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I bricked my HT1250LS today and I'm not sure how

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gradymedic

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I read my codeplug and detached my radio from my rib like I've done 9 zillion times before with my licensed copy of CPS.

Saved it to the desktop and started editing it. Which brings up another question. How are the new radios using any made up number for DPLs and my HT is stuck with the random numbers in the list?

Anyway, read a CP200 and was adding those personalities in my HT as another zone. I never hooked it back up. Then realized I was using a outdated version of CPS and uninstalled my old version and updated my CPS and went back to editing my saved codeplug off of my desktop.

I never read or wrote to the radio again. I looked at it a littler later after having the DPL problem I was talking about... was trying to add a personality and noticed it had a DPL of 052 that the CP200 was happy with but my HT was telling me to get bent..

anyway, I had given up, detatched my radio and looked down at it thinking I had turned it off or the battery had died. Nope. Its bricked. And I didn't do anything but read it.

I did some reading on here. I have a few various old copies of labs but nothing for my 1250. And no 1250 codeplugs to even attempt a force. I pulled the little watch battery for a bit as someone else said that brought theirs back.

But how the hell did I brick it just reading it? I didn't get interrupted in the process and like I said, I was editing a saved copy of the file. Never attempted to write anything back.

Any suggestions on causation or revival?

Ordered a XPR7550e Have to have a radio. Just wondering if the old girl is salvageable...?
 

gradymedic

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Have you removed the battery and reinstalled it yet?

multiple times. Its sitting off of it now. I'm at a complete loss. I've read all the bricking horror stories and did NOTHING of the sort. All I did was read the radio.

I did upgrade the software and the rib was still connected but the radio was NOT.

I'm positive the little watch battery inside is dead as I had to set the time on the radio today when I put a new LiIon battery on it. (brand new, fully charged).
 

KK6ZTE

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Just making sure: You put the battery back on with the programming cable removed?
 

gradymedic

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Just making sure: You put the battery back on with the programming cable removed?

Yes sir. Programming cable was disconnected when I put the battery back on.

The only change is the newest CPS - but i haven’t “talked” to the radio with it yet. I was just editing the codeplig locslly.
And the Liion battery - but that was yesterday and it was working fine.

It has an aftermarket board in it to make it a LS that is about 18 years old now. One of my zones has 3 commercial UHF trunking repeaters we used to subscribe to. The liIon battery is .1 volt lower than the NiCad. Are the LS boards super sensitive to voltage? Could that boars have fried? Maybe I should try unplugging it?
 

N1GTL

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The newest, and last, version of CPS 6.18.01xx (memory fails) can usually automatically recover a bricked radio. Unless I misread something, did you try that?
 

KK6ZTE

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Yes sir. Programming cable was disconnected when I put the battery back on.

The only change is the newest CPS - but i haven’t “talked” to the radio with it yet. I was just editing the codeplig locslly.
And the Liion battery - but that was yesterday and it was working fine.

It has an aftermarket board in it to make it a LS that is about 18 years old now. One of my zones has 3 commercial UHF trunking repeaters we used to subscribe to. The liIon battery is .1 volt lower than the NiCad. Are the LS boards super sensitive to voltage? Could that boars have fried? Maybe I should try unplugging it?

It wouldn't hurt to take it out. I don't see why it would cause the problem but anything is possible. I greatly dislike the HT/Waris radios. I will be happy when my clients all transition out of them.
 

62Truck

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The latest version of CPS should try and correct the codeplug issue. I would keep trying to write to it.
 

gradymedic

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The newest, and last, version of CPS 6.18.01xx (memory fails) can usually automatically recover a bricked radio. Unless I misread something, did you try that?

My latest and greatest is 6.12.08. Checked that against M's board today and they are showing 6.11 something. I just tried to check again and their site is down. again.
 

gradymedic

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It wouldn't hurt to take it out. I don't see why it would cause the problem but anything is possible. I greatly dislike the HT/Waris radios. I will be happy when my clients all transition out of them.

Well, I'm not a client but it looks like I'll be making a forced transition today. :My 7550e will be ready for pickup tomorrow...

It made it 20 years. I bought it in 1998. Granted I don't use it as much as I used to but I have to say it has not had an easy life. And I'm only spending a few hundred more for the new 7550e then I did when I bought this thing. Its had more than its share of the "motorola drop tests" and survived them all.

Maybe it just got upset since I found a limitation with this DPL thing and it knew it was going to have to be replaced anyway. Oh well.

Does anyone know what the deal is with that? The newer radios you can type any number for a DPL and they seem to be ok with it while the older radios have a select few numbers that can be used...?
 

gradymedic

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The latest version of CPS should try and correct the codeplug issue. I would keep trying to write to it.

I'm afraid its not a codeplug issue. Thats why I was guessing as to what the problem might be. I shouldnt have done anything to damage the codeplug. All I did was read it. It seems like a hardware failure. No beeps, no errors, just dead/nothing. And I'm positive the battery is fully charged (did a voltage test for S & Gs)
 

gradymedic

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I found a service manual for the 200/700 mhz 1250ls and read the flow chart on it. I've got nothing. No beep. No error.

