Programming a new Tytera radio

I just got a new, un-programmed TYT, now what?

Hopefully, these notes will provide enough answers to get you started and on the air using the repeaters you’re likely to hear if you live on the Isle of Man.

The first thing you’ll need is a programming lead – you did remember to buy one when you got the radio didn’t you? If you didn’t then you’ll need a suitable lead - either eBay or the dealer you got the radio from should be able to help. Note though, that the lead you bought for you Wouxun or similar analogue handheld won't work with your new DMR radio because the USB to serial chip is inside the DMR radio rather than the lead like it is with the Wouxun type radios.

Next, you’ll need the USB driver, the “CPS” (programming software) and the firmware update package. The links below are for the required bits.

TYT CPS is here - http://ham-dmr.nl/?page_id=2757
TYT USB driver is here - http://ham-dmr.nl/?page_id=2755
TYT firmware update is here - http://ham-dmr.nl/?page_id=2753

Before you try to do anything else, like plug in the programming cable, install the driver and the CPS.

To install the driver, un-compress the downloaded archive file and run “setup.exe” in the “driver installer” folder. Answer OK to any questions that Windows asks during the installation process. There is a detailed user guide PDF file in

To install the firmware upgrade package, un-compress the downloaded archive file. There is a brief user guide PDF file included in the archive file which includes all the installation steps as well as how to perform the upgrade.

To install the CPS, un-compress the downloaded archive file and run “setup.exe”.

To ensure that all the features of your radio are available. Use the firmware update program to load the latest firmware. If your radio already has that, then the program will tell you. To perform the firmware upgrade, you need to put the radio into its programming mode. For the MD785, set the switch on the end of the programming cable to the “DL” position and turn on the radio. For a portable radio, hold the PTT and the orange button on top whilst turning the radio on. Once in the download mode, start the upgrade software. Select “USB1” in the “port” drop down menu and click “upgrade”. After upgrading, turn the radio off and back on. If you have a mobile radio, change the switch on the end of the programming cable to the “CPS” position before turning back on to allow programming.

Once the firmware update is complete, then the programming software can be used to programme your radio either with your own data or the example codeplug available from here XXXXXX. If you use the downloaded codeplug, then at least change the “Radio Alias” and “DMR ID” to match your details. The “Radio Alias” should be set to your callsign and can be found under the “Common -> Setting” menu. The ID number, “Radio ID (digital)”, can be found under the “Conventional -> Digital Common” menu.

To programme the radio, use the “Write to radio” option under the “Program” menu. If you have a mobile radio, ensure that the switch on the programming lead is set to the “CPS” position. Once the codeplug has been uploaded, the radio will reset and will operate on all the local repeaters.

Programme a digital channel

This is what you need to do to programme add digital channel into the codeplug. The example is for the local talkgroup on the Carnane repeater. For the purposes of this, we will assume that the codeplug has nothing in it – depending on your starting point, you’ll need to do more or less of the steps below.

1. Set the radio-wide information for your callsign. This is the DMR ID number and radio name. The DMR ID is used in every transmission and identifies you on the network. Also make sure the talk-permit and channel free indication tones are enabled.

2. Get the information you need for the channel – you’ll need the frequency, colour code, timeslot and talkgroup number. These are all listed on the home page of the Manx Repeaters website. The frequency for Carnane is 430.9250MHz and 438.5250MHz and the colour code is 2. These values are the same for all channels on the Carnane repeater. The local talkgroup is number 9 and timeslot

3. Create a new talkgroup. This is done by choosing ”Digtal contacts” from the side menu and clicking the “Add” button. For the example, create a “Group call” named “TG9” with a “Call ID” of 9.

4. Create a new channel – right click on “Channels information” and select "Add".

5. Select the new channel by double clicking it – it’ll probably be called “Channell1” if it’s the first new one you’ve created.

6. Set the channel mode to "Digital"

7. Set the channel name to be whatever you’d like to appear on the screen when the channel is selected. “CA local 2” is a good one for our example, meaning Carnane repeater, local talkgroup, timeslot 2.

8. Set the colour code. This is always 2 for Carnane.

9. Set the timeslot. For the example, "Repeater slot" should be 2.

10. Set the receive and transmit frequencies. On the Isle of Man, our repeaters transmit on the lower frequency and receive on the upper, so your radio needs to do the opposite. For the example, "RX frequency" should be 430.9250MHz and "TX frequency" should be 438.5250MHz.

12. Set the "Group list” to “none”.

12. Set the “Contact name” - this defines the talkgroup the new channel transmits with. For the example, this should be “TG9”, the one created earlier.

13. Set the “Power” to “High”. This the transmit power the channel will use by default.

14. Set “Admit Criteria" to "Always". This is the best that can be done with the TYT radio - using "Always" means the radio will always transmit, regardless of whether the channel appears busy or not.

15. Set the transmit time-out timer. For the example, "TOT" should be 180 seconds for compatibility with other repeaters on the network.

16. Create a channel zone by choosing “Zone information” from the side menu, right-clicking and choosing “Add”.

17. Select the new zone by double-clicking it and use the “Add” button to add the newly created channel into the zone.

18. Programme the radio by using the “Program” option from the top menu bar.

19. Experiment! You might like to look into scanning, button programming and menus... Maybe you'll even want to programme some analogue channels in too - the FM repeaters are all still there!