Comparing GMRS radios

[J0E]

I wheel all the time with a group and use the 275 with a Midland MXTA26 antenna. Even less power than the 400, and I have no problems with communication. I completely agree with your Air Force buddy. Now if you want to reach distant repeaters, more power is better. But having a properly tuned antenna mounted in the best location on your rig is critical.

I picked up the 15 W Midland MXT275 a year ago from Amazon. 5 minutes to plug it into the cig lighter & stuff radio between passenger seat and console. I've talked to folks several miles away in our group as I always stage at a different location than them. For sure the antenna is the most important, but even with the cheap magnetic antenna I still talk miles away.

I also carry a pair of Midland 50 Channel Waterproof GMRS Two-Walkie Talkies
I loan one out to someone in the club who doesn't have a radio, I use the other when I'm spotting. Even the walkie talkie works fine for 1 mile maximum string we form.

My personal experience has been that power is over rated. Ive done experiments on simplex with my buddy on ham freq. We got the same distance whether I was using 5 watts or 50 watts.

My walkie talkies and cheap antenna agree.

I have the Midland MXT275 (15 watt) with the 6db antenna and it is more than enough for my trail running needs. I can easily - and clearly - hit repeaters from 40-50 miles.
The controls on the handset allowed me to mount the radio in the glove box, secure and out of sight.
The 6db antenna doesn't seem to care about a good ground plane. Mine is fender mounted, but I can reach just as far from any orientation.
SWR is 1.03 to 1.07 through the band, so I know I'm sending a clear signal.

Some great GMRS info on Notarubicon's YouTube channel...

What SWR meter are you using?

Since there isn't a lot of room in these Jeeps, seems like the MXT275 is the best bang for the buck. At $165 it's ready to go out of the box, 12 volt cigarette lighter, plug and play and includes that dinky little magnet mount antenna so you're on the air fast. A high quality UHF antenna can always be mounted later and you can take your time figuring out the best way to hard wire the power. You can buy a microphone extension cable and hard wire that radio anywhere in the cabin (cargo area) and still get the mic mounted where you want it.

But the bad news: It works so well you'll postpone getting a good antenna, hardwire, external speaker, etc.

If you want to spend extra money for extra security buy a Garmin InReach mini and pay for the optional insurance plan.

I carry an InReach I purchased 6 years ago. I don't pay for the insurance plan but it's nice to send texts from anywhere I can see the sky. The recipient gets a link to a map with my location and GPS coordinates.

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[Speed331]

What SWR meter are you using?

Mcbazel Surecom SW-102 Digital VHF/UHF 125-525Mhz Antenna Power & SWR Meter https://a.co/2W9o9pK

 

[donmontalvo]

I finally finished installing the KG-1000G.
The base unit is in the glove box and the head unit is above the mirror.

Nicely done! This weekend might be the right time to mout my Wouxun KG-1000G (GMRS) and my Yaesu FTM-400XDR (Ham). Both have detachable faceplates, but the Wouxun faceplate has the mic port. That kind of puts the kerbosh on my wanting to mount the faceplates overhead to the right. I'm hoping to avoid dangling mic cables in my field of view.

 

[Bullwinkle]

I finally finished installing the KG-1000G.
The base unit is in the glove box and the head unit is above the mirror.

Nice install, looks like it goes there...thanks

 

[spurly]

Nicely done! This weekend might be the right time to mout my Wouxun KG-1000G (GMRS) and my Yaesu FTM-400XDR (Ham). Both have detachable faceplates, but the Wouxun faceplate has the mic port. That kind of puts the kerbosh on my wanting to mount the faceplates overhead to the right. I'm hoping to avoid dangling mic cables in my field of view.

It does get a little annoying but I can live with it. I use my 67 Designs rail mount to secure the mic so it’s at least secured. Right now I’m looking for a place to install an external speaker for the radio. I only have half my hearing so the base unit in the glove box is hard for me to hear at times and the speaker in the mic isn’t as loud as I’d hope.

 

[donmontalvo]

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