Has anyone noticed this?

[W2MR]

I am almost unwilling to admit this but here goes....

I was a two-way technician for 36 years and stumbled upon this.


When I had a radio with odd problems and had no archive file to reprogram the radio I would upload and then download to/from the radio This would sometimes cure the problem.

I just tried it with my amateur portable - a Kenwood TH-F6. It had a CTCSS decode problem on one channel. I uploaded/downloaded to test new software and a programming cable and noticed the problem is gone now.

Anyone else notice this? No, I am not kidding.

Mark

 

[nd5y]

I have worked for several electronics manufacturers and repair centers in the past.
Most of the stuff I worked on had various types of programmable ICs, flash memory, firmware and software.
It was very common to have a malfunctioning unit that worked after reprogramming, reflashing, reloading software or doing a hard reset.

 

[W2MR]

I had a problem with a UHF paging transmitter causing interference to other UHF systems. I located the bad transmitter and called the owner. He had the maintenance provider call me and he took care of the problem. He told me "all I did was unplug the final tube and plug it back in." That did cure the problem.

 

[KC8ESL]

I've noticed that with wireless microphone systems as well. Backdated the firmware using the service tool, then update using methods as prescribed for any user and the problem is fixed.

Sennheiser G2 receivers seemed to have a programmable oscillator of a sorts (an adjustment for wide band frequency adjustment maybe??) that the service tool would calibrate when it back dated firmware.

 

[davidgcet]

old Moto Maxtrac trunking radios would sometime key the system but drop back out soon as a repeater was assigned. All it took was read/repro and it would be good to go for months/years. They would spontaneously change the connect tone, and soon as you repro it would reset it. Seen the same thing out of the MCS series later, and even had one XT do it.

 

[mmckenna]

In addition to a few radio systems, I run a large PBX. The number of issues that can be fixed by grabbing the circuit packs, pulling them out and reseating them is similar.

 

[ecps92]

Yup, the old Re-Set the Tube with those GOLD pins

I had a problem with a UHF paging transmitter causing interference to other UHF systems. I located the bad transmitter and called the owner. He had the maintenance provider call me and he took care of the problem. He told me "all I did was unplug the final tube and plug it back in." That did cure the problem.