Welcome to amateur radio! This guide walks you through the three things you need to successfully operate through a WIN System repeater. Once you understand these fundamentals, getting on the air is straightforward.

You need exactly three things to operate through a repeater:

  1. The correct receive frequency
  2. The correct transmit offset
  3. The correct CTCSS (PL) tone

 

All WIN System repeater frequencies, offsets, and PL tones are listed on the Repeaters page at winsystem.org and are kept current.

1. Receive Frequency

Program your radio’s VFO to the repeater’s output frequency — this is the frequency the repeater transmits on and the one you will listen to. For example, our Loma Prieta repeater in Northern California transmits on 442.900 MHz.

 

Channel Step Settings

Most new radios default to 25 kHz channel steps, which is correct for Northern California UHF repeaters. However, Southern California UHF repeaters use 20 kHz channel spacing. If you’re trying to land on a frequency like 448.060 MHz (our Santiago repeater), you’ll need to switch to 5 kHz or 20 kHz steps.

Important: Before changing your channel step, make sure your VFO is on a “round” frequency such as 448.000 or 448.100. The radio counts channel steps from whatever frequency is currently in the VFO. If you start on an odd frequency like 448.025 and switch to 20 kHz steps, your radio will step to 448.045, 448.065, and so on — all wrong channels. Starting on an even frequency ensures you step correctly to 448.000, 448.020, 448.040, and so on.

2. Transmit Offset

A repeater is a duplex device: it receives on one frequency and simultaneously retransmits on another. Your radio must transmit on the repeater’s input frequency while listening on its output frequency. The difference between those two frequencies is the offset.

 

For Loma Prieta: your radio listens on 442.900 MHz and transmits on 447.900 MHz — exactly 5 MHz higher. You can confirm this by pressing PTT and watching your display: it should switch from 442.900 (receive) to 447.900 (transmit).

Two things to verify in your radio:

  1. Offset direction is UP (+), not DOWN (−). Look for a “+” sign on your display. A “+” means your transmit frequency is above your receive frequency, which is what UHF WIN System repeaters require.
  2. Offset amount is 5.000 MHz. On the UHF band (440–450 MHz), the standard offset is 5.000 MHz. On the 2-meter band (144–148 MHz), it is 0.600 MHz. Make sure your radio is set to the right band’s offset.

3. CTCSS Tone (PL Tone)

CTCSS stands for Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System. It is a sub-audible tone transmitted along with your voice signal that tells the repeater you are an authorized user. Without the correct tone, the repeater will not open up for you.

Two things to verify:

  1. CTCSS is set to Encode (transmit), not Decode (receive). Look for a “T” or “Enc” indicator on your display. Encode means the tone is sent when you transmit — which is what you want. Decode mode would require the repeater to send a tone back to you before you can hear it; WIN System repeaters do not do this, so Decode mode will leave you hearing nothing.
  2. The tone is set to the correct frequency. For our Loma Prieta repeater, that is 2 Hz. Check winsystem.org for the correct tone for other WIN System repeaters.

Quick Reference: Loma Prieta Repeater

The Loma Prieta repeater is listed in our directory as:

442.900  (+)  162.2 Hz

Using what you now know, this tells you:

  1. Receive (listen) on 900 MHz
  2. Transmit 5 MHz UP (+) on 447.900 MHz
  3. Encode CTCSS tone 2 Hz

 

Set those three things correctly and you’re on the air. Welcome to the WIN System — we look forward to hearing you!

Shorty, K6JSI