trouble accessing repeaters
 

I recently replaced the battery on my FT-470, which has a telescopic
antenna. Recently, I have been having trouble accessing local repeaters.
My repeater shift is set to .6 MHZ on 2 meters and 5 MHZ on 440. Is this
the correct repeater shift? If so, what are some other things I could check
for? I am living on the center floor of a 3-story apartment complex and can
hear the repeaters ok. This problem did not occur when I lived out in
Gresham. My apartment complex in Gresham had 3 stories and I lived on the
center floor just like I do now. I can hear repeaters ok, but I can't
transmit to them. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Eric Patterson, Kb7vfr, Beaverton, Or.

I recently replaced the battery on my FT-470, which has a telescopic
antenna. Recently, I have been having trouble accessing local repeaters.

Eric....do you have the right tones programmed? This would prevent you from
accessing a repeater. Check to see if the "T" is showing up on the display.
Also, check to see if you're on low power or hi. Also, if the battery is the
lower voltage unit (7,2V), you're outputting only around 2W of power...the 12V
cellpak is needed for 5W.

My repeater shift is set to .6 MHZ on 2 meters and 5 MHZ on 440.

Yup...that is correct for most repeaters, tho you should check. Also, make
sure that your offset is in the right direction (+/- is set right). I had a
-470 for years...good solid HT. One caveat...I did have the internal antenna
connection crack and separate....could "barely" hear a repeater but could not
hit it. Bit of solder and a piece of flex wire & I was back in business.
Worth checking, esp. with the telescopic antenna, which puts more stress on the
connector. I was using an ANLI telescopic when mine failed.

Of course, this may be the rig's way of saying "time to get on HF, so get the
code out of the way!" QRP would be easy from the 2nd floor, if you have a
nearby tree for an end fed wire (my std. hotel setup).

Eric Patterson, Kb7vfr, Beaverton, Or.

Hope this helps!
A

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 01:39:17 GMT, Eric Patterson wrote:

I recently replaced the battery on my FT-470, which has a telescopic
antenna. Recently, I have been having trouble accessing local repeaters.

Did you have to open the case to replace this battery (I know not
the FT-470), and did you have to unscrew the telescopic antenna
(and speaker) leads to get the case out of the away of the battery
replacement? And, did you (or whoever) overlook the antenna's
re-attachment?

Not that I've ever pulled a bonehead stunt like that..... HI!HI!

73
Jonesy
--
| Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
| Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | OS/2 __
| 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK

Give us a list of 3 or 4 repeaters you are trying to access, and we
might be able to give better advice.

Dick - W6CCD


On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 02:16:03 GMT, "Eric Patterson"
wrote:

John and others:
Thanks for the advice. I checked in an online repeater directory and
most of the repeaters I tried to access do not require a tone. As for
checking the tones and repeater shift, I can't do that on my own because I
am visually impaired and am not able to see the display. Even though I am
only putting out 2.3 watts, that shouldn't be the problem because I have
used that same power output to access repeaters in Gresham, Salem, and
Medford. Do you have any other recommendations?

I had to remind myself where Beaverton is. I was thinking it was in
the Portland area. Now that I see it is close to the coast in
southern Oregon, I would really doubt that you will have much luck
accessing a repeater with an HT. I have traveled and camped for years
along the Oregon coast when we lived in Eugene, and most of the time I
had great difficulty accessing more than one noisy repeater. And that
was with a 5/8-wave on the top of a 37' aluminum motorhome. I think
you are expecting too much from an HT. You might be able to hit the
146.61 machine in Coquille, or the 146.92 in Myrtle Point. The Coos
Bay repeaters all require a P/L tone.

Dick - W6CCD

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 19:59:19 -0700, Dick LeadWinger wrote:

Give us a list of 3 or 4 repeaters you are trying to access, and we
might be able to give better advice.

Dick - W6CCD


On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 02:16:03 GMT, "Eric Patterson"
wrote:

John and others:
Thanks for the advice. I checked in an online repeater directory and
most of the repeaters I tried to access do not require a tone. As for
checking the tones and repeater shift, I can't do that on my own because I
am visually impaired and am not able to see the display. Even though I am
only putting out 2.3 watts, that shouldn't be the problem because I have
used that same power output to access repeaters in Gresham, Salem, and
Medford. Do you have any other recommendations?

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 04:40:06 GMT, "Hank Oredson"
wrote:

I think I can get Eric hooked up with someone
who can help get him going over there in Beaverton.

Sent him an email ...

Beaverton is a western suburb of Portland.

