CHIRP

This bug prevents a vx-8dr radio from being able to access memory banks which have been named and assigned in the chirp program. Using the clone mode for the yaesu this bug does not exist IF you have uploaded the memory files containing bank information and memory information associated with banks that were set in the radio using keypad entry. Chirp copies whatever information that exists in the radio enabling bank operation and saves it in the image file. If that image file is modified, then returned to the radio, the bank enable information is restored. This was tested by doing a factory reset on a radio checking for bank enable(no banks), then reloading the radio from chirp with an image file that contained bank information taken from that radio programmed on the keypad(bank work).
This confirms chirp does not destroy bank enable information if it exists in the image file.
The next test where bank enable fails is when an image file of a new or factory reset radio is used in chirp to create an image containing memory entries, bank names and bank associations of the memory slots. using a .csv file containing repeater information(300 entries) of desired repeaters the image file was modified by using the import command. the memory locations were successfully transferred to the image file correctly. then the bank names were modified in the image file to make them more recognizable. lastly the associations of memory entries was created with the banks in the banks area of the image file. this image was then transferred to the radio. The radio did not recognize the existence of banks when pressing the band key in MR mode in either VFO A or B.
The workaround to re-enable the banks in the radio with this image file is to manually enter 1 or 2 entries into the first bank from MR memories. the bank indication then comes up when pressing the band key in the MR mode in that VFO. pressing the band key in the second VFO in MR mode however still has the same 'no banks' error until this procedure is done on the second VFO.
From this I can assume that each VFO has an associated bank enble bit and that the bit is not initialized in a virgin image file when banks are named and associated.
once this has been done you can then load the file from the radio to chirp, modify it, reset the radio to factory(verifying no banks exist) then download the file back to the radio and the banks will still work, verifying that chirp does not destroy the bits when sending the file back.
so this appears to be an initialization problem when creating banks from a virgin file where banks didnt exist before.
hopefully this can be easily fixed and this workaround will help until then.
please refer to the yaesu handbook for bank programming information for manually setting banks up.