I was studying for my technicians license and wanted to get a radio that I can help study and learn the basics of radio. By the time My General class course was active, I decided to purchase a SDR and a DMR. This is to learn the aspects, terminology and workflow of these devices and protocols. Therefore, back in spring of 2024, my first DMR was purchased via Amazon and it was the TYT MD-UV390 GPS 10 WATTS.
I asked Redditors on which one to purchase as a starter DMR, and I should have listened and avoided purchasing the MD-UV390.
The radio itself is very nice for a starter radio but, issue starts as soon as you power it on. First issue is the manual is not user friendly although it does contain the basics. Powering the radio on is automatically locked. This is by design and can be unlocked by holding the monitor and the PTT button together when powering this on. A small minor inconvenience but it gets worse. The Customer Program is set in Chinese and leaves anyone non-Chinese to look for the language option which the only other option is English. Now the worse part is yet to come. Some of the functions requires a firmware update for the MD-UV390 GPS. The official webpage only contains the Program software, no firmware. Added to the frustration, this particular radio is actually a clone of the MD-UV380, which is also a clone of the Retrevis RT3S. These clones also share firmware with each other which adds to the confusion. But the warning of using the wrong firmware can brick your radio. And this is what happened to me. A simple flash/upgrade turned my radio into a brick. Few hours later trying a few firmware and I am still stuck with a bricked radio.
Apparently, these particular radio models or clones have been using different chips. And the MD-UV390 GPS 10W has been using a very low end generic chip that is completely garbage because it causes display issues. As a consumer I am outraged but the blame is on me because I chose the cheapest starter DMR instead of waiting for something a bit more mainstream or even better. Will TYT come out with a firmware to fix this issue? The answer is no. Due to the new cheap generic chip on these 10 watt transceivers, open sources solutions such as OpenGD77 does not support this model. Users have got it to work but GPS will not work and display issue is a huge possibility.
The main reason for so many clones and the meaning for this mass confusion is all about money. Chinese radios will always have a clone that will look and act like the same thing as the original but then they will install cheap chipset and firmware that can render the end user without a working radio. I do not want to say that I have given up on Chinese radios because my Beofeng UV-5R 10W is purely amazing for an entry level radio and I had zero issues with it. But I am going to say that with so much issues and useless clones, TYT is a brand that is not to be trusted only based on the fact that the numerous clones is a gateway to increased revenue and profiteering that it is no wonder they are sanctioned by the USA. They should be avoided at all cost!
For best practice if you must purchase or use an MD-UV380/UV390 is do not update the firmware at all cost! If there is a function that is needed, my suggestion is to take a look at the current firmware ( 18.16 ) and try to stay on this. If your radio comes with a higher version, you maybe on one of these generic chips and updating will be dangerous. So proceed with extreme caution. As for my radio, as of this writing I was provided with a much higher firmware for my radio which matched the version I was using before my radio partially bricked and this firmware did help the display to show the splash screen, but it does not go beyond that. If I ever get it back to working order you can bet I will use it until have enough money for a much better US based DMR radio.