Tytera TYT/Tytera MD380 DMR HT

[N9AA]

There is a new rig available for Mototrbo/DMR aficionados, the TYT/Tytera MD380 HT. It's a good looking and good performing little radio available for UHF and VHF. The MD380 has a color display, 1000 channels, a regular female SMA antenna connector and good audio. If you're interested picking one up, Steve, N9KYB has a shipment expected the week of May 22. You can contact him at sales@sotacbroadband.com

They are also available at various vendors overseas. Here is a review by VA3XPR with good information and nice pics of the rig.

73,
Scott, N9AA

Tytera TYT MD-380 DMR portable radio review - VA3XPR - VA3XPR

 

[Titan520]

Firmware still has a way to go, but i've only found one (non critical) bug so far. Considering its a chinese device thats pretty good results.

I've been running repeater traffic all across the city and i'm getting splendid signal reports. That being said, i've only run it in analog mode, since appareny i'm to stupid for DMR.

 

[Dafe1er]

Here is a place for a view or the unit:
Tytear DMR MD 380 Digital Analog Compatible With Mototrbo Radio TYT TDMA Digital Radio MD 380 Upgrade MD 280 DM UVF10-in Other Accessories from Phones & Telecommunications on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

And this place shows the UHF unit for $150.00
TYT Tytera TYT MD-380 DMR Handheld Digital Radio with LCD compatible with Motorola Digital Radio Brand of Radio TYT

Either way, I am thinking this is going to be a great unit to start off DMR for the price.

What is with the cheap DMR radios coming into play all of a sudden?

 

[N9AA]

N9KYB (see the email address above) is selling the MD380 with the software and programming cable for $185 shipped in the U.S. The 409shop is charging $20 shipping, so the cost is actually $170 and you don't get the programming cable. By buying from N9KYB, you get the added benefit of giving you money to a ham, rather than some shop overseas. If you're overseas, it makes sense to buy from one of the overseas sellers.

73,
Scott, N9AA

 

[Dafe1er]

N9KYB (see the email address above) is selling the MD380 with the software and programming cable for $185 shipped in the U.S. The 409shop is charging $20 shipping, so the cost is actually $170 and you don't get the programming cable. By buying from N9KYB, you get the added benefit of giving you money to a ham, rather than some shop overseas. If you're overseas, it makes sense to buy from one of the overseas sellers.

73,
Scott, N9AA

I hear ya....was not taking away from him just showing other avenues and also the Ali site has more photos of the unit.

I think for $185 I am going to take my first jump into DMR radios.Thank you for supplying the information N9AA

 

[grosminet]

MD-380

Hello

Received mine from 446shop in 5 days . Great product for this price . Dmr easy to configure.
One major problem is usage outside, with sun light it is impossible to see the screen (same problem with the dPMR DM UVF10)

Another problem : don't configure empty zone or scan zone , MD 380 will be frozen .

I like it so much

 

[Titan520]

I can take more high res pictures of mine if anyone is interested. Its an early series china production unit.

 

[Dafe1er]

I can take more high res pictures of mine if anyone is interested. Its an early series china production unit.

Yes please.

Also, what are your dislikes about the unit and likes? I know for the price it will not be a MOTO but want to make sure it is a decent quality for a beginner in DMR.

grosminet, when in sunlight have you tweaked the settings as to try and make it seen-able in sunlight? What if you try a protective screen cover that will not reflect?

 

[Titan520]

Yes please.

Also, what are your dislikes about the unit and likes? I know for the price it will not be a MOTO but want to make sure it is a decent quality for a beginner in DMR.

Build quality is great, sound (both RX/TX) on analog is great according to signal reports, feels solid with a good weight. I'd say its in the same class as my Hytera PD368 and my mates PD565 quality wise.

Charger lights green even if the radio is not in the charger. Pretty annoying at night, but its an industry standard with Chinese radios. The belt clip is unnecessarily bulky. Firmware overall could do with some polishing. There is no auto scroll on long channel names for instance. I was a bit pissed when it showed up with a 1700mah battery when everyone said it was gonna be 2000mah, but I gave it a real bastard of a duty cycle and it coped fine.

Overall, its a very good device. I like it more than the CS700. I'd say if the do some firmware work on it, the MD380 could seriously threaten Hytera and Moto. Maybe not in the commercial market, but for us hams, absolutely.


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[N9AA]

Wow, you got a full-on Tytera with the side logos and everything. That's what I hoped we'd get when we ordered ours, but alas, even though they'll have they Tytera logo on the front, the sides will be plain.

The side logos and Tytera name give the radio a higher quality appearance, in my opinion.

73,
Scott, N9AA

 

[N4KVE]

The few that have that radio seem to like it. FPP is a nice addition. But for me, the font on the screen has to be much bolder, & the blue background has to go. Since the Chinese are so good at copying things, they should copy the XPR7550 screen. Much easier to read.
http://www.eham.net/data/classifieds/images/408939.jpg

 

[Titan520]

The few that have that radio seem to like it. FPP is a nice addition. But for me, the font on the screen has to be much bolder, & the blue background has to go. Since the Chinese are so good at copying things, they should copy the XPR7550 screen. Much easier to read.
http://www.eham.net/data/classifieds/images/408939.jpg

Its not quite FPP. More like FPRP. You cant make new channels, but if you create empty channels in the CPS you can then FPP those channels to your heart's desire.

