reading / writing to APX radios

[c5corvette]

Okay - newbie here so don't shoot me with all the questions... 7 of them:


1) Can I use the USB driver with a data cable and write a Visual Basic application to read the RSSI and bit-error rate data from the APX-7000? (I am not asking if I can write it - I am asking if the radio will allow the data to be read from it or if MOTO has engineered something to keep people from reading it somehow.)

2) In the APX CPS software classes described online at Motorola, it talks about creating “Templates” – so, how do you create a “Template” and what is a template? How is this different from me creating a baseline codeplug and saving my base codeplug?

3) The CPS tutorial talks about being able to use the “Clone” functionality to copy a portion of a codeplug to another radio or codeplug? How is this done? I want to merge portions of other peoples codeplugs with my own.

4) Is there an easy way to merge code plugs or programming info? For example, I have built a baseline code plug for my department and the guy down the road has a nice baseline codeplug for national interop. I’d like the easiest way to merge the two? Cut and Paste? Drag and Drop? Any suggestions to the XML process? Is there a third party editor that can be used?

5) For a trunking system, when you load an advanced system key (ASK) to a radio – will it automatically populate or validate any system info into the “Trk Sys” configuration?

6) Can you load multiple ASK’s to a radio even if you are not programming in that system yet?

7) Is there any way to program a radio to not affiliate with a trunk system, but still monitor it receive only? Would it still require the advanced system key to do so?


Any answers are appreciated?

 

[n2hbx]

APX Questions

Let me see if I can help....

Don't know the answer to question 1.

"Template" is basically MotoSpeak for what you are calling a "baseline" codeplug. Typically, a programmer will create a "template" for a system in order to facilitate programming a significant number of radios, for example, a migration from a conventional radio system to a trunked system. Generally, all of the radios will contain the same information, except for individual radio ID's. The programmer will then use the "Clone" function to shoot that template into each individual radio. The CPS allows for different types of cloning, such as completely duplicating a radio (including ID's) or cloning a group of radios and automatically incrementing the radio ID values as it programs each one. If, as you suggest, cloned a friend's radio to yours, your radio would would be a duplicate of your friends' radio, not the merged codeplugs you had intended.

The way to merge the codeplugs is to read your radio into a CPS session. Then, start a new session of the CPS and read your friend's radio into that one. Shrink the windows so you can place them side by side. Then you can drag and drop the desired information from your friends radio into yours. Now, to be perfectly honest, I haven't tried this with the APX CPS yet, so I don't know if it plays nice or not. It does work with XTS and XTL CPS as well as some others. Incidentally, you can use this method to clone a radio if you get an "Incompatible Feature Set" error when cloning.

You will need the ASK for any trunked system you wish to load. The APX software will not let you enter any system information without it. Thus, even if you only wanted to set up a radio to monitor, you need the appropriate ASK. BTW, you don't actually "load" ASKs into the radio; the ASKs are used to unlock the CPS. They won't auto populate anything. They allow you to enter the desired information.

Hope this helps...

Larry

 

[N4DES]

1) Can I use the USB driver with a data cable and write a Visual Basic application to read the RSSI and bit-error rate data from the APX-7000? (I am not asking if I can write it - I am asking if the radio will allow the data to be read from it or if MOTO has engineered something to keep people from reading it somehow.)

Don't know...being the product hasn't even been available for a year yet I'm not a lot has been done.

2) In the APX CPS software classes described online at Motorola, it talks about creating “Templates” – so, how do you create a “Template” and what is a template? How is this different from me creating a baseline codeplug and saving my base codeplug?

You read the radio, program in your specific information, save it. There you have it, a template.

3) The CPS tutorial talks about being able to use the “Clone” functionality to copy a portion of a codeplug to another radio or codeplug? How is this done? I want to merge portions of other peoples codeplugs with my own.

You have to follow the tutorial.

4) Is there an easy way to merge code plugs or programming info? For example, I have built a baseline code plug for my department and the guy down the road has a nice baseline codeplug for national interop. I’d like the easiest way to merge the two? Cut and Paste? Drag and Drop? Any suggestions to the XML process? Is there a third party editor that can be used?

Drag and drop is the easiest as long as the feature sets match (dual band, digital, etc.)

5) For a trunking system, when you load an advanced system key (ASK) to a radio – will it automatically populate or validate any system info into the “Trk Sys” configuration?

You load the advanced system key into the CPS program. You don't load it into the radio. Yes it will allow you to modify the trunking information at that point.

6) Can you load multiple ASK’s to a radio even if you are not programming in that system yet?

Again, you load the ASK's into the CPS and not the radio.

7) Is there any way to program a radio to not affiliate with a trunk system, but still monitor it receive only? Would it still require the advanced system key to do so?

No there isn't. Like the XTS1500, 2500, and 5000, they are all set to auto affiliate.
You you must use the ASK. The CPS will not recognize the software system key.

Also you might be better asking these questions on Batlabs. There are many more resident experts on that site.