MotorolaProgrammingPrimer

IfyouarenewtoprogrammingMotorola2wayradios,thesearethethingsyoushouldknow. Acommonmisconceptionisthatyoujustbuildacableforyourradio,plugitintotheserialportofyourcomputerandyouarereadytoprogram.Ingeneral,nothingcould befurtherfromthetruth. Therearesomeexceptions,butforprogrammingmostMotorola2wayradios(thosethatcanbeprogrammed),youwillneedthefollowingequipment:

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AnIBMcompatiblecomputerrunningDOS* AcomputertoRIBcable,availablefor9pinor25pinserialports ARLN4008RadioInterfaceBox(akaRIB) TheRIBtoradiocableforyourradio(s) ThespecificRadioServiceSoftware(RSS)package(s)thatcoversyourradio(s) And,ofcourse,theradioyouwanttoprogram.

*mayrequireWindows95forsomenewerRSS. Now,therearesomethingsyoushouldknowaboutallthedifferentthingsabove. Computers Asfarasthecomputergoes,youmayhavetoexperiment.Mostoftheradiosyouwilltryandprogramweredesignedandbuiltwhenthefastestcomputerswere286, 386,or486machines.Thetimingroutinesbuiltintothesoftwareoftencan'tcompensateforfasterprocessorsandnewerUARTS.Asaresult,youareverylikelyto encounterproblemstryingruntheRSSandprogramtheradiosonnewercomputers(486'sandup),aswellascomputersfasterthan16or20MHz. YouwillwanttoreadthefollowingServiceBulletinfromMotorolaregardingRSSandComputerproblems.Itisavailableineither.docor.pdfor.txtformats.Ifyouhave troublewithyourRSSrunning,checktheRSSTroubleshootingFlowchartfromMotorola,itisin.docformat. Themoststableandflexibleplatformwehavetestedsofarhasbeena486DX4/100desktopwhichhasthecapabilitytoturnoffInternalandExternalCachefortheCPU intheBIOSsetupscreens.Thisallowsthecomputertoberelativelyfastforsomeofthenewersoftwarebutalsoiscapableofbeingslowedrightdown(bydisabling cache)fortherealoldstuff. Ifyouaretryingtousealaptop,beadvisedthattryingtogetittoslowdownenoughmaybeimpossible.Laptopsusuallydon'tgiveyoutheoptionsinBIOStoturncache on/off.Somehowevermayletyouselecthowfasttheprocessorruns,whichmayhelp. YoumayhearofpeoplewhosaytouseprogramslikeMoSloandthelike.Theseprogramsinsertdelayroutinesonauserselectablebasisinordertotryandfoolthe softwareintothinkingitisrunningonaslowermachine. Whiletheymaymakeitpossibletoactuallygetthesoftwaretorun,gettingittoactuallyread/writetotheradiousuallyfails(theslowdownsoftwarecan'tcompensatefor theUARTread/writecycles).So,werecommendagainstusingtheseutilities,you'lljustendupfrustrated.Justuseaslowercomputertobeginwith. SomeRSSpackagescontainaComPortTestfunctionintheSetupComputermenu.Usethisfortroubleshooting.IftheComTestpasses,thenyouknowthatthe computershouldbethecorrectspeed,theRIBworks,andyourcableconnectionsareprobablyok. Asfarasoperatingsystemsgo,youwanttousejustplainoldDOS.UnlesstheRSSpackageismadespecificallyfortheWindows95operatingsystemDONOTOPEN ADOSWINDOWandtrytoruntheRSS.Sure,youmightgetthesoftwaretorunandbeabletoeditsavedcodeplugsandthelike,butwhenitcomestotryingto read/writetotheradio90%ofthetimeitwillfail.Notonlymaytheread/writefail,butthereisaVERYhighchancethatyouwillcorruptthecodeplugintheradioand makeyouselfaveryexpensivepaperweight. BecauseWindows95isamultitaskingenvironment,andtheRSSislookingforexclusivecontroloftheserialportresources,thetwowillfightandyouendupwithadead radio. Ifyoudon'thaveadedicatedDOSmachineforprogramming,atleastrebootoutofWindows95toMSDOSmode,orbetteryet,makeabootableDOSfloppyand bootoffthat.SomeRSSisverypickyabouthavingenoughconventionalmemoryavailabletorun,ifyougetan"OutofEnvironmentMemory"error,orsomethingsimilar, thisismostlikelytheproblem.Thesolutionistouseaplainbootfloppythatdoesnotloadanydriversorutilities. Oneotherthingtowatchoutfor,onalotofnewercomputers,theBIOSautomaticallymapsaserialporttoCOM1.Sometimes,though,duetoWinXXregistrysettings, thisdoesn'talwayshappenproperly.Inessence,youcouldhaveacomputerthatreliesuponthesoftwaretomapaport,andthatmaynotworktoowell. . Cables AsfarasthecablesfromthecomputertotheRIBgo,theyareprettystraightforwardandareeasilyfabricated.

