In this article I share how you can upgrade the firmware and also upload a codeplug to the Tytera MD380/MD390 on Mac OS (or Linux) with VirtualBox.

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TYT TH-UV-8200 2m / 70 cm Dual Band 10W Waterproof Amateur GPS Radio. TYT TH-UV8200 is a dual-band(VHF and UHF) radio equipped with the optional management of a GPS,color display,waterproof and dustproof. As the small transceiver housed in the hands – a transmit power of 10w. A little digging into the software and my laptop and I have come up with this: I have CPS MD-UV380 V1.08 downloaded. Next: I plug the USB end of the programming cable (The TYT cable that came with the radio) into the USB port on the laptop. I plug the radio end into the radio (Radio is OFF).

This guide should work with the following radios with or without GPS:

Tytera/TYT MD380
Tytera/TYT MD390
Retevis RT3
Retevis RT8

Although the focus is on Mac OS, thanks to VirtualBox it should also work on Linux. Please note that this guide is based on my personal tests with the TYT MD390 GPS and comes with absolutely no warranty.

The challenge: Tytera data cable and USB driver problems

I recently received my Tytera MD390 in the mail straight from Shenzhen, China. I am using a Macbook with Mac OS and that makes it challenging to get Tyteras programming software CPS to run, which is a Windows application.

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At first I thought I could simply install Windows 10 on a virtual machine on my Macbook and just upgrade the firmware and upload the codeplug from there. However, I never got it to work.

Therefore had to find a workaround solution:

We will be using Tytera’s original CPS software to program the codeplug and setup the channels, contacts and all settings for the radio.
Then we will upload this codeplug via a Linux virtual machine.
In addition, we will upgrade the firmware of the MD380 or MD390 GPS.

Do you have the right USB cable?

When I first wrote in several web forums telling about my problems with the data cable and USB drivers, I got a reply that my Tytera MD 390 probably came with the wrong cable. Reportedly, a batch of the radios had been shipped with the wrong cable a month earlier.

To find out whether you got the right cable do the following:

Unplug the cable from the radio (i.e. the radio is NOT connected to the cable) and plug the USB cable into your Macbook.
Go to Applications -> Utilities -> System Information. Under “Hardware” find the “USB” menu. If you now see any USB device related to your radio, you have the wrong cable.

Why is that so? The right cable is a purely passive cable, the logic is in the radio. That means when the radio is not connected, it should not show up in the hardware list (or device manager on Windows). You have the right cable when a USB device shows up and the radio is switched on.

In my case, I had the right cable. When I turned the radio on, it showed up as “AnyRoad Technology Digital Radio in USB mode” in the hardware list.

I installed Windows 10 on a virtual machine, installed the driver from Tytera and the device showed up as “STM device in DFU mode” in the Windows device manager. I also installed Tyteras CPS application.

Still, I could not get it to work. The Tytera CPS application would not “read” or “write” from the radio. I tried many different things, uninstalled and reinstalled the driver, but could not get it to work. If you have any idea, please comment on this post.

Therefore I needed to find a workaround: I created my codeplug on the Windows virtual machine with the original Tytera software. Then I would upload the codeplug via Linux (also on a virtual machine) to my Tytera MD390 GPS.

Here’s the step-by-step guide:

Part 1: Upgrading the TYT MD380 / MD390 firmware

In this part, we will upgrade the firmware with a customized version specially made for amateur radio use. This firmware is called md380tools and has, compared to the original TYT firmware, some additional features that are handy for ham radio use.

The md380 tools run natively on Linux, which can be a bit tricky and time consuming to set up. That’s why Warren Merkel, KD4Z, created a ready-made VirtualBox image called md380tools-vm.

To upgrade the firmware, follow these steps:

Follow the instructions for md380tools-vm that is given in the PDF up to and including “Step 5: Import the virtual appliance image file“. Do not start with step 6 just yet.
The PDF with installation instructions can be found on the projects website. Scroll down to after the file list, the PDF is the second link: https://github.com/KD4Z/md380tools-vm
Connect your radio to the Macbook and switch it on.
After you installed Oracle VirtualBox and imported the appliance with the md380tools-vm, right click on the “tyt” image and select “Settings”. In the settings dialogue, go to “Ports” and the “USB”. In the lower part, click on the USB stick icon with the “+”-sign. Your radio should now show up as “Digital Radio in USB mode” (after you upgraded the firmware it will show up as “Patched MD380” like on the screenshot below).Select it, it will be added to the USB filter list. This filter list makes sure your USB device gets passed on to the virtual machine. Click “ok” to exit the dialogue.
Now you have to put your radio into a special mode so that the firmware upgrade can be written. To do this, switch it off first. Wait 5 seconds. When you switch it on, hold the PTT-button and the upper button pressed. The radio will boot up, but you will only see the LED light flashing red and green. Your radio is now ready to get the new firmware.
Start the “tyt” virtual machine.
Follow now the instructions from “Step 6 – Start the VM” and “Step 7: Verify networking is working” from the PDF.
Once all looks good, we can start the flashing of the firmware. Depending on your type of radio (it comes either with or without GPS) you have to use different commands.
For the TYT MD390 GPS (with GPS) do the following (for other models see the PDF):
Enter “glv” and press enter. That will download and compile the latest version of the firmware. Check whether everything runs smoothly.
Once it is finished, run “flashgps“. This command will actually write the firmware onto your radio. Ensure that you don’t touch you radio during this process. After about a minute or two, it should be finished. Wait until it is completed, and the turn your radio off.
Wait 5 seconds. Turn your radio on again. This time, it should boot with the new firmware and should start into normal mode. Now run “flashdb” which will write an updated user database onto your radio. This process takes about 3 minutes. After it is completed, switch off your radio and you can follow the instructions under “Fun Times” in the PDF if you like (not necessary though).

Now part 1 is finished, your data cable is working and you have upgraded the firmware on your Tytera radio! The tool should also be able to write the original firmware back if needed, however this I haven’t tried yet)

Part 2: Setting up a Windows image on VirtualBox

In the second part, we will set up a Windows installation in VirtualBox and install Tytera’s CPS software. With this software, we will be able configure the MD380 / MD390 and set up channels and contacts.

Prerequisite: You need a Windows installation image in ISO format that you can get from Microsoft and a valid product key.

I will only describe the most important steps, let me know if something is unclear.

Start VirtualBox, click “New“. Enter a name, like “Windows 10“, select the right type and version of Windows and click “co