okay so i just got my technician license about three weeks ago and ive been trying to get onto the local 2m repeater. i programmed my baofeng with the offset and what i thought was the right tone but nobody seems to hear me, or at least nobody responds. the repeater does open up when i key up because i can hear the tail, so i know im hitting it.

someone at the club mentioned maybe i have the tone set wrong or maybe its set to transmit tone when it should be encode only or something like that. honestly i got a little lost in that conversation. is there a difference between the tone you transmit and the tone the repeater is listening for? i thought it was just one number you punch in and thats it. also is there any kind of etiquette thing i should know before calling out? i dont want to step on anyone or do something embarrassing my first time on the air for real.

yeah so theres actually two seperate things going on with tones — theres the tone YOUR radio transmits (so the repeater will open up and let you through) and then theres a tone the repeater might send back to you, which some people call the courtesy tone or sometimes its a different CTCSS for linked systems. for basic access you really only need the encode side set correctly, which means your radio sends the right tone when you key up.

the baofeng menu can be a little confusing because it has options for like T-CTCS, R-CTCS, and sometimes both. T-CTCS is what you want — thats your transmit tone. R-CTCS would make your radio only unsquelch when it hears a specific tone coming back, which most people dont bother with unless theyre on a linked system with a lot of noise.

as for etiquette, honestly just listen for a bit before you jump in. if the repeater sounds quiet just give your callsign and say youre monitoring, or say something like "(your call) listening" and see if anyone comes back. most regulars on a healthy repeater are pretty welcoming to new folks, especially if you just say hey im new. dont worry too much about messing up, everyone does it.

i was in the exact same spot a few months ago lol. one thing that tripped me up was the repeater directory listing was wrong for my local one — the tone listed online was outdated and the club had changed it. worth double checking with whoever runs the repeater or finding a current copy of the local club newsletter or something. sometimes those listings on repeaterbook are months behind.