Railfan Technology > FT-250 lost downloaded RR channels

Is there any rational explanation why a Yaesu FT-250 will lose the RR channels I had programmed in the software that comes with this radio.  One day radio working fine.  Next day, all railroad channels lost.

Thank you.

John

I've had an old Radio Shack scanner for 20+ years already, and until a couple of years ago, would keep all my programming intact.  Perhaps, maybe 3-4 years ago, I dropped it and the batteries popped out.  No problem, as there's a small internal battery that is supposed to remember the programming while the batteries are being changed.  Not any more.  I'm not sure whether the internal battery is shot, or is it replacable, or am I stuck reprogramming every day?  Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to chase it down, so I just reprogram it as needed.

Regarding the Radio Shack scanner it sounds like the internal battery cell for the memory has failed.  You got your money's worth out of it having it last as long as it did.  They are replaceable since it's a perishable item, but the question is whether it's user replaceable or does it need a service shop to do it.  These memory batteries are almost always button or coin cells and can usually be found at a well-stocked battery or electronics store.  If that fails the internet and mail order will be your solution.  In almost all cases you have to take the radio apart to get to the memory battery, though some commercial-grade radios have a small compartment door allowing for replacement.  It is either mounted in a socket on the circuit board or soldered directly to the circuit board.  With the former you can just pop out the old and snap in the new.  The latter will require soldering and component removal skills so the printed circuit board and surrounding components are not damaged.  If this is not in your bag of tricks a radio repair shop can definitely handle this or maybe a friend or amateur radio operator with electronic component experience can help.  I've worked on these radios for 30+ years and though it's an easy repair it's not a beginners project, too many things can get easily screwed up turning the radio into a brick if you are not sure what you are doing.

As for the FT-250, my first thought would be the memory battery if the entire memory fails and you loose all of your programming after turning it off and disconnecting the battery.  If only certain frequencies disappear while other remain that would lead me to believe that the processor is having a major problem.  That may be a cost-prohibitive repair.

Hope this helps and good luck!
Tom 

Your FT250 got a static spark from your hands or clothing.  Living in Canada I've had this problem several times in the winter in the car when a static charge from my finger zapped the scanner.  It was the result of the synthetic fabric of my winter coat rubbing against the car seat and creating a static charge.  The Yaesu manual explains this problem.  It may be possible to do a partial reset that will recover your frequencies.  If not you will have to reenter all your frequencies.  Look in the manual for details.  I think it's toward the end of the booklet.

KG

Thank you all for your replies.  I have had this happen to all (VX-170, FT-250) except the newest one (FT-270).   Both have worked correctly after downloading the channels from the PC.  Of course, finding a PC that will take a serial cable (VX-170) is a problem as only working PC with serial port and Win XP is at my Florida home.  So, kgmontreal likely has the correct solution: static electricity.

John

The serial port issue is an interesting point.  I have a VX-150 and reading this i realize i can no longer program it, as I no longer have a PC with a serial port.

​Does anyone know if there is any sort of workaround?  Maybe some kind of--going out on a limb here--USB to serial adapter?

This is a big problem with  many older generation radios, including commercial models.  A lot of the older programming software will not run on anything beyond XP.  Also, USB to serial adapters can be unstable and the software may never be able to "see" the radio.  Many radio shops keep an old 486 DOS computer around just to be able to program the old radios.  The good news that the Yaesu/Vertex 150, 250, 170, and 270 radios can be programmed from the keypad, but it is time consuming without the programming software.  Loss of memory in one of the older radios does often indicate that the tiny battery on the circuit board that maintains the memory on the radio has conked out.  At that point, the repair is likely more than the radio is worth.  Maintaining memory integrity is a place where commercial radios are much better than amatuer radios or scanners.

There are USB to Serial adapters.  Radio Shack used to have them but with their down sizing a year ago, they down sized the product line also.  Just do a Google search and you should find dozens of them available.  

John

RT Systems seems to be making a business of radio programming software with new OS. Don't seem to do Apple's though:

http://www.rtsystemsinc.com/default.asp

System Requirements: A PC running
Windows XP (SP3),
Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit),
Windows 8 or 8.1 (full version), Windows 10.

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> RT Systems seems to be making a business of radio
> programming software with new OS. Don't seem to do
> Apple's though:
>
> http://www.rtsystemsinc.com/default.asp

​This is sweet, as they sell USB cables to download the data, which solves the problem of the old serial interface for those of us who have had the same radio for several years.  Thanks for posting that!