Here's why "new" is not always "better"

[N8YX]

I don't know about ICOM, but one would think that if the firmware chip had been messed up, and the radio turned into a brick, wouldn't replacing the chip with a "new" one flashed from the factory un-brick the radio? Or is that too obvious (or is the chip not accessible in such a way)?

If the chip cannot be readily desoldered or goes obsolete...you run the math.