I am new to the Moto world, although I have acquired a large lot of radios on that auction site we all know and hate. I am going to need to do some programming.
I understand that RVN4019K is the most recent revision of the software, and that I will need an ancient computer to run it. I know that the license agreement does not permit copies to be shared, and this board does not permit asking for copies. I am trying to find out how to obtain it LEGALLY, but I am being told that it is No Longer Available, at any price. The auction site doesn't have any(and if I understand correctly, even selling used original disks is against the license agreement). My local dealer says that these radios are too old for him to program. Is my only option to mail the radios to somebody who has the software?
Also for some of the repairs that I foresee, the "Labs" version of the software may be needed. Does anybody know a part # for this? Or is that a product that never should have left a Moto authorized dealer?
Thanks for any help!
Nathan
Maxtrac RSS Questions
Moderator: Queue Moderator
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
Surprised no one else has chimed in.
Welcome to the board.
Keep looking and you really should be able to find the MAXTRAC RSS out in the wild.
LAB might be a little harder to find, but it is out there.
You will need an old computer or a lot of luck.
MAXTRAC is pretty forgiving compared to some RSS.
Will work on most PENTIUM class stuff with some effort.
Welcome to the board.
Keep looking and you really should be able to find the MAXTRAC RSS out in the wild.
LAB might be a little harder to find, but it is out there.
You will need an old computer or a lot of luck.
MAXTRAC is pretty forgiving compared to some RSS.
Will work on most PENTIUM class stuff with some effort.
Steve K.
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
Out of curiosity what are the planned use for the Maxtracs?
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
What I have is a stack of 8 2 channel, 5 pin, masked logic board units on 146-174 that I am going to use on the amateur band. I have some 800 MHz non-talk around units with the full-feature board and front panel. I spoke offline to a member from this board, and he mentioned that even the masked board is capable of 16 channels, so really what I need to do is swap front panels.
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
Hello:
Last I talked to the O P he was going to use the maxtrtac in the ham band as a packet radio of a type.
Don't recall exactly the name he used to call it but definitely a ham radio application.
Satelit
Last I talked to the O P he was going to use the maxtrtac in the ham band as a packet radio of a type.
Don't recall exactly the name he used to call it but definitely a ham radio application.
Satelit
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
Most likely APRS... Common use for these radios now days, RBTIP has all the info for them as well as some of it on my website.
One myth i see going around a lot is needing an ancient computer, not for the Maxtrac RSS. I have it running in DOS on a modern i5-3570, just boot from a DOS partition (multi boot setup) and run any old RSS i want. About the only one that i have that won't run on this computer is the old X9000, but i thankfully don't have to deal with any of them any more!
One myth i see going around a lot is needing an ancient computer, not for the Maxtrac RSS. I have it running in DOS on a modern i5-3570, just boot from a DOS partition (multi boot setup) and run any old RSS i want. About the only one that i have that won't run on this computer is the old X9000, but i thankfully don't have to deal with any of them any more!
Duct tape is like the force, it has a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together.
"I Reject Your Reality And Substitute My Own!" - Adam Savage
"I Reject Your Reality And Substitute My Own!" - Adam Savage
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
Okay here is the reason I asked. Has anyone had success using the mic jack on a 5 pin Maxtrac for packet/APRS without rewiring the mic jack so it can also still be used for voice?
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
There are two spare pins on all MaxTrac MIC jacks. These can easily be used for packet/APRS and can be wired however you see fit directly on the logic board. Those pins are present in the control head wiring cables. A normal palm or hand mike will still work fine since it doesn't touch those spare pins.
Bob M.
Bob M.
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upssnowman
- New User
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:29 pm
- What radios do you own?: to many
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
New Question on Maxtrac programming I have all the RSS on old floppy wanting to know if it will run on newer computers?
Thinking of buying a usb floppy to bring the RSS over to a usable file since no computers have floppy drives any more
then buying the USB programming cable on e-bay to plug in usb to the radio
question is will this work before I buy a floppy drive and cable?
thanks for the help much have some maxtracs from past I'd like to programm and the old 386 and rib dosen't work any longer
Thinking of buying a usb floppy to bring the RSS over to a usable file since no computers have floppy drives any more
then buying the USB programming cable on e-bay to plug in usb to the radio
question is will this work before I buy a floppy drive and cable?
thanks for the help much have some maxtracs from past I'd like to programm and the old 386 and rib dosen't work any longer
Re: Maxtrac RSS Questions
Part of the issue here in programming the old radios is that the software was wrote to function with the older computers. The serial port is a requirement that some people have tried to get around by using a USB to serial port converter. The problem with this solution attempt is that the older radio needs to be run under a pure DOS operating system. Trying to run these old software programs in a Windows DOS sub window is not going to work or if you do manage to get it to work, it is not a safe and stable way to try to program these old radios.
