ok so ive been licensed for about 3 months now and i finally got my first HT sorted out (baofeng uv-5r, i know i know) and im trying to get on some of the local repeaters in my area. i can hear people talking just fine but when i try to key up nobody seems to hear me or respond. figured out eventually that i need a CTCSS tone programmed in but here's where im getting confused.

i looked up the repeater on repeaterbook and it shows a tone of 100.0 hz. so i programmed that into the radio as the transmit tone. still nothing. then i read somewhere that some repeaters also need you to set a receive tone? or maybe i dont need that? honestly at this point ive been messing with chirp for like two hours and im going in circles. also is there like... a right way to break into a conversation or do you just wait for a gap and say your callsign? dont want to be that guy who does something embarrassing on his first real transmission

the CTCSS thing can definitely be confusing at first, you've almost got it right. the transmit tone is what matters most — that's the sub-audible tone your radio sends along with your voice so the repeater knows to open up. the receive tone (sometimes called DCS or just CTCSS decode) is optional on your end and just filters out any noise or other signals so you only hear transmissions that come through that specific repeater. most people leave the receive tone off or set it to none, makes life easier especially when you're learning. so double check that 100.0hz is set as your transmit encode tone and your radio is actually on the right offset for that repeater (most 2m repeaters are plus or minus 600khz).

as for breaking into a conversation, yeah just wait for a pause between people talking, then say your callsign during the gap. something like "KD9XYZ listening" or just your call is totally fine. people are generally pretty welcoming, especially if you mention youre new. dont stress it.

oh man i went through the exact same thing when i first got started, took me forever to realize my offset was wrong and that's why nobody heard me. the repeater input and output are different frequencies and if you're transmitting on the output frequency you're just shouting into the void basically. chirp should handle the offset automatically if you downloaded the right frequency but worth double checking. also yeah what the other guy said about just keying up and saying your call — i was so nervous my first time but honestly everyone on our local machine is super chill about new people. some of the older hams actually really like helping newcomers get sorted out.