DMR radio

The AnyTone AT-D890uv Dual-Band DMR Handheld Radio was released in late 2025. It seems to tick all the boxes:

  • Dual-Band operation (2m and 70cm)
  • Analog RX/TX (FM)
  • Digital RX/TX (DMR)
  • Air Band RX (AM)
  • FM Radio RX (WFM)
  • GPS / APRS
  • Bluetooth

I just received my AnyTone AT-D890uv radio from HamShop. Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) is a complicated beast with a very steep learning curve so I’m writing down my initial notes here.

There’s a nice introduction to DMR and the AnyTone AT-D878 handheld on the “DMR Techno Ronde” Dutch DMR forum: Een nieuwe AnyTone 878 en nu?. This is the predecessor of the AT-D890uv, and almost all information still applies.

Codeplug Programming Software (CPS)

You definitely need a Windows PC to program this beast. There are so many options - the mind boggles.

Warning: CPS software and Codeplug files are specific to the version of the firmware in the radio. Be careful not to brick your radio!

My radio was shipped with firmware v1.03, so download the AT-D890uv v1.03 CPS and Firmware (ZIP) file from AnyTone USA. The software is Windows only, alas.

Extract the ZIP file, look for a CPS folder and install the CPS software.

Back up the “factory” configuration

Connect the radio to your Windows PC via the programming cable, select the correct COM port and read all data from the radio. Save it - this is your backup of a known good “Codeplug” configuration.

Change the default band plan “mode”

While trying to write a community-provided CPS file to the radio, I got a “Band Error” message. The radio appears to have shipped in “mode 3”. This can be changed in multiple ways; I did the following:

  • With the radio off, press and hold the PTT and “1” keys
  • Power on the radio, and hold the keys until it shows “TEST MODE”
  • Use the rotary control to change the mode to “00000”
  • Power off the radio

This appears to have done the trick - the Codeplug can now be written successfully.

One minor issue remained: “Repeater our of range” error messages kept popping up. These are related to the “Repeater Check” setting in CPS: Common Setting > Optional Setting > Auto repeater.

The error message might be real - perhaps, no DMR repeater is in range?

Up next: modifying the codeplug for my own needs.

References

Updated: