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Program Maxtrac with DosBox

Program Maxtrac with DosBox

I found a used Maxtrac 300 radio on eBay that I wanted to repurpose as an APRS tracker, which meant I needed to program in the APRS frequency. Here is how to use DOSBox to program your radio.

Things you need:

  • Maxtrac Radio
  • Windows computer (I'm using Windows 10 x64)
  • Motorola FTDI programming cable from Valley Enterprises
  • FTDI Driver (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm)
  • DosBox Software (https://www.dosbox.com/)

  • GM300 Software (gm300v.5.zip)

  • Install the FTDI driver for Windows

  • Install the DOSBox software
  • Download the GM300 software and extract it to C:\GM300
  • Plug in your FTDI USB cable and check Device Manager to see what COM port it was assigned

Locate your DosBox config file for editing

{system drive}:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\DOSBox\dosbox-{version}.conf

Open your DosBox configuration file and set the following variables:

core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=fixed 191
cycleup=10
cycledown=20

serial1=directserial realport COM1
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.

MOUNT c C:\GM300
c:

Now when you run DOSBox, launch the program with:

GM300.EXE

Here's what the Main Menu looks like when loaded.

First you need to read the current codeplug off the radio before you can make any changes.