Spectra Test Mode

Converting an A5 to A7

Converting a B5 to a C7

Tricks if you have access to Spectra Lab RSS

General Info

Converting a 900 MHz Spectra for Amateur use

Model Breakdown

Power-UP Self Check Error Codes

Spectra Test Mode

Turn on radio. Press HOME 5 times within 15 seconds. Press MODE UP Radio displays serial number Menu is presented - select by pressing

The Password required to get into the service menu should be the last four digits of the radio's serial number.

To enter Service mode, turn rig on, wait to see SELF CHK then press HOME 5 times quickly.

Display slowly shows:

Service

Rotate rotary mode knob once and display shows (for example):

S/N 617

AWL 1288

Then display goes to the main menu system with the following main headings. Scroll through with the rotary mode knob.

(PS: The HOME button is used as an ENTER key from now on.)

Zone, Mode, Radio, Tst Freq, Ch Test, Align and Exit.

ZONE

Press enter and you see the first ZONE name is flashing. Scroll thru all ZONE names (plus EXIT) with MODE knob. Pressing enter brings up a submenu with these choices: NAME, SCAN and EXIT. Selecting NAME allows you to actually change the ZONE name by using the MODE knob to highlight each letter in the name which can then be changed with the ZONE UP/DOWN buttons. All numbers and letters are available (use the + to enter a space). Press enter when done. Selecting SCAN at the submenu shows the further choices SEL MODE or EXIT. Pressing the SEL button alters between N PRI (none), flashing PRI (main) and PRI (secondary) priorities. I'm not sure why this menu is here as it gives one the felling that individual ZONES can be scanned thru and I don't think this is true.

MODE

Pressing enter shows the first MODE and it is flashing. Scroll thru all Modes with the MODE knob. Pressing enter brings up a submenu with the following choices: NAME, CALL, SCAN and EXIT. The NAME choice allows you to change the mode name, again using the rotary MODE knob to highlight individual letters and then use the ZONE UP/DOWN buttons to scroll thru all leters and numbers. Press enter to get back to submenu. The CALL menu item was unavailable (beeped) as was the SCAN choice.

RADIO

Pressing enter brings up a submenu with the following choices: HOME SEL, PHONE, STATUS, MESSAGE, SITE, SECURE, MPL NAME, ST NAME, RAC and EXIT. The HOME SEL choice was unavailable.

PHONE brings a display that altenates between PHONE 1 and --------. The rotary MODE knob scrolls up thru PHONE 9 plus EXIT. Pressing enter allows you to edit PHONE 1 using the now familiar rotary MODE knob and the ZONE UP/DOWN buttons. After this pressing enter allows you to enter a phone number using all digits plus * (asterik) and # (octothorp).

STATUS shows a bunch of characters some of which are unrecognizable. The rotary MODE knob scrolls thru a bunch more of these. Eventually you get back to EXIT.

MESSAGE, SITE, SECURE, MPL NAME, ST NAME and RAC were all unavailable.

TST FREQ

Pressing enter here brings up a display with PSWD----. Use the rotary MODE knob and ZONE UP/DOWN buttons to enter any of all letters and numbers. Enter the last four digits of the radios serial number here. This brings a display with a flashing 1 followed by 46025C5. The rotary MODE knob scrolls thru others....all starting with a flashing 1....60025C5....1739975C5 and EXIT. If you press enter on any of these choices the 1 goes steady but the C begins to flash. The rotary MODE knobs scrolls thru these choices: PL, PC, PD, DL, LS, M6, MC, HS, DF, and EXIT. The default is CS (Carrier Squelch). The volume knob is useless while in service mode.

