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New to the FT-60 Repeater question
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Hi,? I am brand new to the FT-60 and new to radio in general.? I am a bit confused about using a repeater with this radio and couldn't find the answer in the manual though it must be in there. The FT-60 is programmed nicely to Listen in on a repeater and transmit on the expected offset frequency even with a tone if it is needed.? But how does the FT-60 know that you are speaking to a repeat and not directly to another person (simplex) ?? Do I program the radio that a particular frequency is a repeater or does it have a way to figure this out on its own? Henny (Waiting for notification of my license so I can really use this thing). |
开云体育Henny, ? Welcome to amateur radio!? I’ve had a couple of FT-60s for about 11 years, you picked a good radio to start with. ? The FT-60 has an automatic repeater offset function which assumes any frequency within a certain range is a repeater frequency.? Looking at the display on the FT-60 you may (should) see a plus sign (“+”) or minus sign (“-“) if the displayed frequency is in the proper range.? They indicate the radio will transmit either above (plus offset) or below (minus offset) the displayed frequency so it will be received by the repeater on its input frequency.? The repeater will retransmit your signal on its output frequency for reception by other people.? It’s a convenience tool which is frequently correct but which requires your active monitoring when setting up to use a new repeater. ? ? Dennis – KC0YKN |
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Dennis,
Thanks for your response. ?If I understand correctly, based on the band plan, there are certain frequencies or ranges of frequencies within a band that are likely to be repeaters. ?When I tune the FT-60 to one of these frequencies, it will automatically treat it like a repeater. ?If needed, I can change to a "+" or "-" if the default is incorrect, and also add a carrier tone if needed but the FT-60 likely recognized the carrier. ?If it didn't then I also need to add the transmission offset. Henny ---In FT-60@..., <KC0YKN@...> wrote : Henny, ? Welcome to amateur radio!? I’ve had a couple of FT-60s for about 11 years, you picked a good radio to start with. ? The FT-60 has an automatic repeater offset function which assumes any frequency within a certain range is a repeater frequency.? Looking at the display on the FT-60 you may (should) see a plus sign (“+”) or minus sign (“-“) if the displayed frequency is in the proper range.? They indicate the radio will transmit either above (plus offset) or below (minus offset) the displayed frequency so it will be received by the repeater on its input frequency.? The repeater will retransmit your signal on its output frequency for reception by other people.? It’s a convenience tool which is frequently correct but which requires your active monitoring when setting up to use a new repeater. ? ? Dennis – KC0YKN |
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That's pretty much right Henny,? and allow me to also welcome you to Amateur Radio. The set has most of the standard repeater offsets pre-programmed.? ?The actual tones you will have to find in other references. I'd like to suggest the ARRL repeater directory.? ?It has most of the coordinated repeaters listed giving the freq, of course, the off set, and the required tones if any among other items. ? Check? ?ARRL.org? ?for all kinds of ham related information and manuals for guidance. Dave J AF0DJ |
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Steve
开云体育I guess the answer is that if you have
programmed the repeater frequency , tone, and offset, the
repeater will answer you back. The FT-60 doesn't really "know"
you wanted to talk to a repeater. On the other hand, in
principle you can program a frequency not used by a repeater,
and an offset, and have a QSO with someone listening to your
transmit frequency and talking back on your listening
frequency.? And since the FT-60 has "split" capability, you can also do this cross-band and work crossband satellites. Hope this helps (and I hope I'm right....)
Steve JS6TMW |
开云体育Welcome to a great hobby, Henry.? One other caveat I must
mention.......In rare cases, when you program a repeater, the FT-60 thinks it
should be a "positive" (+) offset, when in fact there?are "some" repeaters
in the positive offset frequency range that actually have a "negative (-) offset
and you will have to change that manually as you program the radio. This catches
a lot of people off guard and confuses them when they try to bring up the
repeater and don't hear anything in return.
The ARRL repeater directory that Dave J suggested is probably your best
resource for finding repeaters, their offsets and their required tones.?
The book is economically priced and available from ARRL and other book
sellers.
Good luck in your future advancement within the hobby.
73
John
KU8Q
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In a message dated 10/30/2017 10:53:18 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
FT-60@... writes:
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开云体育My recommendation would be for you to obtain the ADMS software. Although it is certainly possible, and not terribly difficult, to program manually, it is a somewhat tedious process. MUCH easier to do it on the computer and “zap” it into the radio when you’re done. You can make whatever adjustments you need, including alpha-naming, if you want to do that.Mark KB6KGX
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开云体育CHIRP software and FT-60 Commander software both work?fine and are free. Google CHIRP, and check for Commander. Cables are readily available on EBay.? Jardy Dawson WA7JRD Message sent through sub space hailing frequencies?using the Universal Translator.? On Oct 30, 2017, at 11:13, Mark Lassman kb6kgx@... [FT-60] <FT-60@...> wrote:
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On 10/30/2017 12:01 PM, jtkeyz@... [FT-60] wrote:
There is also an Android app RepeaterBook that attempts to be a directory of all repeaters, with frequencies and offsets. I've installed it but never used it - but it does update itself now and then, presumably with updated repeater info. Rob Jacobson KJ4TSP |
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It’s also good to do it manually so “in the field” you know how to do it and won’t need a computer.
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Jack, ae8p On Oct 30, 2017, at 2:13 PM, Mark Lassman kb6kgx@... [FT-60] <FT-60@...> wrote:
My recommendation would be for you to obtain the ADMS software. Although it is certainly possible, and not terribly difficult, to program manually, it is a somewhat tedious process. MUCH easier to do it on the computer and “zap” it into the radio when you’re done. You can make whatever adjustments you need, including alpha-naming, if you want to do that. Mark KB6KGX On Oct 29, 2017, at 6:12 PM, hgraupe@... [FT-60] <FT-60@...> wrote: |
开云体育Forgot to add that the FT-60 is absolutely the easiest radio to manually program. There are none that I know of that is easier.?Jardy Dawson WA7JRD Message sent through sub space hailing frequencies?using the Universal Translator.? On Oct 30, 2017, at 11:39, Jardy JARDY72@... [FT-60] <FT-60@...> wrote:
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Jardy is right... ?Just a note on using CHIRP software on a Mac. ?The good news is it works just fine. ?The bad news is that an extra step is required to download and run a program, which, in the absence of a better term, I’ll call an enabler.
It’s all very clear what to do at the CHIRP website. ?You also don’t want to go cheap on the USB-radio cable. Be sure to get one with an FTDI chip in the USB end. Most of the ones on eBay that cost above $25 or so have this. |
开云体育Nifty makes a FT-60 quick reference card that is wallet sized. It has helped a lot when I can’t remember how to adjust a seldom used feature in the field.?Stan W AI6NF? Satisfied customer? On Oct 30, 2017, at 12:19 PM, Jardy JARDY72@... [FT-60] <FT-60@...> wrote:
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开云体育There’s an app called RepeaterBook that’s really helpful.?Jerry NV7GS? +++++ Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories - ?Ralph Waldo Emerson On Oct 30, 2017, at 12:14, Rob Rob104@... [FT-60] <FT-60@...> wrote:
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Dave Jeffries AF0DJ