MTS/MCS Annoying problem with MCS-2000

[fs6591]

Hi, can anyone help me with an annoying problem with the MCS-2000? I use the radio as a base station with a power supply and everything works fine, but every time I turn on the power supply, the MCS-2000 turns on by itself even though I had turned it off by means of its ON/OFF button. I have two different MCS-2000, and both behave this way. This is a problem because the power supply is shared by several other devices.

Thanks in advance!
FS

 

[W0JJK]

Is the radio wired with ignition wire?

 

[a417]

It appears to be following IGN SENS, as @W0JJK is alluding to.

If there's a wire coming off the accessory plug, and going to the 12v (+) terminal of the power supply, that's your reason. It's doing exactly what it was told to do. If you have programming available to you, you can disable that feature. If you don't, you can remove that wire from the (+) terminal and it should stop doing it.

 

[mmckenna]

If you can read the radio with CPS:

Read the radio.
Save the code plug.
Now, save it again, somewhere else.

Go into "Radio Wide"
"Advanced" tab.

Go to "Ignition Switch:" dropdown menu. Select "Blank".
Write to the radio.

Save the codeplug
Now, save the codeplug again, somewhere else.

 

[fs6591]

Thanks to everyone who replied.
I did as you said (I selected "Blank" instead of "Soft Power Off" in the menu "Ignition Switch"), but this doesn't help.
And no, I have no ignition switch nor accessory plug - the supply goes directly to the plug on the back of the radio.
I think I'll give up and use a separate power supply for the MCS, or perhaps an additional switch from the same supply.

FS


QUOTE="mmckenna, post: 3713171, member: 59445"]
If you can read the radio with CPS:

Read the radio.
Save the code plug.
Now, save it again, somewhere else.

Go into "Radio Wide"
"Advanced" tab.

Go to "Ignition Switch:" dropdown menu. Select "Blank".
Write to the radio.

Save the codeplug
Now, save the codeplug again, somewhere else.
[/QUOTE]

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks to everyone who replied.
I did as you said (I selected "Blank" instead of "Soft Power Off" in the menu "Ignition Switch"), but this doesn't help.
And no, I have no ignition switch nor accessory plug - the supply goes directly to the plug on the back of the radio.
I think I'll give up and use a separate power supply for the MCS, or perhaps an additional switch from the same supply.

If I recall correctly, these have a power switch memory. It may remember what state the radio was in when power was removed.

Try turning the radio off before shutting off the power supply.

 

[fs6591]

This is what I did every time, as I already wrote: "the MCS-2000 turns on by itself even though I had turned it off by means of its ON/OFF button".

 

[crazyboy]

Thanks to everyone who replied.
I did as you said (I selected "Blank" instead of "Soft Power Off" in the menu "Ignition Switch"), but this doesn't help.
And no, I have no ignition switch nor accessory plug - the supply goes directly to the plug on the back of the radio.
I think I'll give up and use a separate power supply for the MCS, or perhaps an additional switch from the same supply.

FS

If you have no accessory connector in then you don’t have the emergency jumper in which would cause the radio to power up in emergency mode when power is applied, you would need the accessory connector for receive audio anyway.

 

[fs6591]

I have the accessory connector. Pin 4 and 9 are connected together, and the speaker is connected to pin 1 and 3.

 

[com501]

You use the ignition sense wire to turn the radio on and off independent from the control head. You should NEVER turn the radio off by simply removing power to the high current connector at the back of the radio. That connection is designed to be hot all the time, like in a vehicle install. The radio is doing exactly what it was built to do, resetting power to the radio when the B+ at the rear connector goes below 11vdc

 

[fs6591]

The purpose of the ignition sense wire to turn the radio on and off is probably to avoid that high currents flow through the ON/OFF button, which makes sense to me. But the instruction manual mentions the possibility of using the radio as a base station with a power supply, so the only option that I can see in this regard is the use of an external switch to turn the radio on and off.

 

[mmckenna]

The purpose of the ignition sense wire to turn the radio on and off is probably to avoid that high currents flow through the ON/OFF button, which makes sense to me. But the instruction manual mentions the possibility of using the radio as a base station with a power supply, so the only option that I can see in this regard is the use of an external switch to turn the radio on and off.

The full current of the radio does not flow through the on/off button. The button simply signals a transistor to power up the radio processor.

 

[fs6591]

The full current of the radio does not flow through the on/off button. The button simply signals a transistor to power up the radio processor.

That's what I said. With a conventional switch, all the current from the supply (several amperes) would flow through the switch, but the configuration in the MCS-2000 avoids this.

 

[mmckenna]

That's what I said. With a conventional switch, all the current from the supply (several amperes) would flow through the switch, but the configuration in the MCS-2000 avoids this.

I guess I misunderstood you.

The Motorola power supplies used for small base applications have an ignition sense B+ wire coming off the power supply specifically for setting up the radio this way. Nice thing about it is that it will automatically power up the radio after a power outage.

I have a CDM-750 running as a base at home, and it will not power back up after a power outage without it, or manually turning it on.

 

[cpg178]

when i had a mcs in the car a while back, it would come on automatically with the car without having an ign sense wire connected. The main power circuit was on an igniton switched relay and as soon as the main power got 12v the radio powered up, my CDM I had at the time needed an ignition wire, as do the XPRs that I run today. But that MCS would turn on automatically, which I think is what OP is trying to figure out how to stop from happening.

 

[N4KVE]

You use the ignition sense wire to turn the radio on and off independent from the control head. You should NEVER turn the radio off by simply removing power to the high current connector at the back of the radio. That connection is designed to be hot all the time, like in a vehicle install. The radio is doing exactly what it was built to do, resetting power to the radio when the B+ at the rear connector goes below 11vdc

I used to do it this way until I went away for a week on vacation. Guess what, dead car battery. So I rewired the relay to remove any electricity from the rear connector when the ign key is off. No dead battery for me now even after a two week vacation.

 

[a417]

The purpose of the ignition sense wire to turn the radio on and off is probably to avoid that high currents flow through the ON/OFF button,

No, the ignition sense wire is to enable the upfitter to set up the car so the radio isn't always on, or requires user interaction to turn it on every time. Ignition comes on, ignition sense wire starts radio. It has nothing to do with current flow thru the on/off switch.

 

[a417]

I used to do it this way until I went away for a week on vacation. Guess what, dead car battery. So I rewired the relay to remove any electricity from the rear connector when the ign key is off. No dead battery for me now even after a two week vacation.

Yeah, a week is a long time with a vampiric battery drain like a MCS RF deck on it.

I used to argue vampiric vs parasitic for terminology on those drains, as parasites usually evolve to avoid killing the host...vampires just take and take until it's gone.

 

[WRMZ361]

that is a setting for the radio. Is like you turn on the car and radio turn on, you turn off the car and radio turn off. I got the same radio.
do you programming this radio by computer?

 

[a417]

that is a setting for the radio. Is like you turn on the car and radio turn on, you turn off the car and radio turn off. I got the same radio.
do you programming this radio by computer?

You appear to be describing ignition sense. It is a setting in the radio, as long as the radio is correctly configured to support it.