XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

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mustanglane
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XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by mustanglane »

Has anyone had any issue with new XTVAs with P/N ending in 8560G? So far, we have had three brand new out of the box where the connector that moves against the radio side connector does so in a non-parallel manner such that the top of the connector makes firm contact while the bottom does not, rendering the radio inoperative UNLESS you press the radio sideways to effect a good contact.
Thanks for any replies---
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fineshot1
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by fineshot1 »

I have a fleet of approx 65 or 70 NTN8560F which have been being used for about
8 years now and have never encountered this problem. Have you contacted Motorola
support about this yet? If you do and find a resolution please post back on this and
tell us about it, thanks.

PS - It is possible it may be related to the size of the battery being used with the portable.
fineshot1
NJ USA
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mustanglane
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by mustanglane »

Thanks - we have probably over 100 "F" and older models installed nationwide (think Fed Aircraft and some boats) and have never seen this previously. The units in question are all brand new "G" suffix models and the issue was noted during initial installation and test in new aircraft. We are likely looking at a call to Moto in any case, especially since they are all new out of the box. Will certainly advise!
Gadget826
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by Gadget826 »

I'm currently having the same issue with a newly installed XTVA w/ RF amp & HHC display microphone & I saw that they were suspecting a battery type mis-match? I'm using an XTS5000R w/ FPP, DES & OTAP/encription installed (from the previous owner) but secure is not used even tho it comes up w/ "secure lock' at initial power-up. Something I did do- I have an XTS3000 non-display radio that I put in the same XTVA & aside from the expected "key fail" it worked fine. When the 5000 would not charge, I also noticed the display on the mic worked but would not light up, the audio comes out of the radio speaker instead of the external one, the radio's display did say "Remote" & function. I'm going to work on this over the weekend & will reply with what I find as well... the accessory connector does look "tilted" as you mention but moving the radio around in the cradle made no difference.
"To err is human... to really screw things up requires a computer!"
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mustanglane
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by mustanglane »

Thanks - be interested in what you discover. I've done a lot of research on the SECURE LOCK display in the past - it is NOT related to Encryption, but was an option from a certain US Govt Agency in the past. That's about as much as I've been able to determine. It is just a slight bother at power up and does not seem to affect radio ops.
On any radio that goes into an XTVA, there is a check box somewhere in the general radio properties section that says "BACKLIGHT While in VA" That should be checked, and it should then turn on the lights, if I remember correctly.
If the audio is coming out of the radio speaker, I'm thinking that yours is not making good contact with the side connector either. I have also found in the past that sometimes you have to "scrub" the radio side connector with a pencil eraser to clean a thin film of corrosion. Until the "G" models of XTVAs, I had not previously seen an issue with a good connection to the side connector. I also dont recall ever seeing the "REMOTE" display you mention - interesting----
Thanks
Jim202
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by Jim202 »

mustanglane wrote:Thanks - be interested in what you discover. I've done a lot of research on the SECURE LOCK display in the past - it is NOT related to Encryption, but was an option from a certain US Govt Agency in the past. That's about as much as I've been able to determine. It is just a slight bother at power up and does not seem to affect radio ops.
On any radio that goes into an XTVA, there is a check box somewhere in the general radio properties section that says "BACKLIGHT While in VA" That should be checked, and it should then turn on the lights, if I remember correctly.
If the audio is coming out of the radio speaker, I'm thinking that yours is not making good contact with the side connector either. I have also found in the past that sometimes you have to "scrub" the radio side connector with a pencil eraser to clean a thin film of corrosion. Until the "G" models of XTVAs, I had not previously seen an issue with a good connection to the side connector. I also dont recall ever seeing the "REMOTE" display you mention - interesting----
Thanks


Please don't use a pencil eraser on the gold plated contacts on the side of the radio. Generally using your shirt or some other cloth is all that is needed. If they are real dirty, then add some alcohol to help get the grime off.

Using the pencil eraser will strip the gold plating off and then your in real trouble.

Jim
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by Gadget826 »

mustanglane wrote: I've done a lot of research on the SECURE LOCK display in the past - it is NOT related to Encryption, but was an option from a certain US Govt Agency in the past. That's about as much as I've been able to determine. It is just a slight bother at power up and does not seem to affect radio ops.
Until the "G" models of XTVAs, I had not previously seen an issue with a good connection to the side connector. I also dont recall ever seeing the "REMOTE" display you mention - interesting----
Thanks
You are correct- it's merely just a nusiance but also a deterrent should someone get their hands on my radio. Like the grandkids... :lol: At this point I'm going to leave it that way- thanks for the info! One problem solved... :-P
And yes... when the radio is in the cradle it says "REMOTE" on the display which leads me to believe that at least the radio sees the XTVA but the XTVA may not see or recognize the radio...?

I took another look at it tonight... I appear to have the Model "F" XTVA so I don't know if that makes a difference. I did swap batteries around but not paying attention it appears all I did was swap the same type around & now my XTS3000 does not work either but it has the same (possibly wrong) battery. The batteries I tried tonite are NiMH batteries, #NTN8299B (Intrinsically safe version)
Here's a question: what "triggers" the XTVA to work- connection to the battery or the side accessory port? Or both? Also I read on another post about resetting the microprocessor on the XTVA- I'm wondering if I need to try that. Thoughts?
"To err is human... to really screw things up requires a computer!"
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mustanglane
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by mustanglane »

Ok - Remote is on the Radio display - you should have a Hand Held Control Head that mirrors the menu items on the XTS. The buttons can be individually assigned in CPS, but the Concentric CLEAR/SECURE capability can NOT be mapped to any of the push buttons on the HHCH.
The "F" is the latest model before the "G" which we recently started seeing. Our issue is on the "G" where the moving connector in the XTVA is cocked at an angle and not making good contact with the side of the radio.
My knowledge says that the trigger is the connection to the side connector - the battery terminals are just for charging. I can email you an XTVA users guide which delineates the types of batteries authorized. I'll see if the email button works on the board. I know that we had a lot of issues when the IMPRES batteries came out because we had a lot of older models in our fleet. The motherboard has to be updated, but the "F" should not have an issue.
I've never heard of having to reset the processor on the XTVA, but, anything's possible----
Gadget826
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by Gadget826 »

***UPDATE***
I did some more troubleshooting yesterday as I couldn't get the XTS3000 to work either. Come to find out in my tired fog I had swapped batteries again & put a "non-XTVA Approved" battery on that radio as well & it did the same thing. I was able to find the "list" of approved batteries & found that I had one; swapped it & presto- the XTVA works fine again just as good as the first day I installed it! I never would have thought that the battery type would cause such a problem... and it appears that when the XTVA detects the wrong battery chemistry it doesn't interact with the radio like it should such as charging & external audio. Thanks for your help & hopefully I can help in the future!
New rule... no more extended weekend troubleshooting! :roll:
"To err is human... to really screw things up requires a computer!"
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mustanglane
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Re: XTVA -8560G Not Making Contact w/radio

Post by mustanglane »

Great - thanks for the update. Yes, sleep deprivation can REALLY lead you astray - I once heard of a crew that spent ALL night tearing a Cadillac apart because the Astro Spectra radio would not program. Turns out they were trying to load it on the battery only, which dropped voltage just low enough to prevent successful program load. Never tried to start the car until a tech friend of mine came by in the AM and did just that - presto - loaded just fine!!
Best Regards,
D
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