Stuck on getting parameters over SiK radios

Hi,
I have a strange problem with getting parameters over the radio link. I have tried both Mission Planner and QGC, and the behavior is the same. My radios connect to each other Ok (green led is steady), windows recognizes the radio, and when I click on connect in MP I can see that the connection is established as I get the messages from the quad, as flight mode, GPS position etc.
The problem is that neither MP or QGC can’t get the parameters. MP says its getting the parameters forever, QGC says waiting for the vehicle…
I updated the firmware on both radios thru MP to the latest version, tried Mavlink 1 and 2, tried other serial ports, the behavior is the same, stuck on param load.
The onboard radio survived a crash some time ago (the plastic antenna housing was broken).
Could it be the reason?
Any hints would be welcome, thanks