missed that.

There are only three ways I know of to get rid of that error.

(1) Go in and 'bit-bang' the radio memory to a 'neutral' or 'factory-fresh' state, using the Software Which Shall Not Be Named, then reprogram with the codeplug build of your choice. May take a while, but it can be done. I have a hex dump of an uninitialized MLM EEPROM you can work from if you want to try that.

(2) Physically remove the EEPROM from the memory module, and reprogram it in a device programmer with the appropriate file (requires said file, tweaked in terms of model, serial, bandsplit, control head type and MOFLAGS for the specific target radio, and surface-mount rework gear).

(3) Plug in an external security housing long enough to let the RSS complete its read cycle, then disable the ASN functionality in Radio-Wide options and reprogram. I keep a spare unit around for this very reason (granted, I'm easily capable of tweaking the MLM directly, but it's easier to try the security housing first).

If you're not able, for whatever reason, to do any of the above, I can go over the radio for you at my normal rates. PM if interested.

Happy tweaking.

[RADIOMAN2002]

Bruce
Wouldn't reprogramming with the "Software Which Shall Not Be Named", allow you to dump an appropriate codeplug in it, or at least clone a codeplug? I have reprogrammed conventional Spectras to Type II trunking that way.