There are actually two Beavertons in Oregon. One in Coos County and
the other in Washington County. You are probably right that he is in
the one off the 210 in Washington County. My map program threw me a
curve on that one.

"Dick" LeadWinger wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 04:40:06 GMT, "Hank Oredson"
wrote:

I think I can get Eric hooked up with someone
who can help get him going over there in Beaverton.

Sent him an email ...

Beaverton is a western suburb of Portland.

There are actually two Beavertons in Oregon. One in Coos County and
the other in Washington County. You are probably right that he is in
the one off the 210 in Washington County. My map program threw me a
curve on that one.


It was the "... lived out in Gresham ..." that was the clue,
that's also greater Portland area.

--

... Hank

http://home.earthlink.net/~horedson
http://home.earthlink.net/~w0rli

Here's a point of clarification:
Beaverton is a suburb of Portland, Or and is located in Washington County.
Gresham is also part of Portland, but is on the other side of town. Here
are a couple of the repeaters I am trying to access are 145.27 and 147.38.
I hope this helps.

Eric

"Dick" LeadWinger wrote in message
...
I had to remind myself where Beaverton is. I was thinking it was in
the Portland area. Now that I see it is close to the coast in
southern Oregon, I would really doubt that you will have much luck
accessing a repeater with an HT. I have traveled and camped for years
along the Oregon coast when we lived in Eugene, and most of the time I
had great difficulty accessing more than one noisy repeater. And that
was with a 5/8-wave on the top of a 37' aluminum motorhome. I think
you are expecting too much from an HT. You might be able to hit the
146.61 machine in Coquille, or the 146.92 in Myrtle Point. The Coos
Bay repeaters all require a P/L tone.

Dick - W6CCD

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 19:59:19 -0700, Dick LeadWinger wrote:

Give us a list of 3 or 4 repeaters you are trying to access, and we
might be able to give better advice.

Dick - W6CCD


On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 02:16:03 GMT, "Eric Patterson"
wrote:

John and others:
Thanks for the advice. I checked in an online repeater directory
and
most of the repeaters I tried to access do not require a tone. As for
checking the tones and repeater shift, I can't do that on my own because
I
am visually impaired and am not able to see the display. Even though I
am
only putting out 2.3 watts, that shouldn't be the problem because I have
used that same power output to access repeaters in Gresham, Salem, and
Medford. Do you have any other recommendations?

OK. I did a search out 50 miles from Portland using the 2005 version
of TravelPlus from ARRL. I don't see any 145.38 repeaters in that
area. I do see a 147.38 in Cedar Mill which is an open repeater.

The only 145.27 repeater within that 50-mile radius is in Forest
Grove, but it has a P/L of 107.2. Hope this helps.

Dick - W6CCD

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 22:05:28 GMT, "Eric Patterson"
wrote:

Here's a point of clarification:
Beaverton is a suburb of Portland, Or and is located in Washington County.
Gresham is also part of Portland, but is on the other side of town. Here
are a couple of the repeaters I am trying to access are 145.27 and 147.38.
I hope this helps.

Eric

Hi all. I will send you an update on the issues I have had accessing
repeaters. Last Wednesday, I took my HT with me to the local amateur radio
club. When the meeting was over, I had another radio operator check out my
HT. Here's what we found:
1. The radio is transmitting ok. I was standing in the parking lot while
he was in his vehicle. I was able to use my HT to call him.
2. The repeater shift is ok. I made sure it was set to .6 MHZ for 2
meters. I don't think the problem has anything to do with tones because the
problem occurs when trying to access open repeaters. Does anyone else have
any recommendations? Thanks again.

Eric
"Dick" LeadWinger wrote in message
...
OK. I did a search out 50 miles from Portland using the 2005 version
of TravelPlus from ARRL. I don't see any 145.38 repeaters in that
area. I do see a 147.38 in Cedar Mill which is an open repeater.

The only 145.27 repeater within that 50-mile radius is in Forest
Grove, but it has a P/L of 107.2. Hope this helps.

Dick - W6CCD

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 22:05:28 GMT, "Eric Patterson"
wrote:

Here's a point of clarification:
Beaverton is a suburb of Portland, Or and is located in Washington
County.
Gresham is also part of Portland, but is on the other side of town. Here
are a couple of the repeaters I am trying to access are 145.27 and
147.38.
I hope this helps.

Eric

Well point one:
When you listen the frequency dial should read the output frequency
When you transmit, the display should read the input frequency
Make sure the offset shift is proper -- up or down, + or -


Point two. Some repeaters are "alligators" big mouth, little ears so to
speak. Thus easy to hear, difficult to get enough signal into the repeater
to key it up. I have a repeater here that is 40dB over S9, but I can't raise
it (90 miles away) it is way up in altitude on a Mt top.

