I recently acquired a second-hand Hytera PD365 DMR radio.
Hours of trying to program the radio learned me that this is a bit of an odd one out in the Hytera range of radios. I spent *a lot* of time trying to connect it to my computer to read out the memory and program it. I found a lot of information spread out on the internet, but lots of it is not applicable to the PD365. You’ll find remarks such as “There’s a different driver for the PD365.” but which one to use isn’t marked. There might be a page dedicated to the PD365, but I haven’t found it.
I’m not claiming all of this is 100% correct and this is certainly not a definite “user guide to the Hytera PD365”, but there are a few things I learned that might save someone a bit (lot) of time.
First off a some info on my specific handheld, which might be important:
- Frequency range: 430-470MHz
- FW version: A1.02.09.001
- Baseband version: V2.01.03P8
Things I found out:
- There’s different versions of the PD365, covering different frequency ranges. Codeplugs cannot be interchanged between these two versions. (thanks to ON5LUC for pointing that out)
- To program the device, you’ll need CPS (customer programming software) from Hytera. You’ll find that you can download it on a few sites. However, the versions you’ll find easily don’t work with the PD365. For this specific hand-held, version V8.06.01.010 and others in the v8 range will not work. You’ll need a version in the v2, such as V2.05.03.002.EM5
- Getting the programming cable to work: I lost a lot of time trying to connect to the PD365. Since I found different drivers for the programming cable (without any explanation on what’s the difference and when to use which), and even batch files to remove previous versions of drivers, I figured there was a driver issue on my computer. Trying on another one had the same result. And another one. I kept trying to get Windows 10 to use the drivers that I found mentioned on different websites instead of using generic Prolific drivers. However, the CPS didn’t indicate any available port to connect to.
After all, this wasn’t necessary. After installing and using the v2 CPS program, I could select the serial port that was assigned to the programming cable using the Prolific drivers (currently using version 3.8.25.0). - Reading the configuration from the hand-held instantly worked after connecting the hand-held to the programming cable and using the correct CPS. After making changes and trying to write to the hand-held, I had some more issues. The hand-held would display an error message, and the software would display a message box. After clicking OK in the message box, the software would force close without any further messages.
- Upgrading the FW: there is a v1.06.01.001 FW version available. To use it, install the software package. Then disconnect the radio from the USB cable and remove the battery. Press the button under the PTT button (the round one), and place the battery. The red LED will blink. After about 3-5 seconds the LED will light solid. Release the button. The display on the HT is blank. Connect the USB cable. Start the software, select the correct COM port and click upgrade. The process takes a couple of minutes during which the software informs you multiple times that different phases of the upgrade are finished. Just wait. “Updating the firmware chip, please wait…” takes a long time and it might seem like something is wrong.
Just wait. If all goes well, the process will end with ”
However, the first time I tried this, the process ended with an error message after upgrading the FW chip (“Update the firmware chip failed”, the progress bar was at 72% at that time). However, after powering the radio on, the new fw seemed to be installed. Baseband version is now at V2.01.03P8_A.
I tried the process again with the same result. - After upgrading I could write from the CPS software to the radio. The radio restarts after successful programming.
Current status
I’ve managed to program the local analogue repeater so that I can use it. I have not yet managed to get the DMR to work, probably most likely because I haven’t spent enough time learning about the DMR network and how it should be configured. Still, I expect the radio to work and that I will manage to get it configured properly.
Some useful links (some in Dutch):
https://www.hamdigitaal.nl/2015/03/firmware-upgrade-en-codeplug-bijwerken-pd365/
https://hytera782.blogspot.com/2015/08/hytera-pd-365-firmware-upload.html
https://manxrepeaters.com/index.php/digital-mobile-radio-dmr/articles-user-guides-and-help/user-guides-and-help/programming-a-new-hytera-radio
http://www.zendamateur.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=18207
Dieter Vansteenwegen (ON4DD) 