This is all quite confusing to me. I guess I assumed that all GMRS radios had the capability to operate up to 5W. Not until today, when I received the radios and started searching/learning more, did I find out that these have a max of 2W. Which, to my understanding, means I didn't even need to buy the license.
Correct, for those radios that have 2 watts or less, non-removable antenna, and don't transmit on the repeater input frequencies, they fall under the "License By Rule" and you don't need to have a GMRS license for those.
But since I have the license I'd like to take advantage of it and use 5W radios. So I started looking at GXT1000VP4. None of the product pages state wattage. Going through the comments/reviews is where I see people claim that these are in fact 5W. So hopefully they are and I'm thinking of making the change.
Just wanted to get your thoughts on this and start participating in the forums!
With your GMRS license, you can run up to 50 watts transmitter output on the primary 46x.### frequencies. 5 watts or less on the 7 interstitials.
But don't get hung up on wattage. Going from 2 watts to 4 watts does not double your range. The additional power will make a slight difference on the fringes of coverage.
If you want a decent GMRS radio, take a look at some of the commercial gear that has FCC Part 95 acceptance. They will require programming, but you get some nice features. Most of the portables will put out a -real- 4 watts. You can swap out antennas with more efficient ones, and you'll have a lot more capabilities. Add a mobile radio to your system and enjoy more power. Add a proper external antenna to your house or car, and you can enjoy a lot of range. Many years ago when I was active on GMRS, I could get 15 miles car to car on the flat lands. We had access to a high level repeater that would give us 100+ mile range in some areas.
If I was going to get into GMRS again, I'd probably get a Kenwood TK-3180 UHF portable and a TK-8180 mobile. Really good commercial grade radios that will work well.
The Midlands are good high end consumer grade radios, but they have a few limitations. They may be just fine for you if you just need some simple portable radios for short range stuff.
