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The Bridgecom repeaters do not transmit the CW ID using tones at all. So the only way one will hear the ID is if they have their RX tones turned off. But there is quite a bit of traffic on simplex that none of us want to hear so we all use RX tones. The Arcom RC-210 will take care of that and allow us to transmit the ID with tones enabled. Plus it allows us to do so much more than just run the ID.

@Jaay are you working on this with Jack?

We get to do the move one more time this week. For this trip, I can get a few repeaters plugged into the radios. My programming cables are in our new location so the effort will be greater. We flew back today with our radios in carry on and in luggage. No questions on the mess of wires when we went through security.

Guess what ?? 6 meters was open yesterday and Today !! I made 11 new contacts on usb , and 4 on fm @ 50 watts !

WE KNEW you were High but ....

They're using their call sign, which Doesn't ID the repeater. That's the whole point, is to id the repeater with the call sign of who it's licensed to.

Generally speaking, if a repeater accepts a tone of 141.3 MHz, it's considered an open repeater. It was the "travel tone" Popular Wireless and the Personal Radio Association came up with when they came up with the idea of the Open Repeater Initiative (ORI). It was originally repeater channel 20 with 141.3 for the tone.

You don't even know the repeater is transmitting the ID as long as you strip the pl or dcs tone from the controller, that way you don't hear it.

Not to rile anyone up, but were your ancestors in the first or second migration from Asia? There have never been "native" humans in North, Central or South America.

I was just going to bring up Goldstone. I did a bit off work out there until I retired. You think getting into the base was difficult. NASA was a whole other level. But they do receive radio from many, many, many, many Farz away. Then there were the terrestrial hazards. Watch where you step!

Does anyone know what freq. is for travel tone? I hear there was one. please provide all the information . Thanks WSIK532

Menu # 9 helps, but does not work. Does anyone have a schematic of the RA87. maybe there is a jumper or something can be added to hold the output on longer.??

I left Ft Irwin in 1996 so my memory is not the best. The turn off for Goldstone was right after you went through the gate which was after you passed the painted rocks.

there for a second, i thought he was talking farts

I know Goldstone very well. My dad was worked there for 35 years and was the head of R&D for the DSN (Deep Space Network). I loved going to work with the old man as a kid!

Gold Stone is actually inside of Ft Irwin and has been for a long time. I know that there are certain areas around Goldstone that even military personnel are restricted from. I was stationed at NTC in 95-96. One of my first vehicle recovery missions was to the southwest side of base and I accidentally crossed over into the Goldstone area and was met by armed HMMV's with M2's pointed at me. The guards wore solid tan uniforms and no rank or insignia. I was promptly escorted back to the actual training area.

Fort Irwin is kinda limited on what they can do radio wise. Lot's of restrictions because of the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex being adjacent to the base.

I have made it 460 miles with tropospheric ducting Montgomery, TX to Mobile, AL this was on may15th 2025 on 700. The whole coast line from Texas over to Alabama was white. The majority of the Gulf of America was white hot as well. You can use https://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html to find out if your ever in a good opening and try for some farZ contacts.

We had to use repeaters setup on the top of the Granite Mountains at the National Training Center/Ft Irwin, Ca. Otherwise our hand held radios would not reach the main base. And we still has plenty of dead zones. especially on the northern part of the training are where all of the live fire ranges were. We used commercial radios for the Observer/Controller groups and associated maintenance personnel. The live fire ranges were on the north side of the Granite Mountains while the rest of the base was south. And there were still plenty of dead spots on the main training area, especially in certain spots in the John Wayne Hills and along the Whale. My point is that not every spot in the desert is wide open. We definitely did not have to worry about foliage interference. But there was plenty of terrain features that caused issues.

Sorry to be "that guy", but you spelled "FARz" wrong..

the only foliage i see is a 3' high tumbleweed .. In the evenings i can see the glow from the lights coming out of Las Angeles 130 miles south.

But yet in parts of the country you will be lucky to get 50 miles even when the repeater antenna is at 450 feet above ground. Some areas are lucky to see a 20 mile range with antennas on mountain tops. Foliage has a big effect on UHF. When one talks about the Appalachians, Smokey Mountains, Ozark mountains, etc, there are no tree lines to get above. There are also no large flat and open areas like out west. And most lakes, outside of the Great Lakes, are smaller and surrounded by forested hills. Our GMRS repeater antennas are on the same tower as our 2m and 70cm repeaters antennas. The radio tower is on one of the highest points in the immediate area. The GMRS antennas are at 400 ft above ground and the 2m/70cm antennas are at 900 ft above ground. We only get about a 35 mile radius of coverage from our GMRS and 70cm repeaters with plenty of dead spots due to local terrain and forested areas. The 2m repeater has a 80-95 mile radius of coverage. And just because radio A can hear radio B doesn't mean that radio B can hear radio A. There are plenty of variables involved.

Yea, if you consider end to end with repeater setting in the middle.

But, but, but there's a guy who gets 250 miles.

My repeater antenna sits about 45 AGL from a ground elevation of 2,600 feet. Mt. Whitney is about 75-80 miles away, line of site. Last summer i talked with a hiker sitting at Whitney Portals whom was talking off a Baufang UV5R off my repeater. I've talked to mobiles on Hwy 395 near Lone Pine, about the same distance but not the elevation angle as Mt. Whitney.. I sit in a unique spot where i sit in a valley and surrounded by long mountain ranges.. Another repeater 12 miles from me sitting at 4,300 feet can talk 200+ miles. Aside from Antenna height, other factors come into play such as ground elevation and elevation of surrounding areas. The guy sitting at Whitney Portals said he was at 8,400 feet.