I recently acquired a VHF MRK II at the Danton Hamfest...Radio works fine TX/RX wise, I can read the radio but how ever when I write back to the radio, the software only goes to 18 or 20% then flips me the bird and says 12 volt error, all solder joints look intact and all boards look intact to, does any one knows what this means and knows how to fix it?
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GE MRK II Programming Error.
- Thread starter 62Truck
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mitaux8030
Silent Key
It may not be a 'hardware' problem in the radio at all.
There was a phase when one of my MRKs decided it wasn't going to write successfully with anything less than a fully & freshly charged battery attached. That was with a Price "RIB-less" cable which I think takes its power from the host radio.
If you're using a TQ3370 interface, then check that it's getting correct voltage... spec says 7.5 to 16 volts DC. Use a regulated supply... the input filtering of the TQ3370 isn't that great.
If you're just writing a personality to the radio, then the 12 volt Vpp shouldn't be needed. When writing firmware to the radio as well, I think early versions of the MRK firmware required Vpp to be set, and some RIB-less cables don't have a Vpp line.
But by far the most common problem with programming of radios is the PC & OS itself. With the brand of radio I usually mess around with, they're hyper-critical of running the programming software under the correct OS, and even programs or processes running in the background can mess up a device call to the COM port to the point where programming software just won't work. Some RIB-less cables source their power from the COM port itself, and its been found some COM ports just won't drive these reliably; likewise it would be a bad idea to do anything to a GE et al branded radio with a COM powered RIB-less cable (if one exists?)
Try programming from a different PC first. That might solve all your problems.
There was a phase when one of my MRKs decided it wasn't going to write successfully with anything less than a fully & freshly charged battery attached. That was with a Price "RIB-less" cable which I think takes its power from the host radio.
If you're using a TQ3370 interface, then check that it's getting correct voltage... spec says 7.5 to 16 volts DC. Use a regulated supply... the input filtering of the TQ3370 isn't that great.
If you're just writing a personality to the radio, then the 12 volt Vpp shouldn't be needed. When writing firmware to the radio as well, I think early versions of the MRK firmware required Vpp to be set, and some RIB-less cables don't have a Vpp line.
But by far the most common problem with programming of radios is the PC & OS itself. With the brand of radio I usually mess around with, they're hyper-critical of running the programming software under the correct OS, and even programs or processes running in the background can mess up a device call to the COM port to the point where programming software just won't work. Some RIB-less cables source their power from the COM port itself, and its been found some COM ports just won't drive these reliably; likewise it would be a bad idea to do anything to a GE et al branded radio with a COM powered RIB-less cable (if one exists?)
Try programming from a different PC first. That might solve all your problems.
I'm using the 3370 and a price industries ribbed cable, I tried using a different computer but of course that computer had a older version of the software, I will def keep the radio in the charger and try that, and see what happens. I posted this on a few sites and your post seems to be the most helpful at this point. Yes I am just writing the personality to the radio but just like my LPE200 that I have the frimware thing pops up first asking if you want to do something with that.
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