ok so i finally got my technician license last month and ive been trying to get on the local 2m repeater. i programmed the offset and everything and i can hear people talking fine but when i try to transmit nobody responds and im not sure if they can even hear me. i looked up the repeater on repeaterbook and it listed a CTCSS tone of 100.0 hz so i put that in but still nothing. then yesterday someone keyed up and just said their callsign and dropped off and i tried to answer right after and still nothing.

also not totally sure about the etiquette here — like do you just start talking or do you say your callsign and wait? i dont want to step on anyone or come across as rude. been listening for about two weeks just trying to figure out how it works before jumping in.

welcome to the hobby, dont stress too much about it. first thing id check is whether your radio is actually transmitting the tone or just set to receive it — some radios have separate settings for encode vs decode and its easy to have one without the other. also worth double checking the offset direction, make sure its minus not plus or whatever the repeater needs, that catches a lot of new hams off guard.

as for etiquette, the usual thing is to just say your callsign and say youre listening or monitoring, something like "[callsign] listening" and see if anyone comes back. if theres already a QSO going on wait for a pause between overs and just toss your callsign in, theyll usually invite you in. most repeater regulars are pretty welcoming to new folks, especially if you mention youre newly licensed. give it another shot and let us know how it goes.

yeah what he said about encode vs decode is the big thing, i made that exact mistake when i first started. also some repeaters have a timeout timer so if you key up and just hold it without talking it might cut you off before you even get a word out. try keying up, wait just a tiny beat after the squelch opens, then talk. some guys also just do a quick roger beep check — key up, say your call, unkey and listen for the courtesy tone from the repeater, that tells you youre actually getting in.