I don't know why they told you $160-200 for exchange. That is what I was told in an email. I called RTI and spoke to a service tech. My unit was over 2 years old so out of warranty. My LCD was bad and I had the locking up problem. I too was able to play with the antennae and unplug the IRF but then it keep happening. I sent both the T2 and the IRF in for evaluation. The IRF was fine and nothing was done. The T2 had a new LCD and and new firmware installed. They told him it was only 20 minutes work and he charged $50 plus $15 for shipping. This repair was done in November or December 2003.
I have read about all these modifications and I have considered this but I cannot do this kind of work.
I still don't understand why they told you it can't be repaired. Sorry for my ignorance but my problem sounded similar and it was the T2 and not the IRF that needed repair.
