I always tell people to think of 'privacy tones' as 'filters' that are used to 'filter other radio conversations out' - but they can still all hear you because FRS and GMRS are 'public radio'!
@@djk8541 I was trying to make sense of why I would possibly use one, but you made a very good point. Although there are very few people near me that use GMRS. I don't know if I should be thankful for that or disappointed.
Thank you for the clarification. I knew they weren't "private", but didn't pay attention to how they actually functioned. Your videos always make me smile (or snort my coffee!). Two thumbs up!
Just like his de-boxing a radio is pretty much an unboxing. At least we don't have to endure cutting of boxes open and noisy plastic wrappin so its sorta different. Its subtle, sorta an inside joke same as the "no intro"
I just gotta say, I love your videos! Your channel has been my go-to ever since I got into gmrs. You're very clear and concise and I learn a lot from you. Also....for the algorhythm.
This video is sooooooo helpful!! I have never heard it explained before and understood it. Today it all clicked. Thank you so much sir for taking the time out of your day to help me, I really appreciate it.
I knew this was the case even before getting a few Shmotorolas but couldnt explain it as thoroughly and detailed with the finesse of an esteemed professional as yours truly...my favorite...RU-vid producer...
I always laugh my a## off watching your videos on the "love" you demonstrate to the UV-5R and the arrogant HAM operators! I am active on CB (SideWinder138), SSB, GMRS (Licensed), FRS (my job) as well as MURS (not alot). I love technology! And to know that I have the ability to communicate with others when I'm out in my Jeep is what makes life so much fun! Life is way too short!! Keep up the good work my friend!!
"Tone squelch" sounds like the most accurate description for these systems to me. I use it, mainly to cut outside chatter and yeah don't give a shit if everyone else wants to know my hiking/camping itinerary lol. Great channel.
Yeah, privacy tone are kind of like using noise canceling headphones for a telephone conversation in a library full of people. Everyone that's not also wearing headphones hears everything you say, but you can't hear them politely asking you to shut up.
Excellent explanation. I've tried to explain this to people. I end up telling them not to bother with codes and either turn them off or set to zero. Otherwise it just complicates communication.
Just got a Baofeng UV-82 and I've learned a LOT of information in watching some of your videos these past week. Good thing as the user's manual is very much lacking understandable detail! Thanks for putting these out.
DCS encoding is crucial to our radio communications on the jobsite. We are licensed to use itinerant color dot frequencies for our business. We purchased Blowfung model 1909 radios and use DCS on all four of our licensed frequencies not for privacy or security but to filter out unwanted radio traffic. RFI and EMI.
Hey Randy, great channel and very informative content. Thought you might find this interesting. I just bought a pair of Motorola T800 FRS/GMRS radios here in Canada. In the manual, they have stopped calling them "Privacy Codes" and are now calling them "Interference Eliminator Codes"
Sounds like Canada requires Truth in Advertising, what a concept. I'm imagining an America where corporations couldn't lie threw their teeth, wait I'm dreaming again. Got to stop doing that.
Damn, I like your style of explanation. Total noob here, I was wondering what this "privacy code" does, now I do know and have the proper mental model, and you have a new subscriber.
Three radios: A1 (has CTCSS set), A2 (has same CTCSS set), B1 (no CTCSS set). If B1 transmits while either A1 or A2 is talking, B1 will interfere with the transmission and be heard by the A1 or A2 that is listening. This is because the tone opened up the squelch on A1/A2 so the radio can now hear anyone transmitting on that frequency.
Great videos, Ive watched several, very helpful! I had no idea what GMRS was a few days ago. I stumbled across your videos wile looking up CB topics! You actually keep my attention. Thanks!
Thank you for putting this out there!! There are several elementary schools in my area that use these radios during dismissal where school staff use them to direct students to their busses or parents, and most often-times use students last names when calling for them to come out for their rides. Why school boards purchase these unsecured radios is beyond me ( more than likely for budget reasons).
I had this same concern at my local school and brought it up to them. They now make phone calls to call out private information and use the radio as general communication where privacy isn't a concern
Exactly - PRIVACY = NUISANCE blocker & the world scanning within reception area can hear you. It would have been a good option for CB back in the 80s for the 40 channel rigs just to stop keyers.
I like CTSS. When using a repeater and have it on, it will likely keep kids playing from keying it up. Some of my radios have a weird issue where they have a trailing squelch for a few seconds after someone stops transmitting. If I enable the CTCSS tone, that issue goes away. They are great to have if you understand that they don't provide privacy.
In my understanding, if two persons use a tone and a third person transmits in the same channel and *at the same time* with any of the other two persons, he should always be heard from the receiver. It doesn't matter if he doesn't use a tone or uses another tone. As the receiver detects the tone and as both signals share the same band, they should be added.
