Suitcase programmer
Suitcase programmer
Came into possesion of an old suitcase programmer. Does anyone work on these things any more. For some reason it will not write to eprom. Hope some one knows something about them or knows a shop where I can get it fixed
Re: Suitcase programmer
[quote="Medic-10"]Came into possesion of an old suitcase programmer. Does anyone work on these things any more. For some reason it will not write to eprom. Hope some one knows something about them or knows a shop where I can get it fixed[/quote]
There are a number of know issues with the old "GE Suitcase" programmer. Many of the problems show up just as you have found with it being stubborn and comes up with errors when it trys to verify a write operation. Most are due to the connections becoming oxidized over time. Most of the time you can correct this by just unplugging the whole module from the common black bus a couple of times. You may also have to unplug the IC socket from the programming module a couple of times.
Another problem that shows up is caused by the batteries in the printer being old and the cells shorted. A simple solution to this is to just unplug the printer from the common bus holder. Slid it sideways to disconnect it. This also will show up as a failure when trying to do the verrify.
Another common problem we all fall into is when trying to program a radio or control head like the S-950 / S990. You must have a mic in the hangup switch and the slide switch on the mic hangup set to normal. If the mic is out of the holder or the slide switch in in the monitor position, you will also get the verify error.
If the batteries are poor or bad in the Panasonic computer, it may take pushing both the power on and the reset buttons a couple of times together to get the computer to come on. (both at the same time)
If your trying to program an out of range frequency into the radio, use the insert button and noth the return key. It will still complain and beep at you, but it will accept the out of range frequency. Run into this mostly when trying to program ham frequencies or MARS / CAP into the radios.
The printer itself is kind of a mad dog to work on. It is hard to take apart, you have a number of ribbon cables and it takes some careful skill to get it apart. Going back together is probably even worse. Problems in the printer show up with it not working due to bad batteries, one or more columns not printing due to a print hammer (heater) not working. I tend to not play with the printer any more than I have to.
The PROM storage module is another beast. It holds the different resident PROMS needed for the different radios and the S-950 /S990 control heads. You can really mess up the whole programmer if you screw up this module. Nothing will work if it goes bad.
One last point of interest. The keys on the Panasonic keyboard have a tendancy to stick. This shows up in strange ways. Make sure when you close up the cover, that there is nothing that can press on any of the keys. If one goes bad on you, you stuck with a bacd computer. I have at times had to pund on a stuck key to get it to release. Kind of rub the back of your fingernail across the keyboard once in a while to exercise them all. Make sure you do it while your not trying to program a radio.
Jim
There are a number of know issues with the old "GE Suitcase" programmer. Many of the problems show up just as you have found with it being stubborn and comes up with errors when it trys to verify a write operation. Most are due to the connections becoming oxidized over time. Most of the time you can correct this by just unplugging the whole module from the common black bus a couple of times. You may also have to unplug the IC socket from the programming module a couple of times.
Another problem that shows up is caused by the batteries in the printer being old and the cells shorted. A simple solution to this is to just unplug the printer from the common bus holder. Slid it sideways to disconnect it. This also will show up as a failure when trying to do the verrify.
Another common problem we all fall into is when trying to program a radio or control head like the S-950 / S990. You must have a mic in the hangup switch and the slide switch on the mic hangup set to normal. If the mic is out of the holder or the slide switch in in the monitor position, you will also get the verify error.
If the batteries are poor or bad in the Panasonic computer, it may take pushing both the power on and the reset buttons a couple of times together to get the computer to come on. (both at the same time)
If your trying to program an out of range frequency into the radio, use the insert button and noth the return key. It will still complain and beep at you, but it will accept the out of range frequency. Run into this mostly when trying to program ham frequencies or MARS / CAP into the radios.
The printer itself is kind of a mad dog to work on. It is hard to take apart, you have a number of ribbon cables and it takes some careful skill to get it apart. Going back together is probably even worse. Problems in the printer show up with it not working due to bad batteries, one or more columns not printing due to a print hammer (heater) not working. I tend to not play with the printer any more than I have to.
The PROM storage module is another beast. It holds the different resident PROMS needed for the different radios and the S-950 /S990 control heads. You can really mess up the whole programmer if you screw up this module. Nothing will work if it goes bad.
One last point of interest. The keys on the Panasonic keyboard have a tendancy to stick. This shows up in strange ways. Make sure when you close up the cover, that there is nothing that can press on any of the keys. If one goes bad on you, you stuck with a bacd computer. I have at times had to pund on a stuck key to get it to release. Kind of rub the back of your fingernail across the keyboard once in a while to exercise them all. Make sure you do it while your not trying to program a radio.
Jim