XTS3000 strange issue: This radio is NOT FLASHportable!!

[MotoFAN]

Hi folks!

Our team of ham operators got one broken XTS3000 M1 VHF radio. Due to Model I it has no display and can’t tell us anything useful like error code. But it produces low beep at power on and does not respond to any presses.

Per explanations of previous owner, it accidentally died just during regular CPS write procedure. Now when read with ASTRO Saber & XTS 3000 CPS R05.03.00 it says: No user function provided to convert block ID for block with type 50. Unpack failed.

Forcing codeplug via “The Tool” 5.02 passes successfully, but the procedure cannot solve the issue.
Tried to flash radio via “The Tool” menu (we have full working and genuine Moto setup for this) but after putting radio to the bootstrap (green, then red LED), CPS “The Tool” says: This radio is NOT FLASHportable!!

What??? It has FLASHport sticker at the back! BTW, radio has 140001-000000-3 Flashcode and H09KDC9PW5BN Model number. Rear sticker are genuine ones.

Our setup incudes RLN1015C, RKN4035D, bare hardware serial ports and all the rest genuine things needed, like PC-to-SmartRIB cable, “The Tool” 5.02 under Windows XP and MTSX LAB + Astro RSS R09.50 under pure DOS. Setup have been tested before and worked fine with XTS3000 as well as Astro Sabers.

CVN files we tried: Astro_XTS3000_Digital R06.72.00_TVN6313Z.cvn and Astro_XTS3000_Digital R07.71.07_CVN6236T.cvn

All looks like radio has corrupted codeplug outside of customer-definable area (some other part of entire EEPROM). And it need to be overwritten even with inappropriate data (like band, model type, etc.). We thought to force write full SREC via MTSX Lab, but it says: No communications with radio (line not ready or something). So we cannot read nor write SREC to that radio. Other radios can be read or written with no issues.

DOS RSS for Astro also cannot perform upgrade. Reason a bit differs from CPS and looks identically to MTSX LAB: No communications with radio (line not ready or something).

Tuning data can be read with no issues and was backed up by taking screenshots of all of screens. So we can destroy it with no any risks and then manually put values back.

Any other ideas, guys?

Sadly, we don’t have any tool for Astro radio that can write entire EEPROM. But re-soldering of chips is overkill for this cheap and old radio.

Any help will be appreciated.

[NHfirefighter]

Any chance it is a XTS3500 in a XTS3000 housing?

[com501]

Anything you do at this point is a $100 solution for a $25 radio.

[MotoFAN]

Any chance it is a XTS3500 in a XTS3000 housing?

Impossible. This genuine radio used by gov service.

[MotoFAN]

Anything you do at this point is a $100 solution for a $25 radio.

Totally agree. But this is in duty radio that was 'killed' by person who wanted to add some channels. And now he need to return it back to the service/organization where it come from.

[jry]

suspect the FLASH chip died on the controller.

Get an 800 radio and use that controller.

[MotoFAN]

Which one? 32K*8 EEPROM or 1MEG?

[FireCpt809]

Anything you do at this point is a $100 solution for a $25 radio.

Totally agree. But this is in duty radio that was 'killed' by person who wanted to add some channels. And now he need to return it back to the service/organization where it come from.

Time to report it lost.. Or bring in the pieces after it got accidentally run over..

[jry]

I have never component leveled the FLASH failures ....just swapped the controller.

The price of 800 XTS's is low enough such that the parts and labor to repair not worth it.

[JPOPatents]

I guess that he doesn't realize that he needs a RLN1015D because of the memory limitation of the "C" version.

[MotoFAN]

I guess that he doesn't realize that he needs a RLN1015D because of the memory limitation of the "C" version.

No, it doesn't. I know about revisions and memory size differences, but it works somehow. I was able to successfully flash all my Astro fleet including 1MEG AS and 2 of XTS3000 by using this setup. Totally 10 radios. All was done smoothly and to the latest versions. I do not know how it works - maybe my "C" SRIB have been upgraded by using some kit, or maybe "D" actually needed only for 9600 trunking (800 MHz only). I don't know. But all my Astro fleet was upgraded well and it's VHF/UHF only. No 800MHz radios at all.

[jry]

the D version smartrib is only required for the 800 P25 trunking version firmware.

The standard non P25 trunking firmware will flash fine ...which is used everywhere else..like VHF and UHF which never supported P25 trunking.