Tone squelch coming soon to the WB9HXG 2 Meter Repeater

On Monday evening 24Sep12, the MAARC Technical Committee swapped repeater cores on the 146.730 machine.  With the new core installation, we now have full CTCSS (PL) tone squelch capability on our most popular repeater.

Over the past several months, we have observed an increased frequency of unintentional DX interference on the 2 Meter machine coming from distant repeaters in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.  When the band opens up-- typically when we have storms in the area-- our far off neighbors might as well be sitting in downtown Muncie.  It's annoying, it interferes with local communications and traffic... and we can prevent it.

It's time to correct this problem.  The solution is to start using PL tones.

Tone Squelch is in final testing and will be activated soon.

Background
We have had a coordinated PL tone of 127.3 reserved for our repeaters for some time now, we simply haven't been using it.  There are two reasons for this:

1. We want to operate the most open, accessible and reliable repeater system possible
2. We encountered technical problems with our repeater hardware that rendered tone squelch inoperable

Gary, KB9ZUV & Bill, N9RI
testing the tone squelch

Operating the system without PL tones removes an obvious barrier to stations without that capability.  Old classic equipment, experimental gear, travelers and newcomers to the area who don't know which tone we use or can't safely engage it while mobile... these folks benefit from a repeater without tones and doing so upholds the open and accessible part of our plan.  Unfortunately, reliability suffers-- and we have noticed it suffering on an increasingly frequent basis.

We believe strongly in the spirit of open and accessible-- but operational reliability is absolutely vital.  As such, MAARC held a series of open discussions during regular club meetings and ultimately voted on-- and approved-- activating the tone squelch as soon as the hardware could be fixed to support it.

The tone board is now fixed, tested and working on our spare two meter repeater core.  It's installed at the site and ready to go.  Many thanks to Bill, N9RI for all of his time and expert skill required to make this project happen.

Jeff, KA9HIJ adjusting the transmitter

What will change ?

The 146.730(-) Mhz repeater will require a 127.3 input tone on transmit in order to bring up the machine.  The repeater will also send a 127.3 output tone while the machine is in use.  All other functions and procedures will remain the same.

Please note: At this time, the tone squelch activation only affects the two meter repeater.

The club's 220 and 440 machines will continue to operate as before without tones.

What should I expect ?

• Substantially lower interference from distant repeaters !
• Once activated, you MUST use a 127.3 PL when transmitting or the repeater will not key up.
• It is recommended but not necessary to set the PL on receive, doing so will further reduce interference.  You will be able to hear the repeater just fine if you choose not to set a receive tone on your radio.

If you have any questions or problems to report, please bring them up-- we want the transition to be as smooth as possible.  Comments posted here on the website or by email (wb9hxg@gmail.com) will receive prompt responses. Thanks everyone !   73