Newbe

[Guest Jh423956]

If I can hear a transmission, should I be able to transmit given that I have enough wattage? Live in a punchbowl N. Orange county.  

[SteveShannon]

Do you really mean should you be able to transmit, or are you thinking that your transmission should be able to be heard?

Some radios arrive from the factory with transmit not allowed and a change to the configuration of the radio may need to be made.

But if you’re thinking that because you can hear someone transmitting that they should be able to hear you, that’s a bit more complicated. Lots of things could prevent your signal from traveling to them.  They could be transmitting at a higher power, for instance.

Or, you might be able to hear transmissions because you have no CTCSS set, but they might not be able to hear your transmissions because you have no CTCSS set on your transmitter and they require it.

So, I’m afraid my answer isn’t terribly helpful without understanding the actual problem better.

[generalpain]

Not necessarily.  If the person/repeater you're hearing is using 50 watts, and you can only use 5, maybe not if you're far away.  That 50W radio can be heard for a greater distance (all other factors being the same) than the 5W radio.