There’s literally dozens of videos and sites all about tweaking it. What exactly are you wanting to do?
My Google skills are fine. I have Googled for information on how to unlock both the TYT MD9600, TYT MD UV380 and Alinco DR500. The only thing that comes up is where you are supposed to press this button or that button as you turn on radio and it magically unlocks. I did use AT_options for the 2 Alinco mobile radios. I got AT_options from a friend who sent me a link for "Band error" issue, and there was a link for AT_options....otherwise I would have never known about AT_options. Thats the only way it would work. There are a bunch of reviews on these and some other DMR radios but NOBODY mentions how to unlock them. I bought the TYT MD UV380 as my first DMR radio. Once I got used to writing code plugs and was comfortable, I bought the Alinco MD 500 mobile radio. I want to upgrade to a better HT and I decided on the Anytone. The Anytone appears to be very similar to the Alinco so I am assuming I can use AT_options to unlock it. Its aggravating cause there is no clear instructions on how to unlock these radios. And with thousands of them being sold, there simply has to be people out there that can post a simple video showing how to do this.
Unlock how? What do you think is locked?
@bobruzzo, I agree with @PrivatelyJeff. Also, I hear you that:
What is missing from your “UNLOCK” request is what specifically do you want to do when you take a brand spanking new AnyTone AT-D878UV out of the box for the very first time that the transceiver cannot do as-found within its programming capabilities?
People conflate the bands it can operate on with the options available depending on “Professional” or “amateur” mode. The professional vs amateur option in the settings only controls what options are available from the keypad. Professional mode limits them down to personalization settings whereas amateur lets you do front panel programming as well. It’s entirely possible to have your radio setup to operate on the full band range the radio supports (commercial as well as ham bands concurrently) and have every option available via the keypad.@bobruzzo, your other thread:
Alinco: - Alinco MD DR500T LOCKED at factory!!!!!
I ordered an Alinco MD DR500T (dual band DMR) from HRO in Salem NH. Radio arrived today. I had previously written the codeplug for the radio a few weeks ago so that when radio arrived I could use it right away. WRONG! I spent HOURS trying to program it. Kept getting "BAND ERROR" when I tried to...forums.radioreference.com
possibly answers my question above in Post #9. Is all you want to do is to be able to transmit and receive outside of the ham bands within the transceiver’s VHF and UHF design limits?
There is a menu option to set the transceiver into a Part 90 configuration. As such, I think I read somewhere that activating this mode will disable most of the keypad to be Part 90 compliant.
OK I will try to explain. I am a HAM...I want to use the radio (Anytone At D878UV) for DMR and analog HAM. I have a working knowledge of making and using codeplugs. I have programmed 2 Alinco mobile rigs (DR MD500) and 2 TYT HT's (TYT MD UV380) and in each instance, out of the box have run into "BAND ERROR" or some kind of complication trying to get these radios to work on the HAM BANDS they are designed for. They seem to be in "Professional Mode" or "Commercial Mode". I searched Youtube and Google and apparently I am the only person in the world that has this problem. None of the videos address this. The videos just show the radios features, how to program code plug, etc. I realize these radios are not specifically made for HAM radio but for COMMERCIAL radio. So you have to jump thru hoops to get them to work on HAM bands. But there is no clear instructions on how to do this. One of the guys at our radio club said to try "AT_Options" for the Alincos.....and that worked. The TYT radios needed some other procedure to unlock. I am assuming the Anytone is very similar to the Alinco, so "AT_Options" should work on that radio too. I understand on some radios you have to unlock them for HAM use by pressing certain buttons as you turn the radio on. I understand you have to first UPLOAD FROM RADIO then make your codeplug. As a HAM radio operator this is what I want to do. Some of my other HAM friends had gotten DMR radios, The Alinco and TYT's.......Since I had more experience programming the codeplugs I offered to do that for them. But when I started setting up these radios to program, every one was LOCKED, meaning it was unable to program for Amateur use. Eventually we did figure out with some help from others how to do this. So anyway since I plan to buy the Anytone HT I posted on here to see if there was a SIMPLE way to unlock it out of the box. These radios come locked from factory to stop unauthorized people from using, from what I was told. I understand the CPS version (model) number has to match the radio. Also I have NO desire to transmit on bands/freqs other than HAM.
The radios are generally made for ham radio users but did get part 90 certification as well.
Bob, to unlock the MD-UV380 see the last paragraph on the webpage W2XQ.com : Amateur Radio: DMR : TYT MD-UV380 -- and perhaps the other information may also be helpful.
OK Thank you. Sorry my post annoyed some people but it is very difficult to find clear, accurate directions online to unlock these radios. Would you know how to add, on an individual basis just a FEW of my most contacted DMR users? I dont want the WHOLE database, but maybe about only 10. Thank you.
Sorry to be slow in replying. I don't know which radio you are asking about, but I like using the N0GSG DMR Contact Manager Support Page software that handles a multitude of radios (including the TYT).
I have an Alinco DR MD500 mobile radio. In the CPS there is a section to add entries from master database but it looks like you can manually enter the contacts of your choice. I will take a look at the N0GSG page and see if that will be useful. I also have the TYT MD UV380 but its been programmed with a good codeplug for a while and I have been using it with no issues so I dont worry too much about changing anything in it. It's been slow going trying to tweak the radios for DMR cause there are no clear simple instructions and some of the options in the CPS are cryptic with no explanation what they do. But radios working great. The only thing I am still working on is to get radio to display the data on my contacts when they are on radio. Right now I get their radio ID and the talk group. I edited the digital radio contact list in the CPS for the Alinco and put in a few friends so next time we are chatting I will see if their data appears on screen.
