Motorola Cp200d Programming
Lotte Donohoe
The only "legit" place to get Motorola programming software is from Motorola themselves. You purchase a subscription from Motorola, set up an account, and then download the software. For an older CP200 analog radio, that would be Motorola P/N RVN4121. You will also need a proper cable to connect from the radio to the computer - and doing that can be a whole 'nother problem.
The trouble you will have with the "factory" CPS software is that Motorola only has available the Narrowband 12.5 kHz version for download. You would need to either get a Wideband Entitlement (after you pass a online course that tells you why the FCC mandated Narrowband for most business frequencies - and you promise not to program Wideband on channels that should be Narrowband 12.5) - or you would need to 'crack' the software and remove the code that forces Narrowband before you can program a Wideband GMRS codeplug into the radio.
If you're not stuck on the idea of buying software from Motorola, there are earlier versions of CPS (Something tells me the Narrowband got forced upon us somewhere around version 05.12.xx) and those earlier versions are available online for free from dubious sites - or you can purchase pirated software via Ebay or other online sources.
There's a ton more info (that you probably should have investigated before you bought the radios) - but if you search up "CPS RVN4121" I think you'll begin to see what you're in for. Be prepared for another 10 varying opinions on what to do and how to do it when it comes to Motorola CPS and programming.
A final option would be to just find a local Motorola dealer, let them know the frequencies you want to get programmed in, and have them do it for you. You'll spend a few bucks, but it might still be cheaper and less hassle than doing it on your own.
Lesson number one. Research the radio before you spend your money!!! That means does it have the features you want? Do you just want the radio for GMRS or does it need to cover the Ham UHF band too? Can you buy replacement battery packs for it, are chargers available, can you get the programming software and cables? If it breaks can you get it repaired and at what expense? Are accessories like antennas, belt clips, external speaker microphones available? And finally can you get copies of the documentation for the radio like user manuals and service manuals?
For some people they want a radio that is FCC certified to operate on GMRS. Not all radios that can be programmed for GMRS have that. That requires checking the FCC ID on the radio in the FCC's database to check which "Parts" it has been certified to operate under. Some have the required Part 95 certification, most have at least Part 90 which is only good for the commercial frequency band. However many people use Part 90 radios, and so far the FCC doesn't seem to bother them, but it's not a guarantee.
Kenwood has a new series of commercial radios out, NX-1000's, NX-3000's and NX-5000's. All very nice radios. The kicker is the programming software. It requires an Internet connection to their license server, the software is locked to one PC at a time, unless you deactivate it and transfer the license. Then there is the hassle of getting the software. Kenwood is targeting the programming and support to their dealer network. Trying to find a dealer that will sell you the software and license, which is $155 a pop, isn't easy unless you "know somebody" and there are a few out there. Due to the software licensing issue I had ZERO interest in looking at new or used models of the above. That is until somebody cracked the software for the NX-1000 series. Now I have one because I can get the software and installed it on several computers I use without the licensing crap to deal with.
thanks for the info. I spoke with Motorola and they said they no longer have software for these radios, I'm going to search the web for the software you mentioned and see what I can find: and yes I could have done more research before buying these radios however I am not worried about it, I'm just getting into this radio thing and soaking up what I can, there is always a learning curve.
I know Motorola has the reputation of being professional grade, most sturdy, and best of all...but I shy away from them because there are too many models, they are hard to know what they are even capable of, and it seems like the programming software is a mystery, or only runs on PC-DOS 2.2 or Windows 3.1....since I have never been interested in the brand, I know virtually nothing about them. Maybe we need a net to discuss the wonderfulness of Motorola HT's and mobiles. Lots and lots of folks swear by them, they always seem to demand much higher prices, and from some of the pictures I've seen mud, dirt, dust and filth don't seem to slow them down.
Due to the software licensing issue I had ZERO interest in looking at new or used models of the above. That is until somebody cracked the software for the NX-1000 series. Now I have one because I can get the software and installed it on several computers I use without the licensing crap to deal with.
I guess you didn't read my post carefully enough. It's not the cost that's an issue, it's the usability. I've read about too many horror stories where people have paid their money, had a hard drive crash and lost the software and no means to deactivate the license since that required a functioning hard drive. Apparently this even happen to one person and it was the radio programming software that crashed and somehow wiped out the license authorization. Trying to get Kenwood to reissue a license or simply deactivate it on their end was nearly impossible and for some it was. They had to spend another $150 more or less to get their software to work again. The hassle and expense is entirely due to Kenwood's licensing. I'm not going to deal with that.
If all they were worried about was recouping their cost for development then just roll it into the cost of the radios sold and give the programming software away. They do it for the Ham stuff. However this isn't their goal. What they want to do is force end users to their dealer network for tech support and radio programming. Makes the dealers happy, more business means more money for them. In fact some unscrupulous dealers will program radios with read and write passwords and keep those secret knowing that if the owner of those radios ever got the programming software there would be noway they could make changes to the programming. Of course somebody will point out it's to prevent the owner from unauthorized changes, well they own the radio, it's their license, they screw up it's their fine to pay the FCC. The dealer is not an enforcement arm of the FCC.
There are other forums where it's a frequent occurrence for people to ask for software cracks/patches/engineering keys to remove these passwords. Myself I ended up with several used radios in just this condition. In one case I spent over a month searching for a patched version of the programming software to unlock the radio. I ended up buying it from a source in Mexico of all places.
Now, I'm not sure that Motorola is actively selling RVN4191 to anyone - as it is outdated & no longer works with any current radio they are selling, but it's still there and available for download to anyone with an MOL account. I'm also not sure if anyone at Motorola is actively setting up new users with MOL access, as they're telling Dealers that all activity is being pushed towards shop.motorola.com for both dealers and retail customers. New software is no longer available for download on the MOL site. Motorola moved all of that to a different site now.
As far as software, licensing, and piracy, I think we are all adults and can try to find our own path through the wilderness. There's an aspect of Right to Repair when a manufacturer drops support for a product line, and then there's also outright piracy for profit. As a dealer, I'm probably more willing to stay on the straight and narrow, but I'm not pulling money out of my pocket for 99% of what I work with.
In my opinion, the horror stories of Motorola cables, software, and DOS are overblown. If you want to work on anything made since 1990, most all of it can run in a Windows shell using something like DosBox.
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