Motorola Talkabout and Baofeng UV5Ra questions.

[rbeau30]

Hbar, try programming in 145.145 there is traffic on that one all the time.

I think my house is a dead spot. :-(

AND I can't put an antenna on it either.

[HBARleatherneck]

Hbar, try programming in 145.145 there is traffic on that one all the time.

I cant get mine to go to 145.145. the lady says it but it goes to 145.125 instead. ??? maybe I dont know how to make it make noise either. i watched the videos you all posted, I followed the programing instructions, but I still dont hear anything.

[Irving]

Give me a few minutes and I'll write up a walk through.

[Irving]

Okay, very first thing to do is set the Step, this is what controls the increment in which you can tune when you use the Up and Down arrow button.

Press the following:
MENU --> 1 (This is the menu option number, and it should read "STEP.") --> MENU --> up/down arrow until you get to 5.0k --> MENU (you will hear the voice say "confirm") --> EXIT.

Now when you "tune" channels, the frequency will change by only 5.0k, instead of the 25.0k like the radio comes from the factory. Also, this is the same procedure to do any changes in the menu. MENU --> # of menu selection --> MENU --> make change --> MENU (you will hear "confirm" --> EXIT

When manually searching for a channel, you only need to bother with four of the 40 menu options. #11, #13, #25, and #26.
#11 = R-CTCS = Receive tone (a sub-audible tone that is sent from the repeater/radio station that you are listening to. Your radio will eliminate all noise except what is accompanied with this tone)
#13 = T-CTCS = Transmit tone (a sub-adible tone that is sent from your radio to the repeater/radio station to which you are transmitting.)
#25 = SFT-D = Direction of Frequency Shift (Down (-), Up (+), None (OFF) (When talking to a repeater, it receives on one frequency, and transmits on another. The standard shift for VHF is 00.600. The standard shift for UHF is 5.000)
#26 = OFFSET = Frequency Offset (This determines which direction your radio will transmit (at the predetermined offset) when speaking to the repeater/radio station).
I will use the programming of 145.145 as the example.

First, open this link: http://www.repeaterbook.com/repeater....95WXV8fx.dpbs
So here we see that the repeater frequency is 145.1450-. The tone squelch is 107.2 / 107.2. This means the offset is negative, and there is a sub-audible tone squelch (T-CTCS) that is required for the repeater to "hear" you. You don't need any sub-audible tone just to listen, so you could leave the T-CTCS to OFF and you will still hear the repeater. We'll program everything in full for propriety.

1- Tune to 145.145
2- #11 = OFF
3- #13 = 107.2 (you can scroll or manually key in the tone squelch.
4- #25 = (-)
5- #26 = 00.600

Now you are tuned into this station and can listen in. There are two guys talking right now, and there usually are every single night. The reception is fuzzy right now but I think that is due to the weather (snow).

You should be able to hear the weather channel at 162.550 though. I just checked and you can leave the settings from programming 145.1450-, and just jump to 162.550 and still hear the weather station. The weather station rotates between Denver metro, DIA, mountains, then surrounding cities (Cheyenne) and national weather occasionally. It is constant, so when you tune in correctly, you should hear it immediately.

Sometimes you'll be tuning in a channel, and the settings will not work when you jump back over to the weather station so you have to clear settings. That is a different conversation though. On a side note, I HAD the weather channel programmed, but if you choose to scan your programmed channels it will ALWAYS stop on the weather channel, as it is ALWAYS broadcasting. I just opted to memorize it instead. Good luck.

**NOTE** Here are some other menu settings for menu options that you can set your radio to until you are more familiar with the radio.

#0 - Squelch - I have mine set to 3, I've seen videos recommend setting it all the way up to 9
#1 - STEP - 5.0k
#4 - VOX - OFF. This is the voice to talk, so it transmits when it hears you talk. Pretty good idea of set to OFF if you aren't licensed yet.
#5 - WN - Wide. This is some filter setting. There is WIDE and NARROW. I don't know what they mean, but was told to set to Wide.
#6 - ABR - Display illumination. This controls how long your display lights up from OFF-5s.
#7 - TDR - Dual Watch. Set to ON, this lets you listen to two different channels at once when in channel mode. Supposed to set to OFF when manually programming memory channels.
#8 - BEEP - Keypad beep. Turns on/off the beep when pressing buttons. I have mine OFF.
#9 - TOT - Transmission timer. This will time out your transmission. So if you sit on your transmit button while driving, it will time you out after 15-600s instead of you broadcasting road noise for an hour. Also, so repeaters will automatically time you out after a certain amount of time. 60s is safe.
#14 - VOICE - English or Chinese. I have mine set to English, but perhaps you like a challenge?
#27 - MEM-CH - Program channel to memory.
#28 - DEL-CH - Delete programmed channels.
#29 - WT-LED - Standby back light color
#30 - RX-LED - Back light color when receiving.
#31 - TX-LED - Back light color when transmitting.
#32 - AL-MOD - Alarm Mode. This controls how your alarm goes off (hold down orange CALL button to turn on/off alarm). Set to SITE. This means that if you accidentally set off your alarm, it only plays on the radio. Other settings transmit the alarm.
#39 - ROGER - End of transmission tone. Turn this off so if you accidentally hit the transmit button, you aren't sending a tone out every time.

Hope this helps.

[rbeau30]

You can exclude channels from the scan. You need the programming cable and programming software.


You can also listen to FM stations!

[Irving]

You may also try this Cheyenne Wyoming station:
http://www.repeaterbook.com/repeater....swPKjg1K.dpbs

[HBARleatherneck]

dang Irv, that is a write up, thank you. I will try it again in a few minutes.

Im trying to get through the Ham for Dumbasses book, but its killing me. (dry, boring) I want to use the radio, I dont really intend on becoming a electronics tech on a submarine.

[Irving]

I'm about halfway throigh that book as well. That write up is just everything I remember from the various videos we watched.

[Irving]

I'm about halfway through that book as well. That write up is just everything I remember from the various videos we watched.