[chirp_devel] How to brick an FT-60

[Dan Smith]

> So back to coding. Upload that same image file. Now I have two bricks.

Oh dear :(

For what it's worth, this is the first time I've heard of anyone really
bricking their radio when doing this sort of development. I've
definitely uploaded a bad image into a radio and had it freak out, but a
reset or uploading a new image has always resolved it. The chinese
radios are really accepting of anything you want to send them, and I
have made errors with them that blew nearly random data in that
definitely caused them some heartache. However, their basic functions
always allowed a new image to be uploaded with no permanent harm done.

> I thought about attaching the image file, but maybe disseminating it isn't
> a good idea. It's available if anyone really wants it.

I think it's safe on this list (with a proper warning and maybe a
creative filename), but I agree you should be careful with it.

> - Any ideas about unbricking my radios?
> - Any ideas about how this file could brick an FT-60?

So, Yaesu is *really* bad about a few things that are relevant here:

1. An Icom examines the image on the way in at every block. As soon as
it encounters a broken thing, it will stop the clone and do a full
reset. I've actually figured out where I've gone wrong before by
carefully examining the address range that was being uploaded when it
kicked to narrow down the problem. Unfortunately, Yaesus will let you
upload pretty much anything you want into the radio. I've seen them be
very confused before with a bad image, but I've never had trouble
getting them into clone mode to fix it.

2. Yaesu's "full reset" is not anything close. It usually means setting
the "empty bit" on all of the memory channels, resetting some of the
settings and the VFO buffers. If you do a reset and then download a
fresh image, you'll find almost all of your data still on the radio.
This makes it really hard to get a pristine image of a yaesu because you
(apparently) have to do it right after you unbox it. Icoms and others,
for example, do an *actual* reset when you ask, zeroing most of the
memory and really initializing everything.

> - For the new one I'll try for warranty coverage, not much to lose.

I would try it too, of course. I think in all fairness, you should avoid
mentioning that you were using CHIRP, as many people have been _sure_
that CHIRP killed their battery or detuned their antenna, and have told
their manufacturer of it. If I were you, I wouldn't provide any reason :)

Also, I have received special reset instructions from a manufacturer to
resolve other issues that required a more potent reset than what is in
the manual. It's entirely possible that you could call support (if you
haven't already) and get some special procedures to help out.

> - And the big one: I 'm not sure I want to keep doing this project.
> Worst case, I can buy a third FT-60 and get on with life. I will say
> say that I'll never upload _that_ file, maybe put CW WRT off limits
> for settings, but since I have no idea what could do this, I'm a little
> worried that it could happen at any time as I muck around in the settings.

I don't blame you!

> If I can download from the radio and upload the same file and do this,
> that's a little scary.

Well, it sounds like it's not 100% clear that that's what happened, and
like you, I can't imagine that actually causing a problem. However, the
way most Yaesus do (or don't do) their checksums, it's easy for a bad
cable or connector to corrupt data on the way in without the radio
knowing. By the time the radio gets to the end and determines that the
checksum is wrong, the bad data is already in place. If it's not going
to do a full reset (automatically or when asked), then a bad cable could
absolutely end up with you getting broken data into the radio.

> Any thoughts?

I'm sure you're not looking for any sarcastic remarks here, but if
anything, the above makes me even less likely to spend money on Yaesus
in the future. I know brand loyalty is based on lots of things, and
people choose radios based on a lot more than what is under the hood,
but honestly, bricking a radio through the user-accessible serial port
should *not* be possible, IMHO.

Thanks a lot for sharing your story, and I'm really sorry it ended up
the way it did for you. I've done something like sixty radio models and
have yet to brick one, and was proud to tell people that it had never
happened. Sounds like I'll have to change my story a bit now.

--Dan

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