TDMA issues

[Ilikeradiostuff]

I have in my possession several Unication G4s. All are attempting to be programmed on a P25 TDMA system, all being successful on a FDMA system, over a week we are now operating with TDMA simulcast. One pager did not need any updating and works great, one pager brand new works great, a pager that is programmed exactly the same doesn’t work and won’t connect.

Two are same model, different firmware, older FW works, newer FW doesn’t work

Newest and different model with new FW works… has anyone had a similar issue or suggestion? I plan to update FW as soon as Unication will email it to me, hopefully that is soon, besides that we have a good guessing game on our hands, thanks for any advice

 

[IAmSixNine]

I have 4 G4 with v1.33 and 2 G4 with V1.34 all working with various systems. Several are Phase 2. No issues on my end.

 

[jtwalker]

How does it not work? I have a G5 that worked with FW 1.33 and works currently with 1.34 on a phase 2 simulcast system.

 

[Ilikeradiostuff]

How does it not work? I have a G5 that worked with FW 1.33 and works currently with 1.34 on a phase 2 simulcast system.

Does not connect, always is out of range

 

[Ilikeradiostuff]

I have 4 G4 with v1.33 and 2 G4 with V1.34 all working with various systems. Several are Phase 2. No issues on my end.

Thank you for the reply, I’ll try copying the working one and possibly updating both to newer FW, thanks

 

[KevinC]

Does not connect, always is out of range

So it worked just fine before the change to TDMA?

 

[BenScan]

Does not connect, always is out of range

Are you using the same programming file for all of them? A common cause of "out of range" messages is that the system and site information is not correct. You might try the wildcards "FF" instead to see if it works with less specificity.

 

[Ilikeradiostuff]

So it worked just fine before the change to TDMA?

Yes, we have had the equipment available and finally made the switch.

 

[Ilikeradiostuff]

Are you using the same programming file for all of them? A common cause of "out of range" messages is that the system and site information is not correct. You might try the wildcards "FF" instead to see if it works with less specificity.

It is the same file, it’s still the correct file for the applicable model though. One pager using the same site and frequency info works fine while the other one does not. I will try the wildcard and see if that changes it. Thanks

 

[IAmSixNine]

Now that you have mentioned it shows out of range. Common things to check are the RFSS and Site id are both in Hex. Making sure you have the correct control channels.

 

[KevinC]

Yes, we have had the equipment available and finally made the switch.

So what (if anything) did you change in the Unication for the switch to TDMA?

 

[Ilikeradiostuff]

Now that you have mentioned it shows out of range. Common things to check are the RFSS and Site id are both in Hex. Making sure you have the correct control channels.

They are all correct but I’ll have to double check, thanks

 

[Ilikeradiostuff]

So what (if anything) did you change in the Unication for the switch to TDMA?

Not a single thing, been programmed the same for almost a year on one of them

 

[Firebuff66]

Maybe it's hardware? As said above put the pager in diagnostics mode, then hit RSSI cal and see what the RSSI is for the system with the bad pager and a good pager next to each other
They should be the same-ish, if not maybe the center pin is loose on the board or some other hardware issue.
I was doing 60 G4s for a customer and we had 2 with hardware issues 1 was a broken center pin

Just a thought for you. Good luck!

 

[tvengr]

If you are on the AIRS statewide system, I notice that Shelby County has 7 sites. Some of the scanners may be grabbing hold of a different site. It could also be due to new hardware. Here is a message from another thread that may be of interest (4/21/2023):

There was a link on the Unication website to send an e-mail and request 1.34. I sent the e-mail and got this reply from the company:

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to Unication to request the Firmware V1.34 update. We apologize for the delayed response to your request and appreciate your patience. Firmware V1.34 was temporarily removed from our website to investigate some reported issues with this update. We have been working hard to resolve these issues, but currently our guidance is that customers should not change or update firmware on G-Series Pagers unless experiencing an issue and instructed to do so by your Authorized Dealer or a Unication Support Technician.

The V1.34 firmware release was an internal update to accommodate newer hardware. This update offers no benefits or enhancements to the average user and has no impact on performance. At present, we advise customers against changing firmware versions until further notice. If you are experiencing an issue or problem, we recommend first contacting your Authorized Dealer for assistance, and if necessary, they may escalate the issue to Unication should they require additional support.

As this is an evolving situation, we will keep you updated when more information becomes available. We appreciate your understanding. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Unication Customer Service
Unication USA, Inc.
Phone: 817-303-9320
Email: Info@Unication.com
www.Unication.com

 

[Ilikeradiostuff]

Maybe it's hardware? As said above put the pager in diagnostics mode, then hit RSSI cal and see what the RSSI is for the system with the bad pager and a good pager next to each other
They should be the same-ish, if not maybe the center pin is loose on the board or some other hardware issue.
I was doing 60 G4s for a customer and we had 2 with hardware issues 1 was a broken center pin

Just a thought for you. Good luck!

This was the issue, forgot to update but I changed everything and finally looked down and noticed the pin was pushed down two threads. A fellow associate told this user to try a counterfeit antenna and that caused the issue, a genuine Motorola antenna with the plastic trim cut off works perfectly until a replacement is available. Thanks for the reply.

 

[KevinC]

This was the issue, forgot to update but I changed everything and finally looked down and noticed the pin was pushed down two threads. A fellow associate told this user to try a counterfeit antenna and that caused the issue, a genuine Motorola antenna with the plastic trim cut off works perfectly until a replacement is available. Thanks for the reply.

So it was exactly like an instructor told me years ago...when something stops working the first place to go is the last place a human was.