All the corrupt/codeplug related errors show something on the display. The only thing it says on the flowchart for "nothing" is replace the display....

I think its dead.
 

radioman2001

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This sounds more like a power on issue than anything that might be related to reading or writing to the radio. We have a large number of HT-1250 radios and have seen many fail exactly as you specified unexpectantly. Another reason we found for power on off circuit failure or PA transistor failure was dropping the radio into the charger turned on. We now recommend to our personnel is to shut radio off, remove battery, exchange for a charged battery and place the dead battery into charger and turn radio back on. This has reduced our radio failures a lot.
Yes the Pro series is long in tooth, but I think it was one of M's finest radio series next to the HT/MT series. Everyone wants digital now and that's one of the reasons they are going so cheap.
 

gradymedic

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What does it say when you power the radio?

Its says nothing. I hear the crickets chirping.

I think it actually died while on. Reading radioman's post above and the thousands he has dealt with, I think that the fact that I was working on the codeplug when it decided to die is just a coincidence. I think it just decided it was its day to go for whatever reason...
 

gradymedic

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This sounds more like a power on issue than anything that might be related to reading or writing to the radio. We have a large number of HT-1250 radios and have seen many fail exactly as you specified unexpectantly. Another reason we found for power on off circuit failure or PA transistor failure was dropping the radio into the charger turned on. We now recommend to our personnel is to shut radio off, remove battery, exchange for a charged battery and place the dead battery into charger and turn radio back on. This has reduced our radio failures a lot.
Yes the Pro series is long in tooth, but I think it was one of M's finest radio series next to the HT/MT series. Everyone wants digital now and that's one of the reasons they are going so cheap.

Have you guys used any of the Motorola LiIon batteries on yours? I have never and would never buy a off brand china battery for a radio of mine. I've always spent the money to buy real Motorola stuff. And I did just buy and install a LiIon battey for it the day before. I just wonder if there is some minuscule voltage difference that fried something.

This makes me feel so much better. It is what I was leaning towards. I think the fact that I was working on the codeplug adding channels is just coincidence. I think something in the power circuit failed. It is just dead. I read that flow chart yesterday I was talking about from the 200/700 1250ls models and the radio will beep or tell you something if there is a software issue with it. This is acting more like I'm not even turning it on. Nothing happens.
I did try a few times as some have suggested to force the codeplug in with the latest CPS but it just errors out and says it can't read radio to confirm it can be written to and if I try and read it it says comm failure. I think there is just nothing there. Something in the power circuit has failed. It is a shame with all the cool cheap cases and accessories available now. I was going to buy it a new case and freshen it up as I've had it 20 years. It kind of felt like I lost a friend yesterday.

I'm really wanting to understand how these CP200s are using made up numbers for DPL codes and the radios are accepting them. Everything I've read and understand about DPLs is that they are a mathmatical formula and can only be one of I think 100 numbers having to do with how they add up to form the 23bit block of info.

All of this was gotten to by reading one of the rental radios on the TV show I'm working on add wanting to add the channels to my HT as their own zone (I work on multiple shows now - and then can have my ambulances on a third, fourth or fifth) So I had intended on keeping a running list of what frequencies are in these CP200 rentals that everyone uses and adding them as zones per the shows we were working at. So if I was at show "X" today then "Y" tomorrow and then my ambulances were working at "AA" and "BB" everyone could have their own radio and talk to the different divisions of the production without having to check out their radios and keep track of them. Just read one of their rentals the first day we are on the show and then dump it into the portables that are assigned to my rigs and my personal.

Thats were I found this DPL issue. I couldn't even add the first channel of the first radio from the first production I read. It has a DPL of 052 for decode and encode- Well I could - but I had to put it in my CP200 so it shot the idea of having multiple shows as their own zones as my decent radios that are capable of that (HTs and CDMs) stick to the DPL rules. Now its one radio per show.

I'll be curious to see if the new 7550e has the same problem or if I can put whatever number I want in the DPL and it will accept it. To me this is a more interesting topic and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten more attention. I guess i need to make it its own thread. Plus I've lurked here so many years I figured you guys would think I'm a noob idiot and just ignore me.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I wish one of them would have worked. I'll miss the ole girl. She really was a good radio. Did everything I asked of her over the years through multiple services and companies with narry a complaint. It truly was a great radio. I'll probably buy another one just for nostalgia's sake.
 

K2NEC

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If it powers up and doesn't say anything then it probably is a battery issue. If it was bricked (I unfortunately have bricked a radio) it would say EEPRM CS ERROR so the fact that it displays nothing makes me think it isn't bricked
 

gradymedic

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If it powers up and doesn't say anything then it probably is a battery issue. If it was bricked (I unfortunately have bricked a radio) it would say EEPRM CS ERROR so the fact that it displays nothing makes me think it isn't bricked

Yes, I was saying that in a post above. It doesn't have anything on the display. Like I'm not even turning it on. But the battery is fully charged and I have done a voltage test on the terminals of the battery. Nothing.
Thats what I started asking if anyone had the new LiIon batteries cause any type of power circuit failures in these. I bought a true M LiIon battery. I don't buy off brand stuff. That is the only change as its last NiCad had died a few days ago...
 
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