ForRIBtoradiocables,youhaveanumberofoptions:
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BuytheoriginalfromMotorola,justcall18004224210 Buyanaftermarketcablefromsomeofthe2waydealersontheinternet Buyandaftermarketororiginalusedoffofanauctionsite(Ebay) Buildyourselfonefromthediagramsprovided

Inmostcasesyoushouldbeabletofabricatesomethingthatwillworkatleasttemporairilyfromourdiagrams.Thatmayjustmeanusingtapetotapewiresontothe

ForRIBtoradiocables,youhaveanumberofoptions:
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BuytheoriginalfromMotorola,justcall18004224210 Buyanaftermarketcablefromsomeofthe2waydealersontheinternet Buyandaftermarketororiginalusedoffofanauctionsite(Ebay) Buildyourselfonefromthediagramsprovided

Inmostcasesyoushouldbeabletofabricatesomethingthatwillworkatleasttemporairilyfromourdiagrams.Thatmayjustmeanusingtapetotapewiresontothe correctpadsontheradio. Ingeneral,Motoroladoesnotsellthepiecesofsideconnectorrequiredtobuildyourowncable(forobviousreasons).Ifyouwanttobuildamorepermanentsolution, youcanoftensalvagetheneededpiecesfromoldspeakermicrophonecables(probablyavailablefromaMotorola2wayshopforcheap/free).Youmayfindthatextra holesmayneedtobedrilledandpinsmovedaroundtogettheminthecorrectplaces,butitispossible. RadioInterfaceBox(RIB) Again,youhaveanumberofoptionsavailabletoyou:

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BuytheoriginalfromMotorola,justcall18004224210 BuyanaftermarketRIBfromsomeofthe2waydealersontheinternet Buyandaftermarketororiginalusedoffofanauctionsite(Ebay) Buildyourselfonefromthediagramprovided

TheschematicwehaveonoursiteisoftheofficialRLN4008RIB. Bewarnedthatthereareanumberofaftermarketvariationsavailable.Somewillnotprogramallradios,becausetheydon'thavethefull,compatible,circuitinthem. However,thismaybewhatyouwant,andyouarebyallmeansentitledtoyourownposition.But,ifitdoesn'twork,doyouhaveaschematictotroubleshootitfrom? AnoteontheSmartRIB(SRIB).TheSRIBisbackwardscompatiblewithallthefunctionsoftheRLN4008.ItdoeshoweverprovidethecircuitrynecessarytoFlash Upgradesomeofthenewerradios(withthecorrectsoftware).WehavereviewedtheschematicoftheSRIB,thereisNOWAYtomaketheRLN4008intoaSmart RIB.ItisalsonotpossibletobuildaSmartRIB,itusesapplicationspecificIC'sandsurfacemountdeviceswhichcannotbeorderedfromMotorola. RadioServiceSoftware(RSS) OK,here'sthedealonRSS.TheonlylegalwaytoposessRSSistosigntherequiredlicenseagreementandpurchaseitdirectlyfromMotorola.Manypeoplebelievethat Motorolawillnotsellit.ThisisFALSE.Aslongasyouarewillingtosignthelicenseagreementandpaytheprice,theywillsellittoyou,justcall18004224210. YoumayseepeoplesellingRSSonEbay.Whetheritisonaharddriveofacomputer,acopyofafloppydiskorCD,oreventheoriginalMotorolaRSSpackage,allof thissoftwareisillegal.Thereareverystrictprovisionsinthelicensingagreement,andwhatitallboilsdowntoisthatonceyoubuythesoftware,itisyoursandyoursalone, andyoucannotresellit,period. Don'tbefooledbythedisclaimer"purchaserisresponsibleforalllicensingofthissoftware".Itmeansabsolutelynothing,becausethesoftwarecannotberesoldtobegin with.IfyouweretotryandregisteryourillegalRSS,Motorolawouldjustlaughatyouandsendthecopstohaulyouofftojail. Ifyouareinthemarketforpiratedsoftware,don'tlookhere.Wewillnotbeapartofthedistributionofpiratedsoftware,andyouwon'tfindanyonoursite.Wedon't haveanylinksorinformationonFTPsitesforpiratedRSS,sodon'task. RIBlessProgrammingCables ThereareasmallnumberofradiosthatdonotusetheRIBforprogramming.TheseareidentifiedonourpinoutspageasPCTO____,or"RIBless",insteadofRIBTO ____.Thesecablesconnectdirectlyfromthecomputertotheradio.YoustillneedthecorrectRSSpackageinordertoservicetheradio.

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