Squelch

Not to be confused with Attenuator (electronics).

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In telecommunications, squelch is a circuit function that acts to suppress

the audio (or video) output of a receiver in the absence of a strong input signal.
[1]
Essentially, squelch is a specialized type of noise gate designed to suppress
weak signals. Squelch is used in two-way radios and VHF/UHF radio scanners to
eliminate the sound of noise when the radio is not receiving a desired transmission.
Squelch[edit]

A squelch threshold
In some designs, the squelch threshold is preset. For example, television squelch
settings are usually preset. Receivers in base stations, or repeaters at remote
mountain top sites, are usually not adjustable remotely from the control point.
In two-way radios (also known as radiotelephones), the received signal level
required to unsquelch (un-mute) the receiver may be fixed or adjustable with a
knob or a sequence of button presses. Typically the operator will adjust the control
until noise is heard, and then adjust in the opposite direction until the noise is
squelched. At this point, a weak signal will unsquelch the receiver and be heard by
the operator. Further adjustment will increase the level of signal required to
unsquelch the receiver. Some applications have the receiver tied to other
equipment that uses the audio muting control voltage, as a "signal present"
indication; for example, in a repeater the act of the receiver unmuting will switch on
the transmitter. Squelch can be opened (turned off), which allows all signals to be
heard, including radio frequency noise on the receiving frequency. This can be
useful when trying to hear distant or otherwise weak signals, for example in DXing.
Carrier squelch is the most simple variant of all. It functions strictly on the signal
strength, such as when a television mutes the audio or blanks the video on
"empty" channels, or when a walkie-talkie mutes the audio when no signal is
present. Carrier squelch uses receiver Automatic gain control (AGC) to determine
the squelch threshold. Single-sideband modulation (SSB) typically uses carrier
squelch.
Noise squelch is more reliable than carrier squelch. A noise squelch circuit is
noise-operated and can be used in AM or FM receivers, and relies on the receiver
quieting in the presence of an AM or FM carrier. To minimize the effects of voice
audio on squelch operation, the audio from the receiver's detector is passed
through a high-pass filter, typically passing 4,000 Hz (4kHz) and above, leaving
only high frequency noise. The squelch control adjusts the gain of
an amplifier which varies the level of the noise coming out of the filter. This noise
is rectified, producing a DC voltage when noise is present. The presence of
continuous noise on an idle channel creates a DC voltage which turns the receiver
audio off. When a signal with little or no noise is received, the noise-derived
voltage is reduced and the receiver audio is unmuted.
Noise squelch can be defeated by intermodulation present in the high-pass band.
For this reason, many receivers with noise squelch will also use a carrier
squelch set at a higher threshold than the noise squelch.
Tone squelch and selective calling[edit]
Main article: Selective calling
Tone squelch, or another form of selective calling, is sometimes used to solve
interference problems. Where more than one user is on the same channel (co-
channel users), selective calling addresses a subset of all receivers. Instead of
turning on the receiver audio for any signal, the audio turns on only in the presence
of the correct selective calling code. This is akin to the use of a lock on a door. A
carrier squelch is unlocked and will let any signal in. Selective calling locks out all
signals except ones with the correct key to the lock (the correct code).
In non-critical uses, selective calling can also be used to hide the presence of
interfering signals such as receiver-produced intermodulation. Receivers with poor
specifications—such as inexpensive police scanners or low-cost mobile radios—
cannot reject the strong signals present in urban environments. The interference
will still be present, and will still degrade system performance, but by using
selective calling the user will not have to hear the noises produced by receiving the
interference.
Four different techniques are commonly used. Selective calling can be regarded as
a form of in-band signaling.
CTCSS[edit]
Main article: Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System
CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System) continuously superimposes
any one of about 50 low-pitch audio tones on the transmitted signal, ranging from
67 to 254 Hz. The original tone set was 10, then 32 tones, and has been expanded
even further over the years. CTCSS is often called PL tone (for Private Line,
a trademark of Motorola), or simply tone squelch. General Electric's
implementation of CTCSS is called Channel Guard (or CG). RCA Corporation used
the name Quiet Channel, or QC. There are many other company-specific names
used by radio vendors to describe compatible options. Any CTCSS system that
has compatible tones is interchangeable. Old and new radios with CTCSS and
radios across manufacturers are compatible.[citation needed] For those PMR446 radios with
38 codes, the codes 0 to 38 are CTCSS Tones:

PMR446 CTCSS Privacy Codes[citation needed]