I agree with you on the display. But future firmware updates should straighten that out.

Wow, you got a full-on Tytera with the side logos and everything. That's what I hoped we'd get when we ordered ours, but alas, even though they'll have they Tytera logo on the front, the sides will be plain.

The side logos and Tytera name give the radio a higher quality appearance, in my opinion.

73,
Scott, N9AA

I was told the one i got was a pre-series version. The first production run basically. And those always change. I would've preferred to have the intl. Sticker on the back. Cause this way I'm not legally allowed to sell it second hand, even to a fellow ham. But whatever, I wont be selling it anyway.

 

[DanRollman]

Anyone have a view as to the scan performance or receive sensitivity of the MD-380 yet?

The CS700/701, in my experience, has extremely good receive sensitivity (mine pulls in weak DMR repeaters that some of my other radios don't even detect a signal from at the same distance). Curious whether the MD380 uses similar hardware that may be of the same receive quality.

On the other hand, the scan feature on the CS700/701 has a lot of bugs, is slow, and nuisance channel delete/skip is missing. Does the MD380 scan multiple channels (not just multiple groups on the same channel) reliably/quickly, and does it have nuisance channel delete/skip?

Dan

 

[joncleve]

Anyone have a view as to the scan performance or receive sensitivity of the MD-380 yet?

The CS700/701, in my experience, has extremely good receive sensitivity (mine pulls in weak DMR repeaters that some of my other radios don't even detect a signal from at the same distance). Curious whether the MD380 uses similar hardware that may be of the same receive quality.

On the other hand, the scan feature on the CS700/701 has a lot of bugs, is slow, and nuisance channel delete/skip is missing. Does the MD380 scan multiple channels (not just multiple groups on the same channel) reliably/quickly, and does it have nuisance channel delete/skip?

Dan

I would like to know this also. I am looking to add another DMR radio and this would fit my budget perfectly.

 

[fyrfyter33]

The MD-380 software is identical to the CS-700 software, except it will not read the CS-700 codeplug, and vice versa. You can hex edit it, and make it work, however.

When the actual radio shows up, I'll let you know.

 

[N9AA]

The software is NOT identical. They are close, and based on the same code, but they are not identical. Just because they look the same doesn't mean they are the same. The MD380 has features that the CS700 does not, so the software is different.

The scan on the MD380 is a bit slow, but the nuisance delete does work. And it scan multiple channels. But if you're looking for scanner speed, you'll be disappointed. The receiver on the MD380 is quit good, although right now, I don't have another DMR rig to compare it to.

73,
Scott, N9AA

The MD-380 software is identical to the CS-700 software, except it will not read the CS-700 codeplug, and vice versa. You can hex edit it, and make it work, however.

When the actual radio shows up, I'll let you know.

 

[sswcmw]

The software is NOT identical. They are close, and based on the same code, but they are not identical. Just because they look the same doesn't mean they are the same. The MD380 has features that the CS700 does not, so the software is different.

The scan on the MD380 is a bit slow, but the nuisance delete does work. And it scan multiple channels. But if you're looking for scanner speed, you'll be disappointed. The receiver on the MD380 is quit good, although right now, I don't have another DMR rig to compare it to.

73,
Scott, N9AA

Really?

So, I guess when open my SL7550 code plug in Motorola CPS 11, it actually opens in a totally different version of Motorola CPS (that got installed unbeknownst to me) because the radio does not have the same features as my XPR4550, which opens in a different version of CPS because it does not have the same features as my XPR7550? I was wondering where all my hard drive space went to! Many different versions of Motorola CPS installed in parallel and hidden from view, each to program a different radio.

Of course I jest, but the software for the CS700, the TYT MD380 and the Anytone AT-D858 is the same, only the code plugs are different, and the feature set in the code plug allow different features to be programmed by the same software.

 

[mancow]

Is it dual band?

 

[sswcmw]

Is it dual band?

No, it is single band.

 

[N9AA]

Yes, really. The claim was that the CPS for the CS700 and the MD380 are identical. They are not. You've actually answered your own question while trying hard to be a smart ***. Compare the relative sizes of the MotoTrbo CPS and the MD380/CS700 CPS, and ask your question again.

The MotoTrbo software is designed to work with ALL of the Trbo radios, which is why it's ten times the size of the MD380/CS700 software. The MD380/CS700/Anytone software is not designed to work with all of those radios. So, your example isn't really analogous. As I said, the CPS for the CS700 and MD380 are close, but not identical. If they were identical, they would be interchangeable AND interoperable. They are not.

Regards,
Scott, N9AA

Really?

So, I guess when open my SL7550 code plug in Motorola CPS 11, it actually opens in a totally different version of Motorola CPS (that got installed unbeknownst to me) because the radio does not have the same features as my XPR4550, which opens in a different version of CPS because it does not have the same features as my XPR7550? I was wondering where all my hard drive space went to! Many different versions of Motorola CPS installed in parallel and hidden from view, each to program a different radio.

Of course I jest, but the software for the CS700, the TYT MD380 and the Anytone AT-D858 is the same, only the code plugs are different, and the feature set in the code plug allow different features to be programmed by the same software.