Yaesu: Odd problems with FTM-300DR

[kg7jqh]

Purchased just over a year ago. Mounted in my FJ Cruiser under the driver's seat, head unit mounted above the mirror.

About a dozen times over that year, it will kinda freak out and the buttons on the mic don't do what they are programmed to do. I have P2 set to start a scan and when it's in freak mode, it'll turn on the band scope and the non-programmable P1 will start a scan. The up/down buttons on top of the mic will type the number 7... The A and B keys don't switch bands. Some other weird things I can't remember. I've also had it lock up/freeze on my twice. I have an RJ12(?) extension cable for the mic, but it didn't matter if I took it out or not, still had the same issues.

USUALLY, I can power off the unit and power it back on and all is well. Today, not so much... After more than one power cycle the same problems above are happening. I pulled into the parking lot at work and did a factory reset and reloaded my settings from the SD card, but had to run in to work so I haven't been able to test if it works again.

Anyone with issues like this, or anyone know what it might be? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MTS2000des]

Have you tried a different SD card? I had similar issues with my FTM-300DR, and it was an SD card that got corrupted. Even if you aren't saving audio files to it, apparently when it's mounted the radios RTOS is always "looking" at it. Once I swapped in a fresh SD card (or left it out altogether), the radio has behaved since.

 

[kg7jqh]

That's interesting. I've always just left it in the head unit so I wouldn't loose it. I'll give it a shot, THANKS!

 

[kg7jqh]

Well, that was a no-go... Took the card out before powering it on after the factory reset and reload. Same problems. I don't have another mic that would work to check if that's the problem, and HRO is quite a drive...

 

[AK9R]

I'll give the usual advice to check and double-check your power wiring, connections, fuse holders, etc. Flaky power could cause the radio to "freak out".

 

[chief21]

Disconnect your microphone for a bit, restart the radio, and see if that has any effect. (A bad mic cable or dirty mic connector, perhaps?)

 

[kg7jqh]

So... I did 3 things. I unplugged the radio, unplugged the second speaker (don't like the sound out of it, probably not related) and took the extension cable for the mic out. Plugged the power back in and the mic directly to the radio and it is working properly again. Only time will tell if this is a permanent fix, so thank you all for your ideas.

I'm going to check all the wiring this weekend. My battery is almost 3 years old, which in Phoenix, AZ is ancient, tho it's not showing any signs of problems unless that is what is affecting the radio.

 

[KB3KBR]

I have the same issues with my 350 & 400. Pretty sure its related to either dirt inside the mic or the cabling having an issue. The 350's mic cord plastic is falling apart, and the 400 is probably next.

 

[k6cpo]

I have the same issues with my 350 & 400. Pretty sure its related to either dirt inside the mic or the cabling having an issue. The 350's mic cord plastic is falling apart, and the 400 is probably next.

Replacement cables are available on Amazon for about $12. It's a simple "plug and play" solution. Open up the mic, unplug the old cable, plug in the new one, close the mic back up and you're done. I've replaced several over the years and the replacement cables seem to hold up better than the OEM Yaesu ones.

 

[KB3KBR]

Replacement cables are available on Amazon for about $12. It's a simple "plug and play" solution. Open up the mic, unplug the old cable, plug in the new one, close the mic back up and you're done. I've replaced several over the years and the replacement cables seem to hold up better than the OEM Yaesu ones.

Happen to have link or keyword to search for?

 

[k6cpo]

Happen to have link or keyword to search for?

"yaesu microphone cable"

This will show different ones, but I'm fairly certain they all come out of the same factory. Without going back and looking up the purchase, I believe mine were the "Pasov" brand.

 

[KB3KBR]

"yaesu microphone cable"

This will show different ones, but I'm fairly certain they all come out of the same factory. Without going back and looking up the purchase, I believe mine were the "Pasov" brand.

Just watched the video on amazon, wonder if the one in my truck is just loose on the pin connector. the other one the plastic is definitely falling off of it. guess i'll have to do some investigating!