newbie help...

[tcushman]

I am just getting started in gmrs my call sign is wqyr704,I have a local repeater here that I am trying to set up on my handheld it is a baofeng f8 first off I know it is a little cheapie one but it is a start I am getting the new midland mxt400 soon....but my question is this, the repeater here only has an input freq and output freq....no offsets or anything like that....it is the mount hope repeater here in Sanford Maine.....i am presently trying to contact the owner to get permission foe use.....but I cannot seam to get my radio set up properly....any help would be appreciated....thank you.

[Logan5]

How do you know it is a simplex repeater? Is this repeater listed here on MYGmrs?

[WQYC236]

 

I think you are talking about the "Mount Hope Repeater" in Sanford. It's listed here under the repeater directory. You're correct that it lists the input and output frequencies as the same and the tones are unlisted. So you will have to ask permission to use it and I'm sure the tones will be forthcoming. Just email the owner and fill out the information.

 

[tcushman]

Ok thanks for the help I appreciate it

[mainehazmt]

Whoo Hooooo. Finally getting more Licenced Maine gmrs users

[mainehazmt]

I believe he has an online website that has current contact info if he doesn't see it here

[jameschung]

Hi, I have the similar issue as tcushman.  My local repeater is listed on mygmrs and on their website (BARN-R1) as an open system.  

 

Travel Tone: Yes

ORI: No

Apprx. Range: 85 Miles

Output: 462.550 MHz   141.3 Hz

Input: 467.550 MHz   141.3 Hz

 

I can trigger the repeater because both handheld units can hear the "announcement."   But the units can't talk nor listen to each other afterwards.   Attached is the audio recording.  https://youtu.be/qWa8aGMxUVQ

 

Is there "one" thing I'm forgetting?  Thank you in advance.

[jmoylan69]

 

Hi, I have the similar issue as tcushman.  My local repeater is listed on mygmrs and on their website (BARN-R1) as an open system.  

 

Travel Tone: Yes

ORI: No

Apprx. Range: 85 Miles

Output: 462.550 MHz   141.3 Hz

Input: 467.550 MHz   141.3 Hz

 

I can trigger the repeater because both handheld units can hear the "announcement."   But the units can't talk nor listen to each other afterwards.   Attached is the audio recording.  https://youtu.be/qWa8aGMxUVQ

 

Is there "one" thing I'm forgetting?  Thank you in advance.

 

ok, this is normal if im understanding you correctly.  by your statement, "The units cant talk nor listen to each other" means by that statement that the two handhelds cant talk to each other. and that would be proper. if this were a Baofeng. id hit the *scn button to "reverse" the transmit and receive freq/s, (on only one radio) then the two "units" will talk to one another.  that is because you have to radios setup to talk and listen on the EXACT frequencies as each other and that cant be. Radio A is set to Tx on say, 467.550 and that is the same as Radio B. Radio A is set to listen on 462.550. so is B. so if A and B are set the same way it will never work unless Radio A is transmitting on the freq that Radio B is set to listen on. Example is radio B would have to be set to listen on what radio A is transmitting. such as 467.550. 

 

Now if this is NOT what you're referring to then perhaps clarifying this a bit more.

[jmoylan69]

 

Hi, I have the similar issue as tcushman.  My local repeater is listed on mygmrs and on their website (BARN-R1) as an open system.  

 

Travel Tone: Yes

ORI: No

Apprx. Range: 85 Miles

Output: 462.550 MHz   141.3 Hz

Input: 467.550 MHz   141.3 Hz

 

I can trigger the repeater because both handheld units can hear the "announcement."   But the units can't talk nor listen to each other afterwards.   Attached is the audio recording.  https://youtu.be/qWa8aGMxUVQ

 

Is there "one" thing I'm forgetting?  Thank you in advance.

 

ok, this is normal if im understanding you correctly.  by your statement, "The units cant talk nor listen to each other" means by that statement that the two handhelds cant talk to each other. and that would be proper. if this were a Baofeng. id hit the *scn button to "reverse" the transmit and receive freq/s, then the two "units" will talk to one another.  that is because you have to radios setup to talk and listen on the EXACT frequencies as each other and that cant be. Radio A is set to Tx on say, 467.550 and that is the same as Radio B. Radio A is set to listen on 462.550. so is B. so if A and B are set the same way it will never work unless Radio A is transmitting on the freq that Radio B is set to listen on. Example is radio B would have to be set to listen on what radio A is transmitting. such as 467.550. 

