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Motorola ASTRO Spectra Power

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So I have 110 watt VHF Astro Spectra with the W9 control head. It's hooked up with the correct gauge of wire . I know this may sound like a simple fix but I still haven't figured it out .


It's hooked up in a 2007 Silverado . The truck has a 2 month old battery and a heavy duty alternator . When the truck is running the radio operators flawlessly .

When the truck isn't running when I go to transmit the radio reboots. I can scroll through channels and what not with no problems . When I transmit it reboots.

Low power high power it does it on both .

On the ASTRO Spectra CPS the ignition sense is selected as blank..


Any ideas??
 

jhooten

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Where are the the red and black power leads connected? If the red wire is connected anywhere but to the distribution block at the battery that can happen. If the black is connected to any part of the body/chassis that is not bonded to the negative side of the battery that can happen. If the factory bonding straps have become loose or if the contact points have corrosion this cause the same effect as if they were missing.

Are you using the big fuse holder Motorola supplied in the install kit? If so is it crimped or soldered? If crimped check the connections for corrosion or improper crimp. Those conditions can cause enough voltage drop to cause the problem.

Have the battery tested. Even a 2 month old battery can be bad.

Good luck finding the problem.
 
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Checked basically all what you said the battery passed the test , the fuse holder is from Motorola , and all the crimped connectors have been checked .

Like I said I have no problems when the truck is running (transmitting , receiving , ect) it's only when the truck isn't running.

It's not an ignition sense problem is it ?
 

SCPD

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Being a 110 watt radio it's drawing more power when vehicle is off then a mid power would pull txing with unit off. I do know 800 trunked radios you can't key yp or its limited on vehicle off. I believe there is a setting if you look at the menu above or near blank see if soft power will fix issue or therr is another I can't recall off top of head. But the remote mount units draw the power pretty good with vehicle off. I know there is charge guards and power supply methods. So your saying the radio only had issues keying up when vehicles off but will rx fine when it's off?
 

CCHLLM

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Let's start with the basic assumption that the radio is OK. That leaves the wiring and antenna portion of the installation.

If you aren't a noob, then the following wiring instruction is for those that haven't read the MotherMoto Holy Edict For Correct Installation.

The large Red wire needs to be attached to a fused connection at the vehicle battery + terminal.
The large Black wire needs to be attached to a good body ground at the radio drawer location with good connector contact on the ground point surface and the head of the grounding screw.

The Green wire needs to be attached to a fused connection at the vehicle battery + terminal.
The Orange wire needs to be attached to a fused connection at an appropriate switched or continuous +12VDC source in order to accomplish how you want the radio to operate with the selected ignition sense setting in the CPS.

With all that said, check the actual voltages available at the radio on each of the wires while in the transmit mode. It could be as simple as the ground point ain't cutting it for some reason and the ground is partly or completely coming to the radio drawer through the coax shield.

How about the antenna type, location, mounting?
How's the SWR? High reflected RF power can make the radio engage in all kinds of Goober activities.

Roof mounts are at the top of the antenna location and mount list, while glass mounts are at the bottom and are on the Really Big NO-NO list for 110 watt radios. Anything in between can require a serious review of the mounting system and sometimes some figurative Michael Jackson dance steps to get the SWR to a reasonable level.

Beyond this, the problem will lie with the radio and/or the truck. Keep trucking and let us know how the progress is going. Inquiring minds want to know.
 
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SCPD

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Virginia
I have a astro spectra conventional. Direct battery connection with positive and grounded at normal battery ground location and I also have the brick with fuse and the control head both fused. Those at the head I connected after fusing both the green and other lead for head power to the power line the brick uses. All have there own fuses. I have the ignition blank in cps. This did not create any problems for me.
 

radioman2001

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To see if your radio is getting enough power I would put a voltmeter on the Big Red line with the car not running and key up. You will know fast enough if it is enough power the voltage shouldn't drop below around 11 volts. Do this on the Orange and Green leads of the head also maybe the cars electric system is not providing enough power there too. You can cheat to see if your ground is good enough by using jumper cables and hook the black lead to you radios black lead and your battery negative terminal.
All else fails you can also put a dummy load on the radio to eliminate the antenna system.
 
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I have the orange and green leads linked together on the same 12 volt source fused with a 15 amp fuse.

Is that maybe one of the causes ? Do they need to be separated ?
 

SCPD

QRT
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I never use regular connectors I always solder connections with /\/\ radios. Just found it more sense of security as crimped may come loose. Some prefer that way though.
 

SCPD

QRT
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Virginia
My astro spectra the green and orange I put there own fuses then after fuses soldered them to one that lead to the primary power cable from battery to trunk.
 

SCPD

QRT
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Feb 24, 2001
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Location
Virginia
I recall with the xtl 5000 remote head trunk mount 110 watt units there was alternate setting somewhere with vehicle off and using tx power. I believe it had to be set to a limited tx output setting. Some where in the list with blank in the menu for ignition.
 

Tech792

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You still haven't specified what kind of antenna you're using. Astro Spectra's go haywire when used with glass mount antennas or if an antenna is too close to the chassis, fiberglass roofs, etc. If all else fails and your power connections are correct, try transmitting with the antenna disconnected (briefly). You could be killing the transceiver with RF. Check your antenna ground.
 

jim202

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Mar 7, 2002
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2,729
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New Orleans region
So I have 110 watt VHF Astro Spectra with the W9 control head. It's hooked up with the correct gauge of wire . I know this may sound like a simple fix but I still haven't figured it out .


It's hooked up in a 2007 Silverado . The truck has a 2 month old battery and a heavy duty alternator . When the truck is running the radio operators flawlessly .

When the truck isn't running when I go to transmit the radio reboots. I can scroll through channels and what not with no problems . When I transmit it reboots.

Low power high power it does it on both .

On the ASTRO Spectra CPS the ignition sense is selected as blank..


Any ideas??


The radio is booting because the supply voltage is too low for the computer to run. It is telling the radio to re start to see if the voltage comparator will sense normal voltage.

I would measure the battery voltage with the engine off first thing in the morning before you start the engine. Then measure it with the engine running.

You either have low vehicle voltage or a bad connection someplace. My first guess would be the battery negative connection to the vehicle frame. If that isn't the problem, then look at the radio heavy ground connection to the vehicle frame. This is going to take 2 people and a digital voltmeter.

There is the possibility that the vehicle alternator is bad and not charging the battery to the correct voltage. You will find this out with the voltmeter doing the testing I mentioned. Reason I even mention the alternator is that it might be putting out some current, but not enough to charge the battery up to a normal state. If your driving at night all the time, the load from the headlights could be enough to keep the battery from charging up. The first indication is that the engine will crank slower than normal. Another indication is the clock setting on your radio may be messing up when you start the vehicle.

Let us know what you find. it will help others that might be having a similar problem.
 
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