Thanks for all this great info in this thread! I too am new, and I believe I have reached the 2 local repeaters in my area, with one I hear a squelch tail and have spoken to someone. On the other when I reach out for a signal test I get a morse code response which I assume means I am hitting it. But last evening I tried to join a Net on that repeater, and when the Net Control Manager asked for any other folks wanting to join in, I piped in with my call sign, and it was as if no one heard me. Is it possible that my signal is just barely strong enough to hit the repeater and get a response from it, but not strong enough for others to hear that signal?
Thanks!