Icom: Problem with Icom IC-7300

[sklyon]

Well, I had a DUH moment and went back and redid the entire firmware download process. Once I figured out that I had messed it up I got it working right! My screw up was NOT loading the ENTIRE file to my SD card! Once I got that straight the firmware upgraded correctly, and the radio is back to functioning as it should!!!
Guess this goes to prove that you REALLY do need to read the instructions ALL the way through!
Sarge

I'm glad you got yours working! Mine is still like trying to get an old car started at times (off & back on again, multiple times). I've tried re-installing the firmware (no luck). From your post, I'm wondering if I missed something in the instructions that I'm using. When I download the firmware I find only one zipped file (7300_141.DAT, size= 3862 kb). I'm not sure what you mean by loading 'the ENTIRE file' to the SD card.
Much thanks to any clarification you could provide!

 

[sargern1]

I'm using Windows 11 so your milage may vary! Once you have the file downloaded you need to EXTRACT the file. I know it shows a .dat file but it is in fact a .zip file. Once you have extracted the file someplace where it was extracted to there should be a 7300 FOLDER. Move this entire folder to your SD card. Move the SD card to your 7300 go to the Firmware update and follow the instructions.
I started with a formatted SD card so there was nothing on the card. During the Firmware upgrade it will ask if you want to save the current settings. This answer is of course YES. I'm no computer geek but hope this will help!
73's
Sarge

 

[sklyon]

I'm using Windows 11 so your milage may vary! Once you have the file downloaded you need to EXTRACT the file. I know it shows a .dat file but it is in fact a .zip file. Once you have extracted the file someplace where it was extracted to there should be a 7300 FOLDER. Move this entire folder to your SD card. Move the SD card to your 7300 go to the Firmware update and follow the instructions.
I started with a formatted SD card so there was nothing on the card. During the Firmware upgrade it will ask if you want to save the current settings. This answer is of course YES. I'm no computer geek but hope this will help!
73's
Sarge

Thanks for the clarification. Unfortunately in this case, a careful and proper re-install of the 1.41 firmware doesn't seem to help. Problem persists.

 

[sargern1]

Well, this is the second time it has happened to me! First time I called ICOM and we were not able to fix the problem over the phone. Ended up sending it back to ICOM. They did whatever they did and sent it back and it had worked correctly until now. They didn't charge me, but it was still a bit pricey to send.
Hope you get it figured out!
Sarge

 

[wa5ngp]

You guys have convinced me to stay with my SB101.

I'm a retired chip design engineer who designed parts using those FPGAs. Those pars were in a CCBGA (controlled collapse ball grid array) Those cracked balls are a real problem. I have heard to apply a bit of hot air from a heat gun may solve that problem. I assume that the FPGA is not in a socket. Its not obvious to me that trying a blank FPGA would work as that may take a more factory only firmware update.

 

[bikedude]

I am now in the same boat. My Icom 7300 is experiencing the same issue and it's getting worse. It's the same age as those complaining -- about 5 years old. Theis is the only site where I see it mentioned, but, clearly, it is getting to be a common issue. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Icom owns up to the problem and offers a free (I'm willing to ship one way at my expense) fix.

 

[sklyon]

Update on my situation: I called Icom with the details and got the following response:

>>> Greetings,
>>>
>>> I have spoken with the service technician that works on the 7300 and he has
>>> said that there is an issue with your main board. Replacing the main board
>>> plus 2 hours of labor would roughly cost over $900 according to him. It is up
>>> to you whether you would like to send it in for repair or buy a new radio.
>>> Please call the Service department for more information.
>>>
>>> Thank you for contacting Icom America.

I enlisted the help of my son (an RF engineer who has some experience working on boards like this). We removed the main board, including the heat-sync on the back and tried to re-flow the FPGA's ball-array with a hot air solder station. No luck!

So, I went with the new replacement & now I have an old unit that probably still has some good parts for possible future issues.

