Hello Guys, I wondering if you folks can point me in the right direction to purchase the MSF-5000 software. Motorola claims they don't sell it anymore! Where in the world will i get it? I have access to Midland, Vertex and Bendix king software at work but have no Moto gear on my system. I picked up a sweet MSF-5000 at gov surplus auction for 50.00$ and wanted to run it as my 2 meter ham repeater to replace the Kenwood in service now.
Anybody got any ideas???
KD5UZA
MSF-5000 Software
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jakeleg223
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Re: MSF-5000 Software
Not what you want to hear I'm sure. Unless you have the proper test equipment yourself, pay a shop to program it and tune it up for the new frequencies.
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jakeleg223
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Re: MSF-5000 Software
I do have the proper test equipment! I'm sitting in a fully equipped radio shop as we speak. We just have never used MOTO gear in the past. Strange that i have NO problem purchasing RSS for any of my Midland or Vertex gear! Typical Motorola i guess, it just reminds me why i wont deal with them in the future! I cant give them my money this time!
Jake
KD5UZA
Jake
KD5UZA
Re: MSF-5000 Software
There's no legitimate way to obtain it anymore, unfortunately...
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guy being a guy
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Re: MSF-5000 Software
If you moving it 1Mhz from what its tuned for now ,then w/o doubt it will need to be realigned . If it was Gov't surplus and your wanting to make it Ham then no doubt it will need to be realigned.
If the VCO's and preselector (if equipped) are not realigned will make it a boat anchor for $50 . Not like todays equipment that can easily handle a freq. shift w/o significant realignment needed.
Dont forget about narowbanding - good luck with making it legal ..............
Old technicians like me are the only ones that have experience and remember how to do it without the service tray and cables we carried around in our trucks for years - Oh memories
Hopefully it was NOT used on a trunking system because when used and dogged as a control channel for 24 hour cycles throughout the years took its toll on the PA for TX .
Next is the simple programming issue you originally questioned us about. Good luck with that !!!
Your going to need to find a shop that has been around for 20 plus years and has not "purged" that old software. They are out there and maybe out of town but becoming more rare as the days go by.
I have some swamp land for sale in Arizona if your intrested - real cheap !!!
If the VCO's and preselector (if equipped) are not realigned will make it a boat anchor for $50 . Not like todays equipment that can easily handle a freq. shift w/o significant realignment needed.
Dont forget about narowbanding - good luck with making it legal ..............
Old technicians like me are the only ones that have experience and remember how to do it without the service tray and cables we carried around in our trucks for years - Oh memories
Hopefully it was NOT used on a trunking system because when used and dogged as a control channel for 24 hour cycles throughout the years took its toll on the PA for TX .
Next is the simple programming issue you originally questioned us about. Good luck with that !!!
Your going to need to find a shop that has been around for 20 plus years and has not "purged" that old software. They are out there and maybe out of town but becoming more rare as the days go by.
I have some swamp land for sale in Arizona if your intrested - real cheap !!!
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MSS-Dave
- Posts: 770
- Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2003 6:02 pm
- What radios do you own?: XTL5K, NX300, PD782, Spark Gap
Re: MSF-5000 Software
Ok.... back to the OP question.
1 You state you want to use for a 2 meter HAM repeater. NO narrowbanding problem here.
2 More than likely, the VCO's CAN be tuned to that range provided it wasnt some special order on 170 MHz or goofyness like that.
3 There were
loads of parts available at 1 time on the 'Bay. Maybe not so now because these things have been out of production for ages.
So with that said.... Can you please post up the model number? That way we know what you got going there. Older MSF5K required a R1801 suitcase to program an EEPROM. You can still obtain programming from a member on this board if so. Newer models used RSS (Radio Service Software) that can be found. Requires a easily built cable and a Motorola compatible RIB box.
Once you get the inital programming requirements met, then you can move on. I would suggest that you vet the thing out on the frequency it is operating on now before you do anything else. It will give you a baseline to work against. I HIGHLY suggest you read all you can find on MSF5K on Repeater Builder http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorol ... index.html Bob has done a crazy good job of documenting these beasts and there is a ton of technical documentation available. To properly align, you need one of the test panels to get the correct values in the stages.
There are several folks on Batlabs that used to eat and sleep MSF stations. Questions you may have probably have been answered on this board or Repeater Builder more than a few times. These stations can be daunting but work great if you spend the time on them and you have a good machine to start with.
Dave
1 You state you want to use for a 2 meter HAM repeater. NO narrowbanding problem here.
2 More than likely, the VCO's CAN be tuned to that range provided it wasnt some special order on 170 MHz or goofyness like that.
3 There were
loads of parts available at 1 time on the 'Bay. Maybe not so now because these things have been out of production for ages.So with that said.... Can you please post up the model number? That way we know what you got going there. Older MSF5K required a R1801 suitcase to program an EEPROM. You can still obtain programming from a member on this board if so. Newer models used RSS (Radio Service Software) that can be found. Requires a easily built cable and a Motorola compatible RIB box.
Once you get the inital programming requirements met, then you can move on. I would suggest that you vet the thing out on the frequency it is operating on now before you do anything else. It will give you a baseline to work against. I HIGHLY suggest you read all you can find on MSF5K on Repeater Builder http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorol ... index.html Bob has done a crazy good job of documenting these beasts and there is a ton of technical documentation available. To properly align, you need one of the test panels to get the correct values in the stages.
There are several folks on Batlabs that used to eat and sleep MSF stations. Questions you may have probably have been answered on this board or Repeater Builder more than a few times. These stations can be daunting but work great if you spend the time on them and you have a good machine to start with.
Dave