okay so i just got my technician license about three weeks ago and ive been trying to get on the local 2m repeater but i cant seem to get anyone to come back to me. i programmed in the frequency and offset fine i think, 146.820 with a -600 offset, but i read somewhere you also need a CTCSS tone to access most repeaters and i have no idea if i set that right or even what tone to use.

i found the repeater on repeaterbook and it listed a tone of 100.0 hz but when i key up and say my call nobody responds. not sure if its a dead repeater, or if im not getting in, or if people are just not around. my radio is a baofeng uv-5r and i set the tone in the menu but honestly the menu system on that thing is a nightmare and i might have done it wrong. is there a way to test if youre actually hitting the repeater or am i missing something obvious here

welcome to the hobby, dont stress about it too much. a couple things to check — first, on the baofeng you need to make sure youre setting the encode tone not just the decode. there are separate settings for T-CTCS and R-CTCS in the menu, T-CTCS is what you transmit to open the repeater and thats the one that needs to match what repeaterbook lists. a lot of people accidentally set the wrong one and then wonder why nothing happens.

also worth knowing, when you key up you should hear the repeater tail — that little kerchunk sound after you let go of the ptt — if youre actually hitting it. if you hear nothing at all after transmitting then youre probably not getting in. could be terrain, could be the tone, could be power output. try going outside and getting some elevation if you can, baofengs arent exactly powerhouses especially on a rubber duck antenna. if you DO hear the tail then youre in and the repeater is just quiet, which happens a lot honestly. lots of repeaters sit silent for hours at a time.

yeah i had the exact same problem when i started lol. the baofeng menu is genuinely terrible and i probably reprogrammed mine like four times before i got it right. i ended up just using CHIRP software to do it from a computer which is way easier, you can see all the settings laid out properly and it takes like five minutes once you get the cable sorted.

one other thing — some repeaters have specific nets or activity times and outside of those its just dead air. might be worth checking if theres a local club associated with the repeater, sometimes they have a weekly net night and thats when most of the traffic happens. good luck