DMR Codeplug Tools: qdmr and N0GSG Contact Manager

Building a good DMR codeplug takes hours: channels, zones, talkgroups, receive lists and scan lists. Buy a second radio from a different maker and, with the maker's own software, you start again from nothing. Two free tools exist to stop that from happening.

The problem they solve

A codeplug is the file of settings a DMR radio runs on. Each manufacturer's programming software (its CPS) saves codeplugs in its own format, and often a different format for each model. A codeplug made for a TYT MD-380 will not open in AnyTone's software, and the reverse is also true.

DMR was designed for businesses, which usually buy a fleet of identical radios, so this never mattered to the manufacturers. For hams, who mix makes and models, it means doing the same work again for every radio.

The two tools in one sentence each

N0GSG DMR Contact Manager translates a codeplug you already have from one radio's format into another's.

qdmr replaces the maker's software: you keep one master codeplug and write it to each of your radios directly.

N0GSG DMR Contact Manager

N0GSG DMR Contact Manager is free software, written by N0GSG, that acts as a codeplug translator. It reads a codeplug exported from one radio's CPS and writes it out in the format another radio's CPS can import. A common example is moving a TYT MD-380, MD-2017 or MD-9600 codeplug onto an AnyTone AT-D868UV or AT-D878UV.

How it is used

Read your new radio first. Use the new radio's own CPS to read the radio and save that file. This gives the converter a correct starting point in the right format.
Open your existing codeplug in N0GSG Contact Manager.
Export it in the new radio's format.
Check it in the new radio's CPS before writing it to the radio. Set your own radio ID and other personal settings there, since those are not carried over reliably.

Where it is used

The RATS project uses N0GSG Contact Manager to turn its master codeplugs for two Connect Systems radios into codeplugs for around 40 other models. BridgeCom, which sells AnyTone radios, points its customers to it for codeplug conversion, while noting that it is not BridgeCom's own product.

Limits

Not every radio model is supported.
The result always needs checking and some tidying in the target radio's own CPS.
It is a translator, not a programmer: you still use the maker's CPS to write the radio.

qdmr

qdmr is free, open source programming software by Hannes Matuschek, DM3MAT. Instead of a radio-specific file, it keeps your codeplug as a plain text file that is not tied to any radio model. The same file can be written to an AnyTone, a TYT, a Radioddity or a Baofeng.

What it handles

qdmr deliberately supports only the settings hams need: radio ID, contacts (digital and DTMF), RX groups, analog and digital channels, zones, scan lists, GPS and APRS, roaming, and the callsign database, where the radio supports them. Commercial features with no use in amateur radio are left out.

Helpful extras

Repeater lookup. It can find repeaters near your location and fill in their transmit and receive frequencies, using data from repeatermap.de.
Callsign lookup. It downloads the full DMR ID database, so you can add a contact by typing a callsign instead of looking up the DMR ID. It can also load that database into radios that hold one.
Linux and Mac. Many manufacturers' CPS programs run only on Windows. qdmr is made for Linux and Mac; on a Mac it installs through MacPorts.

Radios it supports

As listed by the author, with the firmware versions tested:

Maker	Models
AnyTone	AT-D868UVE (2.40), AT-D878UV and AT-D878UVII (4.00), AT-D578UV (1.21), AT-D168UV (1.07)
Baofeng / BTech	DM-32UV (1.L1.48), DMR-6X2UV (2.21b), DMR-6X2UV Pro (1.21b), DM-1701 (2.3)
TYT / Retevis	MD-380, MD-390, MD-UV380, MD-UV390 (Retevis RT3S 18.16), MD-2017
Radioddity	GD-77 (4.3.9), GD-73, RD-5R (2.1.6)
Open source firmware	OpenGD77, OpenRD5R, OpenDM1801, OpenUV380, OpenMD380, OpenDM1701 (2024.09)

The author's list marks one radio, the Baofeng DR-1801-A6, as not recommended for use with qdmr. Popular radios not on the list include the AnyTone AT-D890UV, the Radtel RT-4D and RT-6D, and Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu models.

qdmr is under active development. Version 0.15.1, released in June 2026, is the latest at the time of writing; 0.15.0 added the AT-D168UV and 0.14.0 added the DM-32UV.

Side by side

	N0GSG Contact Manager	qdmr
What it is	A codeplug translator	A complete programming tool
How you work	Convert an existing codeplug, then load it with the maker's CPS	Keep one master codeplug and write it to each radio directly
Still need the maker's CPS?	Yes	No, for supported radios
File format	The maker's own formats	One plain text file for every radio
Best for	A one-time move from an old radio to a new one	Owning several supported radios and keeping them all in step
Cost	Free	Free and open source

Which one should you use?

If you are moving to a new radio and want to bring your existing codeplug with you, N0GSG Contact Manager is the quicker route: convert once, check it, and carry on with the new radio's own software.

If you own several radios that qdmr supports, qdmr saves the most work over time. Change a talkgroup or add a repeater once in the master codeplug, then write it to every radio, instead of making the same change in two or three different programs.

Before you write anything to a radio

Read the radio with its own CPS first and save that file somewhere safe. It is your way back if a converted or new codeplug does not behave as expected.

Sources

A noncommercial hobby reference compiled by N6JET, gathered from public sources and shared freely for anyone interested in amateur digital voice.