- SYNTOR X to SYNTOR X 9000 CONVERSION
		- A Quick and Dirty Syntor X to Syntor X 9000 Conversion
		- The real Syntor X to Syntor X 9000 Conversion
		- Low Band Radio Conversions
	- Back to the Syntor X 9000 Conversions Page
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A Quick and Dirty Syntor X to Syntor X 9000 Conversion:

Minimum materials required:

• Syntor X 9000 or Syntor X 9000E HLN4295 or HLN5299 Personality Board
• 10 wire internal cable with P300 Syntor X 9000 Personality Board connector
• Miscellaneous small gage insulated wire used for Common Circuits Board "B-" jumpers
• Desoldering and soldering equipment
• Ohm meter
• Syntor X conventional radio

Recommended materials:

• Syntor X 9000 radio manual
• Syntor X radio manual with Common Circuits Board layout (required if the P401 pin numbers are not marked on the board)

It is recommended that you check the Syntor X radio for correct operation before you try and convert it. The Syntor X 9000 Personality Board should also be checked before it is removed. Make any needed repairs before attempting any conversions. If your converted radio does not work and you have not previously checked the radios, it will make trouble shooting and repair a much bigger job.

Start with a Syntor X 9000 HLN4295 or HLN5299 Personality Board from a Conventional Syntor X 9000 or a trunking Syntor X 9000E. If you use a trunking X 9000E Personality Board make sure to convert it to a conventional Syntor X 9000 Personality Board first. Next you will need a conventional Syntor X radio. If possible, save yourself grief by making sure the Syntor X radio and Syntor X 9000 Personality Board are in working condition. It does not matter if the Syntor X and Syntor X 9000 radio the Personality Board came from are on different bands.

The 800 MHz trunking Syntor X 9000 radio uses a HNL4920 Personality Board that can not be used for this conversion.

Remember to use anti-static protection when handling or storing any boards or components.

Start with the Syntor X and remove the Syntor X radio Personality Board (unplug the J401 ribbon cable connector first). Desolder the ribbon cable connector from the Syntor X Common Circuits Board and remove the cable.

Remove the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board (unplug the P300 connector from the Common Circuits Board first) and jumper it to match the band of the Syntor X radio. Also set the other jumpers for your configuration. You will need a P300 connector and cable for the conversion. You can get new parts from Motorola or you can salvage the existing connector. If you salvage the connector you can desolder and remove individual wires from the Common Circuits Board. It is crude, but you can also cut the wires at the Common Circuits Board connector rather than desoldering them. The result is you get a connector and cable that fits on the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board and can be wired to the Syntor X Common Circuits Board.

Now place the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board in the Syntor X radio. Finally connect the P300 cable ends to the Syntor X Common Circuits Board as indicated in the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board Pin Out table below. Remember to also connect the pins indicated in the Syntor X Common Circuits Board Pin Out below. Change the "Syntor X" radio label to "Syntor X 9000" so you will know to attach to correct Syntor X 9000 cable and accessories.

Finally, use an ohm meter to verify all your P300 cable connections (be sure to also check for shorts to other adjacent pins). If you make a mistake and you do not catch it and correct it, you could possibly permanently fry your Syntor X 9000 Personality Board and possibly damage the Syntor X Common Circuits Board as well. Most Syntor X Common Circuits Boards have pin numbers printed on the board, if yours does not, then use the schematic and PC board layout from the Syntor X manual and make certain you figure out which pin number is which. The first and last P300 pin number is shown on the Personality Board jumper locator drawings.

As explained below this Syntor X 9000 conversion radio will forget the user settings whenever the radio is turned off. When it is turned on it will revert to the programmed RSS default settings.

Remember, the Deviation and Compensation controls on the Personality Board were set for the radio the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board originally came from and must be adjusted again. The Squelch Threshold control may or may not also need adjustment. Ignore the now defunct Deviation and Compensation controls on the Common Circuits Board.

Syntor X 9000 Personality Board P300 Pin Out & Syntor X Common Circuits Board Connections
X 9000 Personality Board P300 Pin #	Wire Color	Syntor X Common Circuits Board P401 Pin #	Syntor X 9000 Personality Board Description
1	White	11	9.6 Volts (regulated - from Switched B+)
2	Blue	12	Switched +5 volts (regulated - from Switched B+)
3	Blue	13	B-
4	Blue	15	Switched B+ (from control head power switch)
5	Blue	10	PA ENABLE
6	Blue		Fused A+ (from large Red and Black cable wires)
7	Blue		Spare
8	Blue	8	Keyed 9.4 Volts
9	Blue	12	Unswitched +5 Volts* (regulated - from Switched B+)
10	Blue		Securenet Code Battery

• This is the pin out of the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board P300 connector. P300 is wired to the Syntor X Common Circuits Board P401 circuit board pads. The notes above in blue show how the power is distributed to the regulated power supplies (i.e. 9.6 Volts gets its unregulated power from the Switched B+ off of the control head power switch, and it uses it to produce the regulated 9.6 Volts to the white wire).
• The Syntor X Common Circuits Board Pin #s that are grayed out are not connected. Tape off these unused wire ends and secure them to prevent any accidental shorts.
• * - the Syntor X 9000 Unswitched +5 volt supply gets its unregulated power from the Fused A+ and it has a regulator chip that is missing on the Syntor X Common Circuits Board. In reality this conversion makes the Personality Board Unswitched +5 volt supply another Switched +5 volt supply (notice it hooks to pin 12 on the Syntor X Common Circuits Board because it has no unswitched regulator chip to hook to). There is more discussion on this below.
• Because there is no Unswitched 5 Volt power supply on the Syntor X Common Circuits Board, it is hooked to the Switched 5 Volt supply. Unlike a real Syntor X 9000, this conversion will loose data stored in its memory every time the radio is turned off. Every time this converted radio is turned on it will revert to the defaults programmed by the Syntor X 9000 RSS. The radio still works, but it forgets where you last had the volume control set, your squelch setting, your scan list, etc., when it is turned off.
• You can add your own 5 volt three terminal regulator with its input from the Personality Board pin 6 (Fused A+) and the regulated 5 volt output hooked to Personality Board pin 9 (Unswitched 5 volts, instead of Switched 5 volts). Appropriate bypass capacitors should be used on your 5 voltage regulator input and output. Use this modification at your own risk, because the Syntor X 9000 Common Circuits Board makes sure the Switched +5 and Unswitched +5 output voltages track each other, while this modification will not track. With a custom Unswitched +5 volt modification, the converted radio will not loose its memory when it is turned off. You may or may not want to use something similar to the Syntor X 9000 circuit, with a diode on the regulator output lead and one on the regulator ground lead (the diodes should both be the same part number, Motorola's part number is 48-83654H01). Without having the tracking circuit, doing this is a judgment call you will have to make yourself.
• If you add your own Unswitched +5 volt regulator, you also need to be aware of this. There is also a resistor and diode attached to the Syntor X 9000 Common Circuit Board A+ line (from the large red and black power leads). It appears this circuit may shut down the Switched +5 volt regulator if the main A+ fuse blows and the control head fuse does not blow (I am assuming there is a low impedance path to ground when the A+ is not connected). Without it you may end up with the Unswitched +5 volt not running (supplied by main A+ fuse) and the Switched +5 volt regulator running (suppled by control head power switch). I really can not say if this condition will cause any damage to the radio or not? Of course, this can only be a consideration if you add a custom Unswitched +5 volt regulator to the Syntor X Common Circuits Board configuration. It may also be that the factory put this in because the Switched +5 volt supply gets its reference from the tracking circuit. If the big A+ fuse goes taking out the reference Unswitched +5 and the Switched +5 volt supply is still running (without a reference to control its voltage output), the Switched +5 supply becomes an unregulated power supply. This is a not a problem with a Syntor X Common Circuits Board conversion because, its Switched +5 volt supply without any tracking has its own built in regulator reference.
• Early versions of the Syntor X 9000 Common Circuits Boards did not have diodes on the Unswitched +5 volt regulator or a shut down for the Switched +5 if the big A+ fuse blew. Their appearance in later versions of the Common Circuits Boards may have fixed flaws in the original Syntor X 9000 design?
• I am looking into just how important having a tracking power supply is and any other failure of one +5 volt supply issues. Hopefully, I will come up with a safe conversion the radio can live with at operating temperature extremes and in different failure scenarios.

Syntor X Common Circuits Board P401 Pin Out
Syntor X Common Circuits Board P401 Pin #	Wire Color	X 9000 Personality Board P300 Pin #	Syntor X Common Circuits Board Description
1		B- jumper	Data Enable
2			Data Modulation
3			PL/DPL Modulation
4		B- jumper	PL/DPL Enable
5			IDC Modulation (Mic Hi)
6		B- jumper	IDC Enable
7		B- jumper	Adapt
8	Blue	8	Keyed 9.4 Volts
9			Transmit Indicator (not used)
10	Blue	5	PA ENABLE
11	White	1	9.6 Volts
12	2-Blue	2, 9	Switched 5 Volts
13	Blue	3	B- (also connects to B- jumpers)
14			VCO Modulation
15	Blue	4	Switched B+
16		B- jumper	Squelch
17			VCO Modulation Compensation
18		see notes	Transmit Power Control*
19			Channel Activity
20			Squelch Tail

• This is the pin out of the Syntor X Common Circuits Board P401 circuit board pads. The P401 circuit board pads are wired to the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board P300 connector.
• The Syntor X 9000 Personality Board Pin # that are grayed out are not connected to the Syntor X Common Circuits Board.
• The Common Circuit Board inputs marked "B- jumper" are connected to pin 13 (B-) on the Syntor X Common Circuits Board. This is done to disable unused circuits and prevent them from amplifying noise that would otherwise be picked up by open disconnected inputs. The functions of these disconnected circuits have been replaced by circuits on the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board.
• * - If you do not have a VHF HLN4240 or YLN4197A high / low power Common Circuits Board do not connect anything to this pin.
• * - If you have a VHF HLN4240 or YLN4197A high / low power Common Circuits Board, connect this pin to Switched +5 Volts (Common Circuits Board pin 12) to select the normal high power adjustment. However a custom modification, such as an external RF output power switch is always a possibility. In this case it needs to switch between +5 volts for high power and ground for low power.

