okay so i just got my technician license about three weeks ago and ive been trying to get on the local 2m repeater but nobody ever seems to hear me. i programmed the frequency in and set the offset but i keep hearing other people talking and when i try to key up nobody responds, not even a courtesy beep or anything from the repeater itself.

i looked up the repeater on repeaterbook and it says it requires a 100.0 Hz tone but im not totally sure where to set that in my radio. im using a baofeng uv-5r which i know everyone has opinions about but its what i have right now. i went into the menu and i think i set the T-CTCS to 100.0 but honestly the menu system on this thing is kind of a nightmare and i might have done it wrong.

also a related question — when someone finishes talking and leaves a gap, is there like a rule about when you jump in? i dont want to be rude or step on anyone but i also dont know how long to wait. i heard something about waiting for the courtesy tone but i wasnt sure if thats a hard rule or just something people do around here.

the CTCSS thing is almost certainly your problem, those baofengs can be tricky to program. T-CTCS is the tone you transmit to the repeater which is what you want, so that part sounds right. but double-check that you actually saved it — on the uv-5r you have to press menu again after selecting the value or it just reverts. a lot of people get bit by that.

also make sure your offset is going the right direction. most 2m repeaters are plus or minus 600 kHz and repeaterbook will usually say which. if you're transmitting on the wrong side of the offset you'll just be shouting into the void.

as for etiquette — yeah waiting for the courtesy tone is the normal thing. it's that little beep the repeater sends after someone unkeys, kind of signals the squelch tail is done and the system is ready again. waiting for it before you transmit helps avoid people doubling up. you dont have to wait a long time, just a beat or two after the beep. you'll get a feel for it pretty quick once you're actually getting into the machine.

i went through the exact same thing when i first got on repeaters lol. turns out i had my offset backwards for like two weeks and had no idea. finally someone heard me on a different repeater and helped me figure it out. once you get checked into the repeater and people know you're new they're usually pretty helpful, at least around here people are.

the courtesy tone thing is real and people do notice if you jump in before it. nothing that'll get you in trouble but its just good practice and shows you know whats going on.