• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

What is lab and what does it do

Status
Not open for further replies.

ffmedjoe

Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
53
Location
Land of Cheese
I want to preface this question with a statement. i am not looking nor do i want software,

now the question

what is "lab" software that ppl talk about and what does it do?

again. i dont want it.... i cant stress that enough. i just would like to know what it does.
 

n5ims

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2004
Messages
3,993
The "lab" software basically extends the normal version of the programming/tuning software to allow more specialized operations necessary for the folks that take a totally broken and out-of-tune radio and tweak things so they work properly after being repaired. It allows them to make adjustments manually to compensate for the new components put in as part of the repair process (normally these are automated as part of the assembly line).

It allows for some specialized settings to be made by folks that have specialized training on how to make them (they can make the radio work really well, or really badly based on the skill of the operator). This is why it is designed to only be used in the Motorola repair labs (hence the "lab" name). It is never sold so any copies outside of Motorola are not legal versions of the software. They have leaked out into the while though.
 

com501

Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2003
Messages
1,617
Location
127.0.0.1
Motorola Lab or Depot software will also allow you to 'create' a codeplug from scratch for any radio that the particular depot version supports. It will allow you to overwrite the contents of the codeplug entirely, and to do things to a radio that it was never intended to do.

Depot and Lab software in untrained hands is responsible for more worthless paperweight radios and more fraudulently created radios sold on eBay than any other source.
 

cmdrwill

Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
3,984
Location
So Cali
Motorola Lab or Depot software will also allow you to 'create' a codeplug from scratch for any radio that the particular depot version supports. It will allow you to overwrite the contents of the codeplug entirely

Not always, some so-called lab or depot has missing sections, like making new codeplugs.
 

com501

Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2003
Messages
1,617
Location
127.0.0.1
Every authorized depot copy that has not been hacked, that has the Rainbow Technologies authorization key attached, or other authorization keys as issued by Motorola, or those copies of depot residing on depot machines at the various service centers has the ability to generate a new codeplug with choice of firmware, flashcodes and features as specified by the operator, including a default tuning partition.

If someone has stolen a copy that is in the wild without those features, it was probably lifted from someone who did not have authority for full access.

Caveat Emptor.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top