Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) Handheld Ham Radio TYT (a.k.a. Tytera) MD-380

IVI on 10/02/2017 - 10:57
Last edited 10/02/2017 - 11:34 by 1 other user

DMR is an Open, EU standard for Digital Radio defining 3 tiers of services.

TYT's MD-380 is a well made, but low cost, single-band handheld that implements Tiers 1 & 2 (Simplex & Repeater),but not Tier 3 (switched?)

2 modes:FM (Analog) & DMR (Digital Voice+Text)

2 models:VHF: 136-173 MHz UHF: 400-480 MHz

Battery: 2,000 mAh (non-TYT "clones" have larger battery capacity) Note: Some "clones" Can't Perform "Tier 2" (Repeater) functions

Comes with USB cable & 2x antennas (long + short) as well as 240 V AC charger, charging dock (that takes 12 V DC), etc.

Suites Ham Radio & monitoring commercial Motorola Trbo networks (There's a hacked firmware that lets you monitor "all" traffic)

All necessary S/W is Free, AFAIK.

If you're Not a Ham, this is the kind of Radio+Technology that makes Ham Radio attractive enough to Become a Ham! :-)

Enjoy!

PS There are at least 2 variations: MD-380G (w/ GPS… but "no one" knows how to extract the Lat./Long.) & MD-389[W] or is it 390W (waterproof) - UHF max freq changes slightly

Mobile

Comments

retiredfeline on 10/02/2017 - 11:01

+1

Link(s)? Suggested store(s)? Ballpark price?
- IVI on 10/02/2017 - 11:08
  
  AliExpress, without searching for hours, Au$ 137 SHIPPED
  (you can do better, once saw a 2 pc lot f Au$ 250 " )
  
  Can be diff price for VHF
  
  Of course, you'd need 2x to tango (both UHF or both VHF)
  
  I won't nominate stores, cause OzB only permits "Kosher"
  ones (ie, some min # of high scores).
  
  Sort by the number of Orders, & see what you find; but
  you maybe get diff items than the Radio kit, mixed in.
IVI on 10/02/2017 - 11:18
If you got Lotsa $$, Motorola is popular

Less $$ (but still considerably more than TYT):

Hytera

other Non-TYT: be sure you get Tier 2 & Tier 1
having lotsa channels can let you use it as scanner

Either way, the "fun" comes in programming it..
YouTube is your friend, as are some Hams' sites

Before considering buying a DMR radio USED…

DMR standard defines ways to "shut-down" a stolen
DMR radio, in either of 2 ways: Stun & Kill

You can UnStun but I'm not sure you can UnKill…

So, buy USED from someone who shows you it working,
then ReSet it, just before leaving their shop. ;-)
IVI on 10/02/2017 - 11:23

Oh, someone just rang to remind me (after seeing this post):

DMR Repeaters (if your nearby Ham Club has one) have 2 active
voice/data streams.

So, you can be talking (or sending Data) on one,
the while other's in use.
retiredfeline on 10/02/2017 - 11:25

Is a ham license required to use these?
IVI on 10/02/2017 - 11:27

Of course (ie, on Ham Bands).

Since the "data" you'd a Ham'd be sending is
mainly like a text message, I think an easy-
to-get Foundation Class licence should be
enough to use it to "send texts"…

And.. I haven't yet checked whether anyone's
got "The ACMA" to Approve them for Commercial-
use…?
- ChrisLevo on 10/02/2017 - 12:12
  
  Foundation licensees cannot use any data modes.
  - IVI on 10/02/2017 - 12:22
    
    -1
    
    Texting on a DMR radio isn't any more a "data" mode
    than "digital voice" is. Are you saying Foundation
    Class licensees aren't allowed to use Digital Voice
    (like the do - all the time - on Intenet)?!?
    
    "The ACNE" got it WRONG AGAIN, IMO.
    
    They're like USA's NRC: (Presently) req'g a huge & costly
    a core-envelope = single piece of Stainless-Steel for
    Low-Core-Pressure Liquid Fuel Nuclear Reactors (due~2024).
    
