Repeater Tone Question

[tilt404]

I recently got my amateur license here in Canada, a Basic with honors, so includes HF. I'm really confused though by the software I use to program my Yaesu-FT897D. Some programs for other radios I have like my Uniden scanner just has a spot for the pl tone, and nothing more. My Icom IC-R20 receiver though has 5 or so different modes for the tone options and the same goes for my Yaesu.

What I'm confused by is what to put in the tone option. If a repeater uses a tone, which I always see in listings like in my ARRL repeater guide it just shows the tone usually, with no info about if that repeater is using CTCSS Encode, or CTCSS encode/decode. Sometimes when I talk I seem to be in the wrong mode and people can hear me but I can't hear them.

I have most of my repeaters set to TSQL which is CTCSS Encode/Decode on my Yaesu. I'm thinking of maybe setting it to TEN, which is CTCSS Encode. I really don't know though. Maybe someone here can explain things and help? I'm lacking a Elmer here.

 

[bezking]

9 times out of 10 using the tone for TX and leaving the RX set to Carrier Squelch will allow you to hit a repeater. I've only seen a very very few specialized cases where there was no input tone on a repeater with an output tone.

 

[tilt404]

Thank you, I changed them all to just tone now. Which on mine is CTCSS Encode. I'll ask a couple more questions on a local net tonight.

 

[tilt404]

One problem I'm having now is getting noise on some of the repeaters in just tone mode, when I put it to TSQL it stops it. It's on a frequency where it's used by 3 repeaters around here all with different tones. So I guess maybe that's a case where TSQL is more handy. When I say tone, I just mean CTCSS Encode on my radio, and TSQL is CTCSS Enc/Dec.

 

[bezking]

Right. Sometimes you need the RX tone, because it's helpful, but it's not necessary for the radio to be able to use the repeater.

 

[joen7xxx]

Some repeater controllers will strip off or will not pass the sub-audible tone through so even if someone is transmitting it to open a repeater and you have tone squelch enabled on your radio, it may not open your receiver. Short story, transmit a tone but leave the receiver in carrier squelch (csq) as the previous poster stated.\ and you should be fine.

Welcome to the community of hams!

73

Joe

 

[hockeyshrink]

I sometimes get interference from other radio services on 70cm, so I use the TSQ option to block out everything except what is coming through the repeater with the CTCSS that is programmed. As others have pointed out, however, the repeater MAY not "pass through" the CTCSS tone, in which case you are SOL. Experiment and ask questions in TEN setting, which leaves the receiver in Carrier Squelch, or no tone required to receive.

One way to think about it: Encode (TEN) transmits the CTCSS tone to open a repeater; Decode (TSQ) requires the tone to be received by your radio in order to open the squelch on the the receiver. When there is no Decode set to open the squelch, and any signal strong enough will come through the receiver, it is called Carrier Squelch (CSQ).

Amateur radio convention is to operate Carrier Squelch (TEN), but this is just not practical sometimes. In the GMRS service in the US, several repeaters can operate on one frequency (pair), so it is necessary to operate TSQ and set up a different channel for each repeater you listen to. We usually don't have that problem with amateur repeaters, as they are pretty well coordinated, but the interference/intermod issue still remains.

 

[tilt404]

Thank you HockeyShrink for explaining things in a bit more detail, especially how they relate to my Yaesu with the TEN and TSQ. I'm finding since I changed all to TEN I'm picking up more, but also more weak stations now too, but I will weed those ones out. I put in repeaters from a wide range here since I've been picking up some in a 100km or more range at times. There's just a few close ones who have a frequency that 3 other repeaters use, so for those I will need the TSQ to block out the others and keep on track with the one I'm monitoring.

I don't remember much about all this in the study guide I read for my exam, or the exam. I really appreciate the help here. Thanks to the previous people who replied as well. It's been a bit overwhelming at first but slowly catching on.

 

[tilt404]

Thank you Joe, I think I understand it better now. It's been hard. I kind of like how the exams are in the US more in some ways since they move you along step by step as you learn more with fairly short exams in terms of questions. Here in Canada we start off with a 100 question exam covering so much all at once. 2 tests rolled into one in a way, since if we get 70-79 we pass our Basic and can transmit on 2m/70cm, and if we get 80% or over we get our Basic + which gives us HF all the rest of the bands. I got 84% so have full access but it's been a bit overwhelming to dive into all at once.

I guess it's up to me though to take it slow and not try to not to sink or swim. : )