Hey guys,
Brand new to the forums here but have been lurking for a few months. I've recently gotten the GMRS bug and invested in some simplex equipment. Also just received one radio I can hit repeaters with. My next project I'm gearing up for is building my own repeater, probably sometime next March. In prep for this I've been scanning/listening alot lately and found a few business operating on the GMRS only channels. On the shared GMRS/FRS channels there's about 1000 kids on bubble pack radios. I wish there was a way to filter out those obnoxious "roger" beeps and kids mashing the call button. Anyway...
On channel 17 there is some kind of shuttle service talking about pickups and drop offs. I keyed up on them this morning, identified myself by my call sign and asked them to identify themselves. They went silent right after that.
On channel 21 there is some kind of apartment maintenance crew from the sounds of it. Again I keyed up, identified myself and asked them to identify. They just ignored me and went on with their business.
Is it possible in either of these cases that I can hear them but they can't hear me because I'm not transmitting or listening for a specific PL tone? (CTCSS and DCS off)
If I don't have a CTCSS or DCS set would I hear all chatter on the frequency?
If this is the case, how can I figure out what squelch code to use in order to make contact?
At what point would I file a FCC report? My understanding is that business use isn't prohibited but all users would need to have a call sign, and identify at the end of a transmission or if requested by another operator?
And somewhat off topic - The database on this site lists a repeater on channel 18 that's supposedly just north of here but I've yet to confirm it's still in operation. I'm headed north tonight and will try to key up on it. I occasionally hear something broadcast Morse code on 16 (most likely repeater). 19 is usually pretty quiet so I guess I'll put my repeater there. For no other reason than OCD I wanted to use 21 but with all that other chatter going on from that business I guess I won't.
Thanks all for reading, I would appreciate any words of wisdom!