VXD-720 technical info / pinout?

[wo9u]

I'm looking for a working pinout / schematic for a VXD-720 programming cable. I know this topic has come up before but I can't find where the actual answer has quite surfaced. Like the VXD-7200, I understand no internal level-shifter is required. I know for sure it's for sure an XPR6550 cable isn't right, and my additional searching on the web has resulted in minimal documentation for connector pinout.

Have also ordered a "compatible" cable from both ebay and AliExpress -- definitely not for a VXD-720 based on only two pins the presence of a PL2303 chip in the cable.

Lacking a working cable, I've been messing around with the closest I've found - a pinout for a VX-720 - unsuccessfully, surprise. Using some pogo-pins on my own test jigs with my VXD-720 I get driver errors which suggests more a USB wiring issue and not a driver issue -- my VXD-7200 with VSCE 5.5 works just fine.

More generically I'm looking for ANY technical info on the VXD-720 and would be quite happy to document what I find on my public webpages for future folks. E.g. just a simple connector pinout to any sort of technical documentation -- service manual, etc -- that might be available. Even anecdotal stories -- e.g. would a replacement XPR6550 shell work on a VXD-720? It sure looks close -- and maybe I just order one to find out.

Thanks in advance!
--Tim

 

[wo9u]

Following up -- found the pinout -- and put all of the information I have in one spot on my webpage:

https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~timc/e/vertex-vxd/

Includes what I found for a working hexedit for 25khz capability to sfccomb for VSCE, slightly different than for the M CPS. Still very interested in any additions, comments or corrections to the information on these units.

 

[RadioGuy7268]

I went down a similar path a few months back, trying to program up a couple of surplus NIB VXD-720 orphans that I just couldn't toss because they looked so much nicer than their XPR6550 cousins. After spending a few hours fiddling around online trying to figure things out (and avoid spending the $$ for a genuine Vertex & no longer available through Moto programming cable) - it dawned on me that some of those ugly 6550 cases with bad PTT switches could be put to use. 5 minutes later I was swapping the VXD guts into a used 6550 housing & updating firmware.

Your way is more elegant.

So yes, the XPR-6550 shell does fit, but the VXD shell looks so much more stylish IMHO. I haven't seen any Vertex replacement cases out there on the web, and most of the XPR6550 clone cases aren't all that great in build quality - especially for the keypads.

Thanks for figuring it out - and posting the results.

 

[wo9u]

That's great, thanks for sharing! I was wondering if the XPR6550 shell would work -- this would have probably been a faster avenue for me to arrive at a programmed radio, even if you include the time to be careful with that ribbon connector in there. I've made an attributed note/update on my page.