Code Plug Basics for the MD-380

David Hull, KC6N

July 27, 2017
 Contents
 Part I: Some Basic Concepts/Terminology
 Part II: So you got a new radio, now what?
 Part III: Code Plug management
 Entering Contact Data
 Creating Zones, Scan Lists and Channels
 Programmable bells and whistles

2
Part I
Introduction to basic concepts

3
 Basic Concepts (1)
 Code Plug: This is the term used for the
program that is loaded into the radio which
will define it’s operational “personality”, in
terms of Zones, Channels, Scanning, etc.
 CPS (Customer Programming Software):
This is the term used for the Software that
is used to create, load and maintain the
“Code Plug”.

4
 Basic Concepts (2)
 Zones: Folders containing channels
 Holds 16 channels (more in some radios)
 Often dedicated to a physical repeater
 Sometimes dedicated to a specific location
 May contain DMR and Analog channels
 Channels: specific talk setup within a zone
 Digital: Frequency, Color Code, Talk Group
 Analog: Frequency, PL Tone/DCSS

5
 Basic Concepts (3)
 Scan Groups: Defines channels to scan
 Each channel references a specific SG
 There may be a max number of channels
 Scan is usually focused on a specific Zone
 Contacts: DMR has three types
 Private Call: User ID / Call Sign
 Group Call: Talk Group Name / TG ID #
 All Call: Calls anyone
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 MD-380 CPS opening Screen
Information
Panel

Folder Tree

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  A zone is a

Zones: collection of
channels
(analog or
digital) that are
grouped
together.
DMR  Often (but not
always)
associated with
Alog (P11)
a physical
repeater like
PAPA Otay.
 Think memory
Contents of Home Otay bank if you like
Zone
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  Channels can be either Analog

Channels: 
or Digital as shown.
Channels are referenced by the
Zone and the Scan lists
 Channels tell the radio the
frequency pair, PLL/CTSS
(analog), the Color Code and
Digital
Channels talk group ID (Digital), power
level, timeout, Scan List, etc.
 In DMR you will likely end up
with hundreds of channels
 Each channel can reference only
one scan group but it can belong
to multiple zones.
Analog
Channels

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Analog Channel detail: Analog/Digital

Channel Name

RX Frequency
Channel BW
TX Frequency
Scan List
Admit Criteria
Blab-off time out
Talk-around
Power Level
CTCSS (PL)

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 Digital Channel detail: Analog/Digital
Channel Name

RX Frequency

TX Frequency
Bandwidth
TX Contact
Scan List (Talk Group)

Blab-off time out RX Group List

TX Power Level Color Code

Timeslot

Talk Around Admit Criteria

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  A Scan List is a list

Scan Lists: of channels that will

be scanned for a
selected channel.
 Each channel can
reference one (and
only one) scan list.
 You can scan up to
16 channels in an
MD-380.
 Generally, you will
set up a scan list to
scan some or all of
Contents of PAPA Lukins
the channels in a
DMR Zone scan list
given zone.

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Contacts (group/private Calls):

Example:
North America, Call
ID (TG)=3

Management Tools
13
Part II
So, you got a new radio – now what?
(Saving your current code plug, loading a known good plug)

14
 New radio – first steps
 Unpack radio and charge the battery
 Download and install the USB driver
 Download and install the CPS
 TYT Website: http://www.tyt888.com/
 Read your new radio and save the “virgin”
code plug
 You now have a record of how your radio
arrived new if you need it for some reason.
15
 New radio – first steps
 Start the TYT CPS Program
 Connect the USB cable to your radio
 Connect the USB cable to your computer
 Turn on your radio, wait for the radio to
connect.
 Always read the radio and save the
current code plug before making any new
changes.
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Save your initial code plug:
1. In CPS, Click “Read Data” or hit
“Crtl+R” to get the dialog
2. Click “Ok” and wait for completion

3. Click “File”, “Save As”, give it a name like

“20170727_YourCall_MD-380_VirginCP”.
Now you have a record of the un-
programmed code plug for reference.
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Load your new code plug
 Locate a code plug that you like
 Download from a web site
 From a friends radio
 Write from scratch
 Add your particular parameters
 Alias, Power On Massage, DMR ID, etc.
 Flash the new code plug into the radio.

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Add your user data:
Radio Name
(i.e. Your Call)

Your DMR ID

Maybe Yes?
Maybe No?

