Help with TK-8150 and CTCSS

[elijahkan14]

Hey guys I'm just getting into GMRS and recently purchased a Kenwood TK-8150.  Originally I was going to just use simplex but I was actually able to find a repeater.

I'm having a couple issues connecting to the repeater.

 

I have two radios setup, one being the Kenwood TK-8150 and the other being a Baofeng UV-5R.  

I set both of them up (I think) with the PL tones and I can hear the Baofeng on the Kenwood but not vice versa.  If i talk into the Kenwood I hear nothing on the Baofeng and then as soon as I release the PTT i hear static and the "beep" from the repeater.  So the repeater hears me but for some reason my voice isn't going through?  I am a little confused by the software for the Kenwood. To set the PL tones I set the QT/DQT Dec and Enc to the PL tone for the repeater, is there anything else I have to do?  I read online that QT/DQT is the same as PL/CTCSS.  Do I need to set the "Opt Signal" option?  It shows DTMF, 2-tone, and "Fleetsync" which I don't know what any of these are...

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

Sorry if my terminology is lacking, I've only been into GMRS for a couple weeks.

[PastorGary]

Elijah - Welcome to the MyGMRS Forum.    Sounds as if the repeater you are accessing has both decode and encode CTCSS tones the same, so your two CTCSS encode and decode tones should be programmed in the same.  Leave the Opt Signal off and the Fleet Sync disabled for your application.

 

Is the Baofeng set up for 462.xxx receive and 467.xxx transmit split frequency repeater operation the same as the Kenwood ? 

 

It almost sounds as if the Baofeng is receiving and transmitting simplex on the 462.xxx frequency only. Check your programming again.    The Kenwood and the Baofeng must transmit on the 467.xxx  repeater channel pair and receive on the 462.xxx channel pair.  However, if that is set up OK on both, then if the Baofeng is too close to the transmitting antenna for the Kenwood, the Baofeng receiver front end may be desensitised because of the strong Kenwood signal and THAT is why you are not hearing yourself on the Baofeng tuned to the repeater output frequency.   Put some distance between the Kenwood antenna and the Baofeng radio and try to hear yourself again coming off the repeater. IF the Baofeng portable itself is out of repeater range, you will not hear yourself off the repeater using the Baofeng.   If the Baofeng can trigger the repeater, then it usually should be able to 'hear' the repeater. 

 

Keep us posted...

[elijahkan14]

I had set up the offset on the Beofeng so it does not try to receive on the transmitting channel, I realized quickly the dual band was going to mess things up a little bit (I was being a noob).  What I realized the problem was is that the repeater will not repeat the signal unless the signal is high enough, but will still respond with a "beep" after I transmit.   I moved about a mile closer to the repeater and was able to get much better results, originally I was about 17 miles away (straight line) from the repeater.  I suppose I need to break down and buy a SWR meter and get this thing tuned a little better (since this 5w Beofeng could do it in the original location .-.)  This repeater goes VERY far once I got it working better.  I went about 34 miles from my house (straight line and obviously on the other side of the repeater) and was still able to get a clear signal back.  I have never heard of GMRS going that far even with a repeater.. that thing has to be a thousand feet high! 

I appreciate the response!

[PastorGary]

Thanks for the update and glad things are working better.   One of the primary systems in my area has a service diameter of 90  to 110 miles, depending upon weather conditions and solar activity.  The FCC currently limits repeater RF output to 50 watts, but they don't seem to care about antenna gain and ERP - it's not mentioned in current regulations.  [ 47CFR95.135 ]

[elijahkan14]

Realizing now that the actual issue I was having was that I had the Baofeng too close to my transmitter when I was testing.  Since the Kenwood puts out 50 watts, it must have been blocking the signal for the receiving freq. on the repeater.  I had my friend stand about 50 feet away while I was in my car in the same spot and it worked fine.  Do you think I need to adjust any settings on the Kenwood?  I have it on narrowband... I'm new to all this stuff.

[PastorGary]

WIDEBAND is normal for GMRS repeaters because Part 95 Rules were not affected by the rebanding order in 2012-13.  Reset for wideband and things may operate even better for you... UNLESS the owner of that repeater set it up for narrowband, but that would be rare.

[zap]

Realizing now that the actual issue I was having was that I had the Baofeng too close to my transmitter when I was testing.  Since the Kenwood puts out 50 watts, it must have been blocking the signal for the receiving freq. on the repeater.  I had my friend stand about 50 feet away while I was in my car in the same spot and it worked fine.  Do you think I need to adjust any settings on the Kenwood?  I have it on narrowband... I'm new to all this stuff.

 

The filters on the Baofengs aren't too great so they are a little subject to adjacent channel interference (even at 5 MHz of offset). We learned over time when testing Baofengs, put about 20 or 30 ft between the two handhelds.