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UHF "Call Tone"

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adza

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Hi All,

I've seen a feature on a number of UHF radio sets (Call Tone). You hit the button and it sends out a small burst of melody.

You can normally choose from 5 different 'tones / melodies'.

Does anyone know what is the purpose of this feature. (Besides annoying other fellow CB'ers)?

To clarify - I'm not talking about Sell Call (or Tone Squelch) or CTCSS - it's like a little musical tune that you broadcast - and can only be done once per minute.

Cheers

Adza
 

KG4INW

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It's just an alert to let a specific user know that you'd like to talk to them. Usually, it stands out over simply using your voice and grabs their attention. Other than that, yeah it'll annoy people! We (in the US) have the same thing on our "bubble pack" FRS/GMRS radios.
 

VA3XDJ

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While we don't have UHF CB here in Canada. From what I understand he is probably referring to selcall. A rapid sequence of 5 short tone bursts allowing a unit to selectively call another.

Maybe consulting the Uniden or Phillips websites will yield more information as they are the major suppliers in Australia from what I've seen. This website might also help: UHF CB Australia - News - Repeater Locations - History - Sales & More

Here in Canada (and the US) we have 27MHz AM/SSB like Australia and we also have FRS/GMRS which operate on 462 and 467MHz frequencies.

In the US they are allowed to purchase a license for 5 years that covers their entire family and allows base, portable and mobile units to run up to 50 watts and allow repeaters which here in Canada is not allowed and we're limited to portables with a maximum of 2 watts with fixed (non-removable) antennas.
 

adza

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Thanks for the reply. It's not sellcall - (ie, there's no option to reverse the option). We ahve CTCSS / DCS here now which effectively has 'taken over' sell call on CB radio's.

50 watts transmitter. That's a fair bit nicer than the 5 watts we're limited to here with CB.
 

VA3XDJ

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I could've sworn they had Selcall...

I must admit though, listening to UHF CB streaming online does makes for interesting listening!

Kinda reminds me of the infamous 435 repeater in California.
 

VA3XDJ

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As I suspected...

Selective calling (Selcall)

Selective calling (Selcall) allows an individual radio to call another radio using a sequence of tones, usually presented to the user as a series of 5 numbers. UHF CB radios can be set to be completely silent until they receive a series of tones matching a pre-programed sequence. Radios which have this feature usually indicate that a call has been received by emitting a number of beeps and by opening the squelch.

Here's another link with audio sample: Selcall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

VA3XDJ

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From what I can see doing a search for "UHF CB Selcall" the GME TX4400 and Uniden UH015SX both offer Selcall.
 

VA3XDJ

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Now I'm embarassed... I've just re-read the original post...

You are surely referring to simple "call" tones emitted by mostly portable units that vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

For example Motorola FRS/GMRS units sold here have 5 different call tones. Others, such as Cobra emit what sounds like a prolonged digital burst.

My apologies.
 

adza

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Yup, there's the ones I'm talking about. A little musical ring tone - that doesn't seem to do anything but annoy other users... :)
 
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