Why can't I reach the repeater？Local Analog Repeater

“Why can't I reach the repeater?”

This is probably the most common question we hear from new hams. There are so many reasons that can cause your radio can’t reach the repeater, so it is difficult to come up with a quick fix for all situations. In this article, we will show you sever basic reasons caused this issue.

Frequency

First, you need to know the frequency of the repeater you want to reach. Then programming your radiofrequency. Make sure the repeater transmit frequency is your radio receive frequency.

The frequency on the HD1 display is a radio receiving frequency.

Offset

Second, we need to set the right offset and offset direction. As we know that the repeater has a different transmit frequency and receive frequency. After you set the offset and offset direction, your radio will automatically shift your frequency when you transmit.

For example, we know one repeater near us, its uplink frequency is 433.8500MHz, the downlink frequency is 439.8500MHz.

We can set HD1 like this.

First programming the HD1 receive frequency is 439.8500, then we set the offset direction as -/minus, the offset is 6.000MHz. The offset is radio transmit frequency minus receive frequency.

Tone

For most repeaters, you will need to transmit a CTCSS/DCS tone to access the repeater. You need to set the radio transmitting CTCSS/DCS tone. For more information about CTCSS/DCS, you can read this article. What are the CTCSS and DCS?

When you press the PTT, your HD1 will show the current channel transmit CTCSS/DCS.

No code means no transmit CTCSS/DCS.

If all the settings are right, your radio still can’t repeater the repeater. Maybe your radio is out of the repeater cover range. You can try to change a high-gain antenna or you can use a mobile antenna. Search the antenna on the AILUNCE website.

You also can check if you have set the high power, the power level also can affect the radio communication distance.

Any questions, just leave messages here.