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HT-1000 or "Jedi" ABC Switch?

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Rred

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Can anyone tell me what the tiny ABC toggle switch, and the side buttons, on an HT-1000 or similar radio is usually configured for? Or what they can be configured for? Is the only source for an HT-1000 or similar users manual buying one from Moto??

--Red
 

Project25_MASTR

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I've yet to figure out the side buttons exactly. The ABC can be set under a setting in the radio wide config. I have mine set for conventional/talk around/scan. Unlike setting talk around in the mode, MDC will still work on the ABC talk around settings.
 

Rred

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gc-
I have googled, and not found the manual. Not any of the manuals. Don't assume everyone is too stupid or lazy to try a web search before asking for help from a specific forum. If you think Google has the answer, please do share a liver current link from it.
The rss software would of course solve this, but at $300 for one license, that's not for the casual single user.

W5-
I'd heard it could be set for direct/repeater, but was hoping for a list of all the possible options.

I'm working with an entity that has a number of these radios, and no user guide besides "Here's a radio, use channel..." and don't want to rub anyone the wrong way by asking questions of the radio shop that programmed them. Some places are sensitive about that.

But I would like to be able to figure out what they have or might have set up in the radios, because some of them seem to be misprogrammed, not working right. If I knew what they might have been, or might be, programmed to, then I could at least confirm what they're doing. Or not doing.
 

Project25_MASTR

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HT1000's are technically out of their service life. The last RSS revision was either 1997 or 1998 (it's DOS based). You're lucky if local shops still have the ability to program the DOS based stuff.

It would be a bit of a pain to obtain the full readout of the options for the ABC selector.
 

SCPD

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The top abc is things such as pl off (csq) or scan and scan program or talk around I believe. If I recall. The side buttons is monitor, select, pac rat, pl defeat.
 

SCPD

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Of course you choose these in the rss. There is no default. It's whatever a person sets it to. Also ebay may have the manual from time to time for sell. I do recall a pdf for it I had it at one time but I do not recall where exactly. I have a manual somewhere but like the pdf it's buried somewhere in a attic tote. Pdf I could attempt to find on one of many discs but no guarantee. I'd have to dig for it. There is the spec and order manual pdfs on google. If I find it I'll direct you.
 
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Duster

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I had to pull out my laptop and open my RSS to look, but here are the options (summarized). This RSS is NOT user friendly, even by Motorola standards.
Various options for the ABC switch are:
- Scan modes (several optional settings)
- Scan program enable (several options)
- Scan and Talkaround modes
- Pac-RT Settings
- Hi-Lo Power settings (several options)
- Squelch options (CSQ, PL enable, etc)
- Blank / No function programmed

And it isn't as simple as setting one setting and moving to the other. You scroll through a list in the menu, and as you do, it changes the setting for each position (ABC) to match the preset menu item.

As you can see, no one can give you a straight answer without seeing the program. You need to have the radio hooked up and look at the program. And here's my two cents worth on "not bothering the radio techs"...

I don't know what kind of business you are in, but if you are a customer/end user, and you are paying a shop or technician to program your radios, you have an expectation that the radio will function as you requested, or be told why it will not/can not. If you have radios that "are misprogrammed and not working right", that is a problem, and asking questions of your programmer is entirely appropriate. If they have a problem with that, I strongly suggest finding another programmer.
 

N4KVE

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Sadly, the settings on the ABC switch for a HT1000 are like a happy meal. If A does this, then B must do that, & C must do something else. In other words, a fixed combo with no changes. While there are various combos, you can't deviate at all on them. OTOH, you get a MTS2000 which costs $5 more, & you can choose anything you want for ABC. No fixed combos where you may like A, & C, but not B. Also the MTS2000 programs with CPS which runs on Windows with a current laptop. While the HT1000, & MTS2000 are similar electronically, the 2000 is a much more versatile radio for $5 more.
 

902

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Can anyone tell me what the tiny ABC toggle switch, and the side buttons, on an HT-1000 or similar radio is usually configured for? Or what they can be configured for? Is the only source for an HT-1000 or similar users manual buying one from Moto??

--Red

Like everyone said, it depends on how it's set in software, and at that, it's fixed as to what it could be. Basically choose the configuration that closest fits your requirements.

Whenever I've programmed one that could be used on the fireground, I've always disabled the switches and buttons. The only active controls have been volume (and I try to set that so it can't be fully lowered) and channel. This way I can minimize the chance of the user bumping something and ending up isolated from everyone else. I also set the time-out timer to 60 seconds.

My other uses are usually something like (I'm not looking at a radio or have the software on this computer) A = no scan, B = user programmable scan (NO talkback scan, priority is whatever's selected, with manual non-priority list and busy channel lockout), and C = scan list programming.

There are a lot of MT/MTS2000 out there, but many of the ones I've seen develop display issues. It's a better controller (the RF board is the same in HT1000 and MT/MTS2000) and you have more flexibility, but be careful. There's more that can break. It also requires different software.
 

Rred

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Tanks, guys, that gives me some places to start.

Duster, I am not the paying customer. I'm just a guy working for an entity that sometimes hands out radios and says "use these" and sometimes they don't work. Like one that just wanted to make a gentle squeal when it was turned on, which may have been a low battery alarm.

Trolling eBay for a manual eventually, good idea.

