Is it still possible to add features to a M7100?

[ElroyJetson]

Step 6: Carefully remove the board from the casting and flip it over. The ESN chip is seen above the three battery contacts. This is what needs to be swapped.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Step 7: Remove this DS2401 chip. This is your target. If you do not have a hot air desoldering station, I recommend that you applly excess solder and float it off the board. Do not force it. If you're pushing harder than you would push a dime across a table top, you are applying too much force.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Reverse the process to reassemble.


Use the Radio Maintenance Tools to swap the feature string.

 

[BMDaug]

Reverse the process to reassemble.


Use the Radio Maintenance Tools to swap the feature string.

M7100 uses the same chip right? I know OP has a mobile, but they can still use a portable as a donor… right?

-B

 

[ElroyJetson]

Yes, the M7100 uses the same chip and has a compatible feature string length. All "40 option capable" Harris/Macom/whatever radios use this chip and have compatible feature string requirements. The previous generation,700P, LPE200/50, MRK, etc are 32 option capable and use the same chip but a shorter assigned feature string. You COULD swap one of those but what's the point?

 

[wa8pyr]

Concur, not worth it. I checked with our shop yesterday and got the same price quote.

A further follow-up with the shop confirmed that Harris is no longer providing feature updates for M7100 mobiles/P7100 portables (or anything else of that vintage).

Unless someone has figured out a way to generate feature strings, Elroy's procedure for swapping DS2401 chips is the way to go.

 

[ElroyJetson]

My copy of the feature guide (which I BELIEVE to be current) shows that any radio down to the LPE-200 and Orion can still get feature upgrades from Harris. I'm sure Harris will be happy to take a significant amount of cash out of your wallet just for a minute's worth of work with the feature encryption generator application.

If they've discontinued additional model support, I'll expect a new feature guide to be released any day now.

 

[merlin]

Concur, not worth it. I checked with our shop yesterday and got the same price quote.



I've got several 800 MHz M7100s with P25 sitting around here, I checked with the shop about transferring the P25 entitlement from one of them to my VHF M7100; not possible (officially). Not sure it's worth bothering with since I have a couple of XTL2500s with P25 in them already.

The problem here is the XTL is not compatible with the M7100. No, that won't work.
Swapping the ESN chip and string from the 800 Mhz to the VHF will work.

 

[merlin]

Only thing stopping me from duplicating the "M" chip is acquiring the blank eeproms.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Give me the part number of either the original chip or the blanks you are seeking. I've got some resources and friends with resources, any of us might be able to help.

 

[BMDaug]

The problem here is the XTL is not compatible with the M7100. No, that won't work.
Swapping the ESN chip and string from the 800 Mhz to the VHF will work.

…I think he was planning to simply use the XTL instead of the 7100…

-B

 

[nr0x]

List price of P25 conventional unencrypted (CAI) is $515.00 Totally not worth it.

For 25 dollars I'd sell you a P7100 portable radio with P25 CAI in it and you could do an ESN and feature string swap between it and the M7100 and end up with an M7100 with P25 CAI. Some soldering skills required, plus knowledge of how to use radio maintenance tools to read and edit the feature strings. A 5 minute lesson.
Or I might be persuaded to copy the feature data, extract the chip, and send that to you for the same 25 dollars. Swap the chip, load the string, done. This does save you the worry about possibly breaking the DS2401 ESN chip.

Do you still have a radio like that lying around that I could buy from you? I would like to do the same thing. Actually, I'm working on a way to "emulate" a DS2401 chip in a way that can be duplicated for more than one radio. I just don't have a chip with p25CAI on it to get the data from. If you still have one, I'd be interested in buying it from you.

 

[merlin]

Wouldn't it be easier to figure out how to generate a feature string? Much less messy.

Nope. Figuring how to generate feature strings has been a thorn in my side for many years. Even Harris does not 'generate' them.
The use a spread sheet of every radio that left the plant

 

[merlin]

Do you still have a radio like that lying around that I could buy from you? I would like to do the same thing. Actually, I'm working on a way to "emulate" a DS2401 chip in a way that can be duplicated for more than one radio. I just don't have a chip with p25CAI on it to get the data from. If you still have one, I'd be interested in buying it from you.

You find one of those one wire chips that are programmable in the first bank, I have what is needed to enable ALL the features.
Still, the easy way is the chip and string swap.

 

[ElroyJetson]

It's a matter of semantics. The feature string exists by virtue of the radio having firmware in it. That feature string begins as a bunch of zeroes. 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 etc.... and the ESN of the installed DS2401 chip is a factor in the encryption system that is manipulated by features chosen, which creates a new string that is then loaded into the radio. So Harris does generate a new version of the string based on that data. But they don't start with a blank radio that has NO string. That string is already there, it's just a bunch of zeroes when the radio is born.

 

[merlin]

Do you still have a radio like that lying around that I could buy from you? I would like to do the same thing. Actually, I'm working on a way to "emulate" a DS2401 chip in a way that can be duplicated for more than one radio. I just don't have a chip with p25CAI on it to get the data from. If you still have one, I'd be interested in buying it from you.

I have a box full of them I need to rid, I just need to see if any have the CAI option. (don't hold your breath).

"emulate" a DS2401 chip in a way that can be duplicated for more than one radio

That could be done with Arduino but outbord and you got a Frankensteine radio.

 

[merlin]

It's a matter of semantics. The feature string exists by virtue of the radio having firmware in it. That feature string begins as a bunch of zeroes. 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 etc.... and the ESN of the installed DS2401 chip is a factor in the encryption system that is manipulated by features chosen, which creates a new string that is then loaded into the radio. So Harris does generate a new version of the string based on that data. But they don't start with a blank radio that has NO string. That string is already there, it's just a bunch of zeroes when the radio is born.

Here is something I found interesting about feature upgades:

3.91 MB file on MEGA

mega.nz

 

[merlin]

I have a box full of them I need to rid, I just need to see if any have the CAI option. (don't hold your breath).

OK, I only have one radio with option 33, P25 CAI support (APCO-25 Conventional Only)
You might want 32 FIPS140-233P25 Common Air Interface (CAI)–P25 Conventional
Radio works, 800 MHz, complete.

 

[nr0x]

OK, I only have one radio with option 33, P25 CAI support (APCO-25 Conventional Only)
You might want 32 FIPS140-233P25 Common Air Interface (CAI)–P25 Conventional
Radio works, 800 MHz, complete.

What do you want for it?

 

[merlin]

I can't really expect more than $20, shipping may run about $12.