    Who benefits from such a restriction? WIA maybe, ie,
    while they try to "make a living" on Exams & New Members.
    
    Compare to ARRL, et al., who -diversify- / grow / prosper,
    eg, publishing books, etc. - to the benefit of All Hams
    (WIA doesn't bother, eg, because it can refer folks
    to UK and/or US publications, & maybe sell them to local
    Hams.
    
    Oh, WIA was offering Members space in its (apparently-
    oversized) Melbourne plant, as slightly below Commercial
    rates (not fact-checked; that's what their web site says)
    - ChrisLevo on 10/02/2017 - 13:47
      
      Why don't you attend a meeting of one of the Amateur Radio clubs in Adelaide and get some accurate information on the various licence classes?
      http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk5/ gives you contact details of all of the South Australian clubs, and I am sure that you would be welcome at all of them.
      
      A Foundation licensee can use:
      80/40/15m: Amplitude Modulation (AM) voice, Single Side Band (SSB) voice and Hand Keyed Morse Code.
      10m/2m/70cm: Amplitude Modulation (AM) voice, Single Side Band (SSB) voice, Hand Keyed Morse Code and Frequency Modulation (FM) voice.
      
      I don't get the connection between the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the US United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but am very interested.
      
      And the Wireless Institute of Australia does not have a plant in any state, just a very small office in Melbourne, so you may have confused it with another WIA.
    - IVI on 11/02/2017 - 14:24
      
      -1
      
      @ChrisLevo:
      
      NRC is to ACMA as, eg:
      
      Requiring Cooling Towers &/or
      a huge 1-pc SS core-envelope (for MSR's) is to:
      
      Requiring a higher Lic.Grade for DMR or its Texting
      (obsolete, aritrary, income-motivated restrition)
      
      Want more Hams? Think: "Wild West + Disruptive Internet"
      & make being a Ham more like being a Programmer online
      
      Get WIA to do whatever it takes to get "TheACNE" to
      "tear down that Cost-Barrier wall" as CA, NZ, UK,
      even tax-hungry SE, & (so far…) "Trump's USA"
      have done… making Ham Licenses free [for Life].
      
      Online, I -don't- need to upgrade more than my Skills,
      I can do (any -legal- stuff) "I want to do" on Internet;
      no silly lic.exams, fees, etc.
      
      (To do -more- Legal Ham things,
      you say one should have to take an Exam first, ie,
      EVEN IF your focused & learning intensive Internet use
      has given you more skills that put you in good stead
      to do the new things you want to do…)
      
      The Internet Competition says: "I learn, I do"
      (No WIA or "ACNE" to "feed" in-between ;-)
      
      (You remind me: CW/Morse is also a Data Mode)
      
      By "plant" I mean floor & storage space.
      WIA's offering space for rent:
      
      Cf: WIA's "Fact Sheet" on "Proceedures" …Para 2 starts:
      
      "The main policies are those on: Corporate Ethics, Privacy, Premises Rental Usage, STORAGE, …"
      
      I first read about WIA's "storage" income-stream
      in the President's blog (don't ask me which Issue).
      
      PS:
      You're -BRAVE- to be interested in Nuclear'
      but I applaud your interest. Here's what
      SA may miss out on (unless we Pushback the
      NFC RoyComm's "No Nukes for YOU, SA!" finding):
      
      T Pedersen @ 2016 TEDxCopenhagen :YouTube
      
      Molten Salt Reactors: Small Save Green Cheap
      maybe your Club would let you show such videos?
      (This is a good time to ask; IAEA has just
      created a "Molten Salt Reactor Platform for
      Collaboration" due to growing interest in MSR)
      
      Canada's (TEI's) IMSR is due ~2024, as is
      MIT-based TAP's WAMSR, also.
      
      Details: ThoriumRemix.com (nearly annual doco's;
      I'd start w/ 2011's doco)
      
      (AHARS BANs Nuclear Energy as a speaker's topic,
      happy to accept Archery(!) as a meeting topic,
      but the Archery club speaker never showed up!)
      
