pantherpaw9

I may be incorrectly assuming that this is in response to the kerfluffle that occured previously in the post.  I would like to say that I'm very sorry.  I suppose I should keep in mind that not everyone appreciates or understands my humor.  It was honestly an attempt at a joke, and while I will admit, I was definitely being snarky, I truly didn't intend to ruffle anyone's feathers.  I should have been more respectful and appreciative of Steve7010's advice, and I should not have been such a smarta$$.  So when he suggested I was being rude, I didn't respond very well to that either.  I think everyone is "chilled out" now, and Pastor Gary was kind enough to step in and get us back to the discussion.  This occurred over a week ago, so I'm not sure why it's being revived here now, but I thought I would at least make an attempt to apologize here now, so that we can continue with the discussion and solve the mystery of programming the M1225.

I may be incorrectly assuming that this is in response to the kerfluffle that occured previously in the post.  I would like to say that I'm very sorry.  I suppose I should keep in mind that not everyone appreciates or understands my humor.  It was honestly an attempt at a joke, and while I will admit, I was definitely being snarky, I truly didn't intend to ruffle anyone's feathers.  I should have been more respectful and appreciative of Steve7010's advice, and I should not have been such a smarta$$.  So when he suggested I was being rude, I didn't respond very well to that either.  I think everyone is "chilled out" now, and Pastor Gary was kind enough to step in and get us back to the discussion.  This occurred over a week ago, so I'm not sure why it's being revived here now, but I thought I would at least make an attempt to apologize here now, so that we can continue with the discussion and solve the mystery of programming the M1225.

Thanks for verifying that. It's difficult for me to keep things straight some days.

In a perfect world some boy genius would market a repeater package with the bugs already worked out. IMO the "perfect" repeater for many GMRS applications would be a weather resistant package consisting of the repeater and hardware hooked directly to an antenna with a short lead and a water proof AC power cord. It would be designed in such a way that it could easily be hoisted to the top of a 100 ft tree or mounted on a tower with the power cord trailing behind. No line losses to worry about but the equipment would need to be of a rugged design that can thrive in an outdoor shelter with no heat or cooling. The light weight exterior would be water proof but allow air flow for cooling. I've seen transceivers build into water proof packages with additional instrumentation and speakers, why not the whole repeater assembly? I'll bet that if someone builds it, they will come. 

I got unexpectedly busy this afternoon and evening. I have a moment to post.
 
RE: M1225
The USB cable plugs into the microphone port on the front.
AFAIK, the CPS version depends on the software version of the radio.
I am not sure there is a 64 bit version of the CPS but, again, I believe the CPS version used depends on the firmware/software/last CPS used on the radio. All I've used is a 16/32 bit version.
Our M1225 radios all program up with the BlueMax49ers USB to RJ-45 cable and the CPS we got with our first used M1225.
Our software runs on Windows XP. The machine is not handy at the moment so I cannot find the CPS version yet.
In the past, CPS for the radio was available through Motorola's software system under discontinued radios. The account was free and the software was free.
Of course, there are other sources for the software. (That's far enough to post here, I think.)

Yes, I think so.

CDM1250 will program just fine on either 32bit Win95 or Win XP "DOS Box" using the USB cable. I programmed two of them for a portable repeater I built and sold several years ago.

That video also explained my next forum question topic, which was about bandwidth.  I see now why the frequency needs a defined bandwidth to take care of the deviations from the carrier frequency.  The radio is simply using the deviations from the carrier frequency to determine how the speaker should vibrate.  The vibration of the microphone causes fluctuations in the carrier frequency and these fluctuations are "de-coded" at the other end so that the speaker reproduces the same "vibrations" (sound).  It's brilliant!  I think I'm very close to understanding this entire mystery.  Correct me if I have totally mis-understood bandwidth.
 
So when I hear people talking about how the FCC has narrowed the bandwidth allowed from 24ish down to 12ish, to make room for more frequencies to be allocated for use, this explains why the sound quality goes down.  Because there is less elbow room for the audio signal to be squeezed in.  So its kind of like the resolution of a digital photograph.  The lower the resolution, the less detail of the original image is visible, thus effecting the quality of the image.  This is really fascinating stuff.

HI Pantherpaw9,
I was not able to try and reach a repeater from 285,  After I left home I found out my radio's battery was dead.  Oh well,  I will try again later.

As far as I know, you are spot on. Sorry for throwing "noise floor" in there. Anytime I do that, it is unintentional.
 
At the rate you are going, I'll be asking you questions in a few weeks. Awesome! :)

I was watching the video again, and there is an image about half way through the video that shows the squelch detector and there is a vertical dimension drawn on the modulated wave in the diagram that is supposed to represent the wave amplitude.  When the term "noise floor" was introduced in this forum discussion in the previous post by Hans, I'm assuming this is related to what the video was trying to explain.  I'm guessing that squelch is simply filtering out signals that are below a certain "power" threshold or signal strength.  Is that correct?  Is the signal's amplitude related to its "strength" or "power"?  If this is true, then the squelch is simply allowing the speaker to emit voice sounds that come from waves that meet a "minumum power level" that is set by the squelch knob?  In other words, it mutes signals that are not at least a minimum "strength"?

Yes all my friends and family are baffled as to why I have added radio as a new hobby at 50 years old.  I am absolutely hooked!  Fun is what it's all about.  I can't wait to get my HAM technicians license in January so I can join up with my local SOTA group and go up on the mountains and learn all about mountain top activations.  I'd better start studying for my General class so I can get in on all the HF action.

