FPP for ham frequencies on a xts2500

[dfb8085]

I have been trying to get FPP into a xts2500 for a long time. Best i been able to find is a hexedit to get ham frequency coverage period but that only gives FPP within the original range of the radio. There is a separate FPP band limit in the firmware of the radio that has to be edited. From what i can understand it appears a 2nd motorola program called flashzap has to be used to read the memory locations of the radio. This is where I hit the brick wall Hex,long, little indian , big indian. Never heard of that program let alone ho to use it and once memory is read what the heck do you do with it. I have the radio working in ham band but the fpp is kicking me. If anybody can take this info and do anything with it please let me know.

Thanks
Ferrell

 

[N4DES]

FlashZap is a non-conventional way to do Firmware updates to an X series radio. It doesn't allow you to change feature sets.

What frequency band is this radio? 450-512 UHF that you are hex editing down to UHF Amateur?

 

[ElroyJetson]

Let's just say this: The FlashZap bootloader is part of a system. There is a software package by the same name that gives you all the keys to the XTS kingdom. ALL of them. If you know what to do with it.

My recommendation is that you contact one of the ebay sellers that offers feature upgrades for your radio and pay his reasonable fee and send your radio in for upgrade. It'll come back with what you ask for. FPP and who knows what all else...

 

[dfb8085]

thank you its a 900mhz radio

 

[N4KVE]

Here ya go. Last step of the puzzle. And it works. But it’s a two part step. First part, to get FPP at 902/927. Second part to keep it after programming with the laptop.

XTS 2500 - W9CR

wiki.w9cr.net

 

[prcguy]

Here ya go. First you need the 900 hex edit to get the radio in 902/927. Then you need to get the FPP flash code put in the radio then here’s the hack to get FPP to work in the ham band.

XTS 2500 - W9CR

wiki.w9cr.net

The basic instructions from W9CR for hex editing CPS allows the radio to program out of band but it doesn't include out of band via FPP. With a radio programed with W9CR changes if you try and FPP out of band it will restrict FPP to the original band plan. There are more things that need to be changed with the hex editor to address FPP band limits and I've not found that yet. I have a couple of 900 XTS mod IIIs on amateur but the FPP is useless without the missing info.

 

[dfb8085]

I have all this up to the flashzap portion. and I fall off the cliff right there. If anyone has a better or easier to understand procedure please let me know

 

[N4KVE]

The basic instructions from W9CR for hex editing CPS allows the radio to program out of band but it doesn't include out of band via FPP. With a radio programed with W9CR changes if you try and FPP out of band it will restrict FPP to the original band plan. There are more things that need to be changed with the hex editor to address FPP band limits and I've not found that yet. I have a couple of 900 XTS mod IIIs on amateur but the FPP is useless without the missing info.

I politely disagree. The instructions I posted were followed to the letter, & my XTS2500 now does FPP perfectly at 902/927.

 

[prcguy]

I politely disagree. The instructions I posted were followed to the letter, & my XTS2500 now does FPP perfectly at 902/927.

I have two that program via CPS but not FPP within the amateur band, I'll have to go through the instructions again.

 

[N4KVE]

I have two that program via CPS but not FPP within the amateur band, I'll have to go through the instructions again.

While I have a FPP 2500, the instructions I posted were above my pay grade. So I was stuck. Do you know Seth Glass? He too had a FPP 2500 that was also only in the commercial band. I sent him my radio, with the instructions I posted, & he figured it out. So not only is my radio now FPP at 902/927, but so is Seth’s radio. Try contacting him.

 

[prcguy]

While I have a FPP 2500, the instructions I posted were above my pay grade. So I was stuck. Do you know Seth Glass? He too had a FPP 2500 that was also only in the commercial band. I sent him my radio, with the instructions I posted, & he figured it out. So not only is my radio now FPP at 902/927, but so is Seth’s radio. Try contacting him.

I don't know Seth but I'm making arrangements to have him kidnapped.

 

[N4KVE]

I was at a small ham fest in Alpharetta last year. Lots of 900 activity there. At various tables I ran into three guys with 2500’s looking for FPP at 902/927. They had FPP, but only the commercial portion. I showed them it worked in my radio, & showed them the same link. But like me, it was all jibberish to them too. But it does work.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Not my listing. But this would help you to get where you want to be.

NO RADIO Motorola XTS5000, XTS2500 Programming, FPP, 9600Baud Flash Upgrade | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NO RADIO Motorola XTS5000, XTS2500 Programming, FPP, 9600Baud Flash Upgrade at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[N4KVE]

I’m assuming that ad is to change a radio FC to FPP. If I understand the OP, he already has FPP in his FC. He just needs it to work at 902/927. That’s a totally different operation. And unless you send your laptop in with the radio to add a few files, the first time that radio is programmed with a laptop, the FPP @ 902/927 goes away. So while that guy in the link can add any feature with D, that doesn’t do anything for FPP @ 902/927.

 

[dfb8085]

N4KVE yu are correct. Let me restate what the current state of the radio is and where I am trying too go.......

1) Radio XTX2500
2) 900 mhz BAND
3) 902/927 MOD COMPLETE
4) FPP IS ACTIVE ON RADIO
5) CPS MODDED SO IT WILL REMEMBER 902/927 FREQ CHANGES
6) NEED THE HEX EDITING FPP BAND LIMITS INFO SO THE CPS WILL ACCEPT AND REMEMBER THE NEW FPP BAND EDGES

 

[ElroyJetson]

In general, the band limit hex editing process is a matter of identifying the precise band limits of the function you are looking to change, and altering them. For example, if you want to change the UHF lower band limit from 450.000 to 440.000, you search for 450000000 and note the addressess at which each instance of it comes up. (Keep track of all edits.) Edit any, some, or all of those addresses to 440000000 (or whatever) and save your work and then go back in and test. If you alter them one address at a time, you will find which one is active in this window or that window. The FPP band limits may or may not be the same as the conventional band limits, or be stored in the same addresses.

So you'll be searching for the strings 902000000 and 928000000000 in the text side of the hex editor.
In hex, those would be 35C36D80 and 37502800

 

[dfb8085]

Why would I be looking for 902 to 928 at this point. If the FPP band limit is something other than that what it needs to be

 

[prcguy]

Why would I be looking for 902 to 928 at this point. If the FPP band limit is something other than that what it needs to be

When hex editing band limits you look for the hex version of the original commercial band limits then replace the upper transmit with 928 and the lower receive with 902. This is because the LMR band uses the upper 890MHz range for transmit and the mid 930MHz range for receive. If done right the radio should transmit from about 896 to 928MHz and receive from 902 to about 937MHz and FPP over the same range.

 

[ElroyJetson]

I was giving an EXAMPLE, of course you'd take the actual band split limits you want to change and change THEM, to the limits you want them to BE. Which in this case I don't know off the top of my head what the default split limits are.

Even if you do all this perfectly, there's still a chance that the VCOs may not lock within the new frequency limits and receiver performance may suffer due to being out of the RX filter bandpass limits.

 

[dfb8085]

I am using a pretty simple editor HxD. Several drop downs to answer. 8 or 16 bits, windows ansi or dos ibm. According to the page I am looking at the file. Ver 20 with no mods done to it. Looking for offsets and freq according to the chart revels nothing that I can see if that matches anything in the page. Now moving in to the already
Modded ver 20 same thing happens. I have been working and asking questions concerning this for the better part of a year. Something so simple is so hard to do. Starting to seem not worth the effort. Thanks for the advice and help