The Real Syntor X to Syntor X 9000 Conversion:

Minimum materials required:

• Syntor X 9000 or Syntor X 9000E HLN4295 or HLN5299 Personality Board
• Syntor X 9000 Common Circuits Board (must match the Syntor X radio power and frequency range)
• Syntor X conventional radio

Recommended materials:

• Syntor X 9000 radio manual

It is recommended that you check the Syntor X radio and Syntor X 9000 radio for correct operation before you try and convert it. Make any needed repairs before attempting any conversions. If your converted radios do not work and you have not previously checked them, it will make trouble shooting and repair a much bigger job.

Start with a Syntor X 9000 HLN4295 or HLN5299 Personality Board from a Conventional Syntor X 9000 or a trunking Syntor X 9000E. If you use a trunking X 9000E Personality Board make sure to convert it to a conventional Syntor X 9000 Personality Board first. Next you will need a conventional Syntor X radio and a Syntor X 9000 Common Circuits Board for the same band as the Syntor X radio. UHF radios have some component differences on low power and high power Common Circuits Boards. If possible, save yourself grief by making sure the Syntor X radio, Syntor X 9000 Personality Board and Syntor X 9000 Common Circuits Board are in working condition. It does not matter if the Syntor X and Syntor X 9000 radio the Personality Board came from are on different bands.

The 800 MHz trunking Syntor X 9000 radio uses a HNL4920 Personality Board that can not be used for this conversion.

Remember to use anti-static protection when handling or storing any boards or components.

Start with the Syntor X, remove the Syntor X radio Personality Board (unplug the J401 ribbon cable connector first) and the Syntor X Common Circuits Board (unplug all cables first).

Remove the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board (unplug the P300 connector from the Common Circuits Board first) and jumper it to match the band of the Syntor X radio. Also set the other jumpers for your configuration.

Now place the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board in the Syntor X radio and install the Syntor X 9000 Common Circuits Board in the Syntor X radio. Reattach the cables to the Common Circuits Board and attach P300 to the Personality Board. Change the "Syntor X" radio label to "Syntor X 9000" so you will know to attach to correct Syntor X 9000 cable and accessories.

Remember, the Deviation and Compensation controls on the Personality Board were set for the radio the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board originally came from and must be adjusted again. The Squelch Threshold control may or may not also need adjustment. The Common Circuits Board Current Limit control and power control will also need adjusting because it was also adjusted for another radio.

This Syntor X 9000 conversion will remember user settings when the radio is turned off.

You now have a leftover Syntor X Personality Board and Common Circuits Board. You can use these as spare parts or you can even convert a Syntor X 9000 radio into a Syntor X radio (the Common Circuits Board must match the Syntor X 9000 radio frequency range - UHF radios have some power related component differences.).

Remember to relabel any converted radio to help prevent plugging the wrong cable and accessories into the radio.

This type of conversion is very easy. It is useful if you have a high power Syntor X and a low power Syntor X 9000 on the same band (i.e. frequency range). You can create a low power Syntor X conversion (the Syntor X parts go in this radio) and a high power Syntor X 9000 conversion without the problems usually associated with locating a Syntor X 9000 Common Circuits Board.

Low Band Radio Conversions:

When converting a low band radio be careful of the wires from the Common Circuits Board that are routed under the low band Tx Buffer Board. These wires have never had to deal with the Syntor X 9000 Personality Board hybrids that stand straight up underneath the Tx Buffer. Also the coax feed line into the low band Tx Buffer Board can be a problem. These wires can be bent, pinched or put pressure on the hybrids. I recommend really loosening the 5 Tx Buffer Board screws when installing a Syntor X 9000 Personality Board into a low band Syntor X chassis for the first time (be careful not to loose the star washer on the ground screw).

The low band seems to be picky about the compensation adjustment, much more than the VHF, UHF or 800 MHz radios. The low band does use a unique reference modulation circuit not found in the other radios. The compensation adjustment instructions are in the front part of the low band manual under the "Maintenance and Troubleshooting" section and is really easy to do after you find R628 hiding near a corner of the RF board. The problem I ran into was I could not adjust the deviation on one radio above 4.6 KHz until after I did the Compensation adjustment (the deviation pot was at maximum). After the compensation adjustment I had to turn the deviation adjustment down to get it below 5 KHz deviation.

As with all the above Syntor X into Syntor X 9000 conversions, you will have to do a little rerouting (i.e. physical manipulation) of the wires from the Common Circuits Board to allow the large metal shield to be installed.

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