The saga of TX audio noise continues... (I think programming somehow caused it)

[Number 6]

And, if you are interested in learning about audio settings, the following thread is excellent:

http://communications.support/threads/75-Motorola-ASTRO25-Optimize-your-audio-settings?

 

[com501]

A legit FW refresh to R20.01.00 and an autotune would be in order at this point, regardless.

 

[Number 6]

Tomorrow I will try disabling the various audio options as suggested above. After that, I will probably contact the seller, and ask a few hard questions.

Did you make any progress?

 

[com501]

Oh, as an FYI, my main programming computer is a dual processor Intel motherboard with two i7 processors running 24gigs of RAM, so the processors aren't an issue.

 

[mwb9122]

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=191406160147

It was this guy wasn't it?

 

[com501]

If it is, how can he guarantee correct alignment without a service monitor that does BER??

 

[KJ6PNN]

Did you make any progress?

Nope, see below.

And, if you are interested in learning about audio settings, the following thread is excellent:


http://communications.support/threads/75-Motorola-ASTRO25-Optimize-your-audio-settings?

I have refereed to that thread several times in the past. It is indeed a wealth of knowledge.

A legit FW refresh to R20.01.00 and an autotune would be in order at this point, regardless.

I am thinking the same, although I had that done to the last radio that had this issue, and it did not help. See below.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=191406160147


It was this guy wasn't it?

Nope. Although he is pretty close to me, and I had him do a firmware upgrade (Legit Ibutton, I just checked :cop and alignment on the first radio that exhibited this (For far less that he asks on ebay) and it did not help.


Ok, here is the state of things.

Disabling AGC, noise reduction, and TX emphasis did not help.

The issue is worst about the first second of the transmission, and gets better from there. It's almost like something has to settle. This also seems to fit with the fact that it issue is worse on a keyup right after the radio is turned on, or has been sitting idle for a while. If keyed again right after transmitting, it not nearly as bad.

It is markedly worse on narrowband, than on wideband. On wideband, you only hear it if you are looking for it. On narrowband, you will notice that something is wrong. I can make a recording of the two if you think it would help.


Unlike the previous radio, it is equal across the band, (Last radio was really bad in the 460s, but was almost fine on the 440 band.

I got a private message from another member here, who I have no reason to mis-trust. He had a not so pleasant transaction with the seller, although he does have great FB on Batlabs, so I'm not sure what to think.

Matt

 

[KJ6PNN]

If it is, how can he guarantee correct alignment without a service monitor that does BER??

My issue is on analog. I understand that if the radio is aligned right, BER will check out. And you can use it to check alignment. But there is no actual "BER" adjustment in the tuner (obviously).

If the radio is tuned correctly on a calibrated analog service monitor, won't BER just "fall" into place?

Edit:

Also, I'm not in any way defending him, but here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTOROLA-TWO-WAY-SERVICE-ALIGNMENT-APX-XTL-XTS-ASTRO-JEDI-GENISIS-ECT-/191403783185?pt=2_Way_Radios_FRS&hash=item2c908df411

Doesn't the 2670 do BER?

 

[com501]

If there is a problem with the DSP, analog may align correctly, but it may still fail a BER test and be noisy even in analog.

At this point you may have an issue with something else going on, especially if this is a created codeplug from some non-legit source. You need to obtain a codeplug from a factory legit radio with the same flash that is in your radio, and write it to your radio. You may have something in your partition that was supported 'back when' but your radio may have been manufactured after the date the base codeplug was created, and the architecture may not be happy. This is why nothing is supported when using alternative methods that are not legally supported and why it isn't discussed here.

 

[KJ6PNN]

If there is a problem with the DSP, analog may align correctly, but it may still fail a BER test and be noisy even in analog.

Interesting. But if it's aligned, there is nothing that can be done other than to flat-rate it correct?

You need to obtain a codeplug from a factory legit radio with the same flash that is in your radio, and write it to your radio.

Considering the flash he put in it is 5A0001-101306-4, I don't think that's going to happen.:bang:

The radio has a CDL serial, so it's an early radio. June of 2003 if I remember my Moto numbering.