But I'd have to disagree with W5 on "end of service life". These are commercial/milspec quality radios, and old (1970-ish) USAF studies say that even if they are based on discrete components, a properly designed and built device can be expected to work for 100 years. Ten times that for ICs. Not all of them, but if you don't drop, immerse, or burn a commercial quality radio, it isn't unreasonable to expect 50-100 years of operation from everything except the battery. Of course they are being dumped in favor of digital, national band plan (funny how slowly that isn't happening), lithium battery powered units, whatever. But when they've been surplussed and passed on to other entities?

Guys, there are tens of thousands of these just recently starting new lives with zero-budget entities that have been making due with smoke signals until now. I think Moto's main reason for not releasing some of the docs (and software) into the public domain is simply that if they make it harder to use the old stuff, they'll increase the sales of the new stuff. Can't really fault 'em for that, even if I'd disagree.

If anyone does turn up a PDF of the user manual...love to hear about it. The "service manual" is online, but it isn't repairs and model specs I'm after. And there is one download site that promises the user manual for free. After you give them your email address and credit card information. (Which the FBI says usually goes to an eastern European criminal organization who will then be after your credit.)

Anyway, thanks to all. The tone, reverse, etc. I can check out by scanning from a "civilian" radio. At least I have an idea of what to look at now.
 

Nasby

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Rred
Send me a PM with your email address and I'll email you a PDF copy of the owner's manual.
 

Project25_MASTR

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But I'd have to disagree with W5 on "end of service life". These are commercial/milspec quality radios, and old (1970-ish) USAF studies say that even if they are based on discrete components, a properly designed and built device can be expected to work for 100 years. Ten times that for ICs. Not all of them, but if you don't drop, immerse, or burn a commercial quality radio, it isn't unreasonable to expect 50-100 years of operation from everything except the battery. Of course they are being dumped in favor of digital, national band plan (funny how slowly that isn't happening), lithium battery powered units, whatever. But when they've been surplussed and passed on to other entities?

I don't disagree. I've GE Mastr II's, GE Custom MVPs and Motorola Micor's that 30-45 years old now and were only pulled from service because of narrow banding (I put them back in service on wideband services). Also, I love my HT1000's. The batteries can be a little iffy and a bit pricey (what surplus Motorola's batteries aren't) but they are well built radios.

By end of service life, I'm not saying that the radios are too old. I mean Motorola no longer will service them. In most cases, if you took them in to be reprogrammed, the shops would probably try to sell you new radios (they are in the game to make money). The shops are no longer required to keep a DOS based computer and the RSS in order to program them and as a result many of the shops did away with the software and computer. When the USAF did their studies, radios were crystal controlled…if you don't have access to a DOS computer and a real serial port, a crystal controlled radio can actually be easier to service compared to a one that programs in DOS.
 

Rred

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Yes, they were ready to throw out the old batteries here and I said hold on, those can be rebuilt better than new.

I know the big name is The NiCad Lady and they do a good job, but I've also used Bulldog Battery in Ohio (I think it is) and they've been very attentive with fast turnaround and competitive prices. It isn't hard to get premium Japanese cells with higher capacity that still perform well, even with fast charging.

DOS computer, real serial port...Heck, won't a DOS7 boot disk still work any more?? And serial ports may be hiding under the rocks, but they're not expensive to feed and shelter.(G)
 

MTS2000des

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DOS computer, real serial port...Heck, won't a DOS7 boot disk still work any more?? And serial ports may be hiding under the rocks, but they're not expensive to feed and shelter.

You can use a "modern" computer using a DOS-7 boot disk/CD to run the RSS, so long as it has a real serial port and most "modern" RSS packages for the Jedi series will work just fine.

I program HT1000's and MT2000's all day long on a Panasonic Toughbook CF-29 mk 5 which has a Centrino 1.6GHz CPU with 2GB of RAM, booted to MS-DOS 7 from a floppy. I created a small FAT partition on the hard disk where I've got all my legacy DOS RSS for Motorola and Kenwood radios.

When I want to boot to DOS, I just insert the DOS boot CD into the drive and restart the computer. Since DOS cannot "see" NTFS partitions, it ignores the WinXP partition, and shows the little 120MB FAT partition as "C".

Back to 1992 it is!
 

Project25_MASTR

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Depends on the RSS. The newer stuff dated 1991 and newer will generally run just fine on a more modern multi-core processor (includes the RSS for the HT1000) for the most part. The older stuff will only run on a 486 or slower.
 

Rred

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"The older stuff will only run on a 486 or slower."
That's curious, since the newer CPUs "should" behave the same as any x86 processor. But anything circa 1991 still had compatibility problems. PC /vs/ MS DOS versus DR DOS, Intel /vs/ Cyrix and IBM CPUs...now the hardware usually works but the browsers are all incompatible and full of malware. That's progress, huh?

But the RSS was sold as 3-year subscriptions, wasn't it? Or will some versions run forever, or with clocks being kicked back?

New newer hardware, BIOS maybe 3 years old, should also be able to boot from a USB stick, so the DOS boot and partition can both exist on the stick and the computer itself doesn't need any altering or multi-boots.
 

KG4INW

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The 3-year subscription just meant you got RSS updates without having to pay again. After 3 years, if you wanted the latest version, you had to pay again. They all run forever.
 

Rred

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Thanks. I'll troll eBay to see if an old copy turns up, sooner or later.
 

kayn1n32008

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