ElroyJetson
Getting tired of all the stupidity.
Success. Reloading the firmware cleared the errors.
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Is there a Harris dealer who can get not-in-the manual parts?
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ElroyJetson
Getting tired of all the stupidity.
And the errors came back. GPS is not working.
Having ventured farther into this radio than most people dare, I've learned a fair amount about it.
Service procedures are very limited. Using software available to the regular authorized Harris radio shop, the XL-185P, XL-200P, and XL-400P adjustment procedures are to adjust power output, and to adjust the reference frequency, and the rest of the procedure is performance verification, with any failures to meet specs resulting in "return to factory" as the remedy.
There are no calibration routines for these radios in the RPM2 radio maintenance utility.
The service procedures for these radios are limited to, at the most intrusive, installing or replacing the LTE option board,
or replacing the front cover assembly. Or at the very worst, a main board swap. Control flex is also field replaceable, but that's about it.
There is zero support for component level repairs on the main board or anywhere else. This is easy to understand, considering that the main board is almost fully covered in soldered-on shields that protect nearly all circuitry and components. Simply removing any cover and reinstalling it requires a pretty good hot air/infrared rework station. Components appear to be very nearly 100 percent surface mount, fine lead pitch, definitely not a job for an old school tech armed with a Weller WTCP series soldering iron and a roll of solder wick.
Depot repair flat rate price for an XL-185 (non-hazloc) radio is 875 dollars.
As for the front cover assemblies, if you had two that were broken in different ways, it would not be difficult to pull parts off each to make one good one. In truth none of THAT is difficult, it just takes patience and tweezers.
Having ventured farther into this radio than most people dare, I've learned a fair amount about it.
Service procedures are very limited. Using software available to the regular authorized Harris radio shop, the XL-185P, XL-200P, and XL-400P adjustment procedures are to adjust power output, and to adjust the reference frequency, and the rest of the procedure is performance verification, with any failures to meet specs resulting in "return to factory" as the remedy.
There are no calibration routines for these radios in the RPM2 radio maintenance utility.
The service procedures for these radios are limited to, at the most intrusive, installing or replacing the LTE option board,
or replacing the front cover assembly. Or at the very worst, a main board swap. Control flex is also field replaceable, but that's about it.
There is zero support for component level repairs on the main board or anywhere else. This is easy to understand, considering that the main board is almost fully covered in soldered-on shields that protect nearly all circuitry and components. Simply removing any cover and reinstalling it requires a pretty good hot air/infrared rework station. Components appear to be very nearly 100 percent surface mount, fine lead pitch, definitely not a job for an old school tech armed with a Weller WTCP series soldering iron and a roll of solder wick.
Depot repair flat rate price for an XL-185 (non-hazloc) radio is 875 dollars.
As for the front cover assemblies, if you had two that were broken in different ways, it would not be difficult to pull parts off each to make one good one. In truth none of THAT is difficult, it just takes patience and tweezers.
Years ago I was dating a gal who drove a car that was not cold natured. Start and stall. Had to let it warm up before driving away. She had it at a shop that tried a few things with no success. Found out they had jacked a few critical adjustments on the choke linkage, causing the choke blade to slam wide open at startup. Got it all fixed up, started and ran great through warmup. Parked it back in front of her parent’s house and went inside. About 5 minutes later we hear a horrendous bang. Someone ran into her car and totaled it.
ElroyJetson
Getting tired of all the stupidity.
Well, it wasn't THAT bad... 
but it kind of sucks that I lost the GPS function. Although it's only useful in a P25 conventional environment as I understand it, with the Situational Awareness display allowing other registered, GPS enabled radios to be located by the SA radar screen, I was hoping to maybe actually get to at least demo that functionality.
I can live with a radio that lacks GPS functionality.
And yet I am probably going to put the original front cover back on just to verify beyond doubt that the issue isn't related to something screwy in the front cover electronics. I think that every circuit in the front cover both receives and sends data from and to the CPU. So...maybe it's a front cover problem I didn't know about.
Other critiques:
My radio is an earlier example, with a birth certificate dated February 3 2021, and its side silicone grip panels are adhered with a garbage grade adhesive that allows the panels to slide. I'd like to think they've improved on that, it's something that if not corrected would result in the panels sliding off or being knocked off in just weeks of daily service. And nobody wants that goo on his hands, gloves, or uniform.
The texture of the plastic on all surfaces is just too fine. It needs a coarser, grippier texture. What's on it will quickly polish up due to hand or holster contact, and become quite shiny where it's not scratched to heck and back. I'm also not confident that this plastic has the robust impact resistance of the material that Motorola has used, such as on the Sabers and Astro Sabers, which is a super tough glass filled nylon that is many things but pretty much will not shatter on impact unless it's moving at bullet speed.
The ability of the radio to retain audio clarity without apparent distortion at very high volume levels is impressive. But I expect that, since Motorola achieved that with the APX line over a decade ago.
