TYT MD-9600 Plus Dual Band DMR Digital Mobile Radio With GPS (UHF/VHF)

There was a bump getting it setup initially,. I was unaware of the radio being locked to 150/450, but once the radio was unlocked it is working well. Getting good reports on both analog and digital repeaters. If this radio proves reliable, I have only had it a short time, I think I may want another one.

I was looking for a mobile rig and since the code plug for my UV380 can be converted easily I opted for the 9600. Updated to the latest firmware V16.45. Loaded the CSV version to expand the contacts. Working great with good reports from people on Analogue and Digital. Appears to be built well and is very solid feeling. Time will tell.

This is a great radio especially for commercial users who use analog and DMR. The private encryption is a very good feature to have. Being FCC Part 90 certified is a real plus. These radios work great mobile and base dispatch systems. The cost and warranty is also a big plus. Just wish they could be remote mounted.

This is my second DMR radio. The first one was a rugged radio that I purchased for my side-by-side. I wanted a second radio identical to the rugged radio to put in my truck. Rugged radios has been out of stock for months. I stumbled onto this one when I was looking for something else on buytwowayradios.com I am using RT system software for programming. It programs the same as the RDM rugged that I have. I basically just copied and pasted channels that I had on the rugged onto the 9600 and everything worked from the get-go. Setting up the ScanList was easy and it works like a charm. I don't understand why people have written so many bad reviews on this unit. The sound check reports that I have received are all positive and I have had no glitches whatsoever. The power is as what is stated on specifications. Thinking about getting another want to put in my motorhome.

Just purchased one of these as my first real mobile HAM radio to replace an old Kenwood TK-760H VHF mobile I had in my vehicle. I am not a HAM yet, but enjoy listening in to various frequencies and having something to use in case of an emergency without cell coverage.

The documentation that comes with this radio is obviously "Chinglish" translation that leaves a lot to be desired. It's translates enough to get you on the right track, but often leaves out important details. I was banging my head against the wall because the radio had some intermittent Rx / cutting in and out issues. Low power TX testing wasn't even working period. I eventually tracked all of my issues down to the fact that the radio ships locked to 150-160MHz and 450-460 MHz from the factory.

There are TWO examples of unlocking it in the documentation, one mentions manual/hardware unlocking using the P1 and P2 buttons while connecting the power. The other method is a software method. Since there are two options documented, myself and a HAM friend assumed you could do one OR the other. In reality you need to perform BOTH the manual/hardware unlock AND the software unlocking options.

Once we got it working it has been amazing. I have a V4A / V5 unit with firmware D026.045. It came with the DMR call recording firmware preinstalled and indicated a hardware version of V02.08. It was factory programmed with CPS Version V01.28. I was able to easily flash the firmware to the CSV 100,000 contacts version, and use CPS V01.33 available on tyt888.com.

Only issue I am having now is that the channel bandwidth options are limited to 12.5, instead of offering all the options listed in the specs.

If or weren't for all these issues I had to hunt down and piece together myself, this would be a 5/5 review.

The radio is easy to use and the sound is not bad. It was easy to install once you get past the driver problem under windows 10 machines.

So far works great

Awesome radio, I love it. The only thing negative I can think of about this radio is the programming is a steep learning curve, I think the manufacturer should do more to include a guide to programming with examples, and an explanation of all the program settings in the software. With that said, I was able to get the information I needed to program it from the web, so it's not impossible if you do your homework. The radio is able to cover all my 2 meter and 70 cm UHF ham channels and it also is unique in that it can cover my GMRS frequencies too! I had to add an antenna feed line switch to do this and run 2 antennas, but no biggie. I strongly recommend this radio if you are familiar with programming radios, or if you have someone to help you. If you are a beginner, you will have to get some help.

Nobody yet offers a dual band DMR mobile radio that's ready for the world of ham radio. Only a couple of HT's have well enough designed firmware and features to qualify. If their manufacturers would offer full size mobiles with the same features they'd have winners.

Command, Control, & Communications for Search and Rescue unit. Emergency communications for disaster response. General HAM Radio communication.

Convenient

This is my second review. I just want everyone to know that the TYT 9600 / VERSION 3 with the FIRMWARE V006.003 ALREADY HAS CAPABILITIES of 100 K Contact's. You must use Microsoft excel to do this with the csv. If you go to a site== Amateur Radio Digital Management, sign up , you can not only download to a csv file on Microsoft excel but check in later to update more contact's. Right now there are over 97K contact's. I CAN NOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS RADIO NOR HOW WELL I LIKE IT. ALL I CAN SAY IS ONCE YOU LEARN HOW TO OPERATE AND PROGRAM IT YOU WILL LIKE IT THE MORE YOU USE IT. By the way TYT does give good service. I have been in contact with them and they have been great to help and to answer questions.

Reliable DMR comms, Version 3 solves a lot of the initial problems the version 1 had. OTH, upgrading firmware can be done, but is a bit complicated, and can be a PITA.

