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Author Topic: 6M repeater question  (Read 658 times)

KN4YPT

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6M repeater question
« on: October 04, 2019, 01:58:48 PM »

Got my Technician license last week and having fun hearing stations around the US and even other continents with my son, but haven't made first QSO yet. In programming my new FT-891 for the 6 meter repeaters near Atlanta, I must be doing it wrong as I'm not getting any tone or ID back from the repeaters?
1. FM settings- set to Enable
2. T/DCS- set to CTCSS Encode
3. Tone- entered per ARRL directory
4. RPT- set to negative offset

Not hearing anything from the repeaters or other hams when I transit my Callsign and standby. On tutorial videos there is a tone or voice ID when you successfully ping a repeater? Am pretty sure they're in range, as I have a new OCF dipole hung approx 40' up and those repeaters are between 6 and 15 miles away. Also tried FM simplex 52.525 and SSB 50.125 repeatedly with no luck.

Different topic- looking at the MUF maps, looks like 10M SSB isn't likely but does anybody in the Southeast have success there currently?
Have been trying that on 28.4 and 28.380...

73,
Eli
KN4YPT
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K0UA

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2019, 06:04:34 PM »

Got my Technician license last week and having fun hearing stations around the US and even other continents with my son, but haven't made first QSO yet. In programming my new FT-891 for the 6 meter repeaters near Atlanta, I must be doing it wrong as I'm not getting any tone or ID back from the repeaters?
1. FM settings- set to Enable
2. T/DCS- set to CTCSS Encode
3. Tone- entered per ARRL directory
4. RPT- set to negative offset

Not hearing anything from the repeaters or other hams when I transit my Callsign and standby. On tutorial videos there is a tone or voice ID when you successfully ping a repeater? Am pretty sure they're in range, as I have a new OCF dipole hung approx 40' up and those repeaters are between 6 and 15 miles away. Also tried FM simplex 52.525 and SSB 50.125 repeatedly with no luck.

Different topic- looking at the MUF maps, looks like 10M SSB isn't likely but does anybody in the Southeast have success there currently?
Have been trying that on 28.4 and 28.380...

73,
Eli
KN4YPT

I don't have any hard and fast answers, but some thoughts.  6 Meter FM is vertical polarization, and you are horizontal, so that is at least 20 dB down to start with.  Not sure how high the 6 meter repeater you are trying to hit is. Of course are you sure it is on the air? Can you get some local help from someone who is on that repeater?  Do you ever hear it ID? Can you travel to near the repeater site with a simple vertical (mobile) antenna and try hitting it?

 Now on to the 52.525 FM simplex frequency.  I have never in my nearly 50 years of hamming heard anyone on 52.525.
No one would ever monitor that frequency because "there isn't anyone on it" :)

   As for 50.125, It is fairly active during the sporadic E season.  BUT the sporadic E season is over.  It ended in August. Of course they can be openings occasionally, but unless you you monitor 24/7/365, you are not liable to hear anything there until the next season. There is a small short sporadic E season coming up in December.

 ALSO, hate to tell you this but activity on 6 meter SSB and CW has been greatly reduced (my guess by a factor of 10) from the rise of FT8 on 50.313.  "everyone" is over on 50.313 FT8 looking for DX.  Oh sure not "everyone", but if I was to to guess the 2019 Es season was 90 percent FT8 and 10 percent SSB and CW.  A couple of years ago this would not have been true.

You "need" to get on 6 meter FT8 if you want contacts.  THAT SAID.  There is no point in getting on 6 meter FT8 now.  I monitored it all day today, and heard one local station. The only thing you are going to hear is ground wave.  Oh sure you could get on meteor scatter (you need software WSJT-x for this too) and if you have a yagi you can work it out to 1100 miles or so. You need to join pingjockey.net to co-ordinate contacts.

https://www.pingjockey.net/cgi-bin/pingtalk/


10 meters... Well sort of like 6 meters.  We are all over on FT8. There were quite a bit of South Americans coming thru today.  I worked Liberia a couple of days ago.  Again all on FT8.  There is some SSB and CW, more so than 6 meters, but again FT8 predominates.

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73  James K0UA

NA4IT

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2019, 04:38:01 AM »

You may need to check the offset frequency itself, the difference in RX and TX frequency. It could be something weird.
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K0CBA

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2019, 07:25:49 AM »

You may need to check the offset frequency itself, the difference in RX and TX frequency. It could be something weird.

