Help with LPE-200, radio died

[grem467]

This forum is a support forum. So guys, why haven't I solved my radio issue? Someone knows how to contact Tac and get that file.

Last time i checked this wasnt a macom repair facility, be glad you have hobbiests and perhaps even professional macom techs here to help you FOR FREE.

Where else does a person get support if he doesn't get it here?

umm.. macom comes to mind.

Guys, i'm noit going to take no as an answer.

Considering the level of help you are getting for free from hobbiests on this site, i would perhaps tone down the demanding attitude before you end up cutting yourself off from said help.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Understand the situation, please. You hosed your own radio by messing with the radio tools
software. After you were explicitly warned against doing so as well.

ONLY a recovery of your feature string will bring your radio back to life.

ONLY M/A-Com's TAC can provide that information if you don't have it in your backup files.

WE can not help you if you do not have that backup file.

BTW, did you BUY the programmer/radio maintenance software package from an authorized M/A-Com dealer, or did you obtain your copy by other means, none of which
are actually legal?

My copy IS. It's the newest version, cost my company nearly 2400 bucks, and I STILL can't create a valid feature string for you. I have to contact the TAC for data like that,
and it's not a free service.


All attempts to help you have reached the point where ONLY the TAC can assist you,
and no amount of demands or threats is going to change that. NONE of us has the
ability to generate a new valid feature string for you.

This could all have been avoided if you'd HEEDED OUR WARNINGS.

When you point a finger for the purposes of blaming someone, be sure you're standing
in front of a mirror. You simply made a mistake, it's your own fault, and you're not
the first person who has made that particular mistake and I dare to guess that you
won't be the last.

Elroy

 

[rmiles]

I'm lovin TAC!!!!

If your feature encryption file is hosed, the ONLY way to get it back if you don't have a backup copy is to go through TAC. 1-800-528-7711 opt 3. The feature encryption string is derived from a combination of the radio's physical serial number, the ESN (electronic serial number), and some black magic that only M/A-COM knows the recipe for the potion (and only a few people know it).

You know, I looked everywhere for that number and could not find it. I got in touch with TAC this morning and they queried their database, found the feature encryption listed by ROM S/N and confirmed it with the physical S/N. She read off the feature string, I typed it in, wrote it to the radio, re-wrote the personality and viola, the radio came back to life! It works perfectly. Althought, before it got hosed, it had 128 sys/groups, and now it has only 16 sys/groups. Why wouldn't M/A-Com have that on record if it was upgraded somewhere along the way?

Morgan, thanks for posting the phone number. They never received the email I sent through the TAC web page. I would not suggest anyone use that route to contact TAC.

 

[rescue161]

Glad you got it back to life!!! Now I'd save a copy of that feature string just incase anything else happens.

 

[rmiles]

Now I'd save a copy of that feature string just incase anything else happens.

That's the first thing I did after she read it off to me! Funny thing, I had the feature string written back into the radio and saved it to disk before she even hung up.

 

[ElroyJetson]

As I understand it, the radio's physical serial number is not part of the feature encryption formula. I've had feature encryption strings recovered using only the ESN, when I explained
that the radio in question's assigned serial number is unknown and not knowable, given
that the radio was one of a bunch I acquired in disassembled condition. When you've got
a bunch of rear castings and a bunch of boards, it's pure guesswork as to which one
goes to which one.

Elroy

 

[rmiles]

As I understand it, the radio's physical serial number is not part of the feature encryption formula.

Very true. It's not. However, when I was speaking with her, she had to query several databases to find it. At first, she was not able to find the ROM S/N listed. Then she tried “another one” and asked fort he physical S/N to confirm that she had the correct feature string. Perhaps some ROM S/N’s are used more then once? At any rate, they have a patchwork of systems to query and she indicated that she thought she found more then one radio with that ROM S/N.

