new guy

[n2vei]

N2VEI - bit of a new guy -
I have a Yaesu FT-70D

Queens, New York

Sometimes i say N2VEI and someone responds and we have a conversation and that works fine.
But sometimes i am listening to someone calling out or two people having a conversation - and when i try to transmit - no one hears me. What am i doing wrong?

Hitting a repeater near by N2YN and continue to hear conversations but when i transmit no one hears me.
Thought it was a repeater thing, so i picked up a hot spot openSPOT4 - configured it all good in the receiving part but no one hears my transition.

My transitions are intermittent.

I understand going over repeater, but why would that be over hotspot?

settings?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

N2VEI

 

[Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite]

Oh Wow , VEI--- I am not sure what you are asking here...... but I'll take a stab at it.

To me, it sounds like you are trying to use a repeater ---
OK-- simple question: Are you key'ng up the repeater ? That is, if you 'kerchunk it" does it respond ?
You say that you talk to people occasionally....is this thru the repeater or is this on "simplex?"

I am going to assume your 'transitions" are transmission-- and what they have to do with your Yaesu transceiver and a 'hot spot'........

I am sorry, I'd like to help you, but you bank'd my ball clean off the table....
I have some suggestions you might try but I (and I think I am not alone here,) need more information.

Regardless, good luck


Lauri


.

 

[hp8920]

According to Repeater Book, two of the N2YN repeaters are mixed mode System Fusion.

If the repeater is set up with mixed mode output, analog users can only hear you when you make an FM transmission. Digital users can only hear both types if they turn on AMS. AMS does weird things sometimes if you set it to AMS auto mode, so you must observe what mode you're transmitting and manually correct it if it's not what you want.

If the repeater is set to FM output only, then analog or digital input will be converted to FM output.

When transmitting on the OpenSpot, you must use digital input and output. Therefore, turn off AMS completely and set it to a digital mode, most commonly DN.

Yaesu has done a poor job of documenting System Fusion.

 

[n2vei]

Thanks for the REPLY!!!!
I have some homework to do!

Thank you so much this gives me some research.
Real quick, was not keying up the repeater- and i was not using simplex.

So i am going to start there.
Greatly appreciated and have a wonderful safe Memorial Day!
My family and I are reflecting on all the brave soldiers that never came home.

I'll be back ... and again thank you

and i thought it was me- but Yaesu's instructions say nothing about all of this.
Just an FYI- i work in the networking field (Lan Wan stuff) i understand configurations and protocols etc ...
Im trying to make a connection to ham radio.
Is this an accurate statement:?

All the DMR vs CF4M vs DSTAR vs P25 etc ... are these the communication protocols that work on the radio bands for Hams?
Second: are these radio specific? meaning my radio can communicate on these protocols but needs to be configured that way.
Third: where would I be able to find what my radio supports? its definitely not in the instruction manual.
If i am totally off, just ignore me, or help me frame my question correctly.
Again new at this - but have had my license since 2003. Kids go older now so wanted to pick this up and continue the community.

N2VEI

and yes transmissions haha sorry spell check issue

 

[hp8920]

All the DMR vs CF4M vs DSTAR vs P25 etc ... are these the communication protocols that work on the radio bands for Hams?

Correct. Despite what Yaesu does, C4FM is best referred to as "Yaesu System Fusion". (C4FM is a physical layer protocol, and there's incompatible differences between how YSF and P25 use it).

Second: are these radio specific? meaning my radio can communicate on these protocols but needs to be configured that way.

Generally, your radio can only do one of these modes. If you want another, you have to buy a new one. (Some models in Kenwood's commercial NX line are an exception)

Third: where would I be able to find what my radio supports? its definitely not in the instruction manual.

Your Yaesu digital radio does analog FM and Yaesu System Fusion. See page 1 of the manual.

 

[n2vei]

BOOM!
Thank You!

"physical layer protocol"
This resonates with me -
thank you for all your help
I got my license back in 2003 - messed around a little bit - but then marriage and 3 kids later i put this down. Technology has definitely changed quite a bit.
Kids are older now, and a few weeks back i realized my license was about to expire, so re-newed and picked up a radio. and here i am.
Over all i have been communicating with some great hams from Montana, California, Massachusetts, UK etc ... but just have not been consistent - trying to figure things out.

Many thanks !!!!

I will keep at it-
I pray the younger generation continues this hobby- its quite fascinating - its like the internet before the internet!

N2VEI
Chris Astoria Queens New York

Are YSF Reflectors the same (similar) as repeaters?
I am also trying to use a SharkRF openSPOT4 -
From what i understand, i connect to my local hotspot sitting right next to me - that connects via internet and then hits something called a YSF Reflector.

is that accurate?
and then i guess i need to configure my radio to the configurations of that reflector?
So just like there is a repeater book that tells you what the configurations of the repeater is, is there also a reflector book?
Or am i just totally wrong here?