Opinion... The functionality, quality, and time invested in learning to use it was too much for me to go with a different radio. It worked well past the warranty period and I figured that if this was a truly common problem, it would be much easier to find discussions on the web about it. I guess a few of us are just unlucky. It still seems like the vast majority of owners really like the 7300.

Good luck to everyone else, I can easily understand the frustration and desire to go with a different brand.

 

[VA6OK]

You guys have convinced me to stay with my SB101.

I'm a retired chip design engineer who designed parts using those FPGAs. Those pars were in a CCBGA (controlled collapse ball grid array) Those cracked balls are a real problem. I have heard to apply a bit of hot air from a heat gun may solve that problem. I assume that the FPGA is not in a socket. Its not obvious to me that trying a blank FPGA would work as that may take a more factory only firmware update.

Correct, the BGA is not in a socket. I agree with your thinking that changing the BGA would then require a factory only firmware update of some sort as we would have no way of programming it as required. I ended up selling my 7300 as a non-working parts radio, so I no longer have a 7300. For the number of 7300s out there, this seems to be a small group of people who have problems, however I don't think I'll be taking another chance on one. It would be nice if Icom would at least address the issue somewhat so we would know if it has been addressed in current units or not.... I doubt that anything has changed but who knows? 73

 

[VA6OK]

Update on my situation: I called Icom with the details and got the following response:

>>> Greetings,
>>>
>>> I have spoken with the service technician that works on the 7300 and he has
>>> said that there is an issue with your main board. Replacing the main board
>>> plus 2 hours of labor would roughly cost over $900 according to him. It is up
>>> to you whether you would like to send it in for repair or buy a new radio.
>>> Please call the Service department for more information.
>>>
>>> Thank you for contacting Icom America.

I enlisted the help of my son (an RF engineer who has some experience working on boards like this). We removed the main board, including the heat-sync on the back and tried to re-flow the FPGA's ball-array with a hot air solder station. No luck!

So, I went with the new replacement & now I have an old unit that probably still has some good parts for possible future issues.

Opinion... The functionality, quality, and time invested in learning to use it was too much for me to go with a different radio. It worked well past the warranty period and I figured that if this was a truly common problem, it would be much easier to find discussions on the web about it. I guess a few of us are just unlucky. It still seems like the vast majority of owners really like the 7300.

Good luck to everyone else, I can easily understand the frustration and desire to go with a different brand.

Same here. I tried to re-flow the BGA with hot air and had no luck. I have no idea if the problem was cracked balls on the grid or if it was an internal component failure in the chip itself, but either way it remained broken. I agree that it doesn't make any sense to spend the $$$ on fixing the radio that Icom wants for it. I considered purchasing the main board and changing it myself, but even that route was too much $$$ considering the replacement cost of the radio, and with that route there is the risk that something might not work out properly. I'd say you made a good choice and hopefully lightning doesn't strike twice for you as this seems to be a relatively rare problem for the 7300. 73

 

[KA5UTN]

Well, I had a DUH moment and went back and redid the entire firmware download process. Once I figured out that I had messed it up I got it working right! My screw up was NOT loading the ENTIRE file to my SD card! Once I got that straight the firmware upgraded correctly, and the radio is back to functioning as it should!!!
Guess this goes to prove that you REALLY do need to read the instructions ALL the way through!
Sarge

Congrats Sarge! I'm glad it worked out for you. Is the [correct] firmware update process that difficult or non-intuitive? Some details could help others in this thread.

BTW, my grandchildren call me Sarge; I prefer it to grandpa. Retired USAF. 73s brother.

 

[sargern1]

It is non-intuitive! Best I can offer is to go to my post of December 18, 2023 and look at that it's the best I can do!
Sorry
Sarge
SFC, US Army, Retired

 

[AK9R]

The "Full Manual", which you can download from Icom's website (Manual Download | Support | Icom America.), contains detailed instructions for updating the IC-7300 firmware.

Follow the manual exactly. Double check each action. Do not skip any steps. Do not think over-think what's written in the manual.