 

[rescue161]

Very true. It's not. However, when I was speaking with her, she had to query several databases to find it. At first, she was not able to find the ROM S/N listed. Then she tried “another one” and asked fort he physical S/N to confirm that she had the correct feature string. Perhaps some ROM S/N’s are used more then once? At any rate, they have a patchwork of systems to query and she indicated that she thought she found more then one radio with that ROM S/N.

Maybe that other one was the one with the 128 systems feature?

 

[rmiles]

Maybe that other one was the one with the 128 systems feature?

I asked her if it could be a re-issue, as in a feature upgrade. She said it was for a different model, like a Jag. They only had one string for a LPE with that ROM.

 

[MONOGRAM_TRUNKING]

I am trying to program an LPE200 (system) with ProGrammer (TQS3385) (version R16A05). I have one Edacs trunked system in system 1 and about 8 conventional freqs in system 2. I can read the radio and program only in conventional channels. When I re do the edacs lcn the I get a message that improper frequency. I checked the the range 806-870. I get message error 0552. invalid system. I have another lpe-200 that works fine. I dont get it? Am I missing something? I tried to clone the radio from the good one. Still wont let me clone the personality. I am not a expert at the lpe-200s but I also have a mrk that works fine. CAN ANY OF YOU GUYS HELP ME OUT??? i AM TOTALLY FRUSTRATED AND LOST!

 

[ElroyJetson]

The invalid system error will show up any time you have too many systems programmed into the radio.

If you have a radio with, for example, 64 systems capacity (as shown in the features menu), the 65th system will show as INVALID SYSTEM on the display.

Use the ProGrammer SYNOPSIS tab to see where you stand regarding how many systems/groups/channels you have programmed in. If you exceed your radio's defined limits, you'll get that error.

 

[MONOGRAM_TRUNKING]

I have 2 systems, 1 convent and 1 edacs.

 

[MONOGRAM_TRUNKING]

I used radio maint. all is there from what I think is to be. Im still stuck.

 

[VE3RADIO]

Last time i checked this wasnt a macom repair facility, be glad you have hobbiests and perhaps even professional macom techs here to help you FOR FREE.



umm.. macom comes to mind.



Considering the level of help you are getting for free from hobbiests on this site, i would perhaps tone down the demanding attitude before you end up cutting yourself off from said help.

Well Said!

 

[texasemt13]

deleted

 

[MONOGRAM_TRUNKING]

lpe 200 help programming

Reprogram it and make VERY sure that auto-affiliation is turned off, if that feature is present in the sofware for LPEs (I don't know if it is or not.) But be sure that TX and calls are turned off for every talkgroup you're not authorized to transmit on.

Elroy

I am getting feat error 0551. Iwas a bad boy. being new with these i went into maintaince, i know this is wrong.

radio works now on repeat and simplex. when I go to finish the last 2 trunking freqs, because of re-banding the radio wont take the last 2 channels. says invalid frequency. I checked 806-870 range.

from all the reading I have done on this sight I am assumming I screwed up my feature data? the other radio works fine and took all the new programming with no problems.

any help would be great,,,, you guys are the radio doctors from what i can read here

 

[mancow]

I have one with similar issues but mine says ERR=0550 and reboots when I push any button. It will not go into program mode when connected to the cable. Any ideas?

 

[LMR_Dude]

I don't have an LPE manual but both the P/M 7100 manuals show that as a Feature Error and specifically as a failure to read the ROM serial number.

 

[mancow]

I contacted the TAC but they were busy so I left a message. The initial receptionist that answered didn't believe they would assist me because I am not with a corporation.

Is the ESN on the back of the radio on the tag somewhere? I don't see it readily identifiable like the serial number.

 

[Radioman96p71]

Err-550 means the radio is not reading an ESN off the board. Either the chip that holds the ESN is damaged or missing, or the CPU can't read it for some reason. 99% of the time i see that it is because someone removed it to move the (better) features to a different radio. Without the ESN/FEC that radio is a 16 channel conventional-only radio.