Before I get to the FT5DR, let me provide a bit of history I have had with the VX-8DR. One of the (many) odd characteristics of the VX-8DR was the way it behaved when plugged into or unplugged from the external power jack. For whatever reason, when plugging in or unplugging the radio with external power while the radio was still operating, it would alter the setup I was listening to and change the two receivers to something different, be it different bands or to different scanning setups. The work around to this behavior was to turn the radio off before plugging it in or unplugging it to external power. I guess in retrospect this is likely the way the radio should be operated.
I have just learned that this “workaround” is even more important with the FT5DR. When I first bought the radio, I was busy learning it’s menu’s and method of operation. I did not follow (or even remember) the above rule I learned with the VX-8DR and I unplugged the FT5DR while it was operating. This resulted in the radio setting itself to two odd frequencies on each VFO, and the radio would not respond to anything, not to its touch screen or to any of the buttons. It would respond to the on-off button but would still be in the same state of non-operation. I tried the 3-button reset along with the power button and this also made no difference. The only thing I could think of at that point was to pop off the battery, hold down the reset buttons and snap the battery back on at the same time. This worked, and after resetting the radio I used the RT software to restore it to its correct programmed state.
This brings me to the next oddity I encountered, and the subject for the thread title. I was doing some organizing of the radio and computer wires in an attempt to hide them from the cats (not easy to do) and during the process of moving things around I hit the power button on a power strip and shut off power to the FT5DR, which was connected to its external power supply. I thought nothing of it at the time and completed my arrangement of the wiring. Upon turning the power strip back on the FT5DR was still off. I pressed its power button, but it would not turn on. I removed the external power plug and pressed the button, still nothing. I held down the three reset buttons and pressed the power button, still nothing. Then, remembering the frozen radio described above, I popped off the battery, held down the three reset buttons and popped the battery back on. This provided the reset display, and the reset and re-programming was successful.
I hope this might help keep someone from having to send this radio on a month-long California vacation.
I have just learned that this “workaround” is even more important with the FT5DR. When I first bought the radio, I was busy learning it’s menu’s and method of operation. I did not follow (or even remember) the above rule I learned with the VX-8DR and I unplugged the FT5DR while it was operating. This resulted in the radio setting itself to two odd frequencies on each VFO, and the radio would not respond to anything, not to its touch screen or to any of the buttons. It would respond to the on-off button but would still be in the same state of non-operation. I tried the 3-button reset along with the power button and this also made no difference. The only thing I could think of at that point was to pop off the battery, hold down the reset buttons and snap the battery back on at the same time. This worked, and after resetting the radio I used the RT software to restore it to its correct programmed state.
This brings me to the next oddity I encountered, and the subject for the thread title. I was doing some organizing of the radio and computer wires in an attempt to hide them from the cats (not easy to do) and during the process of moving things around I hit the power button on a power strip and shut off power to the FT5DR, which was connected to its external power supply. I thought nothing of it at the time and completed my arrangement of the wiring. Upon turning the power strip back on the FT5DR was still off. I pressed its power button, but it would not turn on. I removed the external power plug and pressed the button, still nothing. I held down the three reset buttons and pressed the power button, still nothing. Then, remembering the frozen radio described above, I popped off the battery, held down the three reset buttons and popped the battery back on. This provided the reset display, and the reset and re-programming was successful.
I hope this might help keep someone from having to send this radio on a month-long California vacation.
