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I don’t know, but if you click on Repeaters on the menu bar you should be able to look them up either in the database or on the map. Many repeaters give a squelch tail, a short burst of static right after you activate them, but the most reliable way is to monitor the repeater and see if anyone is using it then ask for a radio check. Also, if you leave your R-CTCSS empty you’ll hear everything.

Exactly!

so my T-CTCSS on my radio is the INPUT tone for the repeater?

@SteveShannon, are there any repeaters near Cherokee, NC that I can access? How do I know if I'm accessing them when I transmit? WSJV 482

Input and Output are relative to the repeater. So your transmission is the input to the repeater and you receive the repeater’s output. The settings on your radio are relative to your radio. So T-CTCSS (or T-DCS) is what you transmit, which is the input to the repeater.

It is amazing and frustrating how so many will fall back on 4-8 year old posts about line A, and not read the current rules. We've had this battle locally, and still the mumbles. It's just not there, as you know. Like building codes, when they remove one, they don't let you know, it's just gone.

WSJV 482 here, i just recently, as of 08/29/25, received my callsign. I am still confused about connecting to repeaters... On my radio, I have C-CTCSS, C-DCS, R-CTCSS, and R-DCS... What is the difference between these settings and the INPUT and OUTPUT tones listed on the repeaters' information pages and which do I use for INPUT tone (R-CTCSS or T-CTCSS) and which do I use for OUTPUT tone (T-CTCSS or R-CTCSS)? And, what is the INPUT frequency and what is the OUTPUT frequency? And how do I program them into my radio? Thank you, any advice is appreciated! In Christ's Love, WSJV 482

At one point I had mine on a mag munt on the roof of my truck, but I have the factory roof rack that was surrounding it. Now it's on a basic bracket and it is possible that performance was lost since the ground plane is no longer there. Regardless we shall see soon how much improvement I can get with the Highland antenna at roof height for mounting. Best case scenario it improves quite a bit. Worst case it's no change at all.

See attached files. Canada Annex E - GMRS and FRS.pdf Canada GMRS-FRS Rules.pdf

I was running it on a mag mount in the middle of the hood and it sounded better, but I got tired of looking at the coax running back down the hood and was worried about paint damage, so I got the lip mount. The clarity suffers a little bit and there's more snow in the RX but it looks cleaner and my left eye doesn't twitch anymore.

You're probably right, and I don't get in a panic if I forget, but it's a good habit to have.

Doesn't hurt to be on the safe side but my radio has a feature to turn on when that surge happens. I have that feature off because I don't want it coming on every time I start the truck. Point is, I don't think that starting the vehicle is dangerous to the radio unless it is wired wrong.

That's the one. I don't have it installed at the moment, but I do have it. I have a different guy for my ghost antenna

Welcome, Pedro! That radio is my go-to favorite when talking with new users. Good choice.

We had a great test and tune session on August 29, 2025 to find out more about test and tune dates attend a net on Thursdays at 7:30 pm. We logged locations where you can reach the repeater. We started around 9 am and it lasted till late afternoon. Thank you to WRMA779 and WRCY622 for your attendance in helping out. We where able to get some great information on the repeaters strengths. We reached downtown ST Charles from the top of the parking garage at St Josephs Hospital. Busch wildlife at lake 2, all along Hwy 94 and a lot of Hwy k. We used multiple radios from HT's to mobile setup and base units, antenna types as well. We had a good time doing it and look forward to the next. Until next time 73's WSHD977 clear.

Originally my Btech RPT50 didn't have a squelch function other than tones. It was added in when they did the 2nd update V1.008R

This one? https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/antenna-rack-mount.html

Thankfully I won't have to worry about a spring loaded part for the fold over. I have looked into my options and will be using a antenna mount by FrontRunner on my roof rack to simply fold the antenna over. How does it work? It has its own locking pin with multiple holes to lock I to for having the antenna stand strait up and folded over for clearance and not being in use. This will not affect the spring on the antenna

Try Chirp. I always had weird issues with some of the radio settings not being transferred properly from the Radioddity software. Like, it works, but sometimes I'd have to push the settings to the radio a couple times for them to stick. I haven't seen that same behavior w/ Chirp.

Lol, Try doing that where I live. You "might" catch a local depending on where you are, but more often than not, you will hear crickets. I know there is a lot you can do with Ham, thats why I like it, but some things take a lot of time to learn and many areas of this country do not have anyone on the receiving end. Band conditions aren't always good. This is much of the reason I rarely use the radio. Believe me, it pains me but I can't force people to like what I like, or to actually get on the radio and do something useful and I especially cannot control the sun. If you happen to be in an area where you get activity, then kudo's to you. I am glad it works. All I am saying is that radio is not uniform in all areas of this country. There are many dead zones in Ham Radio and GMRS where radio works, the operators don't.

I wasn't talking about the spring on the antenna. You said you were considering a fold-over mount to lay the antenna down when no in use. I was discussing that, because most of them are spring loaded to control the hinge function. I should have been more clear about what part I was talking about. This whole comment tells me that you don't understand antenna design, what a the wavelength of the frequency is, proper antenna size base on the wavelength and antenna design..... and you shouldn't have to, to buy a radio and antenna to use the radio.... my fault for mentioning it. I should probably just wait for people to ask for an explanation instead of mudding the response.

Yup, that’s what I referred to as Carrier Squelch. I doubt any repeater doesn’t have it. It’s based on signal strength and might do exactly what the OP needs. I should have explained it better.

So dose my RT97L.

Things to keep in mind for why I said what I said. For starters the spring base that the Midland Antennas(specifically the Highland 3dB for this discussion) is pretty heavy duty compared others like the 6dB antenna Midland offers(the super skinny whip). To specify that spring is more than capable of holding the antenna in a folded position just fine. If it wasn't, it would have problems holding the antenna upright while driving down the HWY. Next is to understand that particular antenna I'm looking at. Both the Highland and Canyon Edge that I mentioned above are still 3dB antenna's like the Ghost antenna. Of the 3 one actually requires a ground plane(something I wasn't aware of at the time) vs the other two that don't require a Ground Plane(though it would not hurt to have one). In reality the antenna wasn't stacked to get the signal. If it was stacked, it would be a different signal with frequency or gain. i will also add that the Highland antenna has a set screw to lock down the antenna down to the spring base. This will make it nice as the set screw will not let the antenna just vibrate and rotate off. It will also help keep others hands off if they don't have the tools. Last but not least and I this is more of a poke to the comments of wanting to talk to the Moon. I am choosing a 3dB antenna due to the use I have. I understand that the beam pattern is more of a ball pattern vs a stretched oval that a higher dB antenna has. With a quality antenna in combination of the 50 Watt Radio I have, I should still be able to get an excellent range in general. I also understand that the 3dB will be great for mountain type terrain that I usually travel on. If I was traveling more on open desert type terrain, then a 6dB or higher would be better, but I'm not on that type of terrain regularly. Let's also keep in mind that if my goal was to talk to the other side of the world, I would have a base station HAM radio with more power than anyone would ever need.