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Icom Repeater FR5000 Troubles

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kd7ckq

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Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
219
Location
No. AZ
Good evening everyone. I have a Icom FR5000 repeater. When trying to change some parameters today, Power Level and Tone Burst. The repeater just seem to freeze up. I thought it was the computer but, it was still working fine. The TX was on and didn't go off after about 5 minutes. Before that it read and wrote in less than a minute. Now when I turn it on, the TX and RX light flash alternately. The software will not write or read either. I had V1.4 software, Icom told me I needed to update my software to V1.5 and it would work. Well I updated to V1.5 and am still having the same problem. Anyone have any tips I could try. I already tried another computer, in fact two other computers with no luck.
TIA.

Bryan
 
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kd7ckq

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Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
219
Location
No. AZ
I think something was wrong with it. It was acting flaky. It went back to my dealer. Wouldn't even take the firmware upgrade. Hopefully should have it back in a week or two.
 

kd7ckq

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Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
219
Location
No. AZ
My dealer took care of me. When I was on the phone with Icom Tech Support, they had me put the repeater in a special mode. Well, it turns out that "Special" mode also happen to blank my repeater. It lost all tuning data and firmware....Basically a Brick. I don't know if it was the USB Programming cable that was the problem or what. I bought one off of the Internet. It only had three connections compared to my Serial cable had four. My Dealer sent me a Icom USB cable and that had four connections and everything works fine now. I don't know if I want to try the after-market USB cable and turn my repeater into a very expensive door stop again.
In the end, I think it all my problems could be linked to the after-market cable. I stopped using it and have not had a problem yet.
 
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fpcaptain

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Dec 19, 2002
Messages
52
Location
Williamsport, PA
Our ham club has a FR5000 with the 6000 module for UHF repeater. The problem we are having right now is getting it out of narrowband to wideband. Anyone have the info on how to do this. Icom is being rediculous about it.
 

W2GLD

Active Member
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May 20, 2003
Messages
595
Location
Michigan
Our ham club has a FR5000 with the 6000 module for UHF repeater. The problem we are having right now is getting it out of narrowband to wideband. Anyone have the info on how to do this. Icom is being rediculous about it.

This isn't a hard process to address... ICOM has a utility, that should be available to dealers, but for certain is available for ICOM Technical Support which corrects the NFM locked repeaters to open them back up for traditional 20.0/25.0 kHz operation.

In order for this to be addressed, the repeater must be physically connected to the computer with this application installed; this may mean shipping the repeater module to ICOM in Kirkland, WA if you have an unfriendly dealer locally.

Also, it should be noted that almost ALL NFM locked FR5000/FR6000 repeaters MUST have a complete calibration done on them as noted in the service manual; all current shipping product from ICOM is locked to NFM and therefore is only aligned to that specification. Taking service monitor and completing this process is not only good engineering practice when putting a repeater on the air, but it's 100% necessary for ANY unlocked narrowband device, including Motorola products such as the XPR repeaters.

Contact ICOM's technical support team, explain to them that you purchased a FR5000/FR6000 repeater module for amateur radio use and that you would like to have the cloning data unlocked for 20.0/25.0 kHz FM operation. They have the tools to help you; unfortunately that may mean a trip to Washington State via UPS.

Good luck and let me know if I can help; I have an FR5000 unit setup as a 2-Meter Remote base inside the same 2U rack as my IC-FR6000 UHF repeater, linked together with an S-COM 7330 along with AllStar, IRLP, and EchoLink. They really are great repeater modules and very flexible in what you can do with them; my link radio is also an UR6000 with a small flat-pack duplexer; cool setup and all network programmable with the installed UC-FR5000 IP cards.

Regards,

Jerry, W2GLD
 
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