John is correct.     The "standard" offsets are all over the place!
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WB8VLC

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2019, 01:10:38 PM »

There are now 3 standard offsets used on 6 meters, .5MHZ, 1.0 MHZ and 1.7 MHZ.

Most offsets above are minus; however, in California there are some using plus .5MHZ but your region is probably all minus.

When you transmit does your rig display the tx frequency?

As to your 10 meter question, since you are in Georgia are you within ~20 to 30 miles of the ham below?

KC4TVZ
Todd Burnette
6415 Ivy Springs Drive
Flowery Branch, GA 30542

kc4tvz is on 28.425 usb calling cq cq all day and nite like a 10 meter beacon, he never goes off of 28425.

I usually hear TODD at least once a week up here in oregon on .425 calling cq.
« Last Edit: October 05, 2019, 01:30:44 PM by WB8VLC »
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KN4YPT

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2019, 04:57:08 AM »

Appreciate the thoughtful responses. I confirmed the radio is set up correctly. I’m just not reaching the repeaters apparently, so buying a separate 6m vertical this week to see how that works. Will also listen for Todd, as he’s about 25 miles from my QTH.
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WA8NVW

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2019, 05:24:03 PM »

Have you heard anyone talking on the frequencies you programmed for any of the repeaters?  You might have accidentally programmed them "upside down" by reversing the receive and transmit entries.  If you can't hear them, you'll never know if your transmitter is working properly. 
Also remember that FM repeaters use vertical polarization, but SSB and CW stations run horizontal, which makes a difference in received signal strength of about 20 dB. So if you use a beam on 6 FM, be sure the elements are vertical.
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K0UA

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #7 on: October 08, 2019, 05:37:42 PM »

Appreciate the thoughtful responses. I confirmed the radio is set up correctly. I’m just not reaching the repeaters apparently, so buying a separate 6m vertical this week to see how that works. Will also listen for Todd, as he’s about 25 miles from my QTH.

Have you ever heard any of these repeaters after monitoring all day? So much as an ID or any activity?
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73  James K0UA

W8QZ

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2019, 06:44:24 AM »

It may be that the repeaters are no longer on the air. For various reasons (?), people and groups are reluctant to give up a coordinated 'frequency pair', even if no longer used. The local club I am a member of is one of these - we have a club repeater W8DC that at one time linked 6, 2, 220 and 440 all together. The frequencies are all still reserved according to the repeater directory, but the 6 and 220 links have not been operational for years!  ??? My objections to this 'hoarding' have gone unheeded.
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ND6M

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2019, 09:39:11 AM »

... edit... Will also listen for Todd, as he’s about 25 miles from my QTH.

I understand that you are "new".

MANY experienced Amateurs completely ignore him................ (for multiple reasons) ;)
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KB8VUL

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RE: 6M repeater question
« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2019, 02:29:14 PM »

As far as testing your ability to access the repeater in question or any other analog repeater.
When you key up the repeater once it's up there should be a tx hold on the repeater where there is typically some white noise and then a beep followed by a squelch crash when the repeater unkeys.
You should hear that every time you key up.  And typically if no one has keyed the repeater in a while, you will in about 10 seconds or so hear the repeater CW ID.

If you are not hearing those things then you are not getting into the repeater.

I know that several mentioned that your antenna is horizontal and the repeater antenna is most likely vertical.  And while that does decrease your signal into the repeater by 20 db, if the repeater receiver is 6 miles away and you are running anything over 1 watt of power the path loss minus and the additional 20 db of loss due to the polarization mismatch would NOT keep you from bringing up the repeater unless there are other issues in play.

Thing to do, being a new ham, is find a local club and go to a meeting or three.  Get to know the folks there face to face. 

The one poster made the comment that old established hams don't typically talk to new guys, at least some of them don't. 
Personally I think it's crap.... if you are one of those hams reading this, a well established ham is telling you "you are a A-hole, get over yourself" because you were once a new ham too.
I dealt with this nonsense when I was new and was a no-code tech.  We were a scourge to ham radio.  We didn't deserve to access the same frequencies as the guys that had learned the code.  And we needed to go back to playing CB radio.  To them I say this.  You were old and cranky then... now your dead, and I am still here and still playing radio. 

The other thing to do is search out the local club web sites on the interweb.  It very well may have the input and output frequencies of the repeaters you are trying to work.
And hang in there.  It takes a few months to understand everything going on with repeaters and such.  So keep asking questions on here and the knowledge will come.  It just takes time.
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