CH TEST

Pessing enter here shows V 2 01 for a few seconds then the display slowly cycles thru all letters and numbers as well as the various indicators in the display. Then it stops while displaying KEY TEST. Now, any key pressed shows up a individual number assigned to that key....as follows:

H/L 47 PHONE 31 CALL 33 HOME 08 SCAN 32 SEL 34 MODE DOWN 41 MODE UP 42 MON 48 MODE knob 01 VOLUME (just beeps)

ALIGN

Brings a menu with LO POWER, HI POWER, REF OSC, DEV and EXIT. Selecting LO POWER shows LO 1 025. Rotary MODE knob scrolls up to LO 2 025 and LO 3 025, and the ZONE UP/DOWN buttons allow the 025 setting to be changed from a value of 000 to 127. This allows one to adjust a push-button setting of rf output ( Lo Med and High) for either a Lo or High powered Spectra radio. You can toggle the transmitter on and off while doing this, and one of the test freqs is used. REF OSC programs just like the LO POWER and HI POWER settings, as does DEV.

EXIT

Just like it says.

Converting an A5 to A7

The A5 and A7 Spectra control head electronics are the same. The A5 control head has the electronics for the extra 9 buttons that are present in the A7 version. The radio will recognize these in control head test mode but the radio ignores them during regular operation. RSS will not let you program funtions for the other three rows while editing an A5 codeplug. Like the Maxtracs the radio enables certain options depending on the model number programmed into the radio.

Now. Changing the model number and serial number. You can probably do this with the Lab software, by loading an A7 codeplug (same band and power) into an A5 radio. You may be able to make a "new" radio Maxtrac-style. I dunno. I haven't played with Spectra Lab Software.

Motorola, Fort Lauderdale will gladly send you a MLM with a generic serial number and whatever model number you wish, for about $220. This is the shop price.

Also, you have to purchase a new plastic front panel and buttons. The buttons available are listed and depicted in the various service manuals and there are some nice variations of legend and icon.

Converting an B5 to a C7

We received the following info regarding this topic:

"A while back I asked about upgrading the firmware on my Spectra, here's what I found out, everyone at Motorola is a pathetic liar you couldn't get a straight answer out of those people if their life depended on it.

But I did get one engineer to tell me that all that I had to do was replace the MLM board with the serial number of my radio, and the model number of the radio that I wanted it to be. So with that info, I decided to be a $157 guinea pig and go for the gusto.

The results were worth it, my B-5 Privacy Plus radio became a Smartnet C-7 with my serial number and a new model number.

Now when you read the radio and go into More Features under the Radio Wide screen, it says that it is not Securenet compatible. But, I loaded one of our C-7 files into it (the same model number that I had the MLM programmed for) that is secure capable, and although it says it is still not capable, the secure key will load and it functions as though it should in conventional and trunked modes.

A tech. at Motorola said this wouldn't work because the micro processor had to be blanked out(sooner or later I'll figure out a way), and there were other issues involved in upgrading a radio this way. I can see why a B-5 isn't worth nearly as much as a C-5 or 7. He also said that upgrading from a B-5 to a C-7 is possible for the retail difference between the two, not really much of a deal.

So at any rate, a little more playing around and maybe we can figure this thing out, but I still think there's a way do do this without the big $ out of pocket."

Tricks if you have access to Spectra Lab RSS

If you can obtain access to lab software, and change the serial number of the radio to match the personality of a radio that has all of the features you want (with the same band, etc.), it will "force feed" the radio, and that personality will be dumped in to thew radio. Then you can change the serial number back to the original one.

First, you need a file for a full featured radio. Using the Lab RSS, program the radio with it.

Second, the radio will now show a error message on the display, thats ok.

Third, read the radio with the error message then after you read it now program it again that will over write the serial number in the codeplug and the error will go away and the radio will now work with all features.

But now here is a trick you must watch out for. You must always read the file first then edit it then program the radio with the file. If you read the radio first then it will tell you the radio does not have the features in it even though they work. You must always read the file because the file is of the original radio with all the features.

General Info

Certain Spectra's like the Smartnet or Securenet radios don't have scan. You can't enable it in anyway. The board inside the radio that controls the scan feature is not present in the radio.

Figure out what programming cable you need. Take a look at the mic connector.

If you need a programming cable for the P1820AX portable repeater, just use a regular mobile programming cable and program each radio individually.

