ok so i just got my technician license about three weeks ago and i've been trying to use the 147.315 repeater that's listed in the repeaterbook app for my area. i programmed it in with the offset and everything but nobody ever seems to hear me when i key up. i can hear other people just fine but when i try to call out nobody responds and i feel like im just talking into the void lol.

my buddy who got licensed a few years ago mentioned something about a CTCSS tone and that i probably need to set that in my radio (i have a baofeng uv-5r, i know i know) but i honestly have no idea what that even means or how to figure out what tone to use. the repeaterbook listing doesnt show one which i thought meant i didnt need it but maybe im wrong? also is there like a specific way you're supposed to call on a repeater or do you just start talking? i dont want to come across as rude if im doing it wrong

hey welcome to the hobby, dont stress about the baofeng thing everyone starts somewhere. so CTCSS is basically a sub-audible tone that your radio transmits along with your voice and the repeater uses it to filter out interference and random noise — without the right tone the repeater just ignores your transmission even though you're technically on the right frequency. it wont hear you at all which is exactly what it sounds like is happening.

if repeaterbook doesnt list a tone for that machine it could genuinely be open access meaning no tone required, but honestly a lot of listings are out of date or just incomplete. best thing to do is look up the repeater's club or trustee info on the listing and either find their website or just email them and ask. or sometimes if you listen long enough someone will ID and you can just reach out to them directly. some guys also do a thing where they transmit all the standard CTCSS tones one by one to figure out which one opens the repeater but thats a bit of a pain.

as for calling out — most people just say their callsign and that theyre listening, something like "[your call] monitoring" or if you want to chat you can say "[your call] for any station." nothing super formal, just identify yourself. you're doing fine just keep at it.

yeah the tone thing will get you every time when youre starting out. i spent like two weeks thinking my radio was broken before someone at a club meeting told me about CTCSS lol. also just a heads up — some repeaters have pretty specific etiquette about things like waiting a second or two after the courtesy tone before you start talking, and not kerchunking (that's just keying up without saying anything to test if you're getting in). some repeater owners get pretty grumpy about that stuff so just something to keep in mind as you get more comfortable.