The Radio Information Board

I recently acquired a couple of dash mount 790's. I can read and write to the first one just fine. The second one gives me a connection error when I try to read it.

The second one already has frequencies programmed in and powers up normally. The hand mic works fine with it

The second 790 seems newer (2xx serial number) than the first 790 (1xx serial number). I'm using the DOS software on a 386 laptop running DOS 6.2.

Any suggestions? Is it a firmware issue? Hardware issue?

If the second one has a s/n in the 209xxx or greater, it is a ver.2 radio. I dont know for sure if the DOS software has conflicts with the newer radios. (I've always used the windows version) Personally I'd get away from the DOS. I program my 790 and 890 all the time with a Dell Inspiron 1000 running the windows software on a XP platform. It is very possible you could have a firmware issue. I'm not 100% sure, but you might be able to flash the older 790 and bring it up to v2 standards.

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to double-check the serial number to see if it's a 209xxx or above.

What makes me think it's a head problem is even when I swap it between the two RF decks the software still can't read it.

The good head reads fine on either RF deck.

In the research I've done it's suggested to upgrade to the newest firmware you can. I'll probably do that down the road.