New to grms

[WSDL331]

Hello everyone I’m new to the grms radios I just put a midland mxt275 in my truck I have been sitting and listening for a couple days this weekend and listened to some guys about 30 miles away and could hear them crystal clear I have been asking for a radio check with no response I know I won’t be able to reach the guys in the other town I guess no one els in my area has one. What I am wondering is how am I hearing them from so far away? One I know was on a mobile unit he had just installed 

[OffRoaderX]

It is likely that they are on a repeater, which is probably high-atop a mountain, transmitting at 50Watts from a giant, and perfectly tuned antenna.

You could probably talk to them if you configured your radio to use that repeater.

[WSDL331]

37 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

It is likely that they are on a repeater, which is probably high-atop a mountain, transmitting at 50Watts from a giant, and perfectly tuned antenna.

You could probably talk to them if you configured your radio to use that repeater.

That’s what I am wondering like I said I’m trying to figure it all out I was under the impression that if you use a repeater only you and the person you are talking to can use it at that time?

[dosw]

20 minutes ago, WSDL331 said:

That’s what I am wondering like I said I’m trying to figure it all out I was under the impression that if you use a repeater only you and the person you are talking to can use it at that time?

A repeater will take whatever signal it is receiving that opens squelch on an input frequency, and will retransmit it 5MHz lower on an output frequency. 467.7000 would retransmit on 462.7000 for example. It turns out that 462.7000 is also a simplex frequency (a regular channel), so when you hear a conversation on 462.7000 but they can't hear you, it's because that repeater is listening on 467.7000, not on 462.7000. And it's using tones that you probably don't have programmed into your radio. You can hear them, but you're neither transmitting on the correct frequency, nor with the proper tone to make them hear you.

 

I don't know what you mean by only two people being able to use them at a time. Group conversations happen all the time. People just have to be patient and take their turn. Only one person can be talking at any moment in time, or there will be some strange interference.

[WSDL331]

That clears it up thanks for the help