Newbie question about repeaters

[WSEN246]

Good evening folks,

I got my license a few weeks back, and got myself a set of  2 Baofeng GM-15 pro radios, and 2 Baofeng G11S radios. They looked like decent starter sets until I get the hang of what I got myself into. They have already come in handy when the girlfriend's bird escaped the house, and we were able to split up but stay in contact while on opposite side of our little town. That was very impressive to someone that has only ever used the cheap bubble packs from Walmart. (Yes, we got the bird back safe and sound)

 I wanted to get into this for hunting season here in West Virginia. Long story short, I hunt with my father, and one other friend when he is able to go. My father's best years are behind him, so he sits in a self-made shack that might as well be a hotel room at the edge of one of our farm fields, while myself and my buddy wander through the woods. I grew up in these woods, so I'm not too worried about myself alone out there, but my buddy came here from Arizona, and is not so seasoned. We have tried to use those old bubble pack radios to stay in contact, but we all know those things have pretty limited range on a good day. I would like to get my radios set up to allow all of us to stay in contact in case of any issues, and I know that with no obstructions, we would be grand, but this is WV, and flat land is not exactly a hallmark of our state. 

Here's the kicker. We do have a repeater nearby that is open access. The owner is either pumping all the power to it, or it is on top of one of the higher mountains in the area as it claims to have a 70 mile range, right in the heart of the mountains. Now I know the mountains and hills are limiting factors, but this one particular repeater is at the end of the valley we will be in, so I am holding out hope we can reach it. I will test this coming weekend when I go back home to see. 

So now that you know the situation, on to the question. I have a repeater near where I live, but have yet to run into anyone on it to verify I am set up on it properly. I want to make sure I am so that when I go home this weekend, I don't have my settings incorrect. The one I have local to me is as follows:
 

Frequency	462.625 MHz
Output Tone	141.3 Hz
Input Tone	141.3 Hz

I have set it in my GM-15 pro on channel 26, which should match the frequency given. I have set the Tx tone to the 141.3 and tried the Rx tone at the 141.3, but never received anything. At the suggestion of another page in the forum, I removed the Rx tone, and now when I kerchunk, I get a response making me think I am on the right track. I have tried turning another radio on, but when I do a check on the repeater channel, I get nothing on the second radio with the same settings. 

I know that there is a frequency offset, so I know that when I transmit on channel 26, I am technically transmitting at 5 MHZ higher, but I should be getting the response on the repeater channel as well as channel 18 correct? I just want to make sure I don't need to have the other radio on a separate channel to receive.  

In case it helps any, the repeater back home I would like to make contact on this coming weekend is this one:

Frequency	462.700 MHz
Output Tone	100.0 Hz
Input Tone	100.0 Hz

Again, I have set it on channel 29, with the Tx tone of 100.0 and left the Rx tone open. 

Sorry to be so long winded with this, I just want to make sure I am doing this correctly. Thanks in advance for any advice, I really appreciate it!

 

[WRUU653]

You already seem to have a good understanding of your radios so that’s great. One thing I’ll say is if you have two radios right next to each other they can desense each other. So when testing your repeater contact move them apart maybe 50’. You’re on the right track.

[SteveShannon]

39 minutes ago, WSEN246 said:

Good evening folks,

I got my license a few weeks back, and got myself a set of  2 Baofeng GM-15 pro radios, and 2 Baofeng G11S radios. They looked like decent starter sets until I get the hang of what I got myself into. They have already come in handy when the girlfriend's bird escaped the house, and we were able to split up but stay in contact while on opposite side of our little town. That was very impressive to someone that has only ever used the cheap bubble packs from Walmart. (Yes, we got the bird back safe and sound)

 I wanted to get into this for hunting season here in West Virginia. Long story short, I hunt with my father, and one other friend when he is able to go. My father's best years are behind him, so he sits in a self-made shack that might as well be a hotel room at the edge of one of our farm fields, while myself and my buddy wander through the woods. I grew up in these woods, so I'm not too worried about myself alone out there, but my buddy came here from Arizona, and is not so seasoned. We have tried to use those old bubble pack radios to stay in contact, but we all know those things have pretty limited range on a good day. I would like to get my radios set up to allow all of us to stay in contact in case of any issues, and I know that with no obstructions, we would be grand, but this is WV, and flat land is not exactly a hallmark of our state. 

Here's the kicker. We do have a repeater nearby that is open access. The owner is either pumping all the power to it, or it is on top of one of the higher mountains in the area as it claims to have a 70 mile range, right in the heart of the mountains. Now I know the mountains and hills are limiting factors, but this one particular repeater is at the end of the valley we will be in, so I am holding out hope we can reach it. I will test this coming weekend when I go back home to see. 

So now that you know the situation, on to the question. I have a repeater near where I live, but have yet to run into anyone on it to verify I am set up on it properly. I want to make sure I am so that when I go home this weekend, I don't have my settings incorrect. The one I have local to me is as follows:
 

Frequency	462.625 MHz
Output Tone	141.3 Hz
Input Tone	141.3 Hz

I have set it in my GM-15 pro on channel 26, which should match the frequency given. I have set the Tx tone to the 141.3 and tried the Rx tone at the 141.3, but never received anything. At the suggestion of another page in the forum, I removed the Rx tone, and now when I kerchunk, I get a response making me think I am on the right track. I have tried turning another radio on, but when I do a check on the repeater channel, I get nothing on the second radio with the same settings. 

I know that there is a frequency offset, so I know that when I transmit on channel 26, I am technically transmitting at 5 MHZ higher, but I should be getting the response on the repeater channel as well as channel 18 correct? I just want to make sure I don't need to have the other radio on a separate channel to receive.  

In case it helps any, the repeater back home I would like to make contact on this coming weekend is this one:

Frequency	462.700 MHz
Output Tone	100.0 Hz
Input Tone	100.0 Hz

Again, I have set it on channel 29, with the Tx tone of 100.0 and left the Rx tone open. 

Sorry to be so long winded with this, I just want to make sure I am doing this correctly. Thanks in advance for any advice, I really appreciate it!

 

Yes, it looks like you’re doing everything correctly.  Maybe have your friend from AZ test the radios with you.  As Gil suggested above put 50 feet or so of distance between you to avoid desensing.

[GreggInFL]

On 9/23/2024 at 11:36 PM, WSEN246 said:

At the suggestion of another page in the forum, I removed the Rx tone, and now when I kerchunk, I get a response making me think I am on the right track. I have tried turning another radio on, but when I do a check on the repeater channel, I get nothing on the second radio with the same settings. 

You'll like those radios.  The wife and I use them.  As others have said, put some space between them and try to talk via the repeater.

[WSEN246]

I appreciate the suggestions folks. When I head home Friday, I'll get out with my father and play around with that longer range repeater to see what I can come up with. Thanks again for the support!