The three
voice repeaters operate in the duplex mode. In other words, you
listen on one frequency and talk on another. It’s not too complicated
as your radio does the switching for you .
The repeater
output (the frequency on which the repeater transmits) is what
you see displayed on your rig. If you watch your radio as you
then transmit, you’ll see the repeater input (the frequency on
which you transmit) displayed on your dial.
On two meters,
the repeater split (transmit to receive) is 600 KHz. On 440, the
split is 5 MHz and on 1.2 GHz it’s 12.00 MHz.. You’ll have to
read your radio manual to see what buttons to press to put your
rig in the “repeater” mode. An easy way to check is to look at
your display and you should see a “+” or a “-“ to indicate the
frequency shift or “offset”.
You will also
hear the term SIMPLEX. This is when your transmitter frequency
is the same as your receive frequency. LPRC encourages you to
use the repeater as need but when you are close together (inside
a mile or two) please use simplex on a different frequency. The
most common SIMPLEX frequency is 146.52 MHz on two meters or 446.000
MHz on 440. SIMPLEX is also used should a jammer or other interference
is on one of our frequencies.
Set your rig
to the repeater input (your transmit frequency) and see if you
can hear the interference. You already know that you can hear
the interference on the output of the repeater and now you are
trying to see if you can hear it on the input to the repeater.
If you can, you are probably fairly close to the interference.
It is now time to call one of the LPRC board members and we can
track it down.
Private line,
or PL is a way to keep the frequencies available to club users
only. Another term for PL is CTSS (Continuous Tone Squelch System).
You might also hear the term “touchtone”. What these terms mean
is that when you transmit your voice to the repeater, your rig
also transmits a set tone with it. You as the operator have to
set your rig to transmit this particular tone.
Once again,
it is merely a function of reading your manual and pushing a few
buttons. The repeater is set to transmit only when it receives
that tone that it hears with your voice. In other words the repeater
is not in “carrier access” (voice only) and will not respond to
a voice only transmission nor will it respond to any other transmission
unless it contains that one preset tone.
You normally
cannot hear the PL tone (although some claim they can), it is
used merely as a key to use the repeater. All voice LPRC repeaters
use the PL tones referenced above.
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