Between the XL and the APX, I could envision a blend of both radios that is superior to either. I have reasons to like both. And both could stand to be improved as well.
but it kind of sucks that I lost the GPS function. Although it's only useful in a P25 conventional environment as I understand it, with the Situational Awareness display allowing other registered, GPS enabled radios to be located by the SA radar screen, I was hoping to maybe actually get to at least demo that functionality. I can live with a radio that lacks GPS functionality.
And yet I am probably going to put the original front cover back on just to verify beyond doubt that the issue isn't related to something screwy in the front cover electronics. I think that every circuit in the front cover both receives and sends data from and to the CPU. So...maybe it's a front cover problem I didn't know about.
Other critiques:
My radio is an earlier example, with a birth certificate dated February 3 2021, and its side silicone grip panels are adhered with a garbage grade adhesive that allows the panels to slide. I'd like to think they've improved on that, it's something that if not corrected would result in the panels sliding off or being knocked off in just weeks of daily service. And nobody wants that goo on his hands, gloves, or uniform.
The texture of the plastic on all surfaces is just too fine. It needs a coarser, grippier texture. What's on it will quickly polish up due to hand or holster contact, and become quite shiny where it's not scratched to heck and back. I'm also not confident that this plastic has the robust impact resistance of the material that Motorola has used, such as on the Sabers and Astro Sabers, which is a super tough glass filled nylon that is many things but pretty much will not shatter on impact unless it's moving at bullet speed.
The ability of the radio to retain audio clarity without apparent distortion at very high volume levels is impressive. But I expect that, since Motorola achieved that with the APX line over a decade ago.
Between the XL and the APX, I could envision a blend of both radios that is superior to either. I have reasons to like both. And both could stand to be improved as well.
BMDaug
I am licensed…
The GPS also works with tier 2 location services and is very useful simply for reporting location, especially since the units of measure are so easily adjustable on the 200P. The ability to change the way the location is displayed is fantastic for interop where different helos or other groups use different standards.
I suspect that the manufacture dates on different components no longer match after you replaced the LCD and are causing your trouble. It’s likely a way for Harris to tell whether a part is genuine or has been tampered with.
Why this would affect GPS, who knows, unless you simply forgot to plug in the GPS antenna after the housing swap…
-B
I suspect that the manufacture dates on different components no longer match after you replaced the LCD and are causing your trouble. It’s likely a way for Harris to tell whether a part is genuine or has been tampered with.
Why this would affect GPS, who knows, unless you simply forgot to plug in the GPS antenna after the housing swap…
-B
ElroyJetson
Getting tired of all the stupidity.
No, I made really sure to plug in the GPS antenna. Very carefully, check twice, make sure the ground pin is contacting the ground pad, and make sure the cable isn't being pinched or getting in the way of the ground connection.
And the idea that it might be due to a serial number mismatch isn't a bad one, and if this was an Apple product that would probably be the case, but replacing an entire front cover assembly does not require any additional steps to clear any errors. So I'm going to just chalk it up to a randomly appearing fault.
What I find most interesting is that the fault disappeared after I reflashed the firmware. And then came back. But even before the fault reappeared, GPS was delivering no data.
I could, and probably will, plug the original front cover assembly back in but I don't really expect that to clear the error.
It's not worth 875 dollars to me to get it flat rated. That would probably mean a main board swap.
And the idea that it might be due to a serial number mismatch isn't a bad one, and if this was an Apple product that would probably be the case, but replacing an entire front cover assembly does not require any additional steps to clear any errors. So I'm going to just chalk it up to a randomly appearing fault.
What I find most interesting is that the fault disappeared after I reflashed the firmware. And then came back. But even before the fault reappeared, GPS was delivering no data.
I could, and probably will, plug the original front cover assembly back in but I don't really expect that to clear the error.
It's not worth 875 dollars to me to get it flat rated. That would probably mean a main board swap.
BMDaug
I am licensed…
The first housing I had was really bad about acquiring a GPS fix. When I replaced the front housing (for unrelated reasons), the new housing resolved the issue. With the old housing, I had to leave the radio outside and stationary for 10 minutes for it to acquire. With the new housing, it’s well under a minute when inside and/or moving… perhaps you got one of the same housings that was originally on my 200P? It does appear that they revved something in the housing between my original unit and the one I have now, based on markings on some of the components and cables I noticed during the swap.
Are you sure it actually doesn’t work at all, or are you experiencing extremely poor performance?
-B
Are you sure it actually doesn’t work at all, or are you experiencing extremely poor performance?
-B
ElroyJetson
Getting tired of all the stupidity.
You may have hit on something. I've been outside for a while today with the radio, and I've got GPS data. However it hasn't updated since I went back indoors. I think I'll put the original cover back on, maybe this evening, and see what happens. Or maybe just swap the GPS antenna flexes, which are very simple to swap.
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