Yaesu: Yaesu FT2DR "FIRM ERROR"

[Trunner69]

Hello,

I have a Yaesu FT2DR, I was using it last week. The battery was low so I put it on the factory supplied charger cable. Left it over night. Then when I came back in the morning I was greeted to "FIRM ERROR" on the screen, no back light and the screen is dim. now every time I turn it on I get this same error. I cant do anything. I figured that I needed to go buy the ADMS-FT2D-USB cable and reload the firmware. But when I get to the step in the instructions where it says "Plug in the power cabler and listen for beep-boop-bop" I get "External DC " but no write mode, no beeps, boops, or whoopdy dings. I tried writing anyhow and it says no response from the radio.

Any assistance please!

 

[chief21]

Have you tried a hard reset?

 

[Trunner69]

I have tried the reset where you boot and hold back disp and band. That unfortunately didnt do anything. Is that what you mean?

 

[chief21]

Review the ALL RESET procedure on page 51 of the manual and confirm that the entire process is completed (through step 7). If that doesn't work, remove the battery for a few days, re-attach the battery and try again. If that doesn't work, it might be time to contact Yaesu for their suggestions. Best of luck!

 

[chief21]

One other thought... There is a VERY small micro-switch to the immediate rear of the USB connector on the side of the FT2DR. This micro-switch is used for firmware updates, but it MUST be in the center position for normal operation. Turn the radio OFF first, then check to see if it might have somehow been moved from the center position. Just to be sure, you might want to gently cycle the switch once or twice to confirm that it gets back to the center position.

 

[ko6jw_2]

You do not need the ADMS cable to reload the firmware, just an ordinary USB cable with a mini connector. I agree that you may get this error if the micro switch is in the incorrect position. I believe that I had the same situation when I forgot to put the switch in the center position after uploading new firmware. It is very difficult to change the switch even when you want to. It's hard to see how it could accidentally get moved, but I'd start with checking it. Good luck.

 

[Trunner69]

You do not need the ADMS cable to reload the firmware, just an ordinary USB cable with a mini connector. I agree that you may get this error if the micro switch is in the incorrect position. I believe that I had the same situation when I forgot to put the switch in the center position after uploading new firmware. It is very difficult to change the switch even when you want to. It's hard to see how it could accidentally get moved, but I'd start with checking it. Good luck.

Huh, where do I get the driver for that, none of the drivers on the yaesu website work.? and the switch is in the center position. I tried moving it from left to right and back to center and it still has the same issue. ko6jw_w how did you resolve the issue?

And what is the process for using the switch? because the instructions do not include a switch?

 

[ko6jw_2]

The Yaesu website has the documentation, the firmware files and the installation software. The documentation for the firmware upgrade or reload is not well written. The process is a little involved and must be done in the order presented. There are two parts which correspond to the switch positions. I'm not at my home right now so I don't have access to the files and walking you through it would take longer than just getting the files from Yaesu and proceeding step by step. Unfortunately, I don't know if this will solve your problem. My guess is that somehow the firmware files got corrupted. Perhaps there was some kind of power glitch with the charger. Who knows? You can only try and see what happens. A reset will not affect the firmware.

 

[AK4FD]

I can corroborate this! I used a run-of-the-mill mini-USB I had laying around and was successfully able to update all 3 sections of Firmware to upgrade on my FT-2DR (Main, Sub, & DSP). It's been a few months, any update with your radio? Is it working again?

David
N1DDC