Point three: Some repeaters are designated open -- meaning they are open to
all hams -- but they might require PL. Many here in So Calif are that way.

Point four. While at the Ham meeting -- see if another Ham can raise the
repeater with their HT

Point five -- connect your HT to an outdoor antenna -- a rubber duck is a
lousy antenna.

--
Caveat Lector (Reader Beware)
Help The New Hams
Someone Helped You
Or did You Forget That ?



"Eric Patterson" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hi all. I will send you an update on the issues I have had accessing
repeaters. Last Wednesday, I took my HT with me to the local amateur
radio
club. When the meeting was over, I had another radio operator check out
my
HT. Here's what we found:
1. The radio is transmitting ok. I was standing in the parking lot while
he was in his vehicle. I was able to use my HT to call him.
2. The repeater shift is ok. I made sure it was set to .6 MHZ for 2
meters. I don't think the problem has anything to do with tones because
the
problem occurs when trying to access open repeaters. Does anyone else
have
any recommendations? Thanks again.

Eric
"Dick" LeadWinger wrote in message
...
OK. I did a search out 50 miles from Portland using the 2005 version
of TravelPlus from ARRL. I don't see any 145.38 repeaters in that
area. I do see a 147.38 in Cedar Mill which is an open repeater.

The only 145.27 repeater within that 50-mile radius is in Forest
Grove, but it has a P/L of 107.2. Hope this helps.

Dick - W6CCD

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 22:05:28 GMT, "Eric Patterson"
wrote:

Here's a point of clarification:
Beaverton is a suburb of Portland, Or and is located in Washington
County.
Gresham is also part of Portland, but is on the other side of town.
Here
are a couple of the repeaters I am trying to access are 145.27 and
147.38.
I hope this helps.

Eric

"Eric Patterson" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hi all. I will send you an update on the issues I have had accessing
repeaters. Last Wednesday, I took my HT with me to the local amateur
radio
club. When the meeting was over, I had another radio operator check out
my
HT. Here's what we found:
1. The radio is transmitting ok. I was standing in the parking lot while
he was in his vehicle. I was able to use my HT to call him.
2. The repeater shift is ok. I made sure it was set to .6 MHZ for 2
meters. I don't think the problem has anything to do with tones because
the
problem occurs when trying to access open repeaters. Does anyone else
have
any recommendations? Thanks again.



It may be that you are expecting too much trasnmitt range out of the HT.
Make sure the radio is on its highest power output. Then get next to
someone that can access a repeater with his HT and see if you can. Some 2
meter repeaters shift up .6 and some shift down .6 MHz.

If the ground is level or close to it you should be able to talk about 3
miles to a mobile unit on a direct frequency. YOu need to measuer the
output power. If you do not have a meter maybe you can get your hands on a
1/2 watt resistor from about 40 to 60 ohms. Put that on the rig instead of
the antenna. One lead to the center of the BNC connector and the other to
the outer part of the connector. The resistor should get very hot in 20
seconds or less. If it does not get hot then you may have a bad final
stage in the HT.

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 20:25:47 GMT, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


It may be that you are expecting too much trasnmitt range out of the HT.
Make sure the radio is on its highest power output. Then get next to
someone that can access a repeater with his HT and see if you can.

I agree. It will save you a lot of time and wondering, if you just
stand next to another ham and try both HT's. If he can, but you can't
access, then start looking at your HT. If neither of you can, then
you need to change the game plan and realize that you are trying to do
something that can't be done with an HT.

Dick

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 19:36:40 GMT, "Eric Patterson"
wrote:

Hi all. I will send you an update on the issues I have had accessing
repeaters. Last Wednesday, I took my HT with me to the local amateur radio
club. When the meeting was over, I had another radio operator check out my
HT. Here's what we found:
1. The radio is transmitting ok. I was standing in the parking lot while
he was in his vehicle. I was able to use my HT to call him.
2. The repeater shift is ok. I made sure it was set to .6 MHZ for 2
meters. I don't think the problem has anything to do with tones because the
problem occurs when trying to access open repeaters. Does anyone else have
any recommendations? Thanks again.

Try getting a better antenna than the stock rubber duck.

A 1/4 wave is necessary around here for reliable operation during PS
events.

If you know the physical location of the repeater, try from very
close.

Also, on repeaters with tone, make sure you have set your rig
correctly. BTW, open repeater usually means that it is available for
all, and it still may have a tone.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom