New ham with HT - realistic signal expectations?

[billy714]

I am new to the forum and a newly ticketed ham.

I got a used Yaesu FT270 which appears operational. I receive NOAA broadcasts just fine. However, after programming in some 6 Orange County repeaters, I hear no traffic at all.

I am using RT Systems software to enter the repeater parameters (hopefully correctly). I am located in Tustin. I am thinking that either I have the radio setup incorrectly, or my expectations of receiving anything on the rubber duck antenna are unrealistic.

Can someone give me a start at troubleshooting. Or, maybe someone can suggest a repeater local to me that I might be able to reach.

Also, I was hoping to listen in on the Ham Net tomorrow night and entered the params for the Keller repeater. Can someone verify these for me from the screenshot below?

Many thanks!

ft270-rpt.jpg (42.74 KiB) Viewed 4042 times

[DaveK]

Bill:

The setup info for Keller is:

Frequency = 146.385
Positive offset
PL. = 146.2

I believe for Yaesu radios, you must set it to enc (encode)as well.

From OC, you should be able to at least hear Keller. If you want to check it out tomorrow, before the net, PM me and we can do a test.

[cruiserlarry]

Bill -

Assuming the FT-270R has the stock rubber duck antenna, I would recommend considering a higher gain model to increase your range - Comet and Diamond both make antennas that will fit the bill, and they are relatively inexpensive ($20-35 or so), especially considering the benefit to tranmission and reception with a handi-talkie like the FT-270R...

Hope to hear you on the net tomorrow...

[billy714]

Thanks everyone!

I tried this simple test to confirm that the FT-270 was not receiving Keller:

I setup EchoLink on my PC and listened in on Keller to confirm that the repeater was active. However, I heard nothing on the FT-270.

I am going to try to get over to HRO today and check out your antenna suggestions cruiserlarry. Yes, I'm using the stock rubber duck right now. BTW, it was great meeting you and seeing your shop! I am loving the dual-battery setup.

DaveK, looking at the 270 manual, the references I find for encode are under "split tone operation". There are 3 encode settings. D, T DCS and D TSQL. I can easily try them all to see if something good happens. I'm not even sure if split tone operation relates to Rx or Tx? Right now, I'm only concerned that I don't hear any traffic on any of the repeaters I have programmed.

[sdnative]

You should be able to pick up several repeaters in the area even with a rubber ducky.

The ENC is the "Tone Mode" column in your RT systems screenshot, "Tone" = ENC. I would recommend programming a couple of good high traffic repeaters (like Keller) manually using the radio itself. Then once you verify everything works properly, upload to the RT systems program. Then you can copy and paste to add additional memory channels. Then download the new setup to the radio. I believe this is what RT systems recommends. It can be a little confusing to configure the program from scratch as there are a lot of rarely used fields.

[Voodoo Blue 57]

HRO can check the radio as well. They probably have a signal generator to test the radios receiver sensitivity and frequency as well as a dummy load to check output power and frequency.

[cruiserlarry]

I am going to try to get over to HRO today and check out your antenna suggestions cruiserlarry. Yes, I'm using the stock rubber duck right now. BTW, it was great meeting you and seeing your shop! I am loving the dual-battery setup.

Thanks

DaveK, looking at the 270 manual, the references I find for encode are under "split tone operation". There are 3 encode settings. D, T DCS and D TSQL. I can easily try them all to see if something good happens. I'm not even sure if split tone operation relates to Rx or Tx? Right now, I'm only concerned that I don't hear any traffic on any of the repeaters I have programmed.

You want to usetone encode ("T") - this puts the sub-audible tone on transmit, to open the repeater, while allowing for uncoded receive, as most repeaters do not use a sub-audible tone when they transmit.

[billy714]

Thanks everyone. I have confirmed that the FT-270 is working properly.

From HRO in Anaheim, we were to hit many repeaters including Keller. I was in a hurry to get setup to hear the Net, so I just bought a "cheapie" 2M mag mount for the roof of the truck. Using it, I was able to hear Thrusday's Net just fine. I tried to check in as a guest, but the Net OP couldn't quite make out my call sign. I'm looking into minimal base station antennas, and hope to have something setup for the next Net. Looking at a Google map, it appears that Keller peak is at least 50+ miles, as-the-crow-files. Seems like a mighty task for a 5W HT.

Very soon, I'm going to get serious about a mobile rig. Looking at the Yaesu FT-7900 or FT-8800. I just need to get the mounting / antenna for the FJ worked out.

On the subject of the Thrusday Net, I noticed the link on OAUSA for recordings of previous Nets and have listened to two so far. These are pure gold! This is everything I have ever wanted to ask an expert about, presented in an orderly, conversational manner. The wealth of information and depth of knowledge of the forum members is astounding! Now my wife is upset because I don't watch TV with her any more. I guess it's like your sig, Larry - "Boy, I'm sure gonna miss her"!

[cruiserlarry]

Besides the distance from the repeater, you can have issues with signal blockage from mountains, etc., in the direct path to the repeater (my issue from Santa Clarita). So, increasing power may or may not help. Most of the mag mount antennas provide a signal gain of about 3-5 db, with effectively gives you 2-2.5 times the transmitting power of the radio itself, which helps. (Every 3 db gain is equivalent to doubling the power)


Its nice to hear positive feedback on the archived nets. Much volunteered time is put in by those folks presenting on the nets, as well as those putting the recordings up on the site for everyone's use. Glad to hear it's time well spent.

[sdnative]

Glad to hear it worked out. The 8800 is a great radio, I have one in my truck. I am considering getting another for the car as well.