Yaesu FT-2900 locked up -SOLUTION

[Tevin]

The 2900 in my truck went down. I thought it was a blown fuse. It wasn't. Maybe the rig might be dead for real.

Then a few days later I saw the display was flashing dimly every second or so and i could also hear a faint "pop" from the speaker in sync with the display. I did not notice it before because of the bright sunlight and noisy environment. Pressing and holding the power button did not change the condition.

On a guess, I pulled the fuse and totally cut off all power to the radio. Of course, the flash and pop stopped. The next day, I reinstalled the fuse. The flash/pop did not return; I took that as a good sign. I tried turning the radio back on. It came on line and still had all the memory settings intact. Everything was back to normal.

My radio is wired directly to the battery. When I start the truck, the voltage drops enough to shut the radio down for a second or two, but then immediately comes back after the truck starts. Even though this was never an issue before, I think I just had an unlucky moment and the voltage drop was enough to jam the radio's processor. I should probably get a Power Gate or some such thing, but I'll save that for another time.

I don't have a question, I just thought I'd put this out there in case anyone else runs into the same issue.

[spacecase0]

I always turn mine on and off by turning on and off the power to it...
guess that has kept mine from having that issue for more than a few moments
also, I never have my radios powered up while I start my car out of fear of having it break

[EOC]

My Elmer told me to never start my truck with the radio on!  A surge could damage the radio.

[BTPost]

Just got finished installing my Kenwood Gear, in our "New to Us" 2006 White Toyota 4X4 Pickup Truck.... Installed my Kenwood TM-D710a Vhf/Uhf and my TS-480SAT.... Both are powered on the same Pair of #8 Stranded Marine Wire, direct from the Battery. The Dual Bander (D710a) has a MagMount DualBand Gain Whip for an Antenna, and the TS-480, for now is using a Trucker CB Antenna, I picked up at a Truck Stop in Utah.... That antenna loads up nicely on 10 Meters, as well as 11 Meters, but refuses to load up, on frequency lower than 25 Mhz.... The plan is to buy a 80-10 Meter Mobile Antenna, next Spring, when I go back down to where the Truck is, and since the TS-480SAT has 2 Selectable RF Antenna Ports, use the Trucker CB Antenna for 10/11 Meters and the other HF Antenna on 80-15 Meters....  I plan on finding an 8 Pole, Double Throw, Switch, to wire into the Mic Plugs on both Radios, and then must the Bulkhead RJ45 Female Socket on the forward face of the Center Console in the Truck, where I will just plug-in the Kenwood Mic, using it's RJ45 Male Connector.... Single Mic, for Both Radios...   Pictures can be viewed here...https://www.survivalmonkey.com/threads/cb-radio.57779/ Post #12

and YES, when starting the engine it does cause Both Radios to reset, when I forget to shut them off, before starting....

[Tevin]

My Elmer told me to never start my truck with the radio on!  A surge could damage the radio.

There are a lot of schools of thought on this. While starting the truck with the radio on probably isn't the most awesome thing in the world, it's probably not that big of a deal either. In my case, the radio has been there 8 years and this is the first time it's given me any trouble. And I can't say for sure starting the truck is what jacked the radio up.

By the way, starting a vehicle does not create a voltage surge, it creates a voltage drop. I'm not trying to be picky; just keeping it real. 

[spacecase0]

when the starter quits having current put to it, the voltage reverses and the voltage spikes, (and inductor likes to keep constant current)
it can reverse direction a few times before it dissipates (like a bell ringing)
this can arc across the solenoid switch and get back into the electrical system.
the battery will crush most of this, but voltage spikes can get through form time to time.
generally I build everything for automotive use to deal with 45V spikes, but 40V is likely ok

[DragoSapien]

My radio is always off to start with. Any time the truck turns off the radio also turns off that way when I start the truck the radio is not on. I have it on the switch.