Any Midland MXT275 owners out there?

[N1SAK]

I'd love to hear from folks who actually own this radio as to how well they've liked it - or not. I'm hooked on the idea of this particular radio for the wife's car. Yes, I've read about the lack of split tones. My town has a strong grms repeater that doesn't use 'em and neither do several others near by. I've also read about it being narrow band only and the possible drawbacks to that. However, the simplicity of this radio, the lack of real estate on the dashboard, and all the controls being entirely on the mic - not to mention the lower cost - have got me hooked on this rig. I can afford a higher end unit, but want this feature set terribly and believe 15W will fit my needs when paired with a good Laird antenna and Larson mount. So, if you own one of these, or have genuine experience using one, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[jeepsandradios]

I have them in 3 jeeps (JK, JT and Mothers Renegade). I love them for my use. Simple and effective. I run 1/4 wave black UHF whips on both jeeps and a glass mount on the Renegade. I mostly use them on the JK/JT for Jeep events and rides but they are on any time we are in the jeep. They are narrow band but other than one repeater I have not had major issues. My home repeater was setup as narrow band to help.

If you want a simple small unit its a good choice. If you plan to do serious GMRS and do alot on repeaters or with others with LMR gear it may not be the best unit. I run my Part 90 LMR gear in my work truck.

 

[N1SAK]

Thanks! Your comments definitely don't talk me out of installing one in the wife's suv. Will see what other input comes in, if any. Will be paring with a Laird UHF 3db antenna, mag-mounted to center-roof. Hoping to get several miles of range, 5+ would be nice for my area.

 

[TheRNC]

I just put one in my 2016 F150. Pretty straight forward, works well for what I need. I'm in a dense suburban are with many trees, hills, and houses and I can get about 2.5 miles, with the stock antenna mounted on the roof (currently looking for a different antenna to mount). The mic picks up great and the speaker is plenty loud. I mounted mine in the center console and the mic right below the 4 wheel drive switch on the dash.

 

[N1SAK]

Thanks TheRNC (dig the forum name). Mounting it will be easy for me, my only problem was dashboard real estate so the mic display is a very key feature for me. Purely by accident I ended up with a lead engineer on the phone at a tech website when calling about a semi-related question on coax. He steered me to a Larson mount and a +3db Laird antenna which I've already purchased for this. I'll get the info for you and paste it below in case it helps you. I was restricted in height as I knew I wanted a mag-mount roof antenna - the vehicle needs to get in the garage and I will be passing this vehicle on soon so I expect to move the setup around. Didn't wanna deal with a lip mount in the rear corner although it offered me more gain potential without the height restrictions of a roof mount.

Mount: Larsen NMOMMRPL, paid just under $40
Antenna: Laird Technologies BB4503S, paid the same. (There's a newer model out, supposedly with a better "spring", for just a few bucks more.)

 

[vagrant]

I had a Midland MXT275 for one day and returned it. I actually liked most everything about it, except others could barely hear me. I then tested myself using at least five different model handhelds and other mobile radios and my results were the same. I could barely hear my audio transmitted from the MXT275. I returned the Midland and now use a Motorola XTL5000 that offers up to 40 watts and plenty of wide audio that is heard clearly by others whether simplex or via repeater.

If you try to talk with others and no one replies...

 

[N1SAK]

Thanks for the reply and the feedback. Thinking that could be the effect of the radio only having a narrow-bandwidth setting although I'd have expected at least one of those HTs to have been okay with it for that issue. Have read some cautionary notes about that but you did me a solid by letting me know it really inconvenienced you. Earlier versions of this radio were well known for a mic-gain issue and very low audioe that Midland claims to have resolved some time back. Seems it was long enough ago that I think any new radio I bought today wouldn't have this issue. But, good feedback, thank you. Before I button up the installation, I'll make sure to try it out with the HT's I plan to use in conjunction with it and see how they do.