Opening
Message

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Load your new code plug:
1. In CPS, Click “Write Data” or hit
“Crtl+W” to get the dialog
2. Click “Ok” and wait for completion

3. Save your new code plug. Give it a name

like “20170727_YourCall_MD-380”. So you
have a copy of the code plug for reference
and further customization.
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You should be good to go
 Make sure your analog channels work
 You can check the digital channels by
looking at a “last heard” website such as
Brandmeister.
 Pop onto California (or other active talk
group) and ask for a radio check.
 If you have loaded a pre-built code plug,
then you are done – enjoy your radio!
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Part III
Code Plug management concepts

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 Code Plug Creation
 The workflow for code plug creation is:
 Enter your Name and User ID (Section II)
 Enter the contact data (specifically the talk-
groups). Private calls are optional.
 Create a blank Scan List and a blank Zone
 Create the channels for the zone
 Populate the Zone and Scan Lists
 Configure the programmable buttons
 Remember to save periodically
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Part IIIa
Code Plug Management Concepts
(Creating and Managing Contacts)

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 Contact Basics
 Contact information determines how your
radio interacts with the DMR network
 Contacts come in four flavors:
 Private Call: Calls to (or from) single
radios (your “Contact List”)
 Group Call: Calls to Groups of users
(your selection of Talk Group ID’s)
 Broadcast Call: Not used in Ham Radio
 All Call: also Not used in Ham Radio
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Contacts (group/private Calls):
Example:
Double Click here North America, Call ID (TG)=3

Management Tools

26
 Adding contacts
 We will add the following contacts to a
“virgin” code plug:
 Talk Groups: Local, Ref TG9, PAPA,
SoCal, SoCal1, Cal 3106, CA 1, Zone6,
Bridge, NoAmer, World, TAC310, SNARS,
Parrot and Direct 99.
 Private Calls for: WD6FZA, KC6N, W6SS,
WA6YVX
 This will allow us to create Channels, as
well as Scan and Zone Lists 27
Contacts (group/private Calls):

1. Double Click “Digital

Contacts” to open the
Contact Maintenance
Dialogue

2. Click “Add” 14 times to make

room for the 15 talk Groups

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Populate the Group Call List:
1. Your list should now look like this
2. Fill in “Contact Name”, “Call Type” and “Call ID” columns.

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 PAPA Group Lineup
 The TG Setup for the PAPA network is
shown in the table below:

The talk group ID for SNARS is 31268

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Final Populated Group Call List:

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Add the Private Call ID’s:
1. Add 4 more contacts using the Add button
2. Use the “Call Type” pull-down to make these “private Call Id’s
3. Fill in the Call Sign, Name and DMR ID

32
Populate the Private Call List:
1. Add the Call Signs, Names and DMR Id’s for the 4 private call contacts
2. You are done. Now would be a good time to do a save on your file.

33
Part IIIb
Code Plug management Concepts
(Adding Channels)

34
 Adding Channels
 We did contacts first since we need these
for the digital channel definitions
 We do the channels next since they have
to be in place in order to define the Zone
and to finalize the Scan lists.
 We will create:
 The PAPA Woodson zone,
 A Hot Spot zone, and
 Analog and Simplex Channels
35
 Scan List Place holders
 Before we create the channels, we need to
create a placeholder for their scan lists
 We need to reference these in the channel
definitions so we need them ahead of time
 We will create the following two scan lists:
 PAPA Woodson
 ZumSpot
 We will populate these later

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Create two scan groups
 Create a second Scan List
entry by right clicking on
“Scan List” and selecting
“Add”

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Create two scan groups
2. Enter the name for the
first scan list here.
3. Repeat for the second
scan List

1. Click “scan List 1” to open

the first scan list.

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Two new Scan Groups
2. ZumSpot scan list (we’ll
populate it later, once the
channels are entered)

1. Scan Groups for PAPA

Woodson and the
ZumSpot
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 Digital Channels
 We now have a dummy scan list for each
zone (but haven't populated them yet)
 We will create channels for two Zones
 PAPA Woodson (448.520 (-) Color Code 1)
 HotSpot (438.250 (Simplex) Color Code 1)
 We will then proceed to build the Zone
lists and populate the Scan lists

40
 Building PAPA Woodson
 The TG Setup for the PAPA network is
shown in the table below:

The talk group ID for SNARS is 31268

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 Digital Channel Creation
 We are going to create 14 digital channels
for the PAPA Woodson Zone as follows:
 We will make one master channel which
will have the pair Frequencies, Color Code,
Scan Group, Power level etc.
 We will then replicate this “template
channel” 13 more times
 We will then edit each of these channels,
to add the Name, Time Slot and TG ID
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PAPA Woodson Channels
 The blank channel form is shown below
My “virgin” radio
already had 17 talk
groups populated.

If yours does not,

Right Click “Channel
Information”, Click
“ADD” and create 17
blank channels.

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PAPA Woodson Channels
 Build a template for the Woodson group
2. Edit the page as
shown:
• Color code = 1
• Scan List=PAPA
WUD
• RX = 448.520
• TX = 443.520
• Power Level =
High
• TX Admit=Color
Code
1. Click on • Time Out=180 sec
“Channel 1” to • Parameters
get the form for should match here
Channel 1
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PAPA Woodson Channels
 Add Placeholders for the 14 channels
3. Right Click on “Channel 2”
4. Click “Paste” to paste a copy of the Channel 1 template

Repeat:
Click, paste,
Click, paste
Click, Paste
…
1. Right Click on up to Ch 14
“Channel 1”
2. Select “Copy”

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PAPA Woodson Channels
 Confirm that all 14 entries are as below:
Check all entries:
• Color code = “1”
• Scan List=“PAPA
Woodson”
• RX = “448.520”
• TX = “443.520”
• Power “Level =
High”
• TX Admit = “Color
Code Free”
• Time Out = “180”
• Fix any errors

46
PAPA Woodson Channels
 Now we need to enter the Name, Time
Slot and Talk Group for each channel:
Make Woodson Local:
• Set Channel Name =
“Local WUD”
• Set Tx Contact =
“Local”
• Set Repeater/Time slot
= “Slot 2”

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 Enter remaining channels
 Repeat the pervious procedure for each of
the channels listed below:
Edit the Channel Alias, Time Slot and
Tx Group entries for Ch 3 – Ch 14 to
match the adjacent table. To conserve
radio display space use the
abbreviation WUD for Woodson.

