Hello,
I recently acquired two Pac Crest RFM96W radios. One 35w and one 2w 'Blue Brick'.
I was able to get them to communicate on an XP machine through PDL CONF. (The RFMCONF software was not happy with the USB -> RS232 adapter and the plain jane RS-232 crapped out).
I would like to change the frequencies of the channels to match my Pac Crest PDL. I will not transmit with these (I do not see any way to narrowband them) but I would rather use my PDL to transmit and these guys to receive. (If that is even possible)
I contacted Pac Crest (Trimble) and their tech responded that they could not help, but if I get an old Win 98 Box up and running I might be able to use PDLConf dealer to change the frequencies.
Anybody have any clue if this will actually work? The PDLConf states that I need firmware version 5.06 and these radios are v 5.05, but the Trimble guy has warned me that I should not attempt to update the firmware as I could break the units that they do not repair.
Will I be able to change the frequencies without one of these fancy files from Trimble?
I dont think these are narrowband and have been banned by the FCC for use.
I haven't read the law but a dealer friend of mine says you can operate them using the low power setting and be legal. That limits the line of sight range to about a mile he said. Again... he may just be blowing smoke.
You can't legally transmit with those radios because they can't be narrowbanded - it doesn't matter what the power level is. As long as you're happy to use them to receive only, you don't need the dealer version of RFMconfig to add frequencies - the transmit and receive frequencies reside in different tables, and you only need the dealer version to add transmit frequencies. I would think PDLconfig would also work if you're able to communicate with the radios; if not then you need to find an XP (or earlier) machine with an RS-232 port and install RFMconfig.
Yes, they cannot be narrowbanded but I narrowbanded my PDL that can transmit. So these will receive and not transmit those awful 25 mhz frequencies...
Now I just need a second data collector that will work with the old GPSs and I can have two rovers... each with a spool of wires... ha ha!