Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffhs
Thanks much for that info. I'm sure it will help me quite a bit with setting the transmit offset for local repeaters (where I live, about 30 miles from Cleveland, there is only one local machine, about two miles or so from me, which I can use with a handheld--especially a 1.5-watt rig like my Baofeng UV5R+). As I said in my first post, I could not set the repeater offset on my Baofeng HT because the original instructions are about as clear as muddy water (!), but the rewritten Miklor instructions make a lot more sense; hopefully, I can go ahead, set up the radio for the local machine and be done with it. After 48 years in ham radio (got my first license at the age of 16 in 1972), this Baofeng HT is a real challenge for me (I never had a Chinese HT before this one; my other two HTs were made in Japan and have very understandable instruction manuals, although I cannot use one of the HTs [the Yaesu FT-207R] because the local repeater has 110.9Hz tone access, which that handheld does not support), but I'm sure with these revised programming instructions I can get this Baofeng rig working as intended.
Thanks again and 73,
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Update: I finally managed to set the repeater offset to +600kHz on my Baofeng UV-5R+ HT. It works--almost, as I can access the local repeater, but not very well. That is, I can access the machine from my home (about two miles away), but the two hams to whom I spoke last night have told me, while I am getting into the machine OK, my signal into the repeater is very noisy and scratchy, using the Baofeng UV-5R+; however, my Icom IC-T22A hits the machine just fine and the signal is 100 percent readable, so that will be the rig I will use from now on. There must be something about those Baofeng rigs the local repeater doesn't like, or perhaps the rig just doesn't have enough TX signal output to reach the machine solidly; I'm thinking the latter may well be the problem. However, I was informed by the amateur I spoke with last night that I might have better luck reaching the LCARA repeater if I would use the club's 440-MHz machine; I haven't tried that yet, but it's worth a shot. Perhaps that repeater is located geographically closer to me, or it may have a better antenna system (higher, more elements, etc.) than the 2m machine. I will just have to try it one of these days.
Oh well. I'm not licked yet. I have successfully checked into my club's 2m net via Echolink, so that will be the method I use to check into the net from now on. I can do so online with my computer (if I can ever find the correct password for the Qtel software), with my Icom HT, my Amazon Fire tablet, or my smartphone. I realize full well this will not be "real" ham radio, but from what I have read in this thread, I guess that is where the hobby is headed in the Internet age. I have tried several times tonight to find someone to talk with on the local repeater using my Icom HT, but received no replies, just a short "beep" followed by the squelch tail, which lets the operator know he or she is at least hitting the machine; this reinforces what I just said after having read the thread I just mentioned.
73,