The pinout of the 15 pin accessory connector on the Spectra 900 is as follows:

1   TX Audio
2   Emerg
3   VIP out 2 (dash mount only, not used in remote mount)
4   SWB+
5   Ignition (dash mount only, not used in remote mount)
6   SPKR Hi
7   SPKR Lo
8   DIG GND
9   BUSY
10  BUS-
11  DET Audio
12  VIP out 1 (dash mount only, not used in remote mount)
13  DATA PTT
14  BUS +
15  MIC Hi

The older versions of Spectra software wouldn't allow a 450-512 version to go below 449. The latest RSS of spectra allows programming to 440. Haven't tried this same version on 146-174 versions of radios. You may have to retune the VCO (solder across the lazer cuts a bit) to cause the radio to "lock" on freqs below 440.5 in rcv mode.

The scanning features on older radios is part of the programming in the MLM module. If its not in the MLM, and you want to get it, you have to "pay" for a MLM with scan in it from motorola. The RSS won't unlock it, even though the RSS knows about scanning.

If you want to change the serial number in your radio, here is the C source for a program that is supposed to do it. It is supposed to work with Spectra version 5.03. I don't have a radio to try it on, so compile it your self and try it out. Supposedly you can use DJCC compiler to compile it.

You can convert a Maxtrac DTMF mic for use on a Spectra 900 by changing the cord, color for color, clipping R18 and adding jumper JU1.

The Spectra VRM 600 which has a modem capable of RD-LAP data built in the front of the Spectra dash radio and no functioning control head uses PIN 4 (SW B+) for ign sense. The standard dash mount programming cable power lead needs to be changed from pin 5 to pin 4 for this radio. I believe this is because of lack of a front panel power switch.

It appears that some Spectra's, when loaded with a corrupt codeplug, give the error FL01/82. Others lock themself into a repeating SELF CHK loop which is near impossible to do any more programming with.

We've been told that with lab software that you can get it out of this loop. You have to change the serial number of the radio, reinitialize and tune the radio, then read the codeplug and send it back to the radio in order to stop the repeating loop.

After changing the serial number the display reads FL01/82 (which is a corrupted codeplug), just keep going with the above procedure, and everything should be fine.

Converting a 900 MHz Spectra for Amateur use

So far, information pertaining to modifying a 900MHz Spectra for Amateur use will involve replacing the 6-pole receive filter. Unfortunately, that filter is really what makes a Spectra a Spectra, so the results might be disappointing.

If you are working on the conversion of a Spectra too the 900MHz Ham Band, Charlie would like to collaborate with you on the project. He can be reached as follows:

He has been working on a stripline mod to the VCO in the Spectra which appears to allow the Amateur offset.  He has been unable to locate the proper bandpass filters to change out the RX IF. 

If anyone is successful in making this work, please send us the detailed information so that we can post it, thanks.

Model Breakdown

Spectra Factory ID

D - (D)ash, (T)runk, (M)otorcycle or Conso(L)ette
2 - Power Level: 1 - 8 (1 =<10, 8=110)
7 - Bandsplit: 1=lowband, 2=midband, 3=highband, 4=UHF, 5=800, 6=cellular, 7=900
K - F, K, V ?
M - L=?, M=standard, X=secure capable
A 
7
J
A - Control Version: A=Conventional, B=Privacy Plus, C=SmartNet, D=StarSite
9 - Control Type: 3=handheld Control Head, 4=knobs, 5=3 button control, 7=12 button control, 9="9000" Control Head
A - Revision: A=original, etc.
K

Opt L791 = Digital Remote Control for consolette
Opt L1548 = Tone Remote Adaptor

W388AL/H1271A = DES
W793AB/H1279A = DVI-XL
W794AC/H1269A = DVP
W795AG/H1272A = DES-XL
W797AG/H1270A = DVP-XL
(Securenet KVL plugs into Microphone connector)

Power-UP Self Check Error Codes

Below is a table that describes the error codes displayed on the VFD after the radio power-up self check, their causes, and possible remedies.

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