700 to 750 upgrade review

Got my 700-->750 upgrade back today

Super happy with it! Love the newer CPS. Radio just feels a lot more polished now. I'm happy with it just as it is. Once it gets FPP and the expanded memory I don't think there will be much in the way of amateur DMR units that'll be able to compete with the feature set. Granted I'm a diehard Motorola fanboy and still want an XPR7550, I'll keep that money for the time being lol. Putting it through it's paces on the latest firmware to see if any bugs crop up, but so far so good.

comment below:

Amateur Radio Users Support Group
AmateurRadio@groups.io
https://groups.io/g/AmateurRadio 

memory map of the contents of a .rdt file from the CS700

[csidmr] .rdt file memory map

I have been writing the Zone Manager program and as a consequence had to re-created the memory map notes. I have now uploaded them to the yahoo.com user group [csidmr] files area. 

This is far from a complete document. Only parts of the memory map have been decoded. But it should prove a starting point for anyone wanting to investigate further. 

The format is valid for the original CS700 firmware and the MD380 firmware. It almost certainly is not correct for the CS700A or CS750. 

I am not able to answer questions on this document. If you don't understand it then you probably shouldn't be playing about with .rdt files. There is a risk of bricking your radio if you do. 

[csidmr] Time to upgrade my CS700?

Just wondering if it is time to go ahead and upgrade my CS700 to the 750? Have issues with the 750 settled down other than the contact list that seems to keep coming up?

I have no complaints regarding my 700. It works well for what I do, but would like the later software  and wish to upgrade before any changes in the current upgrade policy.

Have you had yours upgraded?

Should I do it?

How many are holding out?

CS700 UHF Radio Review

On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 7:09 PM, marlins@.com [csidmr]  wrote:

Fellows,
I can not imagine why anyone on a discussion forum would bash this great little Motorola clone. This is a great little radio and for the price it can NOT be beat. I carry Moto radios every single day and have a LOT of experience with them.

You really can't expect more from this under two hundred dollar portable. and i wanted to say this is NOT a ham radio so why must everyone act like it is ?  a battery pack for double A/s  Huh ? come on. this is a commercial radio working in our 70cm band and it does equal to or as best as any of the low tier Moto stuff easy  I don't want or need the "ham radio" bells and whistles.  I need a sturdy dependable well built portable and I got one from Erin and Jerry. then i bought another one and another and I think were up to about ten now.

I have heard ZERO complaints about the radio only about windoz 8 not being friendly which suits me fine.  Get off your high horse and realize what you have is a good thing. after reading some of this crapolla if I were Jerry I would pull the Ham products or charge double to shut some of you up.

 K4HAT trustee of the K4OBX system

More information from Connect Systems

Based on the feedback I have seen on this Yahoo group, there are many of you who cannot read or comprehend. While I won’t embarrass those members because they seem to be working for our competitors, I do not care if some others point out those people.

First let me dispel some items that are not true.

1. Some people are complaining about needing a JTAG for programming the radio. There is no JTAG in the radio so how someone made that leap is beyond me. 
2. Some people think it is going to take a rocket scientist to update the radio. It is not going to be difficult for the average competent HAM to update. You will have to short two points inside the radio while you are turning on the radio and then load some programs through the USB connector
3. Some people are saying that the new low cost radios are going to have all the features that is missing from the CS700  and be bug free. That is surprising because they are all based on the current firmware that we are abandoning.
   

CS700 Firmware upgrade to 700A or 750

Latest news and updates on Connect System website...

Connect Systems decided that because we cannot have the customers do the upgrading themselves because of the above reasons, we would charge a nominal fee of only $20 including shipping within United States to upgrade an old CS700 to the new CS700A. For customers outside the United States, we will charge $15 plus shipping. For those customers it would be advantageous to ship multiple radios at the same time.

To upgrade from a CS700 to a CS700A requires the following steps:

1. Get a copy of the tuning parameters.
2. Take the radio apart to get to the PCB
3. Short two points on the PCB and turn on Power
4. Load New Driver
5. Load New Firmware
6. Convert new tuning parameters to new turning parameters
7. Use service Monitor to tune certain parameters if necessary
8. Initialize code plug

There are three issues with having the customers do this themselves.
(1) If you make a mistake you might brick the radio and could take at least 4 hours to recover.
(2) If you short the wrong spot on the radio you might damage the radio.
(3) We have no way of protecting our intellectual property from being copied by other manufacturers.

Connect Systems decided that because we cannot have the customers do the upgrading themselves because of the above reasons, we would charge a nominal fee of only $20 including shipping within United States to upgrade an old CS700 to the new CS700A. For customers outside the United States, we will charge $15 plus shipping. For those customers it would be advantageous to ship multiple radios at the same time.

To Convert the CS700 to a CS750 requires the changing of a memory chip. This means unsoldering an existing IC and soldering in a new IC. Then you following the above 8 instructions. For that the price is $60 including shipping. For customers outside the United States, we will charge $55 plus shipping. For those customers it would be advantageous to ship multiple radios at the same time.

Programming Software for the Connect System CS700

This video is a quick preview of the new beta Programming Software for the Connect System CS700. Topics covered are:

- Things that haven't changed.
- Things that have changed that matter to Amateur Radio
- Contextual Help

CSI CS700 DMR Radio Menu

Some people seem to be having difficult using the CSI CS700 DMR radio and can't find the channels that are programmed in. This is a very 'quick and dirty' video showing how to navigate the menu system.

Note that the only keypad buttons that actually do anything are those in the top row.

Jerry Wanger of Connect Systems talks about the CS 7000 Dayton 2014