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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!ihnp4!ihu1h!parnass
From: parnass@ihu1h.UUCP (Bob Parnass, AJ9S)
Newsgroups: net.analog
Subject: Re: Electronics wearing out (here's what started it)
Message-ID: <610@ihu1h.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Jun-85 18:51:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihu1h.610
Posted: Fri Jun 21 18:51:55 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 03:51:36 EDT
References: <2663@decwrl.UUCP> <508@edison.UUCP> <172@almsa-1>
Distribution: net
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 52

> In article <508@edison.UUCP> dca@edison.UUCP (David C. Albrecht) writes:
> >
> >Do WHAT?  I don't remember the original posting but I would imagine the
> >RAM is used to store transient information such as station presets and
> >perhaps volume settings. 
> >
> >David Albrecht

Here is most of my original article, which was posted some time ago
to net.ham-radio:


	       LOSS OF ICOM BACKUP BATTERY FORCES
		      REPROGRAMMING OF RAM


     A friend from Wheaton (MD)	asked me to post  this	war-
     ning:

	       If you own an ICOM R71,	751,  271,  or	471,
	       don't  disconnect  the lithium battery on the
	       memory board!

     All these models use a common $17 memory plug-in  board
     which  contains  2	IC's (one a Japanese 2114 RAM) and a
     lithium battery.

     This fellow wanted	to experiment with the	memory	cir-
     cuit,  so	he  disconnected  the  battery	in  order to
     install a socket for the RAM.

     His radio didn't work when	he  reconnected	 everything,
     and  a call to ICOM confirmed that	the RAM	contains the
     microcode which gives each	model  radio  its  own	per-
     sonality.	 His  board  is	 on its	way back to ICOM for
     reprogramming, which can't	be done	at the dealer's.

     For ICOM owners, this means that when the lithium	bat-
     tery  runs	down (7	year life), the	memory board must be
     sent in for reprogramming.

		...

     This fellow is contemplating using	his  home  computer,
     which  uses 2114s to determine the	contents of the	ICOM
     RAM, and is looking for other suggestions.	 It would be
     useful  to	modify the contents of the RAM to permit out
     of	band reception.

-- 
===============================================================================
Bob Parnass,  Bell Telephone Laboratories - ihnp4!ihu1h!parnass - (312)979-5414