Question regarding Tx/Rx tones for repeaters.

[WSBV579]

I'm newly licensed and found a repeater in my area that I can hit on repeater ch20. Made my first couple of contacts and everything was loud and clear.

 

It had occurred to me today that I've not ever heard the Morse code identifier for this repeater...or any identifier for that matter. I switched over to the regular ch20, and about 30mins later I hear Morse code. I assume that's the repeater I'd been using.

 

I have both the Tx tone set to 156.7Hz, as well as the Rx tone set to 156.7Hz (myGMRS shows the "Input Tone: 156.7Hz, Output Tone: 156.7Hz"). Was I supposed to leave the Rx tone at "off"? And if I do, will that effect being able to receive other's transmissions? The tones still confuse me a bit.

[wrci350]

4 minutes ago, WSBV579 said:

I have both the Tx tone set to 156.7Hz, as well as the Rx tone set to 156.7Hz (myGMRS shows the "Input Tone: 156.7Hz, Output Tone: 156.7Hz"). Was I supposed to leave the Rx tone at "off"? And if I do, will that effect being able to receive other's transmissions? The tones still confuse me a bit.

You can either turn the receive tone back on, in which case you will only hear transmissions with that tone, or you can leave it off (and then you will hear anything on that channel, either from the repeater or simplex).

Many repeaters do not send a CTCSS tone when they identify, so people running with the receive tone on don't [have to] hear the ID.

[WSBV579]

2 minutes ago, wrci350 said:

You can either turn the receive tone back on, in which case you will only hear transmissions with that tone, or you can leave it off (and then you will hear anything on that channel, either from the repeater or simplex).

Many repeaters do not send a CTCSS tone when they identify, so people running with the receive tone on don't [have to] hear the ID.

Ok, that makes sense. So, if I leave the Rx tone OFF, I'll hear simplex traffic from ch20 AND traffic from the repeater...whereas, if I turn ON the Rx tone, I'll only hear repeater traffic.

 

Frankly, I don't mind hearing the ID, it's just a good audio reminder to me that I left my radio on.

 

Thanks for the explanation. That made my understanding of tones a lot clearer.

[SteveShannon]

24 minutes ago, WSBV579 said:

So, if I leave the Rx tone OFF, I'll hear simplex traffic from ch20 AND traffic from the repeater...whereas, if I turn ON the Rx tone, I'll only hear repeater traffic.

 

If you turn on the RX tone you’ll only hear transmissions that include the same tone, but they could be either simplex or from the repeater. 

[WSBV579]

4 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

If you turn on the RX tone you’ll only hear transmissions that include the same tone, but they could be either simplex or from the repeater. 

Ok, so if the myGMRS shows both the input and output with a tone for this repeater, should I use both the tones for Tx and Rx?

[WRVZ447]

I am new to this site (and GMRS in general) however, when using a repeater the Tx Frequency and the Rx frequency  are generally different. So unless you are scanning both the Tx and Rx frequency (on your radio) you will only hear the "Repeater" traffic. The PL "Tones" effectively are a filter to filter out anyone who is not using them. (Think PL as Private Line).

If you are close enough to not need the repeater, then your Tx and Rx would be the same frequency. Repeaters are used to get greater distance, typically for lower powered handhelds or in areas with significant variations in the terrain. (mountains, valleys, etc...)

[SteveShannon]

2 minutes ago, WSBV579 said:

Ok, so if the myGMRS shows both the input and output with a tone for this repeater, should I use both the tones for Tx and Rx?

You must use the repeater input tone as your TX tone. Otherwise the repeater will disregard your transmission. 
You may use the output tone as your RX tone. If you do, your radio will disregard (refuse to reproduce) any transmissions that do not include the same tone. 
But you don’t have to. If you leave the RX tone out your radio will reproduce all of the signals it hears on 462.675 MHz.

The same frequencies are used to receive both simplex and repeater signals. 

[WSBV579]

14 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

You must use the repeater input tone as your TX tone. Otherwise the repeater will disregard your transmission. 
You may use the output tone as your RX tone. If you do, your radio will disregard (refuse to reproduce) any transmissions that do not include the same tone. 
But you don’t have to. If you leave the RX tone out your radio will reproduce all of the signals it hears on 462.675 MHz.

The same frequencies are used to receive both simplex and repeater signals. 

Thanks for explaining it like that. The "must use" vs "may use" is what was confusing me before. You're explanation made it very clear.

 

I appreciate the explanation!