WRZB493

Thanks - so just because we setup a transmit tone/receive, we are still "polluting" the airwaves with our conversation for those who do NOT have transmit/receive tones setup, is that right? Our convenience could be making others lives miserable, if I'm following correctly, because we could ignorantly be talking over them and be none the wiser. Is the "monitor" button similar to busy channel lockout, where you can program the radio to not allow you to transmit if it detects an active signal? Or is that different?

Hi all, been watching lots of videos and read the manual (as evidenced by the 5 million questions I posted in a recent thread), just want to confirm I'm understanding the below correctly. So as I understand it, privacy tones aren't exactly privacy tones, as folks can still hear you no matter what you program in, but they can be leveraged as a way for two (or more) radios to speak on a channel and filter out other conversations on that channel not using those transmit+receive tones. If I want to use channels 15 - 22 to communicate with other GMRS radios in the area via simplex (for camping or other local purposes), and want to make sure those folks on the other end don't get confused with repeaters we may run into - we should program whichever channel we land on with a Transmit and Receive Tone that hopefully does not happen to be the same as what's being used by the repeater. This way, if there's a repeater that uses the frequency of channel 17, we won't hear that chatter because we'll have different transmit/receive tones than what's on that repeater. Is this right? Or no matter what, we'll always hear the repeaters if we're on channels 15-22 (assuming we're dialed into the channel the repeater is on), and our only recourse is to switch to a different channel? If so, then I need to go back and relearn privacy tones and what their purpose is. Thanks in advance.

Title - I like the idea of carrier scan, but when I identify a channel I want to land on, how do I stop the scan? I have a TidRadio TD-H5 (compares to Radioddity GM-30). Google, Bing, and the manual have failed me here. Thanks in advance.

I've picked up on the sarcasm towards the Roger beep (I had to Google it though to be certain), so I had a rare moment of clarity and knew not to ask about it haha

Thank you for this! I'll research a lot of these and report back. Admittedly was apprehensive to try a few of those options because I didn't want to poison the airwaves with weird sounds and piss off the locals. I'm based in Miami FL and there's what appears to be an active (by GMRS standards) scene here, so if I fire a few noises off into the radio airwaves to test those features, those RF bullets could come crashing down and I get some annoyed responses back. I know GMRS is more casual, but I also don't want to be an ignorant ass and hit a bunch of buttons that could annoy people who rely on the airwaves

Hey, this was your fault! One of your videos specifically told me, your favorite viewer. To RTFM. Had I not, I would've thought squelching tails was just some strange bedroom position (maybe that would've been better?) Jokes aside, I didn't do a good job explaining that I wasn't expecting the community to answer every question, moreso was hoping that there was a comprehensive wiki or GMRS 101 SOP that covered all this stuff that I could've leveraged. Looks like I'll be hitting up Bing soon on the above (there are dozens of us who bing it... Dozens!)

