CTCSS

[Runi]

Hi

I've recently purchased a ctcss plug in card for my AR8200 - but i'm not
convinced i'm using it to it's maximum potential. I can use it sufficiently
to home in on ctcss frequencies but once found i don't know what to do with
them! Is there anybody in the group can give me some useful hints and tips?

thanks

runi

[Bruce Tyler]

A CTCSS card for a scanner/receiver????
Forgive me for asking but why would you do this?
I have and still do, use CTCSS but that's really only good for a shared
repeater for transmitting so that only the person(s) on the same tone code
can access it....
I know I am stating the obvious but why do you use it on a scanner? With no
CTCSS, you receive all. It doesn't matter if they are using CTCSS, you will
still hear them if you don't have it.... You may hear a slight hum but that
will be barely audible..
The only reason I use it it so I can access the repeater on transmit,
certainly not on receive....
Mind you, I suppose there are different CTCSS setups. You could have a more
advanced one than mine.......
Is your through a repeater or is it on simplex? => set to set,,, so the
tone breaks through the squelch on the receiveing radio, rather than
through the repeater....
My reply is more inquisitive rather than helpful.......

[colin.martin5]

Runi,
as you have found many channels have CTCSS on them. The greatest
potential I guess is if you are in the habit of listening to a certain user
on a specific frequency but another company is on the same frequency and you
sometimes have difficulty distinguishing them both from each other even if
they are un-related companies.

The users/RA point of view:
The two users may be far enough apart so as not to be able to receive
each other anyway, but if they were close enough then the CTCSS tones would
be used to cut out transmissions from one user tripping the squelch on the
other companies radios. Thereby reducing on bandwidth that would have
originally have been taken up by both users being on separate frequencies.

Your point of view:
If you do have the situation where two separate companies are on the
same frequency then you can distinguish between them by finding out each
companies CTCSS frequencies. Put each in a separate channel in memory with
their equivalent CTCSS and ALPHA, tags and now you can tell which company is
talking. At least this is what I do, allegedly.

Example:
Newcastle City Centre Shopwatch: 456.05, CTCSS: 88.5
METRO Centre Shopwatch (Gateshead): 456.05, CTCSS: 131.8

Problem: Same frequency, nearby, similar activity and even same shops so
potentially very confusing.
Answer: Uses CTCSS to distinguish between the two.

Cleared things up or muddied them even more? ;-)

Col

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/colin.martin5

--
Colin Martin

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/colin.martin5
"Runi" <cg...@talk21.com> wrote in message
news:97locb$npr$1...@plutonium.btinternet.com...

[proma1]

you must be joking

ctcss and dcs decode on scanners are vitally important and should be
standard on all scanners

well done icom on the r2 on at least having ctcss

first of all any freq you have found you can add the tone when found and
bingo most of interference wiped out just for starters,then you have a
typical pmr community repeater with perhap 8 users

3 couriers
2 taxis
1 painter/decorator
1 security company
1 breakdown recovery

first listen on a busy period and identify tones,then listen on each tone
and distinguish type of use.

you discover that the first 6 users bore the pants off you,but breakdown and
the security are quite interesting,so now you have a scanner in which you
choose what you want to listen to.

then you have some users who use the same tones at all there sites,so now if
you listen to that freq,you when the scanner opens up on that tone have a
good idea who the user is.

so Yaesu/Yupiteru/AOR/Alinco

please ctcss as a minimum,dcs if possible

the manufacturers of two way radios use ctcss or dcs in the tx versions of
radios that get redisigned into scanners so why leave the ctcss board out

ALincos upgrade on the DX10 i think DX20 ??? will have ctcss.

regards paul

Bruce Tyler <t...@bottom.au> wrote in message
news:kg6t9t42ebrmsr3ta...@4ax.com...

[Bruce Tyler]

Oh Ok!!!! It must be something that your country uses......

Over here we use it but if you want to listen to it you don't have to use a
CTCSS encoder/decoder.....
The way it works over here is - You transmit through a repeater or even
simplex, along with many other users..... Your company uses a transmitter
that also injects a sub frequency/tone of say 253.4 Hz (for argument sakes)
to open the repeater and/or, if you like, the receiving radio. Anyone else
transmitting without that particular tone, wont open either the repeater or
the receiving radio.... BUT if your scanner doesn't use or you dont program
any CTCSS info into it, you WILL still receive all of the tranmissions. You
will also hear the sub tones too but that is of no consequence. I even use
this feature on some of my amateur equipment to access some business
repeaters. Without the correct tone, I can't open the repeater BUT I can
still receive the repeaters output along with the slight tone hum....... I
have been doing this for years.....
I used to talk to my company from home using my dualbander programmed with
the correct CTCSS info. They were a little puzzled as to how I could do it
because they thought they had an exclusive tone controlled channel but that
meant nothing to me, I still used to get into the repeater.... I could
still receive them on any of my scanners without CTCSS......

Now Maybe you use a more elaborate system and in that case I beg your
pardon but over here there is no need for any CTCSS for receive... It's
only used for participating members who share a common repeater or
frequency and wish to either keep some privacy or not receive others'
transmissions..... Remember, I am saying that this is how it works over
here. Your country probably uses a much more sophisticated setup.

