Radius GM300 programming

[sloop]

I am now the happy owner of a surplus Radius GM300. I know nothing about this radio...can it be programmed to cover 2 meter frequencies and how hard is it to program? All I have is the installation papers and user 'card'.

 

[mmckenna]

I am now the happy owner of a surplus Radius GM300. I know nothing about this radio...can it be programmed to cover 2 meter frequencies and how hard is it to program? All I have is the installation papers and user 'card'.

Maybe, depends on the exact model. Not hard to program, but the equipment needed to do it is not likely something you'll have laying around. You need a s-l-o-w PC with (ideally) a real serial port and able to boot up in DOS. It's a DOS program, doesn't usually run under a DOS window in Windows. You'll need the programming software (it's out there) and a programming cable.

There are many versions of GM300's, VHF and UHF. There are TWO VHF models, a 146-174MHz version and a 136-162 version. I've got a few of the 146-174 versions and they've programmed just fine down to upper 144MHz range. Your milage may vary. Some of them don't always behave very well below their rated frequencies, so it's a good idea to have someone with the proper gear check it out.

A good source of info is here: GM300/M120

 

[Project25_MASTR]

Decode the model number first.

Second find a computer with a real serial port (doesn't actually have to be slow).First gen dual core machines are fine.

Third, boot dos (FreeDOS works).

Fourth, find the GM300 RSS somewhere and run the HDINSTAL program.

Fifth, get a programming cable hooked up and run the RSS.

Sixth, read the radio and most importantly save the codeplug before you mess with it.

Seventh, edit the codeplug.

Eighth, write the radio.

Ninth, enjoy.

 

[N4KVE]

Since you claim " I know nothing about this radio", & want to use it on 2 meters, you have to make sure you have a VHF radio. List the model # here, & someone will tell you what band the radio is. If you bought a UHF radio, it will not work on 2 meters.

 

[SCPD]

GM300 programming

Post deleted

 

[N4KVE]

Couple of things, one like others have said, make sure you have a VHF radio.

Second, I'll assume even if you have a VHF, it's not gonna go below 146 Mhz, so you will need to learn the shift key trick. The link mmckenna gave you has good explanation on how to ascertain what radio you have, and what the shift key trick is , but I'm not gonna explain it here, because you just need to read all the info on the Batlabs page about your radio.

Third, and people may flame me on this, you can use Windows XP and Windows 7 to program GM300's and GP300's. I've done it over a hundred times, and never bricked one. When you open up the software, you're gonna get some sort of error pop up. (me programming these is getting more far and few between, so I don't remember exactly what the error says) There will be a box on the warning, just hit Ignore. And you will be able to program the radio. The read and write will run real slow, (due to parity errors like crazy) but it will read and write the radio. The one thing that won't work is radio settings(I believe it's F2) such as squelch setting, tx power, etc, the software will freeze up.
But reading the radio, setting the freqs, setting the tones,and writing to the radio will work.

Everyone's computer is different.While this may work for very few people, it won't work for most, unless all the stars are lined up in the sky, & there were 3 full moons that month. Seriously you are lucky that worked for you. I keep an old DOS machine to properly program old radios w/o a problem. Just like some people can use a serial/USB adapter, & others can't.

 

[Voyager]

Maybe, depends on the exact model. Not hard to program, but the equipment needed to do it is not likely something you'll have laying around. You need a s-l-o-w PC with (ideally) a real serial port and able to boot up in DOS. It's a DOS program, doesn't usually run under a DOS window in Windows. You'll need the programming software (it's out there) and a programming cable.http://www.batlabs.com/gm300.html

There is also Windows SW for this model that eliminate many of the issues with DOS and slow PCs.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

Everyone's computer is different.While this may work for very few people, it won't work for most, unless all the stars are lined up in the sky, & there were 3 full moons that month. Seriously you are lucky that worked for you. I keep an old DOS machine to properly program old radios w/o a problem. Just like some people can use a serial/USB adapter, & others can't.

I've seen some guys have good luck with DosBox...I never have so I never recommend it. From what I've dug up, maximizing the chance of success running DosBox on Win XP or Win 7 pretty much requires a real serial port. My view on that is if you have a real serial port, why not boot in a real dos environment as the RSS clock sampling on 1989+ Radius series radios actually can properly handle multi-core processors.

There is a XP 3rd party RSS but you can only add/edit modes. You can't do other stuff that you can do in the RSS.

 

[N4KVE]

It's not worth the agrivation. Several years ago I purchased a Toshiba Satellite DOS laptop for $20 loaded with many RSS programs, & of course a real serial port. Still works perfectly. Best $20 I ever spent.

 

[sloop]

Thanks everyone for the reply's. I have found a dealer that will program the radio and install it in my truck. I know that it is VHF but not which one or if it is 8 or 16 channels, will find that out when I take it to the shop. It looks bran new, was replaced because it was no longer compliant with the local standards.

 

[K4IHS]

I have DOS and the radio software loaded on a USB stick. During boot... choose "boot from USB". Works great.

 

[cmjonesinc]

I'd be happy to program it for free if you'll pay for shipping. I'm about an hour south of Greensboro so I can't imagine it would be much. You can send me a message if you'd like.

 

[jim202]

Decode the model number first.

Second find a computer with a real serial port (doesn't actually have to be slow).First gen dual core machines are fine.

Third, boot dos (FreeDOS works).

Fourth, find the GM300 RSS somewhere and run the HDINSTAL program.

Fifth, get a programming cable hooked up and run the RSS.

Sixth, read the radio and most importantly save the codeplug before you mess with it.

Seventh, edit the codeplug.

Eighth, write the radio.

Ninth, enjoy.

One major problem is the hard drive needs to be formatted in a FAT16 or FAT32 format. DOS will not run on a hard drive that is not in the FAT16 or FAT32 format.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

One major problem is the hard drive needs to be formatted in a FAT16 or FAT32 format. DOS will not run on a hard drive that is not in the FAT16 or FAT32 format.

Dual boot. Or use a USB bootable (actually have an ISO you can download and image to a thumb drive).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jim202]

An item no one has mentioned yet is that you will need a level converter to go from the RS232 serial port levels to something the radio is looking for. Most people generally use a RIB (Radio Interface Box) that does the level conversion for you.

You can make your own or buy a used one or buy a new one. No matter which way you go, you will need some kind of level converter.

If you go look on Batwing Laboratories you can find cable information and info on how to build your own RIB.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

An item no one has mentioned yet is that you will need a level converter to go from the RS232 serial port levels to something the radio is looking for. Most people generally use a RIB (Radio Interface Box) that does the level conversion for you.



You can make your own or buy a used one or buy a new one. No matter which way you go, you will need some kind of level converter.



If you go look on Batwing Laboratories you can find cable information and info on how to build your own RIB.

For first timers you generally assume ribless is the way they wish to proceed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cmjonesinc]

If you're just doing the one radio I'd get a ribless cable. EBay has them for like 10 bucks shipped. I have a mixture of those and ribbed ones. I bought one of the knock off $30 rib boxes and it works fine. If you're doing multiple different models the rib box may pay off later as the rib to radio cables tend to be cheaper than a single ribless cable.