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Enter remaining channels
 Your Channel map should look like this:

Double check all the

channels. Name,
TS, TG should be
correct.

Save your file

49
Adding an Analog Channel
 We’ll create PAPA Otay
(P11) as an example Make PAPA Otay (P11):
• Set CH Alias = “P11
Otay WD”
• Set Channel Bandwidth
= “25”
• Enable “Talk Around”
• Set “Scan List” to
“PAPA Woodson”
• Set RX Freq=449.38
• Set TX Freq=444.38
• Enable CTCSS @ 100
Hz
• Power=High
• Admit = Always Allow
• Blab-Off=180 seconds

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 Analog Simplex Channel
 We’ll create analog simplex 446.520

Make Simplex 446.520:

• Set CH Alias = “FM
446.520”
• Set Channel Bandwidth
= “25”
• Disable “Talk Around”
• Set “Scan List” to
“None”
• Set RX Freq=446.52
• Set TX Freq=446.52
• Enable CTCSS=None
• Power=High
• Admit = Always Allow
• Blab-Off=180 seconds
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 Digital Simplex Channel
 We’ll create digital simplex 441.125
Make Simplex DMR Ch
• Set CH Alias = “DMR
441.250”
• Set Channel Bandwidth
= “12.5”
• Disable “Talk Around”
• Set “Scan List” to
“None”
• Set RX Freq=441.125
• Set Contact to “Direct
99” (you will need to
add group call Direct
99, ID=99)
• Power=High
• Admit = Always Allow
• Blab-Off=180 seconds
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Part IIIc
Code Plug management Concepts
(Populate the zone and scan lists)

53
 Create Woodson Zone
2. Name your Zone
“PAPA Woodson”
3. Select each channel
(one by one) and
“Add” it to the
Woodson Zone using
the “Add” button

1. Double Click “Zone

Information” and Click
“Zone1”.
54
 Final Woodson Zone
1. Enter Zone name:
“PAPA Woodson”
2. Channel Members
are now here.
Make sure you
enter them in the
order you want on
your channel switch
for this zone.

3. Zone Name: “PAPA

Woodson” now
appears here as
well 55
 Create Woodson Scan List
2. Select the channels
(Ctrl Click) you want
to scan and “Add”
them to the
Woodson Scan List
using the “Add”
button. The order is
not important in this
case.
1. Double Click
“Scan List”,
click “PAPA
Woodson” to
open the Scan
List dialogue.
56
 Final Woodson Scan List
1. Scan List name:
“PAPA Woodson”

2. Scan Group
members here.
Note that the order
is not important for
scan.

3. Scan List Name:

“PAPA Woodson”
here
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Part IIId
Code Plug management Concepts
(Overview: Adding a hotspot zone)

58
Creating a HotSpot Zone
 The steps to create a HotSpot zone are
the same as for any other zone except:
 The TX and RX Frequencies are the same.
 The CC is 1 and the Time slot is “2”
 You don’t program “Local”
 You may not want to program “PAPA”
 You can scan your hot spot zone and have
analogs if you like.
 We’ll just show the completed screens
59
HotSpot CH Template
1. Set up a digital
channel
2. Set Scan List to
“ZumSpot”
3. TX Timeout=180
4. Power=Low
5. RX and TX Freq
to your choice (I
chose 438.250)
6. Admit=CC Free
7. Un-check
“Talkaround”

8. Set CC=1
9. Set TS=1
10. Replicate this as
before.
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HotSpot SNARS Channel
1. Edit Name: “HS
SNARS”
2. Edit TX Contact
to: “SNARS”

3. Repeat for all 12

channels with
correct name and
TG ID

61
HotSpot Zone List
Create and populate
a zone for your
ZumSpot the same
way we did for the
woodson zone.
Make sure you list
them in the order
you wantthem to
appear on your
channel switch.

Populated Zone List

Zone Name: “ZumSpot”

appears here
62
HotSpot Scan List
Populate the
scan list as
previously
shown. Order
isn’t important. I
usually scan
static TG’s only.

Populated Scan
List

Scan List Name: “ZumSpot”

appears here (Remember,
we created it previously). 63
Part IIIe
Code Plug management Concepts
(Bells and Whistles)

64
 Programmable Buttons
Programmable
Buttons

Buttons

65
 That’s it !

Thanks and back to Net Control.

Dave Hull, KC6N

dhull1@san.rr.com
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