OffRoaderX

If you are using a real GMRS radio you dont need to hassle with the offset, just switch to the correct repeater channel - IF the repeater truly does not require a tone, then thats all you need. My guess is that it does need a tone, but it's just not there for whatever reason.

I am hearing it with my Baofeng UV-5R, My Motorola XTS5000, and my XTL5000.

are your two radios at least 50 feet apart from each other when testing?

Where are you located? I've noticed this on Channel 17 for the last month or two, almost everywhere I go when I'm off-roading and at my house. This means I am hearing it over an area that is thousands of square miles of southern California - even when i'm deep in canyons where there is no line of site to anything. I am starting to think it is sunspots or aliens.

Because they all have a better signal/are closer to the repeater than you, and you have an HT with a small antenna/are further away/have more stuff between you and the repeater. The best thing you can do is connect to a bigger/better/external antenna or get closer to the repeater. A mag mount stuck to a cookie-sheet placed up high/near a window can work great.

You're my best friend now.

You could be doing any one of a-bazillion things wrong. But i'll start with these questions: What kind of antenna is the repeater connected to and is it tuned to the frequency you are using? What kind, and how long is the coax? are you using the specific frequencies on the repeater that the internal duplexer is tuned for?

I think i like you, can we be friends?

Your feelings do not matter. I have setup in the neighborhood of 30 repeaters from the listing here, and 100% of them had all the information I needed to use them. If you are not able to figure out how to use a repeater listed here, then you are doing it wrong. and no, those details will not benefit the community at all because they are irrelevant, or in the case of tones, all the info is already there.

If you abide by #2 and #3 on my list, you dont need to worry about any of that.

Its very easy: Read manual Identify what Repeater channel your local repeater is on Change radio to the correct repeater channel Enter the correct TX (transmit) CTC or DTC tone for the repeater and save (for questions, refer to item #1) do not concern yourself with the RX/Receive tone until you level-up to "I know what I'm doing now" Hold radio near your noise output hole, & push the talk trigger and talk, then take your finger off the trigger Hold radio near your noise input hole and wait for everyone to congratulate you on a job well-done

The hole is only for electricities, not bits or bytes.

I have never done any such thing against just any/all H.A.M. operators - and if you are not capable of understanding who I actually do that to (basically as @Sshannon specified), then you are exactly who I, and everyone else, makes fun of, and rightfully so.

This... The antenna that comes with the 9R is tuned for GMRS because it is a GMRS radio, and IIRC, it does not receive VHF (NOAA) frequencies very well.

Does not sound common at all to me, based on actually having and using several of these repeaters. Is the duplexer tuned for the frequencies you are using? Is your antenna tuned for those frequencies and have you checked the SWR of the antenna with the cable attached? Are all the radios IN the heavily wooded valley or are you trying to test with no line of sight?

Then you probably should have said that, especially since the OP is a self-confessed n00b and prone to confuckulation and at a very impressionable stage in his radio career.

If the repeater cant hear you then how can you kerchunk it?

Welcome to the exciting and dynamic world of radio! Just always be sure you write out "H.A.M." correctly.. "Some People" get really REALLY angry if you don't do it right: H.A.M. and will rant about it for hours about you typing it out incorrectly as if anyone cares. Never forget: H.A.M.

There is no requirement to use a unit-number or any other kind of identifier, other than your callsign. Using a unit-number is purely personal preference. To the OP: as a n00b, be very wary of "some people" spouting opinions or plain wrong information as fact. In other words, "some people" are idiots and should be ignored.

The equipment will work, but nobody will be able to accurately answer your question about whether or not you will be able to hit the repeater. The only way to know for sure is to try it. However I would look into some of the other repeaters in your area that may have coverage where you are: Crestline, DILA, Santiago, & Mesa Crest.

You lose points, and credibility when you send the OP on a wild goose chase with incorrect information.

Great idea and great advice! ....too bad Chirp is not compatible with the UV-5G Plus..... But other than that, great answer!

I use a Midland MXTA26. I used it when I had the KG-1000G installed in my Jeep and I still use it now with my XTL5000. I also have an MXTA26 installed on a cookie-sheet in the window of my office for my KG-1000G+ "Office base station". The MXTA26 works no better than any other similar 6db antenna, but it comes pre-tuned for GMRS right out of the sack so all you have to do is plug it in and play.

That depends on how you define "best" and what is important to you in an antenna.

A: Put the radio on Repeater channel 3 (it might show as Repeater 17 or channel 25, I dont remember).. Go into the menu and find the TRANSMIT CTCSS setting (you may have to refer to the user manual), select 123.0, and save it. 2: Hold the front of the radio near your noise-hole, press the trigger, and talk. If you saved the tone correctly, if that is the correct tone, if the repeater is online, and if you are within range of the repeater, you will be able to hit the repeater.