Batboard

I bought a new Motorola 12 watt mobile amplifying speaker on eBay, no.
NSN6054A, to use in my car to amplify my non-Motorola handi-talkies.

Turns out that this speaker is part of the now discontinued Saber
radio system. It has a DB-25 connector with 7 pins present: four for
12 VDC power, 2 for audio and one for squelch.

Attempts to query Motorola have been futile.

(1) The spec sheet says it is made to work with the Vehicular Adapter,
which has a volume adjustment on it, so you don't have to change the
Saber's volume setting from what you like for pedestrian use. What
does this mean as far as what the speaker expects as the speaker level
voltage inputs? Will I be OK I set my HT volume knob to, say, half
way?

(2) The squelch signal is used to reduce power consumption. The specs
do not indicate what the squelch signal looks like. Anyone know?
Inasmuch as my HT's do not generate a squelch output (not counting an
LED being off), I want to force the speaker squelch to off.

3) Should I just rip out the fat DB-25 cable and connector and put
standard leads on the speaker? Or is there some demand for the thing
as is, so I could sell more easily it if I don't need it?

Ken KC2JDY

The SVA is a 5487. Your speaker is made to interface with the SVA. The Saber's volume pot is completely inoperative when the radio is on and in the SVA.

The squelch is set in the RSS. If you want it open all the time you will have to reprogram the squelch level in the radio.

If you want to just have an external speaker on the Saber, you could use a speaker/microphone with an 1/8 inch jack on it which you can connect directly to a suitable speaker directly.

The entire SVA/Saber/6054 setup gives superior audio in any installation, be it mobile or fixed, as all of the elements are designed to work together. Using the SVA is the preferred way to get external audio from the radio.

An attempt to use the 6054 without the SVA may or may not succeed, but it will certainly complicate your life quite a bit compared to just using the 6054 on an SVA the way it was designed to work.

Tom in D.C. wrote:...
The squelch is set in the RSS. If you want it open all the time you will have to reprogram the squelch level in the radio.. . .
An attempt to use the 6054 without the SVA may or may not succeed, but it will certainly complicate your life quite a bit compared to just using the 6054 on an SVA the way it was designed to work.

Thank you for your response. You credit me with much more Motorola-speak than I can muster. What is the RSS?

Some compadres told me that Motorola amplified speakers give good sound. I found this one on eBay and paid $32 for it new -- which I believe is around half of retail. I really just want a quality 12VDC amplified 12 watt speaker without squelch. An SVA costs $65 used, so that is not a desirable way to solve the problem.

I am hoping that somehting I can do with the squelch lead -- short it to ground or put 12V+ or 12V- on it -- will turn off the speaker's squelch. If the "RSS" achieves squelch in the speaker by adjusting the voltage on the squelch pin, Do you know how that voltage corresponds to squelch level (with say 0 being no squelch and 10 being 100% being max squelch)?

That the SVA bypasses the Saber volume pot does not address my question. Is the speaker expecting speaker-level voltages (e.g. 3 volts) or much lower ones (e.g., 100 mV)?

Ken KC2JDY

Sound like you guys are talking about two different think.

To be clear:

cprstn54: you are not using the speaker with a Saber, that is just the radio it was made for. Is this right?

You want to know what wire does what so that you can hook up power and hook it to your non-/\/\ radio. Is this right?

Cam22 wrote:Sound like you guys are talking about two different think.

To be clear:

cprstn54: you are not using the speaker with a Saber, that is just the radio it was made for. Is this right?

You want to know what wire does what so that you can hook up power and hook it to your non-/\/\ radio. Is this right?

Yes. This is for non-/\/\ radios.

Because this speaker is designed to get its inputs from the SVA, I have no reason to believe that it will work properly with the usual inputs to a generic amplified speaker. So when I hook up one of my small Yaesu radios (with no SVA), I want to be sure that the Yaesu's audio-out (1 watt into 8 ohms, typically) will not blow the Motorola's circuits. Also, I need to do something with the speaker's squelch lead, unless leaving it open opens the squelch.

Ken KC2JDY