I am very well pleased with the TYT 9600. I own three MD 380 dmr radio's as well and after I had found the 380 to be dependable well built I just had to have a mobile the TYT 9600. The only thing I wish is that it had more than 10,000 contact limits. I own also a dual band FT 7900 ham radio and I believe that the TYT 9600 is as well built. If you can program the MD 380 You can program the TYT 9600. In fact to make it quicker to program I had used the NOGSG DMR CONTACT MANAGER To combine my MD 380 DMR codeplug to the TYT 9600. Saved a bunch of time. So with no complaints I give this radio a two thumb's up and a 5 out of 5 star's . I hope to buy a few more later.

Ham use. Radio performs very well. UHF codeplug which was used in a 380 HT easily programmed into 9600. Instructions are poorly translated and have very little programming info so it has been difficult to move beyond the codeplug which I already had. It does work VHF very well which I was able to program (one repeater) from the front panel easily, but really need more programming info to do it right using the CPS provided by TYT.

I liked the first one enough to buy a second one for my vehicle. The receiver is very good compared to even my Yaesu dual-band mobile. It works very well with DMR and has very good receive and transmit audio. My biggest complaint is the lack of display brightness and contrast control. It is very hard to read in the vehicle on bright days. I see there is a modification to change the display from the default white to either green or orange. Both look better to me and likely easier to read, but surface mount soldering may not be my best skill. I wish it could be changed with the software.

MD-9600 Excellent design and my hats off on upgrade capability. Well done China. For many hams this is a new introduction like going from AM to SSB in the old days. Lots of learning and more computer savvy needed. This means you have to cater to real knowledge on software layout. I looked and presentation was a bit amateur and details where needed. *** Please layout the manual better. Have an overview on this is the info needed in right part of software to make a contact. or what if radio does not function, this may be the cause. Suggest the layout of typical software selections recommended. There must be a hundred questions that can be covered in a back up PDF manual of suggestions showing software screens, selections and layout, so we can see how it flows and what is needed, which memory banks need to be populated etc. It would save days of floundering and experimenting. How to set up channel ID etc. I run across many hams that are using analog but not DMR part of radio of different brands because they do not have some guide focused on layout of info. There are some U Tube videos on MD9600 that do not get to the meat of the programming, just here it is, radio check with ham. One good comment is great having power self contained in 9600. Also narrow band simplex can easily be done locally and 100+ miles due to narrow band power concentration on 440 or 2 meters, like SSB allowing excellent audio 4 distance/ local emergency communications when the FM repeaters during power failure, quake may be out or like low power narrow band PSK effective range. Developing local simplex networks may be beneficial with excellent clarity of audio and power available when needed long distance or local. Display did not detail certain other indicators, shapes etc. Show them and label them. Busy working people do not have days to screw around with a fragmented manual, but need a fast manual for the few minutes they have to set it up and make software work.

A solid radio with good audio and easy to use controls.

radio has a poping noise when people stop talking

Ordering process was easy and the customer service person was a great help.

Great radio only thing is the codeplugs with ALL DMR radios are hard to work thru due to not only input & output Freqs, but color codes, timeslot, talkgroups, contacts, and other required info. Great and awesome radios though.

Overall a solid radio that performs well as a base station. Volume control is very touchy, slightest change causes a dramatic increase in volume.

IT FOR HAM RADIO USE

I've had nothing but great performance. Easy to use, Everything one could ask for. There may have been issues with previous versions but this one is great.

Overall I like the radio so far. The main thing I don't like is the volume control. it's either to load or not loud enough.

firmware still not permitting 100,000 contacts actually if firmware was like that of the MD-2017, things would be just fine.

Volume hard top contrôle clics ech recive

Originally purchased for mobile installation; however, without a detachable control head, it took up enough room in the vehicle that I opted to make it a base station unit and it turns out that I prefer that utilization of this transceiver. Once the software updates were published by the mfr, the radio performed as advertised and I have been very happy with it.

Even with software update it suffers from pops & clicks, squelch seems to be unadjustable, FM mode not all that sensitive, Volume control too sensitive

Hard to use a product that doesn't perform and has many issues

I had purchased two MD-9600's by pre-order. This product was worth waiting for. Originally I purchased two each, one VHF and one UHF. I got a pleasant surprise in that the manufacturer made the radios dual-band. I ended up with two dual-banders at the introductory/pre-order price. This was clearly a win-win outcome for me. I can put one MD-9600 in the house and the other in my vehicle. There are some idiosyncrosies in the way this radio functions out of the box. TYT was quick to provide a new firmware to fix them and other issues. I am confident that the MD-960] will continue to get better and better with future firmware updates.

Nice dual band DMR and analog FM radio. Great software to set it up to your liking.

I like this radio. Still has a few bugs with the radio. Should be fixed with firmware updates.But over all works for my need.

I can not use the radio. The display is unreadable!!!

Radio works now that TYT updated the firmware and software

I use it with ham radio and very easy to use, gets me into another mode in amateur radio.

Can't wait till I get it