991a won't transmit on 144mhz

[miken2vr]

Just got a 991a for Christmas, yay. Seems to work fine on HF. Doesn't transmit on 144mhz - I set it up for my local repeater - mode to FM, freq, offset on, RPTR on, have a 2m antenna with SWR below 2:1 attached to the correct antenna connection - press the mic button and the red transmit tower icon just flashes, no power out, no SWR shows. A friend also got a 991a and doing the same steps with his results in transmit.

I've done all the resets on the microprocessor/radio, from only-memories to full reset - no change in behavior.

What am I missing?  Thanks in advance!!!

[miken2vr]

Called Yaesu tech support yesterday and got the answer. After a few checks, we determined the radio I received is a JA-region radio, not a US-region radio. So does not transmit above 146 mhz in any case. Took 4 full resets to get the radio to do any transmitting on 144, then we were able to confirm that it was restricted to an upper bound of 146.000 mhz, characteristic of JA radios. Also there is no FCC type certification on the radio, and the Yaesu tech confirmed that it cannot be "reflashed" or firmware-upgraded to work with the US 2 meter band plan.

So, now starts the process of trying to get my money back. Wish me luck!