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NEEDED: Maratrac Installation Manual

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bluelight320

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Does anyone have a copy of a Motorola Maratrac manual that they can e-mail me? I just can't seem to find anything out there on the internet. H-E-L-P!!!!!!
 

SLWilson

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I can't...

I can't find anything on-line....

I've got a VHF Hi band Maratrac brand new in the box at the office. I'll see if the book is with it....Send me a PM with your e-mail address....

There isn't too much to installing one of them. Have you ever fooled with any of the Maratracs before?

The one we have is a spare that we keep when one we have in service breaks down....

Steve/KB8FAR
 

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bluelight320

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Other than what I've used with the Fire Department, I haven't installed one before. It looks decent enough to attempt myself but the part I'm confused with is that there's (2) small wires........an orange one and a green one........that I'm not sure where to put the. That's why I need the installation manual.
 

cmk

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The orange and green wires are both +12vdc. The green is for RX and the Orange is for TX. At least that is if they are the same as systems 9000 heads. Haven't played with a maratrac in sometime but I will look around as well if Steve can't get you a copy.
 

WD4JKH

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For the Maratrac, make sure the green wire is tied to the same point as the big red wire from the drawer unit. If the voltage on the green wire drops too much below what is on the red wire, you will lose transmit power. The orange wire can be tied to the same spot or to an ignition switch point if you want the radio to go on and off with the key. A jumper inside the head will have to be removed for the ignition control to work. This info is for the type of head shown in the above picture. I'm not sure about the 'clamshell' design. Also make sure you have the plug in the VIP port on the back with the shorting jumper or you won't have PTT...
 

CCHLLM

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I've been installing public safety radios for decades, and I can't emphasize enough what WD4JKH said about the green wire being connected to the same source as the large red wire. MaraTracs are especially sensitive to any voltage differences between these two points and bad grounds. Simplistically speaking, the internal power supply is not isolated from ground as in the more high end MotherMotos, and any voltage differences between the voltage inputs and between any ground points will cause undesireable effects.

You can tie the orange wire to any switched source if you want switched functions, but if switched functions aren't a priority, you can connect it where the green wire is connected. I have several UHF and VHF hi and low band MaraTracs in various vehicles, and as long as they're installed properly, they are one of the most reliable radios that were available in their time.

If you get alternator whine in the receive audio when unsquelched, or worse, if there's alternator whine in the transmit side, check the ground again. In fact, check for voltage between the battery negative, where you have the radio grounded, and where the antenna base is grounded. Ideally, they should all show zero differences. If you see more than a miniscule number of millivolts, you'll need to get that resolved because the circuitry will "see" the difference, and noise will ride on that potential difference in the circuitry. Over the years, I've found that the low bands are especially prone to any voltage differences between these points, but all are susceptible.

As stated above, make sure the VIP plug with the jumper is plugged in next to the mic input, or unless the internal jumper is in place inside the control head, there'll be no transmit. Need any more info, feel free to ask.
 

SLWilson

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Pm...

bluelight320 said:
Does anyone have a copy of a Motorola Maratrac manual that they can e-mail me? I just can't seem to find anything out there on the internet. H-E-L-P!!!!!!
Sent you info in a PM....Steve/Gallia 911
 

doctordave

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Jan 2, 2003
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Folks,

I just received a maratrac off of ebay for use on 6m. No manual included & I've been unable to find detailed installation info online. I've hooked the ground up and have attached the red/green/orange wires up to power. The control head (low band model with the squelch dial) lights up and displays channel 1 - but otherwise seems to not be responsive to keypresses (except pressing "H/L" - which then causes the display to show "HL"). Even with the mic grounded, I cannot get the radio to scan. I have yet to attach the included speaker - and presume that the two black wires coming from the control head are for the speakers.

So...

1) Are the black wires from the control head designated for speaker attachment?

2) Does the seeming lack of responsiveness at the control head suggest a radio malfunction....or perhaps just an operator malfunction?

Appreciate any input.
 

CCHLLM

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Yes, the white connector with black/orange and black/green (IIRC) wires are the speaker wires, but they're a part of the control cable, not the head. You need to connect the speaker before you damage the audio amp or worse.

If it won't scan, it sounds like the radio just has one channel (mode) programmed, and the radio has to be programmed to function as you want it to before it'll perform sensibly. Without knowing what the radio is currently programmed for, especially control head types and options, no one can begin to answer the question about key presses. Unless the key press tones have been disabled in the RSS, each key press will produce a short high pitch tone, and a key press for something not allowed will produce a low pitched tone.

Also, even if there are multiple channels programmed, the radio won't scan until channels are entered into the scan list, and how that's done will depend on how you set up the operator options in the RSS. Do a long press on the SCAN button and see if it gives you a high pitched beep and shows you a channel number. That's the SCAN PROGRAM mode. If that works, repeatedly press Recall and see if it will scroll the scan list channels for you. If it won't scroll the channels, it doesn't have any in the scan list. If it just gives you a low pitched tone when you press the SCAN button, scan may not be enabled in the RSS. It has to be enabled for each channel.
 
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wr252

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Sep 6, 2008
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SLWILSON i was wondering if u still had a copy of a manual for the motorola maratrac? thanks
 
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