This is exactly the video I have been looking for. When our team goes canyoneering and we need clear communication, this is how we will go about it. I'm sick of getting so much interference instead of just being able to talk with my team. Thank you. Do you have a video on how to set this up? Cheers
That manufacturer makes the best radio equipment on the planet, along with that manufacturer that rhymes with "farris" They are used by local agencies all the way up to federal agencies. Do you want someone you love that needs critical medical attention depending on an EMS or Paramedic agency using a Baofeng? Come on now. Randy's videos are fun and he is a nice guy but this Motorola bashing is just stupid.
Well, damn. I actually learned something i didnt know. I had always thought it was a sub channel that rx/tx on as a base start point for that channel. This makes more sense. Thanks for the edumacation.
I was about to ask you about that because I have 3 radio , I was thinking I was doing something wrong but you answer everthing about that in this videos so thank you once againg till next time .
i have to agree with you on this one100% Mr Rubi. Unless your signal is encrypted (like police and other authorized public agencies encrypt their transmissions) everything you say can be heard by every one else. Fact not fiction.
So what your telling us is others can hear you, but you can hear them while on a “privacy channel?” That means you may be talking over another parties radio traffic.
@@TheNotaRubicon How does it feel to have someone just repeat almost exactly what you said, like they feel no one else got that, and their explanation is better, lololololol
@@TheNotaRubicon ah, yeah I heard that too. I read on the internet (so it has to be true) that a certain tone will transfer the signal to digital, so you will need a P25 GMRS radio to receive/ Transmit. These radios should arrive later this year when the over due asteroid arrives.... NOT !!!!
They should be referred to as ‘filter tones or codes’ for the benefit of laymen… more in line with the definition of squelch, it literally filters out other radios not on that tone, and wouldn’t allow manufacturers to say “300 channels available” or whatever
Gosh I didn’t know that growing up playing with walky talkies , what a bunch of crap they sell you . Thanks for making this video! Atleast our government does not lie like that and I can keep some trust in the world
Dear Mister Baofeng, thank you for inventing the UV5R. If I'm understanding this correctly, CTCS tones don't guarantee privacy past 20 miles unless I'm on a GMRS repeater subchannel?
I love your videos, your delivery is epic!! However, especially on the Baofeng, there is T-CTCSS and R-CTCSS. I have tested your claim. If others don’t have the right tone combination they will not be able to hear your transmissions. Your claim is partially correct. Anyway, I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for making great entertaining content and have a great day!!
Common curtesy going back years is to press the monitor button to check for traffic on the channel when using PL tones. They were mainly designed so you didn’t have listen to chatter from other users on commercial radios back in the day. If I remember right PL tones were developed by Motorola back in the 50s. If used as intended they work well.
or u can just work your way up channel-to-channel hollering a message into the radio or something and wait a little to check if someone is in the frequency untill u find an empty one. but dont be anoying with it just say something like hello is someone on XYZ frequency? Im talking about just like toy type 22channel blubblepack radios or bayophangues with frs in them.
Its basically a dark room with a string and a can and toes getting stepped on all over the place. And those with out a string and can, have night vision and can hear all the conversations, LOL.
Great explanation. Calling it CTCSS a *NUISANCE FILTER* is correct. Like what you said, CTCSS could be still be used to prevent those people with bad intentions from disrupting comms like that of an emergency response team. Which could endanger the team or block out the comm itself. It is ok to listen, but do stupid things particularly during an emergency or a special event is unethical and pure evil. As a member of one such emergency response group, I have had experiences like that. Once, it was before a terrible typhoon hit, our city was on high alert and was preparing for it, some a-hole thought it would be funny to key in his/her radio on the frequency used by the city. The frequency was rendered useless the whole night because of that. In another case, it was a parade, two started chit-chatting on the same frquency used by the city which unfortunately does not use a CTCSS. I think, those chatting were using CTCSS. Because they did not cease when we told them to change frequency (a negative effect of knowing how to use CTCSS). Luckily, we (those involved in the parade) still got through to each other but it was difficult and a lot of miscommunication happened. i am sure it will still happen in the future. That is why I am telling our group to use CTCSS on our radio to minimize or prevent that partucularly during emergency operations. With regards to the tone scan, not everyone knows about tone scan. Well, except those with background in communications. Not all radio has that function. I think UV-5R doesn't. (correct me if I am wrong)
I hope that this is not too dumb of a question, maybe it went over my head. If my group is communicating using "privacy tones", I get that we do not hear anyone else, but they hear us. However, we are all still sharing a single channel. So, If I want to transmit to my group, but I cannot hear if the channel is in use by others, how do I avoid walking on them (the others) before I key up?
