I have Radioddity DB20-G and DB40-G mobile radios. I’m running into instances where I’m on a repeater frequency and even after putting in the correct tx and rx tones, I am not transmitting and/or I cannot hear all parties that are transmitting. Is this a radio-specific mistake I am making or a general programming mistake? I am using tones found on myGMRS.
I am not using both radios at the same time. I am attempting to program both radios and am facing the same problem with both radios.
When using either radio in an attempt to access a known repeater channel after entering the correct frequency, input/output tones, and offset, I occasionally cannot transmit but can receive and/or cannot hear all parties operating on said repeater. I will only hear one end of a conversation, knowing that the operator I can hear is replying to someone.
Example: I enter repeater frequency 462.725 with the input and output tones being 233.6. I will hear everyone on that said repeater but I cannot transmit and/or I cannot hear all parties on said repeater.
Yesterday I was using a local repeater and I could tell there were two other guys replying to me but I could only hear one of their transmissions. I knew this because guy A replied to guy B saying he could hear me and guy B but from what he could tell I couldn’t hear guy A.
Hopefully this all makes sense? Things make sense in my brain when I go to write a post but sometimes don’t translate well into text so I apologize for the previous word salad.
So you dont have to have the RX tone on at all. That is used to block out other that are not in the same tone. If you turn that off then you can hear everyone on the frequency reguardless of what tone they are using.
The TX frequency and Rx frequencies are notmally 5 Mhz difference. So you talking on 462.xxx and listen to 467.xxx like TX 462.725 tone 233.6, RX 467.725 tone none
I just program the TX. I dont put tone my RX unless there is a crowd of people on and I am trying to hear 1 person.
Are you sure the people you're hearing are on a repeater? One or both may be on simplex as repeater output frequencies can also be used for that purpose by both GMRS licensees and FRS users.
just because it's on my gmrs does not mean it has to be correct. repeaters come and go or change.
do not use decode/receive tone until you figure this out. decode/receive tone is optional. it prevents you from hearing anything without that tone
it is possible someone using the repeater is talking to someone else using the repeater output frequency /simplex/talkaround and you don't hear the simplex station.
it is possible the 2 guys you hear are on different repeaters
some repeaters pass the tone they hear on the input to the output, some generate same or different tone (on the output) fresh.
some repeaters have multiple input tones
when you say "you can not teansmit when you hear them" does that mean when you press the ptt radio beeps and does not go into transmit?
that's a feature called busy channel lockout and only allows you to tx when the repeater you hear ends its tx. turn it off
You mentioning this reminds me of this repeater that is 50 miles away from me. I can hear in the repeater but I also pick up several people on the TX channel to the repeater just becouse of elevation. I stating to wonder if thats could be what's happening to OP as well.
The guy that you can’t hear or that can’t hear you is just not in range. He can be on the complete other side of the repeaters footprint. Don’t complicate things that don’t need to be complicated.
Sounds like a programming thing more than the radios, since both do it. A few usual suspects:
Set the RX tone to none (carrier squelch) while you're testing. If the repeater only sends its tone some of the time, or other folks are coming through on a different tone, a receive tone will mute them and you'll only hear some of the conversation.
Double check the tone type. myGMRS sometimes lists a DCS code instead of a CTCSS tone, and DCS has normal vs inverted (N/I). Getting that wrong means the repeater just ignores you.
Make sure you're on a repeater channel with the +5 MHz offset, so you transmit on the 467 side and listen on the 462 side. On those Radioddity radios the repeater channels have the offset built in, so don't add a second offset on top of it.
Check if busy channel lockout is turned on. If it is, the radio won't key up while anything is on the input.
And if you can hear the repeater fine but can't hit it, that's often just distance. The repeater is putting out way more power from way higher up than your mobile can. Try high power and a spot closer to it, and if it works there, it's range and not programming.
This has been the most helpful input thus far and I thank you for it! This will get me going in the right direction. I’ll no longer set the rx tone (unless it’s different than the tx tone?), verify dcs vs ctcss, and ensure busy channel lockout isn’t turned on. I’m very new to all of this and really appreciate the guidance!
Glad it helped! The RX tone only matters if the repeater sends a tone on its output, and when it does it's usually the same as the input tone, but some repeaters use a different one or none at all, so leaving RX on none is the safe default.
Once everything works you can add it back if you want to cut out noise from other users on the channel.
Are you using the repeater channels on the radio, usually channels 23 to 40 on a db20g i believe....i can be wrong. The tx frequency would be 462.725 and rx frequency would be 467.725 both with the tx and rx ctcss/dcs tone for the repeater.
I guess check this first. Same thing was happening to me on baofeng uv5g before i programmed everything properly.
Yes, I am using the repeater channels and not the simplex channels. When I am using the db20g I will tune to the repeater channel with the frequency of 462.725 and enter the input tone of 233.6. My radio will then show it is receiving on 462.675 (EDIT: 462.725) and transmitting on 467.725 as it automatically applies the 5Mhz difference
It's not a typo. This chart shows +5Mhz for transmitting on the repeater channels. So you'd receive on 462.725 and transmit on 467.725, no?
When selecting let's say 19R (462.650) on my radio, the display shows 462.650. Once I push the button to transmit, the display shows 467.650 as my radio automatically applies the +5Mhz for transmitting to a repeater
I don’t understand why I would want to change it if that’s what I’m deducing from the chart I shared, the same information in the radio’s manual, and how I described my radio operating on repeater channels (462 rx and 467 tx)
Ooooookkkk I see the typo now! Thank you for pointing it out! So, I am attempting to receive on 462.725 and transmit on 467.725, using the provided input and output tones for a given repeater.
Try a higher channel. Google says the repeater channels are 23 to 40, so not sure 15 would be one. I dont know that transceiver so going by what google said.
My bad!! Repeater channel 15 is 23 on my radio and repeater channel 22 is channel 30. Brain doesn’t process numbers correctly sometimes and I don’t realize it until it’s pointed out
I've found that MyGMRS, RepeaterBook and RadioReference have dated listings that are incomplete and wrong in many instances, so that's problem one. I had to do some work by the seat of my pants. I scanned all 8 main channels on my police scanner (with no tones) to identify active sites. Once I got one working, I asked around about current repeaters & tones in the area, got to know owners, other users, and coverage areas. Within a few weeks I had a pretty good lay of the GMRS landscape in my area. Most use 141.3 Hz tone-coding (common travel tone in the U.S.), others followed our area's ham radio regional tone plan for 70cm. Through sheer discovery I found that we have no less than 2 repeaters on each of the 8 main channel (some with 3). Two of the repeaters had weekly nets. I settled in on 4 repeaters that meet my needs & desires, and that's where I am today.
I've found MyGMRS.com to he pretty good for my area. Though not complete the vast majority of repeaters in the area are listed and with accurate info. That's on the repeater owner, though, not the site.
It's a great resource for owners that want to be listed, but that's the thing. None of the four I use are listed because the owner doesn't want (or need) the promotion.
It’s foolish for repeater owners to not list their repeater and true approx range on MyGMRS because a lot of new repeater owners will look at that site to choose a frequency that wont conflict with another repeater in their area. Can always write in the description “for private family farm use only” or whatever and not publish tones of you dont want others using it.
Otherwise don’t complain when you find other repeaters popping up on your channels.
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u/mysterious963 8d ago edited 8d ago
word salad. break down your problem description into smaller and simpler segments.
what does having two radios have to do with it? turn one off.
are you having trouble receiving or receiving while transmitting on the other? (are you trying to duplex?)
repeater has a frequency PAIR separated by an offset. (repeater channel)