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The included antenna will work fine for several miles. If you only envision using it for short ranges like that it should be fine.

Accessing the tones is super easy. Just push the menu button and then use the up/down arrow keys to go to menu item Pt. Then push the lock button to allow you to change it. You want to set it to Ct. Then you can use the up/down arrow keys to select the tone the group is using. When you’re done...

A lot of people build “portable” HF stations that they can set up quickly. Low power (QRP) stations are very popular. I’m doing this because putting an HF antenna on your vehicle is pretty daunting. But you can do 10-12 meters pretty easily with an old CB antenna. The problem is the sunspot...

The numbers stations are an old school Cold War era way of communicating with your spies over seas. The Chinese, Cubans and a few others still use it because its very effective. If you’re caught with an AM/FM radio it’s not necessarily evidence of wrong doing.

Ah! Those little 275’s fit in anything! Let us know how it works for you.

One of the reasons I liked 1/4 wave antennas so much is they are very broad banded. If you have the correct length they are pretty much guaranteed to have a good SWR match. If you are tuning, remember to tune for about 465.500 Mhz to be in the middle of the GMRS band. That should work out to be...

Wiley, if you want a smallish mag-mount antenna that works pretty well then one of these might fit the bill: And don’t get too caught up in the whole bigger is better thing. At UHF frequencies a 5/8’s wave has a lower angle of radiation, but it also has more nulls. So while you might get a...

I can only speak from my personal experience. I started in radio in 1982 so I’ve seen the progression from crystal controlled radios to PROMs to VCO’s. I‘ve put together entire systems for public safety agencies and have done extensive real world tests on everything from Bendix Kings to Yaesu...

The Baofengs sound great except for...well, they're Baeofengs. The Chinese are known for making cheap radios that have loose receivers and dirty transmitters. When you put a Baeofeng on a spectrum analyzer you can see all the spurious emissions they put out. That fifty watts doesn't mean much if...

The MXT105 with a decent antenna will work great. The agency I worked for used Motorola Convert-A-Com with 5 watt portable radios in them, so essentially the exact same power as the MXT105. We talked through a repeater system but also talked to each other via simplex (radio to radio) and we were...

It might be issued by the end of the week. Since its all online now its pretty fast. Just keep an eye on your FRN at the FCC website. You should receive an email letting you know when it gets issued though.

It's not a "bad" price. It would make a really nice base station with a good antenna. For vehicles, the extra power over the 15 watt models won't get you a whole lot more. The MXT275 is kinda the "sweet" spot and having all the controls in the microphone is a huge bonus! I'm using a Motorola...

Roarin, It's unfortunate that thieves would steal something that they likely don't even know what it is. One reason I leave my Jeep unlocked is to minimize the damage a thief will cause should they decide to break in. Sad! Prerunner1982 said, "Some of the pros of GMRS over CB is the size of the...

Those tiny remote mount radios are a genius move by Midland. I hope they continue and maybe some other manufactures will get a clue and do something similar. Uniden and Motorola come to mind. It's nice to see a radio being manufactured that actually works in a modern vehicle! Desert Runner...

That looks like an MFJ dual band mag mount. Should work fine. All we need are orange cones in the back and we can park anywhere without question!

Desert Runner, dunno what it is about white pick up trucks. Whenever I see one I just want to put an antenna...or two on it!

Keep in mind there is a difference in a “ground” vs. a “ground plane”. One is electrical the other is electromagnetic. They are very different things. To get an antenna to match up and have a low SWR it does need a return path or “ground”. But the ground plane is a different story. So while you...

I should explain that I'm a ham radio guy that has worked with Motorola gear for many years. Most of my radio gear is Motorola so it was a no brainer when I decided to put a radio in the Jeep what it would be. This post is to show that you can do a lot with a commercial radio if that's the way...

What about a low power GMRS repeater? It seems like a good number of people are getting the Midland MXT’s that do repeaters. A couple of military mast poles and a small base antenna up on a ridge could be very useful. But I guess all this would really depend on the crowd you run with. Mostly...

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like most don’t use them. I’m in the same boat, using a Motorola that can’t easily be changed. I’ll just program it for carrier squelch and hope for the best. I can always carry my programmable portable in case I need it.