New to Motorola, XPR8300s, and CPS -- Questions

[COBrien]

Hello all -- I don't post here often, but I do my best to read and absorb information. Back in February I set up a local GMRS repeater with an XPR8300 I purchased from Used-Radios(dot)com. The unit came pre-programmed to my frequencies, with the DCS tones I requested, and with a Celwave mobile duplexer properly (I assume...) tuned.

Like a good radio head, I promptly signed up for a business account with Motorola so I could download CPS, and also paid my money for my wideband EID. Based on conversations with Used-Radios, if I were to connect my repeater to my laptop without the 25 kHz EID, it would revert to narrowband.

Last night I finally figured out how to register my wideband EID in CPS. I have a USB cable for the repeater from BlueMax49ers, so I think I'm all set. Right?

There are a couple of things I'd like to change about how my repeater operates. Specifically,

1. I'd like to change the tone and WPM of the CWID.

2. I'd also like to reduce the hangtime -- it's currently set to about 3 seconds.

3. Lastly, I'd like to add a courtesy beep if possible.

My question to the repeater experts (before I just go fiddling around with this thing) is this: Are there any tips or tricks you'd care to share with a FNG like me when it comes to CPS and/or Motorola repeaters in general? I know #1 and #2 are possible (I saw them in the CPS user guide), but is #3 possible?

Is there anything else you wish you'd known before you started fooling with programming a repeater?

Thanks in advance, and I apologize for the long-winded post.

[gortex2]

So first thing to do is make sure your PC, CPS and USB cable all are working as one. I only use factory MSI stuff so drivers are never an issue. Many have driver issues with aftermarket USB stuff.

Open CPS - Read Radio then save thecodeplug somewhere and dont touch it. Then modify or make your changes and write to repeater. Then save as a new file name. 

For you changes

Lastly I assume you have CPS 16 ? Or is it 2.0 ?

 

[Radioguy7268]

The XPR8300 is very first generation for the TRBO series repeaters. It's really just 2 XPR mobiles in a box, with some specialized hardware connecting them, and specific firmware loaded into the mobiles to allow them to act as a repeater.  The XPR8400 was the 'improved' 2nd generation unit with more memory, more features, and a better cooling fan configuration.

There is no option for an analog 'courtesy tone' in the standard XPR8300 configuration. You can get that courtesy beep if you add on an external control panel.

Assuming that you have CPS 2.0 from Motorola with the Wideband EID - I would not bother to mess with the repeater other than pulling a codeplug & storing that copy for future reference if you might ever need it. It might be a good idea to also grab the  MotoTrbo "Tuner" software & use that to read & store the tuning settings for the repeater just in case.

There is absolutely no advantage to 'upgrading' the XPR8300 to CPS 2.0

If you have a working machine, and it does what you need, I'd really think twice before trying to touch it with anything above CPS 16. There are wideband enabled versions of CPS 16 'in the wild'  that would allow you to make the CWID changes & hangtime that you're asking about.

[COBrien]

7 hours ago, gortex2 said:

So first thing to do is make sure your PC, CPS and USB cable all are working as one. I only use factory MSI stuff so drivers are never an issue. Many have driver issues with aftermarket USB stuff.

Open CPS - Read Radio then save thecodeplug somewhere and dont touch it. Then modify or make your changes and write to repeater. Then save as a new file name. 

For you changes

Lastly I assume you have CPS 16 ? Or is it 2.0 ?

 

Everything I see is CPS 2.0. That's what Used-Radios provided me via e-mail, and what I downloaded from Motorola directly.

I had intended to read the original codeplug, save it, and not mess with it. I do this with all my handhelds and mobile radios, as well.

4 hours ago, Radioguy7268 said:

The XPR8300 is very first generation for the TRBO series repeaters. It's really just 2 XPR mobiles in a box, with some specialized hardware connecting them, and specific firmware loaded into the mobiles to allow them to act as a repeater.  The XPR8400 was the 'improved' 2nd generation unit with more memory, more features, and a better cooling fan configuration.

There is no option for an analog 'courtesy tone' in the standard XPR8300 configuration. You can get that courtesy beep if you add on an external control panel.

