Assembly Hints and Notes

This page is a collection of assembly instructions, kit changes and updates, some programming tips, and brief trouble shooting tips compiled from resolving problems I have experienced while constructing  programmers for Midland XTR, Syntech II, and Bantam radios.   If you have a problem with your kit and unable to resolve it, please contact me for assistance.  If you discover that a part is missing from your kit, please email me. 

December 1, 2008 - A construction guide is now posted to assist you in construction of your kit.  Pictures coming soon. 

April 23, 2008 -  The vender and color for the LED has changed.   I am now shipping GREEN LED's.  The flat side of the LED is  oriented toward the edge of the circuit board and not toward the IC.  R8 has been changed from 680 ohms to 1 k ohms.   All capacitors in your kit are now 2.2 uf including C5.   The vendor for the circuit board has changed.  

Current Parts List:

May 15, 2007 - A new circuit board is now being shipped that accommodates the 10 pin IDC connector.  The cut out notch on the side of the connector should face toward the DB9 connector on the circuit board. NOTE:  This new scheme will allow you to interchange a much longer programmer to radio cable if needed.  

March 24, 2006 -   If you prefer, you can plug your programmer into a standard serial cable with DB9 M/F connectors.   A null-modem cable will not work.  

Hint for attaching the IDC Connector onto the ribbon cable

A method that seems to work well is to take a pair of slip joint pliers, open them up with the jaws set wide, then gently squeeze the top and bottom of the IDC connector together trying to maintain equal pressure in the center of the connector.

Troubleshooting 

MOST IMPORTANT!!!  -  Most radio software was written to run under DOS. The computers of that era were slow in comparison to computers of today and the serial port hardware has changed. It is recommended that you use an older PC for programming.  Windows 95, 98, and 98SE seems to work fine provided you are not running the software in a DOS window.  This means you must either shut down the computer and restart in MS-DOS mode or boot to a command prompt (pressing F8 repeatedly after computer does memory check and selecting COMMAND PROMPT from the boot list when it appears).  If you do not have an older computer, I would encourage you to find an older Pentium 1 laptop with CPU speeds from 75 to 133 mhz.  I use and recommend the Toshiba Satellite and Tecra series and these can be found on Ebay reasonably priced.  

Some models require you to power up the radio AFTER the software has been started and the programmer connected.  Also, the radio being in SCAN mode can affect the detection or programming process.  Syntech II and Bantams seem prone to this. 

Does the software work with Windows 2000, XP, or Vista?  Some of our customers have reported success using Windows 2000 and XP on Intel P3 processors with the Windows programming software.  

If you are using Windows ME, 2000, XP, or Vista,  you may experience problems in reading and writing to the radio because they do not have a true DOS mode for DOS based software and have issues addressing the com port in the way the software wants it done.  This can even apply if your software was written for Windows because of incompatibilities with the above operating systems.   If you experience problems under one of the above operating systems, always check your programmer on a computer with an operating system that has a track record of working with the software.  

Some theory of operation and troubleshooting hints:

The XTR1 receives it's power from the radio.  The LED indicates that your programmer is receiving power from radio and the radio must be turned on with power applied.  Some IDC plugs do not have a tab molded onto the side and the connector can be inserted backwards.  If your connector does not have this tab, the side with the arrow or pointer will always face the side of the connector in the radio that has the notch cut out.  If you reverse the plug by mistake, it will not damage the programmer or radio. 

If the LED is not lit, is the programmer connected to the radio and the radio  turned on? Check the orientation of the LED.  Some printers do not print the parts layout with the LED position defined very well.   The flat side on the round base of the LED should face toward outside edge of the circuit board and not toward the max 232 IC .  Also check to make sure R1 is a 10 ohm (brown-black-black-gold) resister.  

If the LED does not light and is inserted correctly,  the programmer may not be receiving power. Check the following:

1.  Verify the red stripe on the 10 pin cable is on the same side as the arrow on the IDE connectors and that the notch on the 10 pin header is oriented on the side toward the DB9 connector.  

2.  Examine the circuit board for excessive solder (shorted traces or pins).  A magnifying glass is very helpful.  

3.  You can verify the power connection by measuring the voltage on R1 (10 ohms - Brown-Black-Black-Gold) with the negative lead on the ground trace of the circuit board.  You must have the programmer connected to the radio and the radio powered up.  You should have 4 to 5 volts on each side.  A burned or open R1 would indicate a short on the 5 volt line on the circuit board.  

4.  Check each wire in the cable with an ohmmeter to make sure the cable has continuity from the circuit board to the radio connection plug.  

If the LED is lit:

1.  Examine the circuit board for excessive solder (shorted traces or pins). A magnifying glass is very helpful.  

2.  Verify IC's and capacitors are inserted properly.  Is C1 positioned properly?  It's orientation is opposite of C2 and C3 and the + side should be on the side pointing toward the DB9 connector.  If C1 is put in backwards and power was applied, it must be replaced with a new capacitor because the reverse polarity may have damaged it.   Are all resisters correctly located?  Next to the DB9 should be (2) orange-orange-red-gold resisters.  Beside the black IDC connector starting at the edge of the board is a brown-black-black-gold resister and then (4) brown-black-red-gold resisters.

3.  Sometimes the plating on the plated through holes is bad and the traces on top of the board do not solder to the IC pins.  Using a fine tip soldering iron, solder pins 4 and 5 on the 74HC00 and pins 2,  9, and 13 on the MAX232 on the top of the board.  

4.  Check each wire in the cable with an ohmmeter to make sure the cable has continuity from the circuit board to the radio connection plug. 

If your programmer still does not work after performing the above checks, email and we will try to help you resolve the problem.  Of the 100+ programmers we have sold, I have only seen 2 IC failures.