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Programming Repeater Issue

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a42887

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Hello, all. Just got my GMRS license, and I'm trying to use a local open repeater.

The repeater info is:

Output: 462.7000 / Tone: 88.5
Input: 467.7000 / Tone 88.5

I have my radio programmed as such:

radiopic.PNG


When I key the radio, I hear nothing on another radio or on a scanner set to the receive channel. When I let off after a few second transmission, I hear a brief bit of radio silence come through on the radio and the scanner. I can never hear my voice on another radio, nor on the scanner. I do hear the morse code identifier come through occassionally on the scanner, but never on the radios. What am I doing wrong here?

Thanks in advance for the assistance,
 

nd5y

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Is the scanner and other radio in the same room with you?
How far apart are the radios and antennas?
You are probably desensing the scanner and other radio.
 

a42887

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How far away would they have to be to test this out? It's certainly a possibility. I've been pretty close with them.

Although, I can use them the same distance as I've been testing from each other in simplex, and get through just fine to all devices.

The repeater does put out a PL, and it's not NFM.

Thanks so far!
 
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jwt873

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Strange one...

With the brief silence you hear after you transmit and the odd CW ID you hear after you transmit, It looks like you're tripping the repeater. Repeaters normally stay on for a second or so after you stop transmitting. This is called 'hang time'.

This would mean your tone settings are correct. But, the tone settings are only to open the repeater. They shouldn't have any affect on passing voice.

Is your radio OK? Can you hear your voice on the scanner if you use it on a simplex frequency? (Set both to a non-repeater channel). Perhaps there is a problem with the microphone (Just guessing here :) )

Is the repeater OK? Have you ever heard anyone speaking on it?

And, as ND5Y points out, it could be a desense problem. Get someone to listen to your scanner and get a hundred feet or so away when you transmit.

Another option would be to track down the owner and work with him/her...

Good luck!
 

rescue161

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Just as ND5Y stated, you are desensing the scanner/receiver. Your radio is programmed properly and is working on the repeater, but your "test" receiver is too close to your transmitter to pick up the distant repeaters transmitter. You are overloading the scanners front end with a larger amount of RF and it can't overcome this massive amount, even though the transmitter is 5 MHz away. Scanners have poor selectivity, so you'll have to move it away from the transmitter if you still want to verify that you are in fact making it into the repeater.
 

Project25_MASTR

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As others have posted...desening the other radios. To be technical, radios have an adjacent channel rejection limit...if a nearby transmitter exceeds that limit, then it will blank the receiving radio's front end until the transmission is ceased or the attenuation between the signal is increased.
 

a42887

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Well, I'm back with the same issue. Never have gotten it to work. New repeater (thinking maybe it was a repeater issue), same issue.

chirp1.png


I have tried moving well past 100 feet apart, and tried channels 4 and 5 (to be sure it wasn't a TONE vs TONESQL issue). When I Xmit on radio one, I hear what sounds like static come back on both radios one and two after my xmission is finished.

Am I too far? Did I program them wrong? I'm running out of ideas.

Thanks in advance.
 

harkola2015

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Mar 29, 2014
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I would remove the Output tone on 462.7000 I have mine set that way. Only the transmit tone to open the repeater and nothing else.
 

a42887

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I would remove the Output tone on 462.7000 I have mine set that way. Only the transmit tone to open the repeater and nothing else.

Channel 1 is just old programming. Channel 5 is the one in trying to get to work.
 

bharvey2

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Does channel 4 work for you on the second repeater? If it's done the way Kenwood does it, that should provide a PL tone on transmit but not on receive. That should give you greater latitude.
 

chief21

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Summer - Western NC; Winter - Tampa Bay FL
1 - Your programming appears to be correct;

2 - Consider that your signal might not be making it to the repeater, or it might be just strong enough to activate the repeater, but not strong enough to hold the repeater and no audio is being passed;

3 - If you are confident that the repeater should be accessible from your location, then - as others have said - the most likely cause is desense of the receiving radio(s) when you are transmitting. This is especially common with scanners and less expensive handhelds as the receive filtering is not as robust.

Can any of the other users of the repeater hear your radio?

John AC4JK
 

a42887

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Ok, so here is the repeater from myGMRS:

uQvVnXT.png


Here is a video of what happens:

http://www.7220ft.com/scanner.m4v

This was with only one handheld in the car (the transmitter). What I hear on the other handheld, even at distances over 100 feet apart, is identical to what is heard here. This video was taken with direct LOS to the repeater (it is on a mountain top adjacent to the highway I was driving on).

[Also, before anyone is concerned, my car is self-driving, and this is a remote stretch of highway, so this wasn't inherently unsafe.]

To try to respond to the posts above:

I'm pretty sure of the offset, but please see the photo above to make sure I'm not dense.

With LOS to the repeater, and only one radio in the car, I don't think I'm desensing anything. The sound that comes through is the same on the transmitting handheld as is on the receiving handheld (when I have a second one around to listen on).

I am using Chirp in the most recent screenshot above to program channels 4 and 5.

No difference when using channels 4 and 5. Same result.

Again, thanks for the ideas! Gotta figure this out. The same thing happens on another repeater in town, so it must be something I'm doing wrong.
 

SpugEddy

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Sure looks like your programming is right.
The only other thing left to try would be to
program another channel and set the TX
and the RX tone (141.3) then set to TSQL
on both radios and try again.
 
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