ICOM F121 HELP!

[W4JPA]

I badly need someone with one of these to assist me. My unit suddenly, when turned on, started to flash and that was all it did! A search turned up one suggestion that the VCO could not lock and I had probably messed up something in the software. Apparently a "good" data file should remedy this! Has anyone got one of these and would be willing to send my a copy of what's in their radio please.
This could save a minimum of a $40 service charge and the shipping fees.
73
BobJ W4JPA

 

[jeatock]

Question 1: Was the software in Maker Reserve mode? If you don't know, then it wasn't. If it was you now know the reason it's difficult to implement.

Question 2: Are the TX and Rx frequencies in range? Check for thick fingering. Been there, done that.

Try opening the software, creating a new file with one valid frequency (don't do anything else!) and cloning it into the radio. If that fixes it, then it is a corrupt .icf file. Start over afresh.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I've had that happen before... Bumped the starter in the middle of a clone write, voltage drop dropped below the operating threshold and turned the radio of in the middle of the write. Had to pull up a code plug to reinitialize it Motorola style.

Essentially did the same thing when I got the radio. The guy I had bought it off of (cheap) had disabled data output which kills any read attempt from a computer and couldn't reprogram it. I got it and asked some friends at a local shop for a 221 codeplug and all they had were 121 codeplugs. So he told me a trick he had learned. The 121 and 221 don't care what band the codeplugs are for... They won't send an error for out of band until you may them. You can usually load an out of band codeplug, reread it and then move the frequencies over to the proper band for the hardware.

Give that a try with the 221 codeplug I sent you and let us know. Once you get it working again, save that code plug as a master for recovery purposes (just like with Motorola radios).

 

[jeatock]

A bad or corrupt upload will result in a 'CLON NG' display message. A flashing programmed channel display usually indicates something more sinister.

Unlike other /\/\anufacturers, selecting 'New' in Icom cloning software always generates a clean and correct .icf file. Opening the software and cloning in a simple one-freq file with no other changes will create a valid .icf and clone. There is NO 'codeplug' as such - that is a /\/\other term.

The exception is when Maker Reserve mode is running. In that case the cloning software will upload radio-specific alignment data along with the channel and feature data. As I recall (remember it's Sunday morning before coffee #2) cloning software always downloads all data, but only uploads radio specific alignment data when M-R is active. If you create a new .icf with M-R running and upload you will wack the radio. Icom does cloning in the reverse manner from others - .icf files may be freely cloned between same model/firmware radios (with M-R off) and cloning only uploads the channel and feature data (not alignment data) by default.

Hence, the reason Maker Reserve is difficult to get into and dangerous to run if you don't have a specific reason to go there. If you don't know how to get there you are on your own.

While it may provide a starting point for alignment, such data is not interchangeable between radios. A M-R active clone from a known good .icf file may give you a starting point, but you will need to break out the service monitor, signal generator and the rest of the toys and perform a full alignment to get things back to normal. Accurate alignment is impossible to do without them.

PS: Always read and save an .icf before making any changes. My server has almost 2 Gig's of .icf files going back almost ten years and it has saved my bacon more than once.