I would be interested if you could tell me a bit about it.....

I didn't even realize that CTCSS units could be purchased for a scanner. I
have fitted a few of them to my amateur rigs though.... Very costly items
they are too..... If " IF", I wish to now, I can open Ambulance, Fire and
quite a few "other" emergency repeaters but over here you do this at your
own peril... Getting caught means landing in lots of hot water....... So I
don't. (anymore)!!!

[proma1]

what country by the way.??

it sounds the same,but as said not many people want to listen to all the
users on that frequency,so having the ctcss of you favourite users of that
freq allows you to listen to what you want,and cuts down interference from
data applications and radio pagers etc.

but also useful on simplex as well,in some areas on simplex say a large town
or city you may get several users on the same simplex freq.
taking londons oxford st/regent st shopping areas as an example i have lots
of users in a small area using short term hire on

456.3875
456.8625
462.3625
456.9875

there are other short term hire freqs but the 4 above a really overloaded
with anything form construction/pubs/clubs/shop security/shops staff
nets,again with ctcss if in one shop and wanting to hear there comms only
then i with the right scanner listen to that one shop and ignore all the
others,otherwise i could be listening to a dozen users all at slightly
different signal strength and not make out the conversations too well.

regards paul

Bruce Tyler <t...@bottom.au> wrote in message

news:le7u9tsemhlb361oh...@4ax.com...

[m.clare]

Hi there

i know what you mean , as  i can also do this as i have a ham radio  capable of doing this . say eg rover/bmw.., rcv 453.100 tx 459.700 ctcss 118.8 ..freq split 6.5khz i can talk to them so there is not an exclusive right to a freq or ctcss

"Bruce Tyler" <t...@bottom.au> wrote in message news:le7u9tsemhlb361oh...@4ax.com...

[MegHertz]

We have Common Base Stations here where each group of users has a
different CTCSS tone on THE SAME shared repeater. I suppose some
people get their fun from trying to identify each group :o)
Much easier if you can filter out all the other users.

(Hey PROMA dude, have you seen the amusing page I just found at
RF-man's site about identifying channel users :
http://www.geocities.com/rf-man/pmr446/scanning.html
i.e. 'Taxi Hunting' and 'Telephone technique' LOL)

*MegHz*
_______________________________________________
Submitted via WebNewsReader of http://www.interbulletin.com

[colin.martin5]

Paul, anyone,
a quicky, are there any setups with one CTCSS for
access on input to a repeater, and then the repeater using a different CTCSS
on its output?

Col.

[Runi]

Dear All

"On Thu, 1 Mar 2001 21:37:44 -0000, "proma1" <pro...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
you must be joking ctcss and dcs decode on scanners are vitally important
and should be

standard on all scanners .... snip" .....

Dear All

thanks to you all for your replies. Paul, that's exactly the reason why I
purchased the CTCSS slot in card - to listen to trunked radio. Without CTCSS
facilities it's virtually impossible to listen to a whole conversation.
Paul's explanation of how to use the information, once you've identified the
repeater frequency, was what I was after. Many thanks Paul. But just one 2
more queries if I may? 1) Presumably, once I've identified the repeater
frequency, I programme that and the broadcast frequency into memory. That
should allow me to follow both sides of the conversation each time the users
are on air?
2) Does this mean that (using your example with the security company) each
day or each week etc., that I follow their broadcasts I will pick them up on
the frequency programmed in? Or will the frequencies used vary from minute
to minute or day to day etc. By this I mean if, for example, broadcasting on
203.5MHz/CTCSS 100.3Hz today, will they be using the same frequencies at all
other times? Or am I likely to find a different company using them? My
understanding of the CTCSS card was that I would be able to lock in to
particular companies etc at any time if they were on air.

Cheers Runi

[Runi]

I'm Bristol, England. Get a good spread of frequencies here but not good for
military/shipping. I shall definitely have another go with the CTCSS though
now :-))

Regards Runi

"proma1" <pro...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:%2Kn6.263$mt.3...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...

[proma1]

yes there are a few like that but i have not found many,on my lists though i
normally only include the base freq ctcss.

regards paul

colin.martin5 <colin....@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:l2Ln6.883$925....@news6-win.server.ntlworld.com...

[Runi]

thanks melv - this is all beginning to make a lot more sense to me now.

cheers

runi

"Melv" <melv...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:aSpo6.8634$925.7...@news6-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> CTCSS will not help you in anyway follow a trunked conversation (I dont
even
> think there are any trunked networks that use it) Here is how I use it say
> on aor 8200 I have memory banks set up for different users one bank full
of
> security now coventry city council uses 456.450 for everyone from out of
> hours repairs to security each user group having its own tone, now I do
not
> want to listen to repairs in this bank so I tune the scanner to the tone
> used by the security and bingo scanner will skip past this frequency
unless
> it has the correct tone, filtering out the other users This is the same
> reason radio users use it, also it is very handy for things like computer
> interference as it filters out this also.
> Melv

>
> "Runi" <cg...@talk21.com> wrote in message

> news:97o21j$kf9$1...@plutonium.btinternet.com...