Hi all, recently purchased a TidRadio TD-H5 and allow me to confirm that yes, I did indeed Read the F****** Manual cover to cover! That being said, I am extremely new (got my license a few days ago) and the manual was more focused on what the settings were rather than what they're meant to do, so some options and why they would be used or what they're meant to do was lost to me. Hoping the fine folks on these boards can shed some light - or can direct me to either literature or videos that specifically answer any of the questions below. I am happy to google as much as I can on the below, but if there's a comprehensive FAQ or wiki, or series of videos or instructions that instruct on most/all of this, would love to be pointed in that direction before I let the search engines take me wherever they think is best for me. Scan of frequencies with CTCSS and DCS (SEEK CTCSS and SEEK DCS) Am I understanding correctly that it's so I can scan the transmit and receive tones of a repeater by scanning someone nearby that's using the repeater? So this is like potentially some roundabout way to get onto a using a repeater? ANSWER: YES Repeater tones What are these and what are they used for? In my options settings I can choose to send out a repeater tone of 1000, 1450, 1750, 2100 ANSWER: almost never used in GMRS. Ignore them for now ANSWER 2: These tone freqs are in Hertz. A repeater tone is never used in the GMRS world. Some legacy public safety radio systems use repeater tones to select certain repeaters from a mobile or portable, and/or a dispatch control point. The user would select the appropriate repeater tone depending on his/her location based on what repeater provides the best coverage. This repeater tone is in addition to the channel protection CTCSS tone. These tones are also known as "Single Tones" "Signal Tones", or Burst Tones" usually for one-second in duration on each transmitter key up. Public Safety Agencies used this type of signaling because of the expense and/or the lack of the means for a remote control system (Microwave or Telco) between the remote repeater station(s) and the dispatch control point. This method of signaling is normally used in a multiple remote site system in a very large rural area. In some cases, these tones (Usually 1450, 1750, and 2100 Hz) can be constant for use as a function or system status purposes on a remote control system (microwave or telco RTO/Pieceout circuit), behind the scenes to the radio user, and will not be heard, normally if the control circuit doesn't malfunction. The 1000 Hz tone is normally used as a "Test Tone" for equipment repair and tuning/Alignments. Squelch level Is there a suggested Squelch level? I can go from 1-9 with default being 3. I'm going to guess the answer is "it depends" or "stick to default for now and tweak later" but wanted to sanity check this first ANSWER: Try different levels; see what works for you VOX Function This sounds terrible, like being on a telephone call or a discord voice chat room (I'm 39, which as I understand it makes me a teenager here). Safe to assume this is normally off by default, correct? ANSWER: Correct, VOX is usually left off Time Out Timer I believe this is in case you accidentally hold down PTT (sitting on it, etc). Is there a standard default time? I'm thinking 60 seconds but perhaps shorter is better? Curious what others have theirs set at ANSWER: leave it at the factory setting, whatever it is Receiving DCS and Receiving CTCSS Is this used in order to primarily filter out other conversations happening on a channel? Example: if I'm on Channel 1 and I setup a CTCSS and/or DCS, then I can only hear people who transmit with aforementioned CTCSS and/or DCS? Does the same example above apply to repeater channels? Or no, because they require a specific DCS/CTCSS in order for the repeater to pick you up and broadcast you (meaning there's no way to have a private conversation on a shared repeater)? Are there any other benefits to setting this up outside of the above (assuming the above is correct) ANSWER: read the forums and make up your own opinion, but anyone can hear you Transmit DCS and Transmit CTCSS Similar to above, is it safe to assume that if you setup a DCS and/or CTCSS and transmit, anyone not tuned to that won't hear your message? So I could be on channel 15 with a few other people, and if they aren't receiving in the specific DCS/CTCSS I configured, they won't hear me? Aka this is how I could somewhat "privatize" a communication between myself and someone else on a channel (assuming we setup our receive and transmit to the same codes? ANSWER: read the forums and make up your own opinion, but anyone can hear you DCS/CTCSS Is it common to use one or the other? Could you theoretically use both to privatize a conversation or is that not possible? ANI-ID / DTMF Side Tone / Signal Code What exactly do each of these do? Some quick googling indicates most/all are primarily used in Europe. Assuming that's true, is there any use for these in the States? Or not in the typical radio context and are more niche... meaning leave them off and don't play with them? ANSWER: Play with them and let us know. DTMF is commonly used for repeater control Scan Mode Is it common to scan channels? Is it primarily to browse for conversations or are there other reasons to turn on scan channels Which scan mode is suggested? Time operated, Carrier Operated, or Search Scan? ANSWER: some people scan the channels listening for other people. I don't. Suit yourself PTT-ID Is this like ANI-ID and the others above, where this doesn't have much of a use case in the US and should be left |off? What does it do? ANSWER: very few people (I've never met anyone who does) use PTT ID in GMRS ANSWER 2: Is a signalling method to identify the radio user that is transmitting at that specific time. For the Dispatcher the code would translate to the Unit's radio call sign on a display in front of the dispatcher. A specific code is programed in each radio to identify the specific user. This specific code is audible to all users monitoring the channel. In the old days analog radios like the Saber Radios used by L.AP.D., it was a series of tone beeps heard upon each key up a.k.a. MDC signalling. In the Astro Digital days it became a squawk on each key up now known as PTT ID. Busy Channel Lock Is this typically left on? Or is it more at the repeater owner's discretion, and if not explicitly stated, usually left off? ANSWER: Your choice Auto keypad lock Assuming this one is commonly used, no? ANSWER: This would drive me nuts. Make up your own mind on this one. Like most of your questions, try things. Frequency Offset direction Is this primarily for repeaters? Is there any other use case? Aren't repeaters always =/- 5? Or is that just in the states and other countries could have variation which is what this feature is for? ANSWER: For GMRS the offset is always 5 MHz positive. You transmit to repeaters in the 467 MHz range and listen at the 462 MHz range Squelch Tail Elimination (and Squelch Tail Elimination of Repeater) What's the use case of these features? Just to hide that noise at the end in case it bothers you? Is this commonly used (feels like no, but what do I know) ANSWER: Try it Delay the squelch tail of repeater This is even more confusing than above. Taking the name at face value, what's the purpose of this? ANSWER: Try it Dual Band Single Display (SYNC) Does this render "Channel A Display Mode" (MDF-A) and "Channel B Display Mode" (MDF-B) moot? Or do those two have entirely separate functions to this feature and do something unrelated and different instead? ANSWER: Try it

Good evening all. New to GMRS and radio/comms in general. Stumbled onto GMRS a couple weeks ago while searching for radios to communicate with the scout troop while camping (new dad to the troop, just got assigned as den leader of the lions aka the kindergarteners which is my son's den, and I enjoy prepping, so this was a happy accident). A few youtube videos later learning more about the benefits of GMRS and here I am. Like any other hobby, I'm diving into head-first and soaking up as much knowledge as I can. Got my call sign two days ago and my radios earlier today. Went with TIDRADIO TD-H5 because it was a two-pack, and the USB-C was the standout feature as I carry USB-C battery packs in my camping backpack in case I need a quick charge (the flashlights and other devices get USB-C charging as well). Long term, I'm exploring adding Midland MXT500s to the vehicles and the house as a form of backup communication in case SHTF (we live in Florida, it's unlikely a hurricane knocks down our cell service with all the redundancies in place post-Andrew, but you never know). I'm also open to getting some more feature-rich radios like the B-Tech Pros or similar. For now, as mentioned, just trying to learn as much as I can. For example, I'm currently wrapping my head around the repeater channels and how they work with the local repeaters, as well as listening on the channels so I can learn the etiquette, lingo, and rules. Thanks for having me on the boards.