I just got a new, un-programmed Hytera, 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 PC-47 cable for an MD785, a PC-45 for a PD685 or a PC-38 for a PD785. If you’ve got a different type of radio, then the dealer who sold it should be able to sort out the cable.

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

The files you need depend on the radio you’ve got. So long as you don’t have a PD365, then the V7 CPS and firmware files will work for you. They are common over most of the Hytera range. The V5.30 USB driver works for most radios, there are 64 and 32 bit versions. The one you want depends on your version of Microsoft Windows. There’s a different driver for the PD365.

Before you try to do anything else, like plug in the programming cable, install all of those things.

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 the archive file.

To install the upgrade package, un-compress the downloaded archive file and run “setup.exe”. There is a detailed 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”. If prompted, enter the serial number in the “SN.TXT” file.

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 someone else's codeplug. If you use a 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.

Before you do anything, it's always a good idea with any professional radio equipment to read the current programming and save the resultant codeplug somewhere safe. Keep it for as long as you have the radio and use it if you ever get stuck and need a known starting point to go back to. To do this, use the "Read from radio" option under the "Program" menu at the top of the screen. Then use the "Save" option under the "File" menu to save the file.

Time to 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. Once you can programme one channel, then adding more is just a variation of this theme.

1. Set the radio-wide information for your callsign. This is the DMR ID number and radio alias. The DMR ID is used in every transmission and identifies you on the network. The radio alias is only used when the radio is turned on and lets you display your callsign.

2. Get the information you need for the channel – you’ll need the frequency, colour code, timeslot and talkgroup number. The ones for the Isle of Man repeaters are all listed on the home page of the Manx Repeaters website. The frequencies for Carnane are 430.9250MHz and 438.5250MHz. 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 2.

3. Create a new talkgroup. This is done by choosing ”Conventional -> DMR Services -> Contact” from the side menu and clicking the “Add” button. For the example, create a “Group call” named “local” with a “Call ID” of 9.

4. Create a new channel – right click on “Digital channel” under Conventional –> Digital channel on the side menu.

5. Select the new channel by double clicking it – it’ll probably be called “CH D1” if it’s the first new one you’ve created.

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

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

8. Set the timeslot. For the example, this should be 2.

9. 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 Carnane, set the receive frequency to 430.9250MHz and transmit to 438.5250MHz.

10. Set the “RX group list” to “none”.

11. Set the “TX contact name”. For the example, this should be “local”, the one created earlier.

12. Set the “Power level” to “High”.

13. Set “TX Admit” to “Color code free” and “In call TX admit” to “Follow TX Admit”.

14. Set the “TX time-out time”. This should be 180 seconds for compatibility with other repeaters on the network.

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

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

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

18. 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!

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