XTL5000 05 Screen Blank at Power Up.

[P25MotoGuy]

Hello. I think i've got a problem with my XTL5000..
I powered it up after being off for about a year. It was running perfect for about 5 minutes, and then the screen shut off. I have an 05 head on it.

What I see is this:
When i press the emergency button + the left program button and press power, the display turns on and I see "CH ID #1" through 4.

If I just press the power button, i see the right 3 lights flash normally, then the display looks like it flashes, but I see nothing on the screen.

Does anyone know if I lost my programming somehow, or if this is cooked?

Also, I have various firmware versions for this, but have no idea what is currently loaded on it. anyway to tell?

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[KevinC]

Sounds like it may have been inhibited. Was this on or monitoring a trunked system?

 

[P25MotoGuy]

yes, it was monitoring a trunked system. I was thinking that this is what has happened.. is there anyway to factory reset this to get back the screen, or do I need to re-flash? I've never been in this situation, so I'm not sure what my next step is. If I need to flash, I can, but I'd rather do this as a last resort if possible. I have no idea what flash was on it which is why i'm nervous about flashing the latest code on it.

 

[phillydjdan]

If you are at all unsure... DO NOT. You could permanently brick the radio if you don't know what your doing

 

[com501]

Why oh why don't people buy scanners??

 

[phillydjdan]

Because for some, like me, scanners really do suck and Moto gear does a much better job. The Philadelphia region is LSM hell. That said, I'm also very knowledgeable in how to program them not to affiliate (which is how his got stunned in the first-place) as well as manipulate certain software to revive it.

 

[clbsquared]

You have 2 options. Sell it for parts or have it re-flashed and sell it. If it was in fact inhibited, then you failed to properly program it for NAS. Reviving the radio and trying to use it again is a sure way for it to be inhibited again.

 

[MTS2000des]

and if indeed the radio is affiliating, than a crime is being committed every single time it sends an ISW. Pro tip: no one ever got arrested for programming a scanner.

 

[phillydjdan]

That's a little extreme lol

 

[clbsquared]

That's a little extreme lol

Only for the ones that don't do it right.

 

[wa8pyr]

yes, it was monitoring a trunked system. I was thinking that this is what has happened.. is there anyway to factory reset this to get back the screen, or do I need to re-flash? I've never been in this situation, so I'm not sure what my next step is. If I need to flash, I can, but I'd rather do this as a last resort if possible. I have no idea what flash was on it which is why i'm nervous about flashing the latest code on it.

Only way to get an XTL5000 back from being inhibited without involving the system admin staff is to send it off to the Motorola depot. They'll charge you around $400 to maybe fix it, and even then might still get the system admin staff involved.

The current crop of Uniden scanners are good enough with LSM and non-affiliate scanning is so limited in capabilities that it's probably a risk not worth taking, unless you're willing to risk the multi-hundred $$$ investment when something goes wrong. . . like now.

 

[phillydjdan]

Better yet, buy a Unication G4 or G5 pager. You get the performance of a Motorola radio without the pesky affiliation issues...

 

[com501]

XTL and XTS are no longer factory supported.

 

[N4KVE]

Only way to get an XTL5000 back from being inhibited without involving the system admin staff is to send it off to the Motorola depot.

Absolutely untrue. That may be the only “legitimate” way, but certainly not the only way. Years ago I found a radio, & turned it in to the property owners. In 90 days when it went unclaimed, it was returned to me. It had been inhibited, but a friend resolved that problem. It worked for many years after that.

 

[wa8pyr]

Absolutely untrue. That may be the only “legitimate” way, but certainly not the only way. Years ago I found a radio, & turned it in to the property owners. In 90 days when it went unclaimed, it was returned to me. It had been inhibited, but a friend resolved that problem. It worked for many years after that.

Be my guest. If one of the agencies on the system I administer did such a thing they would be in a world of hurt on multiple levels.

 

[N4KVE]

Be my guest. If one of the agencies on the system I administer did such a thing they would be in a world of hurt on multiple levels.

Except agency owned radios don’t usually get inhibited, because they’re allowed to be there. And should a legit radio get inhibited, it can just as easily be uninhibited. But we’re talking about radios being used by scanning enthusiasts because scanners have poor RX audio in comparison to real radios. So for them, a trip to a “friend” is financially preferable, & the friend doesn’t ask questions. Of course, this is all hypothetical.

