Midland - MXT400 - Pros and Cons?

[TailGator911]

I am impressed. My very limited experience with FRS radios is just swap meets and flea markets with my wife, and I bought a pair of Unidens for a Caribbean cruise that did not bode well on a cruise ship. Once on an island they were pretty much line of sight. I might very well look into some GMRS radios and get a license. Range is a very motivation factor for me - thanks for that, mmckenna. I have some reading to do

 

[mmckenna]

Range is a very motivation factor for me - thanks for that, mmckenna. I have some reading to do

50 watts FM on 462MHz is going to work essentially the same as 50 watts FM on 446MHz. Considering with what amateurs can do on 70cm, there's no reason you cannot do similar on GMRS.

Car to car on the flatlands, we easily did 15+ miles. Of course that was permanent mount 1/4 wave antennas on the roof tops of pickups and SUV's Antennas really do matter.

Getting access to high level GMRS repeaters may be difficult, but if you can score access, it really is an amazing thing. For those that don't want to get their ham licenses, it's really a great radio service.

Just resist the urge to go with cheap radios and antennas.

 

[mmckenna]

And for the record, those radios were 35 watts, not 50. The 15 watt difference doesn't really matter when using good antennas.

And by good antennas, I mean real NMO mounts. Unfortunately many of the Midland users seem to be attracted to the 'low profile' "oh don't it look cool!" antennas. Start with a real 1/4 wave centered on the roof of your vehicle. If range matters, function needs to be more important than the looks.

 

[scorpion1200]

Well, not one of these Midland radios, but using commercial gear on GMRS...
I had access to a high level repeater, and many times was able to talk to my dad 100 miles to the east. Not using repeaters, if one of us was high enough, sure, 40 miles easy.

40 miles on GMRS isn't an issue, even with a cheap radio. Get one user up higher than the other, and even a 1/2 watt FRS radio will do wonders.

I wasn’t impressed at first with my radio (KG-805G) but after I got this antenna NA-701C wow I will make a long story short last week(2-11-2021) I was on the roof of my office building about 75 feet in Anaheim CA. I was talking to someone at Mount Baldy on the Devils Backbone trail about 8000 feet and about 39 miles between us. They needed help I was on the phone with MT Baldy Fire Department that’s how I known the elevation. The helicopter rescued them. PS we were on simplex channel 16...I don't know what radio the other person had.

 

[mmckenna]

PS we were on simplex channel 16...I don't know what radio the other person had.

Yep, line of sight will do that well. We used to run Motorola HT-600's and P200's. Even with the stock antenna, we'd get a heck of a lot of range out of them while riding ATV's. Plus if we dropped them, no damage.

 

[alcahuete]

I am impressed. My very limited experience with FRS radios is just swap meets and flea markets with my wife, and I bought a pair of Unidens for a Caribbean cruise that did not bode well on a cruise ship. Once on an island they were pretty much line of sight. I might very well look into some GMRS radios and get a license. Range is a very motivation factor for me - thanks for that, mmckenna. I have some reading to do

On a cruise ship, I have yet to find a radio that outperforms the DTR series 900 MHz radios, or even comes close. I have had full ship coverage on even the largest ships, and have actually had cruise ship employees ask me what I was using. They were blown away. Darn good radios just in general.

As far as GMRS, as was already mentioned, it's no different than 70cm ham or UHF Part 90 business band stuff. The frequencies all operate in the exact same manner, and when you use good equipment, you're going to get identical performance.

 

[vagrant]

On a cruise ship, I have yet to find a radio that outperforms the DTR series 900 MHz radios, or even comes close. I have had full ship coverage on even the largest ships, and have actually had cruise ship employees ask me what I was using. They were blown away. Darn good radios just in general.

33 cm radios can do some interesting things, but I'm figuring the ships have leaky feeders with amplifiers. I am speculating as I don't build ships or their radio systems, but something like that seems prudent when you have a large ship. Also, the DTR700 is fantastic! I was in my home and a buddy was mobile and no problems when he was a kilometer away.

As an amateur license holder I am familiar with 70 cm. Getting my GMRS license opened the door for what I already know as well as allowing friends and their families to get in on the fun with their license. I started with the low power bubble packs and moved up from there.

 

[alcahuete]

33 cm radios can do some interesting things, but I'm figuring the ships have leaky feeders with amplifiers. I am speculating as I don't build ships or their radio systems, but something like that seems prudent when you have a large ship.

Yep! That's usually how they do it.

 

[KI5YPZ]

you can contact Midland and get the software to fix what you all describe as issues, it goes wide band, pl code capable, you have to purchase their DB01 programming cable, they will email you the software.