Batboard

i have a console i think. it says motorola astro diu and it has a model number of F2040A it looks just like a T-5600. does anyone have any info on these at all?

It's not a console. It's a DIU (Digital Interface Unit).

The DIU contains the vocoder that allows dispatch consoles and other peripheral equipment to interface to digital repeaters to provide conversion of audio and signalling from digital to analog and vice versa.

It's more or less an analog/digital converter. Digital repeaters do not actually contain vocoders that convert the audio back to analog from digital - they just repeat the digital data. The DIU takes that digital data, breaks it down to analog audio, and feeds it out to a dispatch console, phone patch, whatever.

The DIU also handles encryption and decryption of console/peripheral audio between the digital repeater and whatevers hooked to the other side of the DIU. The DIU must be secure-equipped and keyloaded to function in an encrypted mode.

There were DIU's (the ones that look like a T5600 remote) and DIU 3000's (that can slide into a rackmount chassis). The DIU can be either VSELP (useless) or IMBE (useful). DIU 3000's are generally always IMBE (though I suppose could be equipped with VSELP).

Does this answer your question?

Yes that answers most. but whats the purpose of makinging it look like a dispatch console?

yeah the one i have looks just like a t5600

The reason it looks like a dispatch console is most likely because it was manufactured using an overstock of parts that Motorola had.

It's like this: Why does the Motorola KVL 3000 have the same display as the older iDEN handsets? Take a look - Why would a keyloader have voicemail icons, etc?

Leftover parts. They made stuff with stuff they've had sitting around. No biggie

Not necessarily a surplus of parts, more likely reducing the need for new tooling ($$$$$) for that equipment when they can get away without it.

harrisjt2000 wrote:i have a console i think. it says motorola astro diu and it has a model number of F2040A it looks just like a T-5600. does anyone have any info on these at all?

I also have one of these VSELP units. I found out today, that if the firmware is below V2.81, its VSELP. Above V2.81, its IMBE.
I used the latest windows DIU CPS to read the unit ( I don't have the DOS RSS version) and you can check its firmware version with this same CPS. When writing the code plug back into the unit, it errors out before the "process bar reached the end", but does appear to write the data into the unit. I asked "M" about that today, and they indicated that was due to the old firmware in the radio vs new CPS. Apparently, if you were to upgrade to the latest version of firmware (V6.29 as of todays' date) the unit would be the same (not physically, but program wise) as the DIU3000. The upgrade consits of a pair of eproms, upper and lower on the memory board. It also allows you to use the later series of CM crypto modules in this unit.
B.

wa6ylb wrote:

harrisjt2000 wrote:i have a console i think. it says motorola astro diu and it has a model number of F2040A it looks just like a T-5600. does anyone have any info on these at all?

I also have one of these VSELP units. I found out today, that if the firmware is below V2.81, its VSELP. Above V2.81, its IMBE.
I used the latest windows DIU CPS to read the unit ( I don't have the DOS RSS version) and you can check its firmware version with this same CPS. When writing the code plug back into the unit, it errors out before the "process bar reached the end", but does appear to write the data into the unit. I asked "M" about that today, and they indicated that was due to the old firmware in the radio vs new CPS. Apparently, if you were to upgrade to the latest version of firmware (V6.29 as of todays' date) the unit would be the same (not physically, but program wise) as the DIU3000. The upgrade consits of a pair of eproms, upper and lower on the memory board. It also allows you to use the later series of CM crypto modules in this unit.
B.

12-22-09 More info, in case someone has searched for a F2040A.

The actual operation of the DIU is based on DSP firmware loaded from two Eproms. If the firmware version is less than 2.81, the DSP is written with VSELP code (27C020 eproms). Version 2.81 and above uses IMBE DSP (27C040 eproms). I asked Motorola about the possibility of a fixed firmware chip defining VSELP or IMBE in the unit itself. They confirmed (and I have too) that there isn't an hardware chip at all (DVSI or other) that locks the unit into VSELP or IMBE. Its purely defined by firmware from the High byte / Low byte eproms.
The units I had here had V2.79 VSELP in them, and while connected to a Quantar, would give the solid V.24 light on the Quantar, but yet have a solid green check light on the DIU itself. IMBE transmissions were not decoded as expected. However, when I put firmware in the old DIU, it took about a minute (after power on) to write new DSP into the unit and the DIU came up in IMBE mode. It does indeed decode IMBE and transmits it too. The firmwareb upgrade, while not cheap, is now $600. You receive two OTP eproms. (27C040-90) Once the firmware is written into the DIU, it programs just like the F2048A does.

On all the DIU's I've seen, the "link light" on the DIU works differently than the V.24 light on the Quantar. The DIU "link light" lights up when the connection to the Quantar is broken, and goes off when the connection is good. The Quantar V.24 light blinks when the connection is broken, and lights solid when the connection is good.

I also understand some Quantars with older firmware may not support the V.24/Modem light at all, so it may be off all the time, even though the connection to the DIU may still work.

wa6ylb wrote: The units I had here had V2.79 VSELP in them, and while connected to a Quantar, would give the solid V.24 light on the Quantar, but yet have a solid green check light on the DIU itself. IMBE transmissions were not decoded as expected. However, when I put firmware in the old DIU, it took about a minute (after power on) to write new DSP into the unit and the DIU came up in IMBE mode. It does indeed decode IMBE and transmits it too.

so would one be able to take a DIU and the maxtrac with the p25 repeater mod and interface it? like mod the maxtrac and hook the diu to it and it will encode analog voice from a centracom and decode the astro imbe for the centracom?

No, because the interface for digital audio and signaling between the DIU and it's associated base radio is V.24 data, not audio. The wireline card in the Quantar base station takes the over the air voice data and converts it back to V.24 electrically for transmission to the DIU via direct connection (null) or over ASTRO modems. And it's not just a plain-jane wireline card either, you need a standard Quantar 4-wire wireline card, and the V.24 interface daughterboard that plugs into the wireline card.

This is why some Quantar base stations have two extra RJ-45 jacks on the front where the wireline card plugs in. No jacks = no V.24 interface card = no DIU/ASTROTAC/etc. interface.

To make it work with a MaxTrac, you'd likely need some sort of method of pulling the audio off the air and then converting it to a V.24 data signal... A-la wireline card with V.24 interface daughterboard. But that's more effort than my time is worth considering how cheap Quantar stations and the required accessories to make it work in digital with a DIU are.

yeah that makes sense, havent messed with DIUs much yet i was just wondering

d119 wrote: This is why some Quantar base stations have two extra RJ-45 jacks on the front where the wireline card plugs in. No jacks = no V.24 interface card = no DIU/ASTROTAC/etc. interface.

Unless it has Astro modems, then it may not have dual RJ45 jacks on the front and DIU connections are done through the wireline ports.

tpg

This is very true, didn't consider that as we've always used the external Paradyne modems.