Narrative:

After preflight and engine start; I listened to the ATIS and set the radio frequencies and navigation for the return flight. I made a call to ground control to request flight following. I did not hear a response. I checked the ATIS again and it sounded like 'native' ATIS. There was no other visible activity on the ground or in the air. I tried contacting clearance delivery with the same results. I double checked the published frequencies and noticed the hours of operation. I saw xa:00-xk:00 and concluded the tower was closed. (I have since checked and found the dates for those hours invalid). I announced my intentions on the CTAF (tower) frequency and started to taxi. When I was on taxiway 'a'; I looked towards the tower and noticed someone inside. I immediately pulled over onto the ramp and discovered the squelch and volume to be mis-set on the radio I was using. I corrected this and called ground for taxi clearance and flight following and the rest of the flight was uneventful.my mistakes were: -not thoroughly reading the AFD information as to the tower operating hours. -Not immediately recognizing that ATIS would announce the tower being closed. -Assuming that there was no communication problem (on my end). -I had used separate radios for listening to ATIS and talking to ground and never cross checked them.contributing factors were: -unfamiliar airport. -Lack of activity (any other aircraft moving would have made me immediately realize I should be hearing communications).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C182 pilot reports being unable to contact the Tower and assumes the Tower is closed. During taxi; movement in the Tower indicates that it may be open. A second check of the radio reveals that the volume and squelch are not properly adjusted.

Narrative: After preflight and engine start; I listened to the ATIS and set the radio frequencies and navigation for the return flight. I made a call to ground control to request flight following. I did not hear a response. I checked the ATIS again and it sounded like 'native' ATIS. There was no other visible activity on the ground or in the air. I tried contacting clearance delivery with the same results. I double checked the published frequencies and noticed the hours of operation. I saw XA:00-XK:00 and concluded the tower was closed. (I have since checked and found the dates for those hours invalid). I announced my intentions on the CTAF (tower) frequency and started to taxi. When I was on taxiway 'A'; I looked towards the tower and noticed someone inside. I immediately pulled over onto the ramp and discovered the squelch and volume to be mis-set on the radio I was using. I corrected this and called ground for taxi clearance and flight following and the rest of the flight was uneventful.My mistakes were: -Not thoroughly reading the AFD information as to the tower operating hours. -Not immediately recognizing that ATIS would announce the tower being closed. -Assuming that there was no communication problem (on my end). -I had used separate radios for listening to ATIS and talking to ground and never cross checked them.Contributing factors were: -Unfamiliar airport. -Lack of activity (any other aircraft moving would have made me immediately realize I should be hearing communications).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.