New Midland MXT275 (GMRS Mobile)

[Wile_Coyote]

Currently Midland has a coupon "overlandusa" that will take up to $60 bucks off the MXT400VP3 GMRS MicroMobile Bundle. The price shipped is $239.99, which seems like a pretty good price for a 40W radio, should one ever need that kind of juice when out and about at the mall.




Anyone else think that is a pretty good price for this type of unit?

 

[TheBronze]

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 commercial radio in my Jeep right now and I'm actually contemplating taking it out and going with one of the Midland MXT275's because it is so perfect for the role. I don't want to loose a $500.00 radio to a thief when a $145.00 radio will do the same job.

 

[Wile_Coyote]

Awesome, thanks for the info.
I'll probably go back to the smaller unit, and save $120 bones.

edit: actually, $120 bones for a GSMR is pretty good. I'm going to set it up in my truck so that it can be removed quickly and easily when necessary.

Thanks all.

 

[systemdelete]

One of the things I love about the mxt275 is that it uses a standard cat5/cat6 style mic connection. This allows you to mount the head far away from the mic with a simple cat6 network extension cable. On my last truck the radios were hidden in the back under the plastic. All that was visible up front if I removed my mic and tucked it in the glove box was a cat6 jack next to the dash. What can't be seen is very rarely stolen.

 

[Wile_Coyote]

Very cool.
Just got online and requested (and paid) for my GMRS license.
Should be here by the next month, I hope.

 

[TheBronze]

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.

 

[RoarinRow]

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.

Agreed, their site is not very user friendly.

 

[Prerunner1982]

I personally think the MXT-400 is over priced.

BaofengTech now has a 50 w mobile GMRS radio ont he market for $180.
I don't have an experience with it but it's good to see a little competition for Midland.

 

[RoarinRow]

I picked up the Midland MXT105, which was only $99 at Best Buy. Small, functional, loud speaker, easy to install.

 

[Downs]

Very cool.
Just got online and requested (and paid) for my GMRS license.
Should be here by the next month, I hope.

Theyre not going to send you anything unless you request it if you check the licensing system using your FRN i bet your callsign is in there already. Mine was there in less than 12 hours.

 

[Downs]

I picked up the Midland MXT105, which was only $99 at Best Buy. Small, functional, loud speaker, easy to install.

Downside is the 5 watt power output and no repeater capability. If you car about such things. Upside is the external antenna will put that 5 watts to good use.

 

[Downs]

I personally think the MXT-400 is over priced.

BaofengTech now has a 50 w mobile GMRS radio ont he market for $180.
I don't have an experience with it but it's good to see a little competition for Midland.

Ive got the UV50X2 which is the HAM version of that radio. It may or may not be programed with GMRS ;) it works great though a little larger than these Midland units.

It's the same radio as the GMRS unit but the GMRS unit has different programing to lock it to GMRS ok xmit. It can still be programed to recieve outside of GMRS if you want to listen to other stuff.

 

[TheBronze]

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 able to communicate for several miles. If you can talk reliable to other vehicles a couple of miles away on the trail or 3-5 miles down the highway then you've got yourself a really useful communications tool without the hassle of something more complicated that draws more current.

 

[RoarinRow]

Downside is the 5 watt power output and no repeater capability. If you car about such things. Upside is the external antenna will put that 5 watts to good use.

Yup definitely works for me.

 

[TheBronze]

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 its not on frequency with proper modulation. Manufacturers try and one up each other with power output. But on VHF and UHF frequencies there is a point of diminishing returns. Anything above about 25 watts and you really have to crank it up to see any meaningful performance value. I have a 25 watt Motorola XPR that I can talk about 15 miles with on simplex. I also have a 100 watt GE radio. On the same antenna the GE talks maybe a few miles further using four times the power. The down side is that 100 watt radio pulls about 18 amps on transmit while the 25 watt radio draws about 5. Clean transmitters and good antennas will get you what you want every time!

 

[DanW]

Theyre not going to send you anything unless you request it if you check the licensing system using your FRN i bet your callsign is in there already. Mine was there in less than 12 hours.

Mine, too. Extremely quick. Must be automated. No bureaucrat was ever fast except when leaving at the end of a work day.

 

[Downs]

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 its not on frequency with proper modulation. Manufacturers try and one up each other with power output. But on VHF and UHF frequencies there is a point of diminishing returns. Anything above about 25 watts and you really have to crank it up to see any meaningful performance value. I have a 25 watt Motorola XPR that I can talk about 15 miles with on simplex. I also have a 100 watt GE radio. On the same antenna the GE talks maybe a few miles further using four times the power. The down side is that 100 watt radio pulls about 18 amps on transmit while the 25 watt radio draws about 5. Clean transmitters and good antennas will get you what you want every time!

Ive seen tests go both ways. If you're talking about the informal ARRL testing i would be wary of any info from them. They have a vested interest in the "big three" in the form of sponsorship dollars.

 

[JButtress]

I bought my MXT275 about 2 months ago. I'm loving it so far, and with the bigger antenna, have gotten some really good distances with clear audio

 

[Wile_Coyote]

What larger antenna did you install?
I'm considering getting a larger antenna as well, but have yet to receive the Unit.

 

[Desert Runner]

What larger antenna did you install?
I'm considering getting a larger antenna as well, but have yet to receive the Unit.

For me, it was the optional Midland MXTA11, the 6dB gain 462 MHz.

Not being spring loaded, it might have some issues in wooded areas. 28" in total lentgh (NMO base to tip)