Yaesu: Yaesu FT2DR locks up with sd card

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KF0AWL

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If anyone can help me I purchased a 32g SD card today to use on my FT2.
(Follow the manual turn radio off insert card with contacts facing front of radio turn on radio and format card.)
I did all the above turn radio on it shows the SD on the startup screen but locks up there on the start screen, no buttons work it just sits on the startup screen.
I remove unengage the card it goes back to normal all buttons work all good, go to format screen reingage the card and it locks up before I can even touch anything.
Any ideas?
 

ko6jw_2

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Is this card known to be good. Can you format it and run diagnostics on a PC or Mac? Yes, I know the radio does its own formatting, but you need to be sure you have a good card. Micro SD cards are not the most reliable and are sensitive to static. You may just have a bad card.
 

KF0AWL

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I bought it from the local radio shack just before I installed it. I did get a reg card adapter so ill try to run it on pc. Thanks.
 

KF0AWL

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Problem fixed! A gentleman on fb told me I needed to FAT32?? Format it on computer THEN insert it and format it on the ft2.
Why they don't meantion that in the manual is beyond me but it works thats all I care.
 

ko6jw_2

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Excellent. Yaesu manuals are not the most thorough. Usually the cards are already formatted when you buy them. Beware your computer may balk at the Yaesu formatting if you put the card back in it. Ignore this. The advantage of the cards with RT Systems software is that you can do all your programming on the card and then restore it onto the radio. No need to connect the radio to the computer. Firmware upgrades need a direct connection however. Important to do the upgrades. A friend's FT2 could not longer access Fusion through Wires-X until I upgraded the firmware for him.
 

KF0AWL

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Firmware is up to date, checked that after I got the card issue figured out. 👍
One other question i have tho is from what I have seen up to this point is I need to use the card to program my Rasberry also, correct?
I'm just getting into the digital modes I was gun shy of it because I'm not real computer literate so this is a whole new world for me!
 

KE5MC

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Your reference to "Rasberry" is it about a Raspberry Pi small board computer (SBC)? If so then that introduces another layer of computer complexity. SD cards used for Raspberry Pi initial startup has a split format. SD cards I used with the Pi stay with the Pi. For now your FAT32 formatted card should only be used between radio and PC until we have more information. Radio manuals seldom are as complete as we like. In the company's defense the radio's programing software is written to run on PCs. Which understands FAT32 and likely as new the SD card was formatted FAT32 or something similar. If that card was used to initialize/startup a Raspberry Pi then used in the radio that's why you had to reformat it for FAT32. Get more SD cards, but not large capacity and high speed read/write ones.
Mike
 

KF0AWL

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Ya the rasberry pi i bought was a assembly required setup 🤨
Followed the videos and still don't work. Should have just bought one ready to go 😠
 

KE5MC

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Sorry for the delay. I saw your post last night and didn't get a chance to comment until now.

I'm going to make an assumption the Pi is a hotspot and you want to use the FT2D on low power to operate in and round the house and reach reflectors/rooms/nodes using Fusion. To that end...

The SD card for the Pi running Pi-Star with the attached radio modem is committed to that hardware combination exclusively. The card is the hardware equivalent of a PC's hard-drive. There is a significant setup to complete once Pi-Star has initialize on the Pi and access is via the Pi's ip address on your WiFi network accessed from your PC.

On the radio the SD card is a connivance and not needed. You can setup a simplex channel on the radio in digital mode from the radio's front panel. You need to pick a frequency and then set it up on the radio and the hotspot. If you want to use an SD card on the radio you have to get a 2nd one for use in the radio for it's various functions. That card can be removed and places in the PC for radio programing purposes. Or use the supplied USB cable to do the same thing. The card and the cable perform the same function of moving date back and forth, but in a different manner.

Assembled hotspot only eliminates the mechanical side which is important to get right, but there is a whole lot of 'other' things to address to reach your goal. You will obtain a fair degree of computer literacy when you have made your first QSO. There are many good YouTube videos, but they tend to assume the person watching knows his way around a computer.

If possible find a local ham with hotspot knowledge and entice him/her with food and beer. It will flatten the learning curve and speed things up.

Good Luck!
73, Mike
 

KF0AWL

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Sorry for the delay. I saw your post last night and didn't get a chance to comment until now.

I'm going to make an assumption the Pi is a hotspot and you want to use the FT2D on low power to operate in and round the house and reach reflectors/rooms/nodes using Fusion. To that end...

The SD card for the Pi running Pi-Star with the attached radio modem is committed to that hardware combination exclusively. The card is the hardware equivalent of a PC's hard-drive. There is a significant setup to complete once Pi-Star has initialize on the Pi and access is via the Pi's ip address on your WiFi network accessed from your PC.

On the radio the SD card is a connivance and not needed. You can setup a simplex channel on the radio in digital mode from the radio's front panel. You need to pick a frequency and then set it up on the radio and the hotspot. If you want to use an SD card on the radio you have to get a 2nd one for use in the radio for it's various functions. That card can be removed and places in the PC for radio programing purposes. Or use the supplied USB cable to do the same thing. The card and the cable perform the same function of moving date back and forth, but in a different manner.

Assembled hotspot only eliminates the mechanical side which is important to get right, but there is a whole lot of 'other' things to address to reach your goal. You will obtain a fair degree of computer literacy when you have made your first QSO. There are many good YouTube videos, but they tend to assume the person watching knows his way around a computer.

If possible find a local ham with hotspot knowledge and entice him/her with food and beer. It will flatten the learning curve and speed things up.

Good Luck!
73, Mike
Thanks for the encouragement, I found a pi-star group on fb and sent him the (directions) that came with it.
He looked at it and said they gave the MASTERS ABRIDGED version lol
He even had to stop and reread what it said a couple times. But we are going to do a video chat later this week and he is going to walk me through the process 😊 a good HAM isn't hard to find as long as you look in the right places 🤣
Thanks again
 

KF0AWL

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The card does NOT needed to be updated on the computer first. The manual does state to format it in the radio first.
I tried the radio formatting and it didnt do ANYTHING except lock up.
All I know is i formatted it on the computer and then formatted it with the radio and everything works perfect now 🤷
 

KE5MC

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I’m not disagreeing, but following the thread’s details the radio locked up on startup with the card installed so you can’t get to formatting the card on the radio. I suspect that the card was used to setup a Raspberry Pi which changes the cards structure and then used in the radio.

I see KF0AWL had a line on some more direct help. Awesome! Keep us posted…
Mike

P.S. my comments were directed to n9upc…
 

KF0AWL

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I’m not disagreeing, but following the thread’s details the radio locked up on startup with the card installed so you can’t get to formatting the card on the radio. I suspect that the card was used to setup a Raspberry Pi which changes the cards structure and then used in the radio.

I see KF0AWL had a line on some more direct help. Awesome! Keep us posted…
Mike

P.S. my comments were directed to n9upc…
Actually the card was brand new before I put it in the radio when it kept locking up. No clue what the problem was but happy as a clam it works now.
 

GlobalNorth

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Don't feel bad. I've spent the majority of the past 36 hours attempting to use fiven proven 32 gb micro-SD cards to format and load the Yaesu programming files into my 400XDR. Reading and re-reading the manual did nothing. After researching online, I discovered that the RT Systems programming was recommended. It cost me another $25 to buy the software, but it worked the first time.

The radio has to be read first, then programming begins. Them, the card gets the download and only then the radio can read it.

Yaesu shouldn't even offer their proprietary software... it is an embarrassment.
 
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