      Meanwhile, ADELAIDE's "Advertiser" news rag
      tries to push (or let former OT Ben Heard &
      Non-Science / Non-Engineering Barry Brook at
      UTAS do)
      
      …the Co$tly, Fuel Rod based, & never-built:
      
      GE-Hitachi PRISM dinosaur old design
      
      down South Aussie's throats!
      
      Tech oriented Hams are being denied access (at
      their "tech meetings" at least) to tech-talks,
      that might put the PRISM "tradie jobs program"
      at risk… but I digress…
      
      Watch the Pedersen video (just 18min) & decide
      for yourself, eg, WITH your Adelaide AR Club,
      which way SA &/or AU should go. :-)
    - IVI on 11/02/2017 - 15:22
      
      @ChrisLevo:
      Confusing WIA w/ other WIA's is easy:
      
      So many rego.plates w/ WIA prefixes
      Welding Industry? Dunno.;-)
retiredfeline on 10/02/2017 - 11:30

+1

Ok thanks. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- IVI on 10/02/2017 - 11:34
  
  Don't be shy, get a Ham License
  
  It's easier than ever before!
  (except for the Co$t…)
  
  "The ACNE" - like other C'th Govt
  departments - likes AU to be CO$TLY
  (Oh, visitors to AU get 90 Days' FREE USE
  if they're licensed Hams from o'seas!)
  
  So, unlike Hams in CA, NZ, SE, UK, USA, etc.
  
  Aussie Hams must Pay an (annual) Lic.Fee!
  - retiredfeline on 10/02/2017 - 11:35
    
    +1
    
    Maybe. So many interesting hobbies, so little time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Diji1 on 10/02/2017 - 14:13

Anyone ever wonder why there's no bacon radio? Bacon is so much more delicious than ham!
- Baysew on 10/02/2017 - 14:54
  
  Too many degrees of separation.
- retiredfeline on 10/02/2017 - 15:20
  
  If you are not careful you might end up with spam radio.
  - Diji1 on 10/02/2017 - 15:31
    
    Oh my!
  - IVI on 11/02/2017 - 15:06
    
    I was genuinely Surprised + Disappointed
    that CostCo, etc. actually -sell- SPAM
    
    Must be that Monty Python stetch that keeps it alive…
woteva on 11/02/2017 - 11:05

I looked into some cheap dmr radios late last year and was told to steer clear as they did cause problems when used on repeaters.
Was told there are some incompatibility and have been found to keep repeaters stuck on. Also advised to buy 2 as they may not talk to other dmr radio's.

Would like to see any credible reviews for any of these cheapo dmr radios to prove the above wrong.
- IVI on 11/02/2017 - 15:12
  
  I've heard that about the -really- cheap ones (Baofend UV5-D…?)
  
  But I doubt you'll hear that about TYT's MD-3xx family.
  
  (I can only speak for the MD-380 & MD-380G myself,
  not their Waterproof "family members"… FCC doc'ts
  can be found online, sugg'g they's likely FCC Approved,
  unlike any Baofeng, etc. models, that I hear bad on.)
  
  I only "recommend" the TYT MD-380 above, altho I list
  a few other Higher-End brands, that likely do even more.
  
  Let us hear of your Experiences… Not your Rumors.;-)
- IVI on 11/02/2017 - 15:15
  
  I agree with that "But 2 to insure they'll Tango together"
  
  but Hams have recommended MD-380 family radios.
  The one's I've used aren't "too" bad, for their prices, &
  both build quality & audio are fine, IMO. YMMV.
  
  TYT have also announced a [dual-band] Mobile DMR rig
- IVI on 11/02/2017 - 15:18
  
  Keep an eye on eHam.net & mods.dk for reviews & mods (like hacked F/W).
  
  Or, Google 'em…
  
  (Hams wouldn't have created MD-380 web pages,
  nor hacked their F/W, ie, if they didn't like 'em… ;-)

Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) Handheld Ham Radio TYT (a.k.a. Tytera) MD-380

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