 

Now if this is NOT what you're referring to then perhaps clarifying this a bit more.

[jameschung]

ok, this is normal if im understanding you correctly.  by your statement, "The units cant talk nor listen to each other" means by that statement that the two handhelds cant talk to each other. and that would be proper. if this were a Baofeng. id hit the *scn button to "reverse" the transmit and receive freq/s, then the two "units" will talk to one another.  that is because you have to radios setup to talk and listen on the EXACT frequencies as each other and that cant be. Radio A is set to Tx on say, 467.550 and that is the same as Radio B. Radio A is set to listen on 462.550. so is B. so if A and B are set the same way it will never work unless Radio A is transmitting on the freq that Radio B is set to listen on. Example is radio B would have to be set to listen on what radio A is transmitting. such as 467.550. 

 

Now if this is NOT what you're referring to then perhaps clarifying this a bit more.

Thank you jmoylan69 for responding.  I am ashamed to admit that my handheld unit is a cheap Motorola 1.5w walkie talkie.  I can select the channel that is pre-programmed RX 462.5500 and TX 467.5500.  And I can also set the code to 141.3 Hz.

 

Both units hear the repeater announcement.   Then if I use handheld A to transmit, both units hear the response from the response.  But it's just a screech and the beep.  Both units hear it.  But not the actual voice comm.   I hope I'm making sense.   

 

Since both device can hear the initial announcement and also trigger that...they are accessing the repeater properly.   It's the actual communication following the announcement that is without the voice.   

[Logan5]

Your Hand held radios are too close together, Your TX is desensitizing your RX. separate your HT's and try again.

[mikraycar]

So I'm not new to radios or repeaters and have been an active HAM for several years. That being said I suppose I should have scanned some of the local repeaters here in Maryland before laying down my hard earned cash for a GMRS License because none of the repeaters listed that show coverage in the Baltimore area seem to be operational.

 

Does anyone know if ANY of the repeaters in the state of Maryland are up and running???

 

Mike

WQZA893

KB3SBF

[Dune88]

Hey, first post here. Figured I would post a reply rather than start a new thread. Was this ever resolved? I am having the same problem. I have both radios set to tx on 462.xxx with +5,000 offset (correct term?) and rx on 467.xxx (using the dual watch feature). When I tx I get the repeater information. Then I'll do it again and won't hear anything but will get a quick tone. I've tried using the radios distanced apart, As in someone going a few blocks away and nothing. Been researching and can't seem to figure out the problem. I hate asking questions when the answers are out there. Its probably something simple but it has me stumped.

 

Thanks!

[SteveC7010]

Hey, first post here. Figured I would post a reply rather than start a new thread. Was this ever resolved? I am having the same problem. I have both radios set to tx on 462.xxx with +5,000 offset (correct term?) and rx on 467.xxx (using the dual watch feature). When I tx I get the repeater information. Then I'll do it again and won't hear anything but will get a quick tone. I've tried using the radios distanced apart, As in someone going a few blocks away and nothing. Been researching and can't seem to figure out the problem. I hate asking questions when the answers are out there. Its probably something simple but it has me stumped.

 

Thanks!

 

You've got it backwards. To access a GMRS repeater, you transmit on the 467.xxx frequency and receive on the 462.xxx frequency. If you wish to operate simplex and just talk radio to radio among yourself and your friends/family, you transmit and receive on the 462.xxx frequency.

 

Perhaps this graphic will help you understand the concepts better. (The frequencies are different, but the concept is identical.)

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad42/Steve_Collins/Misc%20radio%20stuff/Simplex-Repeater-300x273_zpsdwctou0p.jpg

[docdoherty]

Hi, You should be RX on 462 and TX on 467.  The setup will take your +5 offset and add it to the 462.xxx to give you the 467.xxx

 

The dual watch is for monitoring two freqs that you like to listen to.

 

Anyway, try what I suggested.

[Dune88]

Wow that picture makes it quite clear. But if I had my radio on 462.xxx and had an offset of 5,000+ would it not tx on 467.xxx and rx on 462.xxx? Which is the way it's suppose to be set up. If so then that's the way I have it set up except that I added dual watch for a frequency that isn't used. When I tx both radios will give a tone after I'm done speaking but on the rx end I don't hear the voice. Anyways I'm going to give it a shot again tomorrow. I did notice the repeater I'm trying to access is on a low level site and only seems to cover my town. I tried hitting it from work 10 miles away which still seems to be in LOS and nothing but in town I can hit it every time.