You can program these radios with some of the older, more recent computers. You will need a floppy drive if you run the computer in a dual boot setup to make things function smoother. I choose not to dual boot my programming computer, but to have a floppy with the DOS software. Then boot from the floppy and run the DOS operating system and then call the radio software that way.
Let me point out that in running DOS on your computer with a hard drive to store your files, the hard drive needs to be formatted in a FAT32 format in order for DOS to be able to read the drive and get to any files. I put my files out on the hard drive and then use the DOS commands to go to the different directories and start the radio programs from the hard drive. I use many different radio programs and putting the software on the hard drive makes it so much simpler to use that way.
I have been able to use come computers with as fast a clock speed as between 800 and slightly over 1 GHz. However I will state that you might end up having a problem with the computer cache. Many computers will show up problems and not run the software for these older radios. One way around this problem is to use a program to shut off the cache. I have found a small program called "cacheoff.com" that I run before starting the radio software. In one case I had several versions of a radio program that wouldn't run on any of my programming computers. Started the "cacheoff.com" program and then started the radio program and it ran just fine.
You will need a RIB (radio interface box) to convert the voltage levels between the computer serial interface and the radio programming pins. You can make your own RIB if your good at small component construction or go out and find a used one that you know works. Some people out there will try to sell you non working RIB units, so make sure you get a return policy if it doesn't work. Or you can go out and buy a new knock off from several of the companies that advertise them.
I make my own radio interface cables that go between the radio and the RIB. You can go onto several Internet web sites to obtain the diagram of how to make the cables. One of them is the www.batlabs.com site. It has a great amount of information there. Just go to the radio information selection and then go to the mobile section and pick your radio. You can then down load the file or print it out. It generally just takes some skill at soldering and to have a source of the required connectors and the shells to go over the connectors at the RIB end and maybe the radio end if it is not to the mic connector.
Just ask here on the site for what you need and someone will point you in the right direction. Most of us don't bite or slap you down for not knowing the answer to your questions. But, and I will say this, that you might get some flack for not trying to do a search on your own, before asking the question on here. It's better to try and come up empty on your own search. Just let us know that you tried. Even the best of us come up empty now and then when we do searches about the older equipment or antennas.
Jim
You can program these radios with some of the older, more recent computers. You will need a floppy drive if you run the computer in a dual boot setup to make things function smoother. I choose not to dual boot my programming computer, but to have a floppy with the DOS software. Then boot from the floppy and run the DOS operating system and then call the radio software that way.
Let me point out that in running DOS on your computer with a hard drive to store your files, the hard drive needs to be formatted in a FAT32 format in order for DOS to be able to read the drive and get to any files. I put my files out on the hard drive and then use the DOS commands to go to the different directories and start the radio programs from the hard drive. I use many different radio programs and putting the software on the hard drive makes it so much simpler to use that way.
I have been able to use come computers with as fast a clock speed as between 800 and slightly over 1 GHz. However I will state that you might end up having a problem with the computer cache. Many computers will show up problems and not run the software for these older radios. One way around this problem is to use a program to shut off the cache. I have found a small program called "cacheoff.com" that I run before starting the radio software. In one case I had several versions of a radio program that wouldn't run on any of my programming computers. Started the "cacheoff.com" program and then started the radio program and it ran just fine.
You will need a RIB (radio interface box) to convert the voltage levels between the computer serial interface and the radio programming pins. You can make your own RIB if your good at small component construction or go out and find a used one that you know works. Some people out there will try to sell you non working RIB units, so make sure you get a return policy if it doesn't work. Or you can go out and buy a new knock off from several of the companies that advertise them.
I make my own radio interface cables that go between the radio and the RIB. You can go onto several Internet web sites to obtain the diagram of how to make the cables. One of them is the www.batlabs.com site. It has a great amount of information there. Just go to the radio information selection and then go to the mobile section and pick your radio. You can then down load the file or print it out. It generally just takes some skill at soldering and to have a source of the required connectors and the shells to go over the connectors at the RIB end and maybe the radio end if it is not to the mic connector.
Just ask here on the site for what you need and someone will point you in the right direction. Most of us don't bite or slap you down for not knowing the answer to your questions. But, and I will say this, that you might get some flack for not trying to do a search on your own, before asking the question on here. It's better to try and come up empty on your own search. Just let us know that you tried. Even the best of us come up empty now and then when we do searches about the older equipment or antennas.
Jim