Assuming that you have CPS 2.0 from Motorola with the Wideband EID - I would not bother to mess with the repeater other than pulling a codeplug & storing that copy for future reference if you might ever need it. It might be a good idea to also grab the  MotoTrbo "Tuner" software & use that to read & store the tuning settings for the repeater just in case.

There is absolutely no advantage to 'upgrading' the XPR8300 to CPS 2.0

If you have a working machine, and it does what you need, I'd really think twice before trying to touch it with anything above CPS 16. There are wideband enabled versions of CPS 16 'in the wild'  that would allow you to make the CWID changes & hangtime that you're asking about.

After more research last night, I was fairly certain a "courtesy tone" was a no-go, without an external controller.

As mentioned in response to gortex2, my plan was to read the codeplug, save it, and store it somewhere it won't be lost.

The "upgrade" to CPS 2.0 was done before I purchased the radio. According to Used-Radios, they had updated it to the latest firmware, etc. prior to listing it for sale. That is what it is, and I'm just trying to move forward with it. I thought I had done all the research I needed to before pulling the trigger on this machine, but it seems the more I learn the less I understand. Frankly, part of me wishes I'd saved up for another couple of months and purchased a BridgeCom, like I had originally planned to do.

Having said all that, if ALL I want to do is shorten the hangtime and make minor changes to the CWID, and make no further changes to the existing codeplug, is there still a risk of "bricking" this radio?

[COBrien]

@Radioguy7268, I have located and downloaded CPS 16.0 Build 828 from Motorola. I have my wideband EID key.

My question is this: Once a radio has been programmed with CPS 2.0, is it best to continue to use CPS 2.0, or can the radio be reverted back to CPS 16.0? In other words, has my radio now been effectively "converted," and no longer compatible with CPS 16.0 without additional work?

[Radioguy7268]

If it was already written with CPS 2.0 - then there's no going back. (Well, there are ways, but nobody wants to send a rookie down that path!)

Good news is, if they already did the updates & got it to 2.0, then there's little harm in using CPS 2.0 to make the changes you desire. You will need to activate that EID for the software in order to write a wideband frequency back into the codeplug. Hopefully someone already walked you through that part.

You have a much better repeater than a Bridgecomm in my opinion, and I wouldn't get too worried about writing to it with CPS 2.0   The troubles come if you take something with really old original firmware & try to write it with the latest/greatest.  Sounds like Used-Radios already did the work to get you up to date.

[COBrien]

6 minutes ago, Radioguy7268 said:

If it was already written with CPS 2.0 - then there's no going back. (Well, there are ways, but nobody wants to send a rookie down that path!)

Good news is, if they already did the updates & got it to 2.0, then there's little harm in using CPS 2.0 to make the changes you desire. You will need to activate that EID for the software in order to write a wideband frequency back into the codeplug. Hopefully someone already walked you through that part.

You have a much better repeater than a Bridgecomm in my opinion, and I wouldn't get too worried about writing to it with CPS 2.0   The troubles come if you take something with really old original firmware & try to write it with the latest/greatest.  Sounds like Used-Radios already did the work to get you up to date.

I have already activated the EID in the software. That was my primary concern, and I couldn't get it figured out until last night. Turns out there is a difference between a Device License and a Software/Program License. Now that I've figured it out, it makes perfect sense.

Someone on YouTube has shared 15 of the CPS 2.0 training module videos, so I watched all of those last night. They don't cover everything, but I suspect the video series was intended by Motorola to bring a tech up to speed on the differences between CPS 2.0 and the previous software, so that makes sense.

[COBrien]

I just wanted to come back and follow up.

Based on @Radioguy7268's comment, I went ahead and gave it a try. Honestly, aside from CPS 2.0 being  S  L  O  W, the user interface is pretty similar to CHIRP (or is CHIRP similar to Moto CPS? I don't know). I saved the original codeplug, made the changes I wanted, wrote to the radio, saved the new codeplug as a separate file, and got out.

I do think shortening the hangtime to 1 second (from 5) was a bit too much. I may go back in tonight and bump it to 2 seconds.

Thanks, guys. I'm trying to learn.