Some radios have a receive light that lights up when it is receiving a signal, even if you have a tone set and you dont hear the signal. Some radios also have a 'monitor' button that you can press to remove all the tones temporarily so you can listen to the channel.
@@shockproof2006 In addition to all the good info above, many radios have a 'busy channel lockout' BCL feature that won't let you transmit if someone else is talking on that channel. Menu item 23 on the Baofengs is where you can turn this feature on and off
Another lie they perpetrate with the "privacy" channels is that the radio has 36 (or some number greater than 22) channels by pre-programming additional channels with hard-coded "privacy" codes. So disingenuous.
No Roger beep ? Guess I'm off to use my carrier pidgin.. Pro Tip .. this has a useful use . And is used to minimise interference . But your point is valid privacy tones are not private per say
Another great "class," Randy. Your two radios sure like one another. QUESTION: At one point on another of your videos where you 'splain and review the Retevis RT97 repeater, you mention the word "tones" again.....without explanation. what's up with that?? Still a newby, but my SHTF team does have four of your favored Baofengs....... :)
Seems like the privacy tones just enables hogging a channel. So any 'channel' above 22 on my Midland handheld is one of these tone channels? I wish I could disable the channels above 22 from the scan function.
CTCSS tones ar usefull! :) if you have some distant radio breaking you squelch, turn it on, (tell your buddys wat to set it for or it goes dead silent :P ) I usually set my TX tone to 88.5 and turn on or off RX ctcss so I can hear everything, when I get annoyed by some interference I will turn on RX ctcss (88.5) and since all my other radios transmit 88.5 by default it wil just continue to work :) but yes.. PL (Private Line) the name is BS,.. ps, CTCSS stands for "continues tone coded squelch system" nothing private about that ;-)
Me and 5 year old son use it a lot I've set up the radio with ctcss it private as I don't want strangers taking to my son but thay can hear me and my son it not private. Can you imagine if it was 100% private the Criminal would benefit from it it will be Big Crime network so that why it not 100% private at least ctcss protecting my son.
There is only one king of GMRS and FRS and that is not a Rubicon, Just watching RU-vid listening to this man who belongs to a Laurel Canyon emergency group I guess they’re a bunch of neighbors interfering outside the canyon. He is explaining CTCSS tones, Because of all the gardeners and construction crews, and everybody else using FRS illegally transmitting illegals signals into their canyon, omg. lol 😂 I gave him kudos, thank you for all your knowledge and teaching me all about GMRS.
I have a question for you. I have a 16 Channel Tekk NT-90 5 Watt radio the has been preprogrammed by the Company selling the item. The two Tekk radios communicate with each other perfectly. A friend has a Baofeng UV-5R. He can program the frequency corresponding to my Channel 1 and I can hear him fine on my Tekk. However, I cannot transmit to his radio. Is this due to preprogrammed privacy codes on my radio? If so, is there a way to remove these codes so the two radios can communicate with each other or is there something going on? Thanks,
Hi, im new here but I love your content. I have a stupid question thats about the codes. Do the Dcs or ctcss codes on the GMRS radio translate to the cheep FRS radios sub/privacy codes/ch???
I'm just curious to know if you ever have occasion to use ctss or dcs.... or whatever their called. In the old days when id talk to my friends in a road caravan we'd many times turn up the cb squelch to help eliminate noise from more distant cb users on the same channel - although we COULD hear them weakly if we were actively chatting. I'm thinking ctss or dcs, or what ever their called, act simularly to high squelch settings except for the encoding. From what I understand, ctss/dcs only break open the squelch of the other coded radio such that if there is another signal on your opened channel you'll hear him as well as your own contact. What I'm saying is a bit contrary to what you explained.... but I'm just trying to get this "privacy" tone thing straight in my head. I hope that was less than 15 paragraphs... :)
is to block out the anoying guy keying up over your convos in family use The guy yelling to move a cone or doing god knows what up on some cell tower blowing up your walkie or yelling about flying some speaker cabinets over a stage and cussin on there pecking you being a stinky old karen disrespecting you.
Great video as always. I knew tones are not private, but today I noticed on my Radiodditty DB-20G that I was still picking up a 725 repeater on Ch22 Simplex mode while we were using tones paired with a couple Midland handhelds with same tones. The repeater uses 131.8 which we weren’t using but I would only pick up on my DB-20 since it was 35 miles from my location. Not sure if I have something set up incorrectly.
IF channel-12 of whatever radio you are talking about is within the frequency range of the Baofeng, if you know what that frequency is, and if you know what "privacy number 2" actually means so you can set the correct DTC/CTC code in the Baofeng, then, just enter that frequency and tone/code in your Baofeng.
