[KYHAM] tone squelch etc (long)

[Ron Dodson]

Com-Spec http://www.com-spec.com/index1.htm is just one compnany who 
makes encode AND encode/decode units that will retrofit darn near 
anything ever made for tone op's. I personally have added these to old 
crystal Wilson Mark IV's, Kenwood TR2400, Regency HR-2 and HR-212 rigs 
etc. and I am no technical wizard, not to mention having low vision. If 
I can, nearly anyone else who can hold a soldering iron in a reasonable 
manner of competence should not have much problem. These are made to 
either install inside the rig or many the multi tone units are in 
mounted in nice enclosuires to add outside your rig for mobile or base. 
Yes, some are a bit costly, but one the other hand as KY4SP points out a 
lot of fine new 2 meter rigs can be had for about $150 +/- brand new 
with both encode and decode in them from the factory, plus extended 
receiver range etc. It basically comes down to a matter of choice as to 
what fits your needs. If you hang on one repeater all the time or want 
to leave a vintage rig on a local machine as a dedicated station, then 
one of the cheap encode only boards can often be found free if you make 
it known you'd like one. To roam around, the nice enclosed muti-tone 
units are around $50-60 or one can save up for a new, higher powered (as 
much as 70+ watts) rig with all the marbles for well under $200.

Repeater owners (coordinated or not) can register their machines with a 
host of repater directories and add their tone info for the traveler. 
http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/ is just one online national 
directory! When I plan a cross country trip, I preprogram the rigs to 
change up channel to reach my destination and then switch down channel 
as I go home. This takes maybe 30 minutes in the days before a trip, but 
saves a lot of grief. My mobile stays programmed for the trips we take 
most often to do this as described. With radios in the $100-200 range 
having 50, 100 even 200 memories, it is easy to set up banks or channel 
blocks to do this.

The move by SERA to eliminate the constant interference issues is a 
positive one, I know there are those who will feel this is not the case, 
but so long as communications and RFI are on the increase, we must be 
flexible and adapt. It is all in how complex you want to make it.

73,
Ron, KA4MAP

A. W. wrote:

>Tone squelch is one subject that the ham community at
>large has difficulty with for what ever reason. As a
>long time user, owner and custodian of both commercial
>and amateur repeaters, I offer the following as "food
>for thought"....
> 
>1. SERA seems to have indicated that new repeater
>co-ordinations will require the ability to use tone
>squelch (CTCSS). I think that the ability to use CTCSS
>is a good idea, keeping in mind that most repeaters
>can be configured at minimal cost to offer remote
>switching between CTCSS and carrier squelch (CSQ)
>modes. If one can afford a repeater, the cost of a
>CTCSS board is a drop in the bucket.
> 
>2. Tone squelch on a repeater does not make it
>"closed". This is a big deal for a small portion of
>operators, who somehow become convinced that the #@%$%
>tone is there just to keep them out. I own two
>repeaters myself, if I don't want you on my "machine",
>I will simply tell you so- it is much easier
>than installing tone then waiting to see if you figure
>out what it is. FWIW, one of my repeaters has CTCSS,
>one is CSQ.
> 
>3. Tone squelch does nothing to prevent true
>interference. (Interference, meaning an undesired
>signal that prevents or greatly impedes
>communication). This is important- a distant audible
>signal on "Your" repeater frequency is not
>interference- this is called a "co-channel user"; get
>used to them they are not going away. I have heard
>countless complaints of "interference" on the ham
>bands, only to find that the actual complaint was
>co-channel users, whose weak signal could be easily
>overpowered by any one within a reasonable range of
>the repeater in question. The elimination of lower
>level signals from distant co-channel users is the
>reason CTCSS was invented, and it works very well in
>this role. If you hear a voice from your CTCSS
>squelched receiver, you can be sure it is intended for
>those on your system and is not some station miles
>away passing unrelated traffic.
> 
>4. "Commercial" radios VS "Ham" radios- Split CTCSS
>(different tones on receiver and transmitter) is
>rarely seen on the ham bands. All of the software
>programmable commercial radios I use offer split tone
>operation in one fashion or another. I won't go into
>detail, but they are well-known brands and range in
>age from "new" to 20 years old. All the ham VHF/UHF
>stuff I have will accommodate "split" tones, if they
>have receiver CTCSS.
> 
>5. "I can't afford a tone board" or "my old radio
>doesn't have tone". Compare the cost of a "new" no
>frills mobile or portable radio to the initial and
>on-going costs of a modest repeater. $150 won't buy a
>good antenna for repeater service, but will buy a
>serviceable portable or mobile for 2 meters. 
> 
>6. Public safety and commercial radio users have used
>CTCSS for years. A carrier squelch system is nearly
>unheard of given today's crowded 150 and 450 mhz. land
>mobile bands. The widespread acceptance of CTCSS among
>these users is a good argument for implementation of
>CTCSS on 146 and 440 mhz., since propagation is much
>the same for the frequencies in question. 
>  
> 
>Tony, KY4SP
>
>
>
>
>		
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