Batboard

Hey all.....found a dual-mode amateur repeater right here at home on which to try some digital voice. I've never programmed an ASTRO personality before.....no copy on RX or TX when I tried digital with another user (the repeater's tech.) He is checking my host / dsp with mother /\/\ to see what's up....but, he's a busy guy... and I thought I might find some detailed help here.

Repeater is a QUANTAR (imagine that....in amateur service!) and mode is IMBE...per the repeater tech.

Before I go any further...the details on my radio, which was sold as APCO 25 capable:
ASIII, 1meg vocoder
Flash 1000040000004 (confirmed on factory tag and read via RSS)
flash breaks down to:
Q806/G806 IMBE / APCO-25 Digital Operation
H37/G60 Smartnet Operation

Host: R05.52.06
DSP: N06.04.12

Network ID confirmed as the common 293....and I programmed it in TX, RX, and direct in ASTRO options screen for the personality.
RX is dual-mode (so I can here the analog users on the repeater, too.)
TX mode is ASTRO

I have the same repeater programmed in an analog personality and works just fine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Joe

That host and DSP should do IMBE fine.

Things to check:
Can you decode Astro conversations? Try programming the receive for digital csq and then see if you can decode. If you can then the repeater is not using the standard 293 network ID.

Check tx alignment, especially the mod comp and deviatiion limit. The mod comp being off would cause your radio to not be decoded.

George

Well, with AFL NOTHING changed on my end, I placed a call on the aforementioned ASTRO repeater a couple days ago, and was promply answered by the repeater's tech! ....working fine! Damn fine audio, too! (this is my fist experience with digital voice) (besides Nextel.)

Turns out that there was something askew alignment-wise at the Quantar, caught when the tech was doing something else.

I hope to catch a few more of the Astro enabled hams on this machine sometime.....but have learned this: ....just about all of the others on the repeater (including some Motorolans) thought my Astro transmissions were "something funny getting into the repeater." I did not break into an analog QSO or anything like that.....they just all chimed in after my call. One guy said "thats RADAR signals getting into the input AGAIN!!!...." I now announce my intentions on analog before placing the call in Astro.

MANY (otherwise knowlegeable) hams also seem to think that APCO 25 digital protocol is some kind of encryption and not permitted on amateur radio....is tough to set them straight. Anyone else have to explain this????

Anyway, thanks to those who responded, and if you are coming to the Philadelphia area and want to give 'er a try....e-mail me for the details...it's an open repeater with MANY Motorola nutz (let your MDC 1200 squalk freely.....)

Joe

Whats the freq?