CDM Professional Radio CPS - MDC Signaling Greyed-Out

[KN6FCR]

Hi everyone. Currently trying to set up MDC1200 on a couple radios. Came across the signaling menus when trying to edit a conventional personality being greyed out. Find it strange since I could configure a mdc call list and edit some options. But I cannot apply it to a channel. Weird. I'll put a screenshot here. Software version: R05.10.02

 

[emtprt]

What model radio? Certain models don’t support MDC1200.

 

[KN6FCR]

What model radio? Certain models don’t support MDC1200.

CDM1550LS+ If it supports analog trunking I’d guess it would support mdc. Plus I remember reading somewhere that it did but I guess not somehow

 

[INDaviation]

I think the LS+ models don't support MDC. My HT1250LS+ does not.

 

[emtprt]

I have run into trunking models that won’t support mdc1200 signaling from the factory. You need to decode the long model number that starts with AA. The repeater/builder.com site website has a reference for CDM radios.

 

[scfd4]

Definitely supports MDC1200 encode/decode

 

[a417]

What version of the CPS was the radio last hit with? Usually it will throw a "codeplug too new" error if it's way out of wack, but that might be a slightly incompatible codeplug in the radio with your CPS. 5.10.02 is quite old, do you have access to newer?

I've fought long and hard with Pro series signalling (especially the LS+ models), what are the last 3 of the model number?

 

[K2NEC]

There is a 16 channel version of the CDM1550LS+ that is meant to be a trunking radio. It supports MDC on LTR ONLY. This is likely the model that OP has.
The 160 channel version supports MDC on analog as well as LTR.

If the model number ends in 5AN then it's the 16 channel only version, if it ends in 6AN it's the 160 channel version supporting MDC on both. Technically both models allow MDC encode and decode, it just depends on whether it's on conventional or LTR

 

[mmckenna]

Not all support MDC. What is the exact model number of your radio? Should start with AAM##XXX#XX#

 

[a417]

If he's lucky it's 6AN or 7AN.

We fought for years with the purchasing agent on our LTR CDM1550LS+s. Empty promises, questionable controllers, nonsense, incompatible options w/ requirements etc... Shortly before the sunset of those radios, a few of them made depot trips - and came back with firmware that supported more signalling options.

 

[AM909]

There sure seems to be a lot of discrepancy between model nomenclature as-documented and as-built out there. Having said that, according to my secret decoder ring spreadsheet, the CDM model charts say that the "Feature level" (the 11th character / last numeric) has these values:

• 1: 4 channel (CDM750)
• 2: 64 channel (CDM1250)
• 5: 128 channel (CDM1550, CDM1550•LS, CDM1550•LS+); MDC on LTR on VHFHi only (no mention of MDC on other bands)
• 6: 160 channel (CDM1550•LS+); QCII, MDC on LTR and conventional on VHFHi, MDC on conventional on other bands
• 8: 160 channel (only in the Radio Model Information and not in any config shown in the Model Charts)

 

[K2NEC]

What sense does it make to have MDC only on VHF?

 

[AM909]

I always had the impression that the odd variety of combinations were driven by large customer contracts. Instead of giving away a feature to everyone else, or creating the overhead of an SP, or needing to change or re-bid an RFQ, they just add the feature to one narrow combination. Perhaps @a417 's agency was responsible.

 

[a417]

I always had the impression that the odd variety of combinations were driven by large customer contracts. Instead of giving away a feature to everyone else, or creating the overhead of an SP, or needing to change or re-bid an RFQ, they just add the feature to one narrow combination. Perhaps @a417 's agency was responsible.

It was really very weird, we complained (small agency mind you, maybe 50 radios total of the entire town's allotment) about being told this - and getting that. Right before the radio shop 'cut ties' with moto (not sure who drove that issue to the ground) we were told to exchange our entire allocation - and got these fresh from the depot frankenradios with UHF 6AN and 7AN HTs that didn't match up with literature like @AM909 posted. It worked, we kinda sorta got what we needed, and those radios were unicorns compared to the rest of what's out there.

I'd hate to think the radio shop we had forced on us had anything to do with it, it would ...'modify'...their reputation in my mind. I legitimately think that someone at moto said "we can get these guys off our backs if we click these boxes on the firmware builder and see if it works".