aj22185 Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 I am very new to GMRS and have yet to make first contact. I'm having trouble getting anyone to read me on the Russiaville 700 repeater. I have received authorization from the owner. I have set the Pt on my Midland MXT115 to 20=131.8 as directed and as noted on the mygmrs map, and I have set my transmit power to high and repeater setting to "on". I am 31 miles straight east with very little obstructions and can receive the traffic very clearly. I also have the Midland MXTA25 +6dB gain ghost antenna. Is it possible I need a higher watt radio or possibly a taller antenna like the Midland whip style +6dB antenna? It's a lot of fun listening to people from all over the country, but I'd really like to participate in the conversation as well. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. -AustinWREW975 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 It is possible that your narrow-band Midland will not produce enough CTCSS tone deviation* to activate the wide-band repeater. * "Deviation" is the technically correct term for "modulation level" when speaking of FM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj22185 Posted July 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 It is possible that your narrow-band Midland will not produce enough CTCSS tone deviation* to activate the wide-band repeater. * "Deviation" is the technically correct term for "modulation level" when speaking of FM.Meaning frequency deviation because it's FM. Got it. I'd say that's a possibility. I'm wondering if anyone else has the same experience with the MXT115. I'm also thinking 15W may not be enough at 31 miles LOS. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoopCoop Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 Austin: I am very new to GMRS myself and have yet to learn some things I am sure. However, there are some learned men on this forum and I am sure you will get the right answer. Beside that... even though I am new, I have the Midland MXT275 in my vehicle which is the same radio as yours but the control is in the microphone head. Same power, 15 watts and all that. Being new myself.... I had to go over and over and over my input numbers for the Repeaters and did so. The only MISTAKE I originally made was in the lower 15 thru 22 (simplex) channels I also put the HZ or Tone number... which is "20" in your case. Thinking I had to do that to "receive" or "hear" the repeater: wrong. After I removed the "tone number" from my lower simplex 15-22, channels bingo! Make sure you didn't do that. You only have to put the "20" in the upper Repeater 15-22 (or just for the Repeater you want to hit). Your Midland radio is designed to do the rest. I am using the Midland MXT whip style 6DB gain. Great antenna. I hit a repeater approximately 40 miles away and it was loud and clear. But note I am in Florida and there are no or very minimum hills. The low profile Midland antenna you are using... I believe... is 3DB gain and not 6DB gain. I say that, because I didn't see the Midland low profile in 6DB gain. I just ordered one as I am going to set up a base station in my office on the 2nd floor of my Townhouse and put that mag mount antenna on a 15 inch round pizza tin near by picutre window. I am still deciding whether to purchase the 40 watt Midland model or the MXT115. Probably will go with the MXT115. One other thing to note. I have found on the Repeater channel I can go DAYS without hearing anyone else or even getting a "radio check' and I am in a very populated area, just north of West Palm Beach. LISTEN FOR THE REPEATER TO IDENTIFY ITSELF EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE: you will know ya got it right. Well... sorry to carry on so much but maybe I was able to help with my shot in the dark! Love to hear how you make out. aj22185 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj22185 Posted July 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 Thanks so much for the response. I was able to program the tone on only one channel, the one relating to the repeater. I hear a ton of traffic as it is a linked repeater so traffic can be heard from all over the country (NY, AZ, IL, etc). I will double check my settings as you describe. That's a good starting point, although I'm fairly confident they're correct, I've certainly been wrong before. Case in point, you are correct, my antenna is a 3dB gain. It's also worth mentioning in this particular area of Indiana it is as flat as can be. The biggest obstruction between my location and the repeater is the corn. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj22185 Posted July 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 @SnoopCoop are you transmitting on the lower channels or on the repeater channels? You'll receive on both, but I've been trying to Tx on the higher set of repeater channels. Should I be on the lower non-repeater channel when trying to Tx? I wouldn't think so, but like you I'm new to GMRS and to my Midland. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UHFJim Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 I am very new to GMRS and have yet to make first contact. I'm having trouble getting anyone to read me on the Russiaville 700 repeater. I have received authorization from the owner. I have set the Pt on my Midland MXT115 to 20=131.8 as directed and as noted on the mygmrs map, and I have set my transmit power to high and repeater setting to "on". I am 31 miles straight east with very little obstructions and can receive the traffic very clearly. I also have the Midland MXTA25 +6dB gain ghost antenna. Is it possible I need a higher watt radio or possibly a taller antenna like the Midland whip style +6dB antenna? It's a lot of fun listening to people from all over the country, but I'd really like to participate in the conversation as well. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. -AustinWREW975 Couple of issues here. Midland radios are narrow band and most repeater equipment is wide band. If you have the correct PL/DPL tones, you may be able to hit the repeater but your audio will be low due to the narrow band. The other issue is Midland radios lack the ability to utilize split tones. Most GMRS repeaters use a combination of different PL or PL/DPL tones to keep jammers away. 131.8 may be the output (receive) tone but I'm sure the input (transmit) tone is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj22185 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2020 Yeah someone else brought up narrow vs wideband. This repeater does not use a split tone, that much I'm sure of. It seems I might just need to upgrade and keep the Midland for family comms. Thanks all.WREW975, Shopping Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj22185 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2020 It appears my inability to make contact was just a matter of bad luck. I was able to utilize the repeater tonight and made contact with several individuals in the Midwest. I am still shopping for a slightly better setup as I would like to build a capable GMRS base station at my house. Thanks again for all the advice! Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rppricer Posted August 5, 2020 Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 what tone how do you set them on the 400 midland I have read the book and dont see anything about setting tones. I live about 20 miles aqay from a repeater and cant get on, but I know that if I hear someone on 18 I can also hear them on 21 to how can that be, I jnow they are running some power but they say they are in their mobile unit. Any way tell me more about setting I also have the 115 and both will not hook up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj22185 Posted August 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 I don't know about the 400. I have the 115. My manual has the tones listed on the last page. And instructions for setting are detailed in the manual. Sorry, I can't be of more help. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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