F43GS Screen Blinking?

[outrigger]

Hey guys. I have no idea where this might fall under in terms of topics, so I'm gonna try this one.

I recently got a F43GS (Love the thing btw). I got it all programmed and what not. On a couple of the freqs, my Alphatag starts blinking. On others, it doesn't. I was wondering if anyone happened to know what the blinking alpha tag means. I checked the manual and didn't see anything in there.

Thanks!

[danneskjold]

It usually means the frequency is out of band.

[outrigger]

oh awesome. thanks!

[rescuecomm]

Check your UTac and Ucall freqs, they are the ones I usually mess up along with the GMRS splits.


Bob

[N2DLX]

The blinking actually means PLL Unlock, the VCO can't lock onto the frequency. Usually it's just a frequency out of the bandsplit of the radio as mentioned above, but it can also surface if you mess around with adjustment software and alter the values for VCO or PLL.

[outrigger]

Awesome. Thanks guys. By the way, is there Adjustment software for this radio? I had an adjustment app that came with the software for my F11, but not for the F43. Thanks again!

[danneskjold]

You need the CSF33G Programming Software and the OPC478 cloning cable.

[outrigger]

i see. i actually already have the opc478. the version of the csf33g i had was 2.1, and it didn't come with it. i sent an email to the retailer i got it from, and they hooked it up. thanks guys!!!!

[n1das]

Originally Posted by N2DLX

The blinking actually means PLL Unlock, the VCO can't lock onto the frequency. Usually it's just a frequency out of the bandsplit of the radio as mentioned above, but it can also surface if you mess around with adjustment software and alter the values for VCO or PLL.

"Maker reserve" mode must also not be active in the programming software when writing to the radio. The radio's programming can get corrupted if maker reserve mode is active. I found this out the hard way when programming an Icom IC-F70DT portable. The P25 digital capability got blown away and frequencies in the 152MHz range went out of PLL lock and had the blinking display even though they were programmed correctly. Whenever the PLL circuitry is unlocked, the radio is *dead* on these frequencies even if it's a valid i.e., in-band frequency programmed. With the F70DT, radio had to be sent back to Icom to get it fixed.

[N2DLX]

Originally Posted by n1das

"Maker reserve" mode must also not be active in the programming software when writing to the radio. The radio's programming can get corrupted if maker reserve mode is active. I found this out the hard way when programming an Icom IC-F70DT portable. The P25 digital capability got blown away and frequencies in the 152MHz range went out of PLL lock and had the blinking display even though they were programmed correctly. Whenever the PLL circuitry is unlocked, the radio is *dead* on these frequencies even if it's a valid i.e., in-band frequency programmed. With the F70DT, radio had to be sent back to Icom to get it fixed.

All you needed was a read from another F70DT with the exact same bandsplit and options. I've had this happen with a F6061 and was able to fully recover it. Maker Reserved doesn't hold real "adjustment" values, rather it holds the band-specific info among a few other things like VCO signal polarities. The problem is that if you write the "default" values into the radio, they will NOT match the configuration of your radio and will cause the flashing text we know and love. I thought that restoring this info from a different radio would mean I'd only get in the ballpark and would have the band edges unlock. To my amazement, the radio works perfectly and doesn't have a single problem.