Baofeng Question about Tone Squelch

[djjacob76]

Hello, I have a few Baeofeng Radios and I use them on local logging roads and to contact local logging contractors using direct radio channels or repeaters. In Western Coastal B.C. (I thought) or where I live, Sunshine coast/ Vancouver Island, Contractors use the T-CTCS tone for privacy each contractor and repeater has a frequency they use and generally a tone as well that ive always programed into the T-CTCS column on the radio or in CHIRP. Now Ive realized in the latest Chirp that there is a Tone SQUELCH column as well with the same tone options next to the tone column... Have I been doing it wrong ? Should I be programing the Tone and Tone Squelch in T-CTCS columns in CHIRP with the same tone? or is it necessary at all? I know I need a TX tone somewhere ..when programing the radio from the face there is no option to program tone squelch only so I think Im doing it right. Appreciate any help

 

[WA0CBW]

Typically "Tone" is for the transmitter and "Tone Squelch" is for the receiver for either the repeaters or the mobiles and are usually the same tone. There are some that may use a different tone for receive and transmit. "Tone Squelch" for mobiles and portables is optional. Unless there are multiple agencies using the same frequency or noise bursts that open the squelch tone squelch is not necessary. This includes DCS and DPL types of "digital" tone encoding.
Bill

 

[chief21]

If I recall correctly, the Tone column in CHIRP is used for the encode tone (to access a repeater, for example) and the TSql column is used for the decode tone. Use the Tone Mode column to select which tone mode to use on the particular channel.

 

[K9RPL]

In Chirp, Tone is TX only and ToneSquelch is both TX and RX.

 

[dazey77]

Just to point out, from the original post "Contractors use the T-CTCS tone for privacy..."
No analogue tones offer any privacy. They are almost the opposite of privacy, they provide a way of selective hearing only your own channels. Anyone can listen in to you, but unless they find your code (which is not hard) they can't talk back to you as your squelch won't open (but they will block your channel)

 

[K9RPL]

Actually, the question was on how tone and tone squelch worked since he was configuring for an existing system. Agreed that tone squelch isn't really private (even though Motorola calls it "Private Line").