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The MCS2000 Index Page (anyone have a good photo we can use? I'd like one of a front mount model 1, model 2 and model 3, and one of a remote mount) Formerly Maintained by Robert Meister WA1MIK (SK) Currently Maintained by Mike Morris WA6ILQ. I know very little about this equipment so please ask on the repeater-builder mailing list! |
Getting Started Articles:
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Table of Known Model Numbers of the MCS2000 (6.3 MB) - By Mike Morris WA6ILQ. Note that most of the MCS2000s on eBay are 800 MHz units and therefore will be useless to hams except as parts. Check the model number before bidding. The above model chart may help. I'm NOT familiar with the MCS2000 product line. If there's an error on this chart please let me know. |
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Getting Started - Part 1 (758 MB) - By Bob Whitaker KI5PG |
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Getting Started - Part 2 (1.63 MB) - By Bob Whitaker KI5PG |
Programming the MCS2000:
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Don't forget the first rule of radio programming - any make and any model: Always read the radio first! If you can't read it then DON'T WRITE TO IT. A succesful read says that you have the correct COM port, the correct cable and tells you have the correct programming software (RSS or CPS) for your model of radio. And be aware that there are model numbers that have multiple software packages, for example there are several product lines that are/were available in both conventional and trunking models. And on a new-to-you radio always save that first downloaded codeplug file (with the commercial frequencies that it came with) and archive it in case of future problems. And I'd save your tuning data as well (how that is done varies with the manufacturer and with the product line and radio model). If you screw up later on then having those original file(s) allows you to backstep and restore the radio back to where you started and you can try again. Just save the code plug and the tuning data on your hard drive and use the radio serial number as the file name. It's much better to waste a few kilobytes of hard drive space (or CD space) saving a known good original codeplug on a backup that you may never need than to need a backup you don't have and will never be able to get. The really older radios are programmed with MS-DOS, not Windows, and all of the MS-DOS-based radio programming software was limited to file names of 8 characters(dot)3 characters. As a result I had a separate codeplug archive directory named ORIGINAL for those first-download files. When long file names were enabled I stored the original files in the ARCHIVE directory but tagged with "-original" on the end of the file name. Another point: A lot of the older radio programming software only "knows" about COM1 and COM2. Later on COM3 and COM4 were added. All of the early MS-DOS-based software had no concept of USB - you will have to use a computer with a real 9-pin or 25-pin serial port and a matching 9-pin or 25-pin computer-end programming cable. Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME had some USB support but it was very inconsistent and you will be smart to NOT count on it as USB wasn't reliable until Windows XP. See the article linked below: "Some Thoughts on Radio Programming Computers and Laptops". |
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The MCS2000 (mobile) and the MTS2000 (handheld) are from the same family, they program with the same CPS and hence have similar features and capabilities. |
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The MCS2000 / MTS2000 CPS is 32 bit only, and was written to run under Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. It might work under 32-bit Windows 10, I've not needed to try. The CPS is from 2008, the era where the RLN4008 RIB was common. The author uses a laptop that has a real 9-pin serial (COM) port. There are some notes on USB to serial adapters and USB programming cables on the RSS & RIB page at this web site. Note that the older Moto software only "knew" about COM1-COM4 (some could access only COM1 and COM2). One source says that the MCS2000 / MTS2000 CPS is RVN-4113, another says RVN4175V is for the MCS2000. A third says that RVN4177V includes RVN4175V and that RVN4176U CPS is for the MTS2000 and that RVN4097V is for MTS2000 / MTX handhelds. |
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RVN-4113F RSS User Guide (1.1 MB) (opens in a new browser tab) Manual 68-81081C15-E, dated 1997 |
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One email said that he was successful using a Mac laptop running VMWare and running 32-bit Windows 7. He noted that USB serial cables would not work in Virtualbox but VMWare did. |
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The low power VHF units were made in one range, 136-174 MHz. The high power VHF units were made in 2 ranges, VHF-1 is 136-162 MHz and VHF-2 is 146-174 MHz. One reference says range 1 is 132-160 MHz, that could have been a special for the military. |
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Some remote mount (trunk mount) radios will not program through the control head microphone jack. You will have to program them through the accessory connector on the radio body. |
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The CPS might not like some USB cables, I've found that the FTDI-based cables from bluemax49ers.com (Mark Dunkle KJ6ZWL) just plain work. The Moto docs specify the RKN4063 cable (DB-25 to RJ45, no electronics inside the DB-25 shell, designed to use a RIB) and here is Mark's RKN4063 compatible USB cable. No, he's not paying for those pointers. I doubt that he even knows that this page is here. |
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Some Thoughts on Radio Programming Computers and Laptops by Mike Morris WA6ILQ The article above is an opinion piece and I guarantee that my radio programming needs are different that yours… what works for me may or may not work for you, but this article may give you some ideas. |
Modification Articles:
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MCS2000 VHF and UHF CPS
Hex Edits for the Ham Bands by Jacob Nagel ADØJA Programming ham frequencies into a 136-162 or 403-470 radio is no problem. If you want to program 145 MHz frequencies into a 146-162 MHz radio, or 440 MHz frequencies into a 450-512 MHz radio you will need to hex edit the CPS. This article covers stretching the 146-174 MHz units down to 144-174 MHz and the 450-512 units down to 440-512 MHz. It also notes that the same procedure can be used on the 900 MHz radios to expand the receive and simplex range down to 927 MHz and expand the transmit up to 903.000 MHz. The same technique could be used to expand the Range 1 UHF radios (403-470 MHz) to 403-476 for use in the areas where TV channel 14 has been reallocated to Land Mobile. Just change "470" to "476". |
Parts Guides and Manuals:
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This page was created 19-Jul-2012.
This web page, this web site, the information presented in and on its pages and in these modifications and conversions is © Copyrighted 1995 and (date of last update) by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors. All Rights Reserved, including that of paper and web publication elsewhere.