 

[wa8pyr]

Except agency owned radios don’t usually get inhibited, because they’re allowed to be there. And should a legit radio get inhibited, it can just as easily be uninhibited. But we’re talking about radios being used by scanning enthusiasts because scanners have poor RX audio in comparison to real radios. So for them, a trip to a “friend” is financially preferable, & the friend doesn’t ask questions. Of course, this is all hypothetical.

Of course. ;-)

As a system administrator, I'm generally uneasy about people programming radios up for non-affiliate scanning. There's just too many ways for someone who doesn't quite know what they're doing to wreak serious havoc on things. I have no qualms about trying it myself for experimental purposes with a legitimate ID I can issue to myself, but then I've been doing this for over 30 years; even so, there are still things that can hop out and surprise me.

 

[MTS2000des]

What he said. Those that do this for a living and not a hobby all say the same thing. We all can't be liars. At the end of the day, it's one's choice to play the game. Get it right, no one cares. Get it wrong, it could be life changing consequences, for many involved. As I said, no one ever interfered with a trunked (or conventional) radio system programming and using a scanner. No one ever went to jail or got a criminal history for programming a scanner. The same cannot be said about those who played the game and lost. I guarantee you an SDS100/200 fully "whored out" and lifetime subscription to RR is pennies compared to legal fees/retainers, court costs, etc.

 

[phillydjdan]

I'm sorry, but I am hard pressed to remember a single instance where a radio affiliated that was unauthorized and it led to imprisonment or even criminal charges. The idiots keying up and talking on the radio? That's another story. But please list the news articles where a radio affiliation (and only a radio affiliation) led to charges. You can't all be liars, but you CAN all be fed the same Kool Aid from Mother M. Those reps talk mad **** and system admins eat it up like candy. It does NOT make it true. Remember, the one feeding you info is the one selling you the system. Please stop telling people they will go to jail over this. They won't. I mean, come on, the FCC isn't even enforcing anything anymore. When's the last time you got an enforcement agent on the phone? What a joke that process is. The sky isn't falling. The radio gets inhibited, end of story.

 

[MTS2000des]

I'm sorry, but I am hard pressed to remember a single instance where a radio affiliated that was unauthorized and it led to imprisonment or even criminal charges. The idiots keying up and talking on the radio? That's another story. But please list the news articles where a radio affiliation (and only a radio affiliation) led to charges. You can't all be liars, but you CAN all be fed the same Kool Aid from Mother M. Those reps talk mad **** and system admins eat it up like candy. It does NOT make it true. Remember, the one feeding you info is the one selling you the system. Please stop telling people they will go to jail over this. They won't. I mean, come on, the FCC isn't even enforcing anything anymore. When's the last time you got an enforcement agent on the phone? What a joke that process is. The sky isn't falling. The radio gets inhibited, end of story.

Plenty of examples of unauthorized trunking radios causing criminal charges. You know it. I know it. Michigan, Colorado and Ohio all have statewide systems and all have had high profile cases of bootleg subscriber issues making the news resulting in arrests. But the "scanner crowd" always knows better than the professionals who have been trained, certified, vetted and actually get a paycheck to do this stuff. The sound advice is given. when it's not heeded and people like the O/P pop up with their bricked radios, it shows that those in system administration/support have job security.

Your failure to understand how cloned radios on trunking systems isn't just a nuisance, it's a safety of life issue for the legit users. If one wants to gamble and potentially put the risk of others at peril just so they can have a "po-po lookalike radio", their risk and their consequences. And let's be totally freaking honest, it's the ONLY reason people get them who aren't authorized users. They want the LOOK of the legit subscriber radio with COP SOUNDS blaring from their hips or from their console in their PPV or CPVI or whatever. Say it isn't so. There's no other legitimate reason with scanners like the SDS, Unication pagers or if one just HAS to have a quality subscriber, BK KNG. But I know, the KNG isn't an APX and not what the po-po tote.

The dude's radio got popped because it was bootlegging on someone's system. FACT is every time it calls home with an ISW it's a felony. FWIW, I have no problem getting the FCC EB on the phone. I am on first name basis with the SE director of enforcement. Got to attend an RFIM class with him. So don't be stupid and give dumb advice.