Programming Encrypted Radios: Field Guide

let's set up a basic digital encrypted radio network using the DMR standard and the tyt MD UV 390 plus this tutorial will work with most DMR radios that are capable of AES 256bit encryption however this software is only for this specific radio there will be crossover for other radio Brands but just know that this only works with the MD UV 390 plus make sure that it is the plus variant the standard variant does not have a es 256bit encryption so let's get started first download the customer programming software or the CPS from the download section of this website also listed on the website is the cable driver which you may or may not need most of the time you won't need it but grab it anyway just in case then unpack your radio and unlock it by holding down the two buttons above and below the PTT button while turning the radio on next with the radio turned off connect the radio to the computer with the cable that comes in the Box for this specific radio make sure to plug in the side to the radio first and then the computer once it's plugged in you can safely turn the radio on open up the CPS program and click read to pull the default information from the radio then click file say as and save this data file anywhere you like this will be needed later and is helpful to keep as it contains all of your radio settings and channel data next open up the general settings tab and set your radio name and ID if you are a hand radio operator you will know what to put here otherwise if you are using this in an emergency situation any name and radio ID should work just remember what number you choose for the radio ID for later also make sure to save your work as you make changes next let's add some contacts by clicking digital contact at bare minimum you need at least one group call to make the radio function with other radios if you want to use this radio in a similar fashion to to other Radio Systems where everyone is able to talk to one another you need to create a group call this is sort of like a group chat for voice you can create private calls but for now let's get started with just one basic group chat choose whatever contact name you want along with a call ID this call ID is just like the radio ID we programmed earlier but instead of being for a specific radio this is the group chat any radio that is programmed to receive this number will be able to do so as such you need to remember the name and call ID for later make sure that the call type is set to group call save your work and you are ready for the next step now we activate the encryption feature go to privacy setting and activate the secret menu option by pressing contrl shift and P on your keyboard This Will prompt you to restart the program when you load it again the new menu items will be available click open to reload that file you were working on previously and continue to load your AES Keys again from the privacy setting tab click the universal tab which is tyt's code word for AES 256bit encryption put in whatever key value you like preferably using a truly random key generator to ensure best security practices put whatever your key is in the box and note which number it is nesting under in this case it's in the first row with the key name being the number one click WR privacy to write the encryption keys to the radio note that this is separate from writing the settings to your radio you will still need to click write to radio at the end to push all of your settings and channel data to the radio this step just handles the encryption keys if you wish you can click save privacy to save a file with your encryption keys in it however just note that if anyone gets this file they can potentially decrypt your radio traffic so make sure to save this file on a safe and secure system now that the keys are loaded we can create our channels first click the Zone tab to make sure that you have at least one zone this is like the memory bank that will contain our channels open the channel information information menu and you will probably have some default channels here right now we're just going to program one channel select channel one and begin modifying some data points first make sure the channel mode is set to digital and the bandwidth to 12.5 khz name your channel whatever you want and input your chosen frequency for receive and transmit set your power level to whatever you choose but it's best to start with a lower power setting just to reduce your signature while still getting the message across under the contact name drop- down menu select the group call name that you chose earlier this will set this channel to talk to the group on the frequency that you chose next make sure the appropriate group list is selected this should be automatic with most software packages because when you create your first group call it puts that group call in a group automatically just make sure it's selected anyway set color code to one and repeater slot or time slot to one you can set these to whatever you want but you just have to make sure it's the same for all radios in your group if you want to select color code 5 for instance all radios must use color code 5 finally we must turn on the encryption by checking the Privacy switch box which opens up another menu select Universal from this dropdown menu this is going to be for the aes256 menu option and yet another box will pop up the last drop- down box will ass associate that AES key you input earlier to this channel in our case we created only one key and we put that key in the number one row so we'll select one at last we can click right to radio and all of this channel data will be sent to the radio you can unplug the radio from the computer and you are good to go with a very basic group DMR encrypted Channel there are vastly better ways to set up a network but this is the bare minimum needed to make the radio's function over time you may wish to edit some of the settings in the radio to make it more applicable for a more tactical environment such as turning off some sound notifications the screen backlight and locking key ke is out so you don't accidentally bump the radio and change the settings in the field you may also want to add in additional contacts and channels for a more capable Network for now this works and will allow you to more effectively fight in the shade