Cod
Tone Hz Code Tone Hz Code Tone Hz
e

0 Off 13 103.5 26 162.2

1 67.0 14 107.2 27 167.9

2 71.9 15 110.9 28 173.8

3 74.4 16 114.8 29 179.9

4 77.0 17 118.8 30 186.2

5 79.7 18 123.0 31 192.8

6 82.5 19 127.3 32 203.5

7 85.4 20 131.8 33 210.7

8 88.5 21 136.5 34 218.1

9 91.5 22 141.3 35 225.7

10 94.8 23 146.2 36 233.6

11 97.4 24 151.4 37 241.8

12 100.0 25 156.7 38 250.3

SelCall[edit]
Main article: Selcall
Selcall (Selective Calling) transmits a burst of up to five in-band audio tones at the
beginning of each transmission. This feature (sometimes called "tone burst") is
common in European systems. Early systems used one tone (commonly called
"Tone Burst"). Several tones were used, the most common being 1,750 Hz, which
is still used in European amateur radio repeater systems. The addressing scheme
provided by one tone was not enough, so a two-tone system was devised—one
tone followed by a second tone (sometimes called a "1+1" system). Motorola later
marketed a system called "Quik-Call" that used two simultaneous tones followed
by two more simultaneous tones (sometimes called a "2+2" system) that was
heavily used by fire department dispatch systems in the US. Later selective call
systems used paging system technology that made use of a burst of five sequential
tones.
DCS[edit]
Standard DCS Codes

0n 1n 2n 3n 4n 5n 6n 7n
n n n n n n n n

023 114 205 306 411 503 606 703

025 115 223 311 412 506 612 712

026 116 226 315 413 516 624 723

031 125 243 331 423 532 627 731

032 131 244 343 431 546 631 732

043 132 245 346 432 565 632 734

047 134 251 351 445 654 743

051 143 261 364 464 662 754

054 152 263 365 465 664

065 155 265 371 466

071 156 271

072 162

073 165
 074 172

174

DCS (Digital-Coded Squelch), generically known as CDCSS (Continuous Digital-

Coded Squelch System), was designed as the digital replacement for CTCSS. In
the same way that a single CTCSS tone would be used on an entire group of
radios, the same DCS code is used in a group of radios. DCS is also referred to
as Digital Private Line (or DPL), another trademark of Motorola, and likewise,
General Electric's implementation of DCS is referred to as Digital Channel
Guard (or DCG). Despite the fact that it is not a tone, DCS is also
called DTCS (Digital Tone Code Squelch) by Icom, and other names by other
manufacturers. Radios with DCS options are generally compatible, provided the
radio's encoder-decoder will use the same code as radios in the existing system.
DCS adds a 134.4 bit/s (sub-audible) bitstream to the transmitted audio. The code
word is a 23-bit Golay (23,12) code which has the ability to detect and correct
errors of 3 or fewer bits. The word consists of 12 data bits followed by 11 check
bits. The last 3 data bits are a fixed '001', this leaves 9 code bits (512 possibilities)
which are conventionally represented as a 3-digit octal number. Note that the first
bit transmitted is the LSB, so the code is "backwards" from the transmitted bit
order. Only 83 of the 512 possible codes are available, to prevent falsing due to
alignment collisions.
DCS codes are standardized by the Telecommunications Industry Association with
the following 83 codes being found in their most recent standard, however, some
systems use non-standard codes.[2] For those PMR446 radios with 121 codes, the
codes 39 to 121 are DCS codes:[3]

DCS

Cod
Tone Hz Code Tone Hz Code Tone Hz
e

39 023 67 174 95 445

40 025 68 205 96 464

41 026 69 223 97 465

42 031 70 226 98 466

43 032 71 243 99 503

44 043 72 244 100 506

45 047 73 245 101 516

46 051 74 251 102 532

47 054 75 261 103 546

48 065 76 263 104 565

49 071 77 265 105 606

50 072 78 271 106 612

51 073 79 306 107 624

52 074 80 311 108 627

53 114 81 315 109 631

54 115 82 331 110 632

55 116 83 343 111 654

56 125 84 346 112 662

57 131 85 351 113 664

58 132 86 364 114 703

59 134 87 365 115 712

60 143 88 371 116 723

61 152 89 411 117 731

62 155 90 412 118 732

63 156 91 413 119 734

64 162 92 423 120 743

65 165 93 431 121 754

66 172 94 432

XTCSS[edit]
XTCSS is the newest signalling technique, and provides 99 codes with the added
advantage of "silent operation". XTCSS-fitted radios are purposed to enjoy more
privacy and flexibility of operation. XTCSS is implemented as a combination of
CTCSS and in-band signalling.
Uses[edit]
Squelch was invented first and is still in wide use in two-way radio. Squelch of any
kind is used to indicate loss of signal, which is used to keep commercial
and amateur radio repeaters from continually transmitting. Since a carrier squelch
receiver cannot tell a valid carrier from a spurious signal (noise, etc.), CTCSS is
often used as well, as it avoids false keyups. Use of CTCSS is especially helpful on
congested frequencies or on frequency bands prone to skip and during band
openings.
Professional wireless microphones use squelch to avoid reproducing noise when
the receiver does not receive enough signal from the microphone. Most
professional models have adjustable squelch, usually set with a screwdriver
adjustment or front-panel control on the receiver.
 See also[edit]
 Dynamic noise limiter
 Noise gate
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
1. ^ The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual (3rd ed.). American Radio Relay League. p. 123.
Retrieved September 8, 2019.
2. ^ Land Mobile FM or PM – Communications Equipment – Measurement and Performance
Standards, TIA-603-E (Technical report). Telecommunications Industry Association. March 2,
2016. p. 10.
3. ^ "TLKR T8 Owner's Manual" (PDF). Motorola Solutions. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-01-23.

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 This page was last edited on 9 May 2024, at 22:58 (UTC).