vxr-5000

[ke9edf]

hello, i have recently obtained 3 vertex vxr-5000 25 watt repeaters, 2 are vhf and one is uhf. i was wondering if anybody has any recommendations for repeater controllers that can replace the old ones in them.

I think the programming software ce-8 for the old controllers are dos and practically extinct off the archives of the internet. i was wondering too IF anybody does find an replacement, can i reprogram the frequencies, PL tones, and cw id with a newer said programming software that can run on a newer windows machine? or do i still have to use and hunt down ce-8 dos?

anything will help!

 

[ke9edf]

side note: i also have no idea if the stock controller can do an cw id since im a little hesitant on ordering a programming cable from bluemax49ers

 

[MTS2000des]

The built in controller can do CW ID, time out timer and PL. You will need a DOS boot disk and real serial port but the software isn't particular about CPU/UART speed like a lot of older radios are. You will need it to program frequency and power, etc. There was at least one aftermarket "drop in" replacement controller from Pacific Research, known as the RI-310, that would replace the factory controller and supported a tone panel, auto patch, DVR and has link ports with an optional add-on card. They are long out of production and I think PACRES itself is out of business. The website is down and has been for a while.

The repeaters themselves are decent boxes, though it's best to drop the power to around 10-12 watts and use them with an amp. The internal power supplies are also known to take a crap. We have a pair of them for backup repeaters, the UHF has an RI-310 in it It uses Windows based software to program or via DTMF strings.

 

[ke9edf]

The built in controller can do CW ID, time out timer and PL. You will need a DOS boot disk and real serial port but the software isn't particular about CPU/UART speed like a lot of older radios are. You will need it to program frequency and power, etc. There was at least one aftermarket "drop in" replacement controller from Pacific Research, known as the RI-310, that would replace the factory controller and supported a tone panel, auto patch, DVR and has link ports with an optional add-on card. They are long out of production and I think PACRES itself is out of business. The website is down and has been for a while.

The repeaters themselves are decent boxes, though it's best to drop the power to around 10-12 watts and use them with an amp. The internal power supplies are also known to take a crap. We have a pair of them for backup repeaters, the UHF has an RI-310 in it It uses Windows based software to program or via DTMF strings.

yeah i have a laptop that has a serial rs232 port on it that i can whip up windows 9x/xp/7 on it so i'm not worried about that part. i plan on putting a vhf external PA in the future for 50 watts or so. but that's good to know that the stock controllers can do cw id.

now the problem im going to have to face now is, were do i find the ri-310 controller now? from what i can tell they were discontinued a few years ago and nobody's reselling them on fleabay or have extras.

 

[ke9edf]

i also dont really want to use up the dsub-25 pin serial port on it since i plan on possibly putting an mmdvm board on it for dmr or p25.

 

[MTS2000des]

Not sure how a 3rd party controller will play with an MMDVM board on the accessory connector. The RI-310 takes the place of the factory controller and is designed to work with it's own accessory board. As far as finding one, as I said, PacRes is out of business. Not too many RI-310s were sold, most of them are either still in service or long abandoned/disposed of. I would post a wanted ad on Eham.QRZ and see if anyone has one. Documentation is also scarce as the PacRes site is gone. though Repeater Builder does have the RI-300/310 manual on there.

 

[AK9R]

We have a VXR-5000 as a backup for our amateur radio 2m repeater. If we need to use the backup, we connect the VXR-5000 to the CAT 3000DXL controller that we normally use. Note that we've only used the backup once in the 15 years I've been involved with this repeater club. As I recall, the polarity of some of the control signals, i.e. COR, TOR, PTT, on the Yaesu are reversed from what some might consider "normal".

 

[ke9edf]

just curious, 1: is the cw id for the stock controller have a variable wpm setting? and 2: what tone does it sound like? as in is it hi pitched like an mtr2000 or is it low pitched?

 

[MTS2000des]

It has been so long since we've had our 5Ks and the standard controller DOES NOT do CW ID, only CTCSS encode/decode. Confirmed this with the manual on Repeater Builder

I apologize, was thinking of the VXR7000 which does do CW ID on it's built-in controller along with DCS support.

 

[ke9edf]

oh ok, so my best bet would be to get a cat 300dxl & ri-310 or something equivalent then. were would i look to purchase a a couple units that are compatible then? i know like you said throw out a wanted listing on qrz, but i think ill use that as a contingency. i also dont really want to get second hand unless i really have too. (sorry if i sound a little picky)

 

[ke9edf]

i just did i quick google search, the arcom rc210 "seems" like a decent one for what im looking for. do anybody think that would work?

 

[BabaYaga60]

Products

We have a number of radio repeater controllers to help you get your radios connected up as a repeater. To help with the task we also offer a couple handy extender cards and adapter to help with get…

ics-ctrl.com

 

[kg4ciu]

I nsuggest you set them up for allstar as you can huse the same interface for both analog and digital just like mmdvm