 

[kg7jqh]

I have a horrible connection with my mobile hotspot and openspot 3, so I'm 100% receive only when on the road. I've noticed that, sometimes, people that call are just ignored. Could be that is just the case and why your transmissions seem intermittent. I'm pretty sure there's a parrot or echo service for Fusion you can use to see if you're getting out. Also, check that your DG/ID is all zeros with the openspot.

 

[Kd8lzl]

Ysf reflectors or rooms or nodes as they are called sometimes, are just big networks that you can connect your open spot or repeater too that people meet at to chew the fat. Some have more traffic than others. America link is one of the biggest. You should have no problem with stirring up some activity there at any hour of the day. Remember that it is linked to hundreds of repeaters and to leave a pause in between key up and un key. Have fun on ysf AA8NN

 

[littona]

So just like there is a repeater book that tells you what the configurations of the repeater is, is there also a reflector book?
Or am i just totally wrong here?

Repeaterbook is a website. More specifically: Repeaterbook.com - Home
It's not 100% accurate. Garbage in=garbage out, but it's the best collection of garbage that's out there!
Not sure if someone has a listing of reflectors or not... but the web is a large place, so likely!

 

[n2vei]

Do i need to set DMR on my radio? or just register online with my call sign?

Things seem to be working pretty good right now- although the thing that bugs me is i didnt make any changes! haha problems that go away naturally seem to come back naturally
Im currently receiving and transmitting great on America Link YSF 32592

any ideas?
Other reflectors: I can hear but cannot transmit

 

[AK9R]

Do i need to set DMR on my radio?

The Yaesu FT-70D that you mentioned in the first post is not a DMR radio. The only digital voice mode it can do is Yaesu System Fusion.

 

[hp8920]

While you cannot use your radio as DMR radio over the air, you can join DMR Internet networks with your FT-70D via a hotspot, using YSF2DMR.

Yaesu System Fusion radios are compatible in this way to every common mode except D-Star, which makes them the most flexible.

 

[n2vei]

Interesting - Thank You

 

[n2vei]

I thank you all for your help and its been a great few weeks transmitting over the openspot4 on America Link.
Sorry for this new guy question - trying to understand the network topology with radio communications.

1- I have a Yaesu FT-70D hand held
2- Connecting to openspot4
3- Sometimes i connect directly to a repeater a few miles away N2YN 440.800

In Scenario 2:
Im trying to understand the topology on how i connect.
FT-70D connects to the hot spot and that hotspot connects to a fusion network? and that fusion network connects me via a protocol called C4FM?
Is this correct for scenario 2 ?
Radio > Transmits 70cm band > Openspot4 > Internet > Repeater (Fusion, DMR, D-Star???) > ???
Can someone lay out the connection on how this works? It would be a great help-

And most important- haha where does C4FM fall into all of this?
Many thanks for your help in advance.

Chris
N2VEI
Astoria Queens NY

Thanks again

 

[ladn]

Sorry for this new guy question - trying to understand the network topology with radio communications.

Good question and I'm glad you're having some radio fun!

You can think of an OpenSpot (or any hot spot) as a microrepeater that's in your house rather than a conventional repeater on a mountaintop. Both link to a server via IP and the server manages the talkgroups and serves the appropriate datastream to other connected clients be they hot spots or conventional repeaters which then connect to their respective client radios. Since very low power is involved between a hot spot host and a client radio, one can almost consider the client radio as a very expensive wireless microphone.

C4FM is just a digital communication protocol as are DMR, D-Star, P-25 and NXDN. The protocol determines the specifics of how the data are processed and the network topology. What's annoyingly confusing is that while all of these are digital protocols, none of them are directly compatible with one another. Some hot spots also have the capability of acting as a wireless bridge between, say, the C4FM and DMR networks.

 

[n2vei]

Thank you very much Iadn - This forum is awesome.

I actually had the pleasure of speaking directly with the ARRL Technical Coordinator for the Kansas Section on my question.

This makes a lot of sense now.
This is what made me so confused but you now clarified:

"What's annoyingly confusing is that while all of these are digital protocols, none of them are directly compatible with one another. Some hot spots also have the capability of acting as a wireless bridge between, say, the C4FM and DMR networks."
i was trying to understand the difference. Looks like the difference is intentional and not an oversight on my part.

This is so cooooool!!!!!!
I got my license back in 2003 but life, work, marriage and kids came into play- now kids are older and i re-newed my license 2X and finally bought a radio!
I will say this is an incredible community. I have no facebook, no instagram no nothing - ham radio is by far b the best!!!!!

Very professional and friendly community.

thanks
N2VEI

73's to all !!!!

 

[nd5y]

C4FM is a modulation type (Continuous 4 Level FM) not a protocol. It's FSK with 4 frequencies.
Yaesu System Fusion, P25, DMR and NXDN are different protocols that all use C4FM but they don't all use the same deviation or bit rate. P25 can also use some other modulation types and it can even be different on the transmit and receive channels.