However, I think that's not the issue. Like I've said, (for whatever reason) this issue did not show up until after the radio was programmed by me. (CPS, unlike the seller, I don't/didn't mess with that which shall not be named)

 

[com501]

I think you are going to need a reliable person in or around Santa Cruz/San Jose to help you in person with this one, this is beyond the scope of this forum and any further discussion here will violate the TOU. I run into this stuff all the time and know what to do about it, but it wouldn't help your case as my required route would be the legal and legit process.

 

[KJ6PNN]

I think you are going to need a reliable person in or around Santa Cruz/San Jose to help you in person with this one, this is beyond the scope of this forum and any further discussion here will violate the TOU. I run into this stuff all the time and know what to do about it, but it wouldn't help your case as my required route would be the legal and legit process.

I have no problem shipping if there is someone out of state that can fix it. I may post in the classifieds to see if there is someone willing to work on it for a good price. (I tried my local shop a while back for a different issue, no way I'm going there again)

What would be your process? I'm all for doing things the legit way (I would not have bought this radio if I knew about the sketchy stuff I'm finding now). But for what I paid for the radio, flat rating it is not worth it.

 

[com501]

Even if you were to flat rate the radio, you would receive back a factory fresh radio with the flash that is on the tags. If this is an AN version, you might bet back a BN version, depending on frequency band and stock on hand at the depot. If there are no tags at all, I wouldn't send it, not likely you would get anything back except a nice letter from legal. Although some have had success, its not too likely. If there is a hardware problem that a service shop can detect before the radio is sent out, the proper writeup almost always guarantees a board swap, which will get you new DSPs, new firmware and the works. They do not repair the boards, the just swap them.

Your idea of posting in the wanteds is a good one, someone with a repair shop should be able to step up and help you.

 

[KJ6PNN]

Even if you were to flat rate the radio, you would receive back a factory fresh radio with the flash that is on the tags. If this is an AN version, you might bet back a BN version, depending on frequency band and stock on hand at the depot. If there are no tags at all, I wouldn't send it, not likely you would get anything back except a nice letter from legal. Although some have had success, its not too likely. If there is a hardware problem that a service shop can detect before the radio is sent out, the proper writeup almost always guarantees a board swap, which will get you new DSPs, new firmware and the works. They do not repair the boards, the just swap them.

Your idea of posting in the wanteds is a good one, someone with a repair shop should be able to step up and help you.

Yah, like I said, it's not worth it. For one thing, I might get a M1 back, since the legit tags are for a M1. That, and I paid $450 for the radio, and it has a brand new housing and impres battery, so I'd be better off to sell it for parts than to flat rate it.

I will probably see if rhabdo-medic has a digital monitor. He graciously offered to test it for free, so he can at least tell me what is going on.

 

[sjxts3000]

I was testing it on GMRS and a 460mhz part 90, but I might take you up on that offer, and try it on a local ham (I assume you are a ham) repeater. Can you hit the 440 W6PIY (Top of Good Sam) machine from where you live?

I'm on that repeater right now... go ahead and announce and I'll key up and you can see if it's doing it still. FWIW, when I key that repeater, the squelch trail is long and sounds "windy".

 

[KJ6PNN]

I'm on that repeater right now... go ahead and announce and I'll key up and you can see if it's doing it still. FWIW, when I key that repeater, the squelch trail is long and sounds "windy".

My apologizes. I have subscriptions turned off on the various forums I am a member at, otherwise I would have a very full inbox .

If you want to try some time Thursday, that would be great. However, like I said, it's much less discernible on wideband than NB. And your right, the whole W6PIY system does seem noisy sometimes.

 

[Number 6]

Has this issue been resolved?

 

[KJ6PNN]

Has this issue been resolved?

Not really.

I needed the radio last weekend. Since I know the other users on that system personally (And several of them are also hams) I asked them for a opinion. They said that it's defiantly noticeable, but does not impact their ability to copy me. At this point, I will probably take rhabdo-medic up on his offer of free alignment. After that, we shall see. If the problem does not get worse, I may just live with it for a while, since I do not use it in a mission critical/public safety role.

For what I paid, flat-rating is not worth it. If I see a cheap RF deck on fleabay, I might swap it just to see, but other than that, I don't think there is much else I can do.

I will update ya'all if/when something happens.

 

[Number 6]

Keep us posted. This one has been a mystery.