Motorola Minitor V problems

[holweger23]

Does any one else have the same problem with minitor v pagers? I’m on a fire department with about 50 people, and we are sending in 5 pagers a month with the same issue :dispatch pages us, pager tones , and that’s it you don’t hear any thing they say.
I did take the pager that I carry now (that works fine) loaded that code plug into the pagers that are cutting off the page and still had the same problem. The funny thing is when we send them in to Motorola they say they just needed to be reprogrammed? Is there an easy fix? Because $600 a month is starting to get crazy for fixing pagers. We are also open to buying new pagers if any one knows any good dependable brands to look at we currently are testing a few swissphone pagers an other trustworthy pagers out there?? that are compatible with VHF 154.235

Thanks,
Jay Holweger
Wahpeton Fire Department

 

[NCFire11]

Yeah, sounds like the revert programming is off.

 

[RBMTS]

Are you saying that when the pagers work correctly that you hear the alert and the voice dispatch? And eventually they stop working correctly and all you hear is the alert tone (but no dispatch). Or are you saying that all the pagers started out with no (or usually no) voice dispatch?

My guess is that mother M is correct that it is a programming issue. The "reset" setting is probably programmed too short. There is a setting in the pager to wait Xn time after a carrier drop before the pager resets. If your dispatcher sends the tones and lets the radio system carrier drop, the pager timer start to click. If the dispatcher does not begin their voice dispatch in the time frame set in the pager, the pager then resets waiting for the next tone out. Extending that "reset" time usually fixes the problem.

So IMHO, it is probably a program setting that is changed in the PPS software.

 

[holweger23]

Yeah, sounds like the revert programming is off.

but my pager doesnt cut it off? but i did change the revert time to 6 seconds well lets say i got 6 seconds of the dispatchers page then it closed.

 

[holweger23]

Are you saying that when the pagers work correctly that you hear the alert and the voice dispatch? And eventually they stop working correctly and all you hear is the alert tone (but no dispatch). Or are you saying that all the pagers started out with no (or usually no) voice dispatch?

My guess is that mother M is correct that it is a programming issue. The "reset" setting is probably programmed too short. There is a setting in the pager to wait Xn time after a carrier drop before the pager resets. If your dispatcher sends the tones and lets the radio system carrier drop, the pager timer start to click. If the dispatcher does not begin their voice dispatch in the time frame set in the pager, the pager then resets waiting for the next tone out. Extending that "reset" time usually fixes the problem.

So IMHO, it is probably a program setting that is changed in the PPS software.

no every new pager alerts then you hear dispatch but every month we have about 5 people drop there pagers off because they stoped hearing dispatch and only tones would come through.

 

[KD2DLL]

Are you saying that when the pagers work correctly that you hear the alert and the voice dispatch? And eventually they stop working correctly and all you hear is the alert tone (but no dispatch). Or are you saying that all the pagers started out with no (or usually no) voice dispatch?

My guess is that mother M is correct that it is a programming issue. The "reset" setting is probably programmed too short. There is a setting in the pager to wait Xn time after a carrier drop before the pager resets. If your dispatcher sends the tones and lets the radio system carrier drop, the pager timer start to click. If the dispatcher does not begin their voice dispatch in the time frame set in the pager, the pager then resets waiting for the next tone out. Extending that "reset" time usually fixes the problem.

So IMHO, it is probably a program setting that is changed in the PPS software.

That's exactly what i'm thinking too..

 

[holweger23]

That's exactly what i'm thinking too..

but the minitor v that i carry now works fine i hear the tones and i hear dispatch so i loaded that code into the other pagers that cut out dispatch and it does the same thing i also changed the revert time to 6 seconds on those pagers and after 6 seconds it cuts dispatch off even if they are still talking.

 

[holweger23]

here is what the pager is at now

 

[KD2DLL]

Try putting it to "Delay N" 6 seconds. That's how I have mine setup. Its worth a try. Also, if you can, upload one of the codeplugs and Ill take a look at it. Maybe something I can figure out from it.

