A question about features and orion radios

[Techholder88]

I have a couple 800 MHz orion radios. One is a d28lg1, one is a D28LPX, one is a D28MG1.

The D28MG1 is a 35 watt 256k board radio that I figure is too old to do anything other than a high powered conventional 800mhz radio.

The D28LPX is an awesome radio capable of Provoice operation and works flawlessly for what I am wanting to do but I only have one I these and can't seem to find any others

I have a couple of d28lg1 radios that I would like to be able to hear Provoice radio transmissions but as I understand it I cannot do this without option 29 installed.

My questions are:

1. Is it possible to use this radio to monitor Provoice from the conventional mode as this thread describes:

http://forums.radioreference.com/ha...acs-provoice-trunking-conventional-radio.html

2. How do I determine if the Provoice board is installed on these radios?

3. Is it possible that the option board is equipped but not programmed as a feature in the feature string?

4. How much would a Provoice board cost and how complicated is the procedure to install a board?

5. After a board is installed how much would it cost roughly to modify the feature string?

6. Does the model number determine whether the radio is equipped with Provoice from the factory?

I know that it would be possible to decode this system using DSD and 2 scanners but this is impractical to use while driving and I do not wish to go this route. I am looking for a set and go radio for mobile use.

Lastly, I know I have the radio programmed right using programmer R18 im just not sure if it will not decode the Provoice talk groups the normal way due to hardware limits.

Any help or advice is appreciated.

 

[DisasterGuy]

There is no such thing as an "option board" on an Orion and the model number has nothing to do with those features. The addition of ProVoice simply requires a new feature string from TAC (requiring either a direct Harris account or the use of a Harris ASC) and the cost for unencrypted ProVoice is $355. You can tell if the radio is featured for ProVoice by looking at Features in the radio menu and seeing if 29 is listed.

 

[Techholder88]

Ok. I understand about the feature options and I know that option 29 is not installed on the radio in question. Next question, according to the help file in R18, there is a subnote about the RX address for conventional operation and it has a provision about a "Provoice Daughter Board (C57) DSP" what is this? I assume that DSP is an acronym for Digital Signal Processor? Is this a "Provoice option board" or is this once again something that is irrelevant?

 

[Radioman96p71]

Whoa whoa whoa, the Orion radios absolutely need a hardware board installed to do digital voice. There was a first generation board for AEGIS and then a later model came out for ProVoice. The latter required a simple mod to install to tap into the audio path.

Unless the radio has been parted out, i can about guarantee you the board isnt there if the feature code isnt and vice-versa. That add-on was a hefty chunk of change back then and they didnt put it in unless you paid.

Finding a ProVoice module in the wild is about impossible unless you have some great connections. AEGIS boards can be had relatively easily.

For the price, pick up one of the MANY M7100 800MHz radios on eBay and add the feature to that. Those have a built-in DSP so they dont require anything but a feature string and they use almost all the same accessories as the Orion series. (you can also look for a rare-breed Jaguar 725M but the M7100 is P25 capable, i'd go that route)

 

[DisasterGuy]

Interesting. Perhaps luck of the draw or just the way all of our Orions were ordered years ago but I have upgraded several to ProVoice and DES with a simple call to TAC and new feature string.


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