I need help finding info on this radio

[KE5BKD]

I have a friend that has purchased 4 radios manufactured by E. F. Johnson and I'm trying to find some information on them for him. I couldn't find anything on the manufacturer's website, FCC website, or through multiple searches online. Any help would be greatly appreciated and if this thread needs to be moved to a different forum please do so.

The Information is as follows:

It’s in the 136-174 MHz range
Model: P-136-174-H01A
FCC ID: MSS-P-136-174-H01
If needed, the P/N number on all the radios is:
242-5015-908-AAAA

He says he thinks the radio is a Transcrypt Stealth 25 Radio, but he doesn't know for sure.
I haven't come up with anything that has enough matching data to be one of the radios in question and I'm not very familiar with this brand of radio.
Any ideas or comments would be appriciated greatly.

 

[Mick]

Hello. That's what the FCC has it listed as:

Transcrypt International Ltd
4800 NW 1st Street
Lincoln, NE 68521

Single Channel Mode, Power output switchable to 1 Watt.

 

[mancow]

They are odd to say the least and full of firmware bugs.

They use the Motorola Astro Saber RF Decks but the rest of the boards are propriaetary. They will accept Motorola Astro Saber encryption modules as well. They have bult in Transcrypt 460 series rolling code scramblers and two displays, one on top and one on front. The side buttons, top switch, and all four buttons down the side of the keypad can be user programmed to whatever you want them to be. They are capable of analog and P25 digital operation and have 255 channels. The channels can be labeled with alpha characters and a button can be programmed to rotate between, label, channel number, and frequency. They use regular Motorola Jedi type chargers and audio accessories.

They requre PCTrunk software that operates somewhat similar to Motorola CPS but really is more like the Thales/Racal stuff or M/A-COM's programmer if you're familiar with that. The radios require no RIB or other interface box. The cable is a straight through setup with no conversion parts at all since the radio has a MAX232 chip inside. I have a schematic of the cable and one can be built from a regular Jedi type connector and DB9 end.

They are very buggy. Things like scan and NAC code selection don't aways seem to work properly. There seems to be an issue with the monitor button locking the squelch open for some reason too. When they are working they do receive and transmit well. The rolling code scramblers work very well. The scrambler codes are entered in the software and uploaded with no need for a TR30-3060 modem like other Transcrypt scramble boards require.

Hand programming takes a bit to get used to. You have to enter the password then navigate to what bank and then to what channel you want to edit. From there it's fairly straight forward and similar to a Bendix King programming setup with sequential fields for frequencies and tones etc... Getting the right sequence of * and # pushes down to get to step to the zones/banks and channels is the first hurdle.

Mine had the newest firmware and still acted odd at times.

 

[mancow]

 

[KE5BKD]

Wow!! I never thought I would get such a good response! I'm used to having to wait for a week before anyone responds to my posts (on other sites). Mancow I can't tell you how suprised I was to read all of your detailed information. Thanks a bunch! I'll forward this to my friend and see if there's anything else he needs.

 

[Grog]

They are odd to say the least and full of firmware bugs.

They use the Motorola Astro Saber RF Decks but the rest of the boards are propriaetary. They will accept Motorola Astro Saber encryption modules as well. They have bult in Transcrypt 460 series rolling code scramblers and two displays, one on top and one on front. The side buttons, top switch, and all four buttons down the side of the keypad can be user programmed to whatever you want them to be. They are capable of analog and P25 digital operation and have 255 channels. The channels can be labeled with alpha characters and a button can be programmed to rotate between, label, channel number, and frequency. They use regular Motorola Jedi type chargers and audio accessories.

They requre PCTrunk software that operates somewhat similar to Motorola CPS but really is more like the Thales/Racal stuff or M/A-COM's programmer if you're familiar with that. The radios require no RIB or other interface box. The cable is a straight through setup with no conversion parts at all since the radio has a MAX232 chip inside. I have a schematic of the cable and one can be built from a regular Jedi type connector and DB9 end.

They are very buggy. Things like scan and NAC code selection don't aways seem to work properly. There seems to be an issue with the monitor button locking the squelch open for some reason too. When they are working they do receive and transmit well. The rolling code scramblers work very well. The scrambler codes are entered in the software and uploaded with no need for a TR30-3060 modem like other Transcrypt scramble boards require.

Hand programming takes a bit to get used to. You have to enter the password then navigate to what bank and then to what channel you want to edit. From there it's fairly straight forward and similar to a Bendix King programming setup with sequential fields for frequencies and tones etc... Getting the right sequence of * and # pushes down to get to step to the zones/banks and channels is the first hurdle.

Mine had the newest firmware and still acted odd at times.

Is that all you have? I thought you were going to give us some details

 

[mstr3ttcmp]

Thank you all for responding so promptly, with the useful information. I have made my own cable with the diagram provided, and now all I need is the software. I have looked all over the web and there isnt any information on PCTrunk, even on the EFJ website...so if someone could point me in the right direction, it would be great. I can't spend too much on the software, and I know it runs for a pretty high price. If anyone knows how to program the radios using the keypad, that would be the most helpful thing right now. I have a hunch that it would need one of the function keys (F1-F4) to activate it, and none of mine do that, but I can't be sure. Mancow, I also sent you a similar PM.

Thanks,
KI6CYC

 

[KE5BKD]

What series would this radio be when it's refered to? Would it be the 5015
of the part number? (P/N: 242-5015-908-AAAA) Or would it be a different number? Everything I'm finding elsewhere always has the info grouped by series number and it's eating up alot of my time searching through stuff just to find out it's not the right series.

 

[mstr3ttcmp]

My most recent cable worked, and it was able to communicate with PCTrunk. It couldn’t get past %22 on the transfer from the radio, but it accepted transfers to the radio.

The problem is that the radio is now ‘freaking out’ and not working properly at all. I believe that the radios firmware supports version 1.1 or similar data, and the program is writing in version 5.5 data. I think that the earlier version of PCTrunk may work better, or some way to update the firmware...what do you think?

The radio's current information appears to be as follows:
Radio Software = 81.615

I am currently using PCTrunk 5.9.3, and using the default VHF template provided. Would anyone happen to have a data file for PCTrunk laying around for your radios?

(Transcrypt Stealth 25 (EFJ 5015) VHF 136-174 P25)

Thanks

KI6CYC