 

[holweger23]

i will do both codeplugs the first one named jay wfd code is off my pager that works that revert time is set to 2 sec and that works fine. the second one will be the pagers that dont work revert set to 6. i had to send them as a zip file

 

[holweger23]

Try putting it to "Delay N" 6 seconds. That's how I have mine setup. Its worth a try. Also, if you can, upload one of the codeplugs and Ill take a look at it. Maybe something I can figure out from it.

thanks for your help

 

[KD2DLL]

I took a look at both side by side. They are exactly identical(with the exception of the time difference), even all the advanced settings in engineer mode. The only thing that I can suggest is to just try the Delay N setting. Its worth a try. Otherwise, i'm not really sure what the problem is.

 

[holweger23]

Yep already set that just have to wait for a page or tell six tomorrow ha. Thanks idk what else it is it's getting expensive and they just say its a programming problem. Also and suggestions on different pagers?

 

[KD2DLL]

If you have a radio that you could tune to a frequency that you can operate on and not cause interference, program the pagers to that and put the tones over to test. I have a UHF model so I can tune them to a FRS or GMRS freq and test it like that. Theres an app for android called "Ted Tones out" and you can set your tone numbers and it plays them. I just put that up to the mic and it will set off the pagers. Just please if you are going to test like that, please make sure you are not going to interfere with anyone or anything.

If you can't test with that method and you have multiple pagers to play with, try slightly tweaking the settings on a few of them so that when the test page at 6 goes out, you will be able to try multiple settings at the same time.

I have not used any other pagers than minitors, so I can really help with suggestions. Have you actually asked motorola what the programming error has been? Or will they not tell you?

 

[W2GLD]

Make sure all the pagers in question have been upgraded to 3.0 firmware AND that you are using the latest PPS software, which is v1.7.2...

Here's the link to the latest PPS: http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/Two-Way+Radios+and+Pagers+-+Business/Pagers/MINITOR+V_US-EN#support_tab

 

[holweger23]

Make sure all the pagers in question have been upgraded to 3.0 firmware AND that you are using the latest PPS software, which is v1.7.2...

Yes they all are and I have the new software

 

[holweger23]

Yea I don't have a radio and I'm to close to the repeater ha so i will just wait and Motorola doesn't say much at all. From what I can tell the codes look the same as when we get them back even in engineering mode. I'm thinking there are replacing boards and not owning up to the product is failing. A guy on the department had a spare that just sits in the charger and it's doing the same thing he hasn't ever brought it outside even. We tried to replace batteries to see if that helps but it didn't and this is why we are willing to buy 50 new pagers because Motorola is not saying much. Thanks for your help

 

[KD2DLL]

Swissphone
I have not personally used these, but I have heard good things about them. They do have a 30 day trial for them so maybe if your seriously considering making a switch, look into the trial. See if it works for a month before you go and spend a bunch of money on them.

 

[Avery93]

My department has also had the same problem with quite a few of our non-stored voice Minitor 5s. It does NOT appear to be programming related, as I have tried cloning a known working codeplug from another pager into the 'bad' ones, and tried building a completely new codeplug. They are 4 year old non-stored voice units and the reset function is set to "Revert".

Basically what happens is they seem to go "deaf" to everything except the tones programmed into the pager, unless the transmitter is close by; in which case they do receive voice but the audio sounds very low and distorted. As an example: In monitor mode and listening to the repeater we are dispatched off of (about 8 miles away), a bad pager will not hear any traffic until the tones are received. It will then alert normally, and as soon as the second tone is complete, it goes back to being deaf. Keying up a 5 watt portable nearby results in very low and distorted audio, almost as if the pager is off-frequency a bit.

I have no idea what would cause them to go "deaf" to normal traffic yet still receive our tones and alert for them. Maybe some component between the receive and audio section of the pagers? We send the units to Motorola and and generally don't have trouble out of the new units (as I understand it they send you back a completely different pager but with your programming and serial #). It's been so long since we've sent any in that I don't remember what Motorola said was wrong with them, or if they even did.

I actually have two of these bad pagers that we haven't bothered sending in sitting beside my desk right now. I may have to reprogram one to a MURS channel and do some further testing.

 

[holweger23]

Yea thanks for the input and help we have 1 swissphone we are using other then that I don't know any others. And yea Motorola just keeps saying programming.