[WQWI871]

I like to think an easy way to remember it is to forget about the transmit frequency and focus on the offset. If you set your frequency to 462.xxx and set a +5Mhz offset, the radio generally transmits on 467.xxx (which is +5 difference) and automatically swaps back to the set frequency 462.xxx. Each radio should be programed the same with the 462.xxx frequency set and the +5Mhz offset. If using a repeater, each radio may need to be spaced apart or you may not hear on a radio while transmitting on a different radio.

[docdoherty]

Dune 88, you are overthinking the problem.  Do you have programming software for the radio?  Its a spreadsheet type of program that you input the freqs and corresponding offsets, some are "+ " and some are "-".  Its usally very simple to do.  The only problems you can run into are "com port" issues, etc.  How are you programming?

[Dune88]

Yes, I programmed it with chirp. Well I used a csv file I found on the net. I was just trying to learn to manually use it. I guess I can go in there again and program it with the correct tone and see if it works.I am going to try it out in the morning in town to see if it works out. I know one of my last test seen to be out of range of the repeater because of a hill. Seems so simple I must be overlooking something.

Thanks

[WQWI871]

I understand that. Although I enjoy using Chirp, and the ability to copy and paste over to other radios, It's nice understanding how to manually program as well. Sometimes I manually program because some frequencies are new and I don't keep tons of frequencies  stored, just the most used. I remember I didn't understand how the manual programing worked with the offsets before I started using Chirp. I kept putting the TX as the RX frequency, not realizing the offset changes the frequency when transmitting when I started out.

 

Edit: Dang, why's it doing that? Sorry again.

 

Thank you, G.

[PastorGary]

Staff Note - Deleted double post.

[Dune88]

Alright so I think the problem is with the radios. I was able to hear the other radio for a bit but lost contact quickly, but as I was testing it with my daughter I made contact with another person who informed me that we needed a licence to use the radios. I ended up telling him I do have one and gave him my call sign, had a brief friendly chat but as he was telling me his position we lost contact. I really would have liked to known how far it was Lol. He did say the repeater was open but seemed to be for emergencies. I let him know that I was trying to dial everything in for that purpose and he was very cool about it. This was on the menifee repeater in so cal if the person I was speaking to is on here. So I guess now I need to see about antennas. I did purchase some nagoya 771s which actually seem worse on gmrs frequencies. I am using a baofeng gmrs v1 or whatever it is called. I also have 2 uv5rs that I used to TEST (yes part 90). Anyways I think I will make a post on the technical section about getting my radios up to par as I am not sure on forum etiquette here and if it would be seen as relevant to the thread. If it is, let me know and I can continue here.

Thank you everyone

[WQWI871]

Yeah, the Nagoyas aren't great for GMRS, but, they're alright. I can still communicate half mile to a mile using baofeng handhelds to handhelds on GMRS with a Nagoya antenna, depending on which one. But, I often find the stock baofeng antennas to be better with GMRS. The Nagoya 771, 717, 701, 774 and 771R are nice. I use the 805-3 for close range and local repeaters, and, the 717 is a nice balance between the 771 and 701. You could try the 701C and 771C which are tuned more for GMRS. I haven't tried the C versions, though. But, of course this is based on my local terrain. You sure your radios weren't desensing, though? I think that's odd that the radio(s) could have a problem like that.

[Dune88]

I've read that particular antenna (771) isn't very good in urban terrain due to rf interference. We were maybe 1/4 mile apart when I was able to hear her transmission but lost contact quickly. We were using the stock rubber duck antennas on the v1 and uv5r.. I am not sure if the person I spoke to was mobile or not, I wasnt, and I slowly lost contact with him as well. What's strange is when I first got the radios we tested them out on a regular simplex channel and seemed to get better range and clearer than with the repeater. After trying the 771 and then putting back stock antennas it seems that the performance has degraded. Does atmospheric conditions play a big role in uhf like they due with cbs?

[WQWI871]

Okay. There's several atmospheric conditions that can effect electromagnetic waves. Tropospheric, ducting / scatter, lightning scatter. Diffraction. Other conditions exist, but, generally less common on the UHF range.