That video also explained my next forum question topic, which was about bandwidth.  I see now why the frequency needs a defined bandwidth to take care of the deviations from the carrier frequency.  The radio is simply using the deviations from the carrier frequency to determine how the speaker should vibrate.  The vibration of the microphone causes fluctuations in the carrier frequency and these fluctuations are "de-coded" at the other end so that the speaker reproduces the same "vibrations" (sound).  It's brilliant!  I think I'm very close to understanding this entire mystery.  Correct me if I have totally mis-understood bandwidth.
 
So when I hear people talking about how the FCC has narrowed the bandwidth allowed from 24ish down to 12ish, to make room for more frequencies to be allocated for use, this explains why the sound quality goes down.  Because there is less elbow room for the audio signal to be squeezed in.  So its kind of like the resolution of a digital photograph.  The lower the resolution, the less detail of the original image is visible, thus effecting the quality of the image.  This is really fascinating stuff.

The Midland MXT275 discussion has drifted off-topic to include a discussion of used commercial quality radio equipment for GMRS use.  I thought, perhaps, there might be a benefit to have a listing of specific radios, accessory requirements (programming cables and software), availability and resources.  It would be nice to have this information in a database of some sort, but a thread, perhaps sticky, might also do the job. The goal would be to give people a place too look for options to buying new GMRS equipment.
 
The basic information, as noted above, would be:
Radio manufacturer, model, and, if applicable, variants. Price range for used equipment, and potential sources (usually ebay) Warnings or tips on what to look for or avoid. Programming hardware requirements. (I.e. programming cables) and, if available, sources. Software. Application name; most recent version; download location; and price. (for legally available software only)  Any other usage and programming notes that would be helpful to users. Part95 compliance information. Recent radios discussed were: 
Kenwood TK880-1 (25 watt) or TK880H-1 (40 watt) TK863G (25 watt)  Motorola M1225 Motorola XPR7550 Motorola CDM1250 Motorola HT1250

Definitely try to be ready to take the General in your first test session. If you don't pass it, no biggie. There will always be next time.
You're in for a whole world of fun with your ham license, even if it's just Tech to start with.

You're gonna make a good ham!

That video also explained my next forum question topic, which was about bandwidth.  I see now why the frequency needs a defined bandwidth to take care of the deviations from the carrier frequency.  The radio is simply using the deviations from the carrier frequency to determine how the speaker should vibrate.  The vibration of the microphone causes fluctuations in the carrier frequency and these fluctuations are "de-coded" at the other end so that the speaker reproduces the same "vibrations" (sound).  It's brilliant!  I think I'm very close to understanding this entire mystery.  Correct me if I have totally mis-understood bandwidth.
 
So when I hear people talking about how the FCC has narrowed the bandwidth allowed from 24ish down to 12ish, to make room for more frequencies to be allocated for use, this explains why the sound quality goes down.  Because there is less elbow room for the audio signal to be squeezed in.  So its kind of like the resolution of a digital photograph.  The lower the resolution, the less detail of the original image is visible, thus effecting the quality of the image.  This is really fascinating stuff.

Yes all my friends and family are baffled as to why I have added radio as a new hobby at 50 years old.  I am absolutely hooked!  Fun is what it's all about.  I can't wait to get my HAM technicians license in January so I can join up with my local SOTA group and go up on the mountains and learn all about mountain top activations.  I'd better start studying for my General class so I can get in on all the HF action.

If there's two repeaters with the same tone, using TSql will prevent the other repeater from unmuting your receiver. Simplex activity is probably on a different tone (like CSQ or 67.0) and wouldn't unmute your receiver. If the simplex signal happens to have the same tone as the repeater's output, both will unmute. Not all repeaters transmit an output tone, so some require Tone mode.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, squelch means:to stop something quickly and completely:
One professor claimed that the university tried to squelch his criticisms.
 
So, yes, you are correct!

I would've given you a like for that but the board told me I reached my quota! lol
 
Remember that my radio knowledge level is quite low compared to many of the fine operators on this board. If I put something out there and they correct it; they have it right and I got it wrong. I learn a lot from each of them here.

Just to state the same thing a slightly different way, in case it helps your understanding: Tone squelch is a filter that is applied to the receive side of a radio or repeater. If it's turned on (as it is with most repeaters), the receiver or repeater will ignore anything that doesn't transmit the proper tone. So you have to program the proper tone in your transmitter, or you won't be able to get into the repeater. Likewise if you are trying to call another station that has a tone squelch programmed.
To recap: to transmit to any station or repeater that has a tone squelch programmed, you must have the same tone programmed into your transmitter.
 
Tone squelch is optional. Even if you have to have a tone programmed to talk to a station or repeater, you don't have to program a tone squelch at all. You will just hear any and all signals on the frequency, whether they are transmitting a tone or not.
If you do decide to program a tone squelch, it must be the same one the repeater or other station is transmitting. Otherwise you won't hear them.
 
Personally I leave the tone squelch off most of the time, so I can hear any activity on the channel regardless of tone.

How about video?  I found this on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DAQYfpETDdM

That was a great explanation, and I think it just took hearing the explanation presented in a variety of ways, but I definitely understand this much better now.  This explains why my radio is able to communicate with the repeater without any T Sql settings programmed.  I only have "Tone" selected in my program.  So, if I want to filter any and all other traffic on that frequency, (and only hear signals going through the repeater), then I would have to change my "Tone Mode" from "Tone" to "T Sql".  I can read back in the thread and see now that this was explained already several times but it just wasn't sinking into my thick scull.  haha