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Midland mxt275 GMRS radio questions

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rustyshakelford

rustyshakelford

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Great information from everyone, been looking at either the MTX275 or MXT400 because they are compatible with the little walkies and don't need to take a HAM test.
Both are great. We love the 275 because we can remote mount it and have all the controls on the mic. The 400 is a 40watt hoss though

Brett
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Twmcneilly

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I just finished an antenna install on my JL. I have the new Teraflex spare tire carrier, but the concept should also work with the factory carrier. I wanted something that was centerline mounted, and didn’t interfere with the CB antenna on the factory reinforced tire carrier.
I took some 1/8” plate aluminum that I had lying around and cut it into a large upside-down ”T” shape, approximately 15” tall, and 10” wide, with the bottom and center approximately 2” wide. I drilled ~1/2” dia. holes to line up with the two innermost upper bolts for the tire carrier on each end of the lower part. I also drilled a hole in the center of the upper part to accommodate the NMO style connector mount on the antenna cable. I then heated and bent a nice tight 90 degree tab in the upper “leg” for the antenna to mount to. Make sure the bent tab and the bracket itself doesn’t interfere with the rear wiper operation; you might need a space to provide adequate clearance. Also, I added a second layer of the 1/8” material riveted to the lower portion of the bracket to add some additional stiffness, not sure it was absolutely necessary, but I had plenty of material so why not. Then to install, Simply remove the two upper/inner tire carrier bolts and put the tee-bracket against the tire carrier and reinstall the bolts. I ran the coax down the bracket attached with zip ties, and through the rubber grommet into the tailgate. I’m still routing the coax to the radio head so I can’t speak to performance, but It sure looks nice. And by using the NMO mount with a rain cap, I can remove the antenna for daily driving and parking garages. BTW I’m using the Midland 6db gain antenna.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any work in progress photos, but here are some completed ones.

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[Update: Sad to report that I don't think my simple antenna bracket will work with the factory carrier after all.]
 

GPsGeeps

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Great little radio. I just have mine mounted on the passenger side of the center console. And I'm also using an L bracket behind the driver's side plastic cowl for the antenna.

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johnparjr

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Great little radio. I just have mine mounted on the passenger side of the center console. And I'm also using an L bracket behind the driver's side plastic cowl for the antenna.

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what is your Mic attached to?
 

GPsGeeps

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what is your Mic attached to?
It's hanging on a Gear Keeper. I like it here on the highway. But off road it swings all over the place. I installed the mic mount that came with the radio in between the radio control bezel and CB in the pic. But the sticky back wasn't up to task and ended up falling off after just 1 weekend trip. So I need to figure something else out.

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This is probably a very uninformed question, but is there a reason why you cannot use your CB antenna for the GMRS radio?
Antennas are tuned to certain frequencies, CB and GMRS are very far apart in frequency. CB = 27Mhz, GMRS = 462/467 Mhz
Using an antenna not meant for the frequency you are trying to use it on will result in signal coming back from the antenna to the radio and in some cases damaging the radio in the process.

Also the GMRS antenna is super small compared to the CB antenna. I would much rather run the GMRS antenna and ditch the CB.
 

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Great little radio. I just have mine mounted on the passenger side of the center console. And I'm also using an L bracket behind the driver's side plastic cowl for the antenna.


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GPsGeeps, I just recieved the same unit and plan on the same basic installation. Can you tell/show me more about your L bracket for antenna mount? Thanks
 

MacombRoger

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Antennas are tuned to certain frequencies, CB and GMRS are very far apart in frequency. CB = 27Mhz, GMRS = 462/467 Mhz
Using an antenna not meant for the frequency you are trying to use it on will result in signal coming back from the antenna to the radio and in some cases damaging the radio in the process.

Also the GMRS antenna is super small compared to the CB antenna. I would much rather run the GMRS antenna and ditch the CB.
Hmmm. You throw a wrench in my plan. I picked up the 15w Midland a couple weeks back. I also ordered a pl259 splitter/Y and 2 1' cables. My plan was to connect both the Midland GMRS and Cobra CB (75sx) to the firestick. I know using both at the same time would be very bad, but was hoping to use one depending on the group I was with. CBs might finally be on their way out. More and more groups seems to like the FRS/GMRS setups.

Are you saying the GMRS won't work, or not work well on the Firestick? The Midland radio antenna is small, but not many places to put it.

Thanks for any advice, I am new to anything that is not CB. :)
 

OffroadTreks

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Hmmm. You throw a wrench in my plan. I picked up the 15w Midland a couple weeks back. I also ordered a pl259 splitter/Y and 2 1' cables. My plan was to connect both the Midland GMRS and Cobra CB (75sx) to the firestick. I know using both at the same time would be very bad, but was hoping to use one depending on the group I was with. CBs might finally be on their way out. More and more groups seems to like the FRS/GMRS setups.

Are you saying the GMRS won't work, or not work well on the Firestick? The Midland radio antenna is small, but not many places to put it.

Thanks for any advice, I am new to anything that is not CB. :)
It's not going to work. And is a bad idea. Talking about totally different frequencies and power output.

You can get different antenna's for your Midland.
 

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GPsGeeps, I just recieved the same unit and plan on the same basic installation. Can you tell/show me more about your L bracket for antenna mount? Thanks
Ok, so I only have this crappy cell phone pic. But it shows where the L bracket is mounted and where I ran the antenna cable into the cab. I did have a couple of minor issues with the bracket. One, the 3/4" hole was just a tad too small for the antenna. Spent a couple of minutes widening it with a dremel. Not a big deal there. And secondly, I had to space the bracket slightly away from the body so that there was enough room to screw the antenna on without it contacting the cowl piece. Don't pay attention to the little wrench in the pic. I was just testing how much space I needed. But you can just use some washers.

BTW, I should just mention that the L bracket, antenna, and cabling that I'm using don't come with the MXT275. I purchased all 3 of those on Amazon. You get a magnetic antenna/cable with the unit. I initially used that and had it mounted to my metal ditch light bracket and it worked well.

IMG_4319.JPG
 

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bbuck7777

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Ok, so I only have this crappy cell phone pic. But it shows where the L bracket is mounted and where I ran the antenna cable into the cab. I did have a couple of minor issues with the bracket. One, the 3/4" hole was just a tad too small for the antenna. Spent a couple of minutes widening it with a dremel. Not a big deal there. And secondly, I had to space the bracket slightly away from the body so that there was enough room to screw the antenna on without it contacting the cowl piece. Don't pay attention to the little wrench in the pic. I was just testing how much space I needed. But you can just use some washers.

BTW, I should just mention that the L bracket, antenna, and cabling that I'm using don't come with the MXT275. I purchased all 3 of those on Amazon. You get a magnetic antenna/cable with the unit. I initially used that and had it mounted to my metal ditch light bracket and it worked well.

IMG_4319.JPG
GPsGeeps,

Thanks! I bought the magnetic base and 3bd gain antenna with the MXT275 from Midland. The magnet base is pretty large and not even sure it will work on front bumper. I'm even thinking about the window mount. I would like something that I can remove easily and move to other vehicles. Thanks
 
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rustyshakelford

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GPsGeeps,

Thanks! I bought the magnetic base and 3bd gain antenna with the MXT275 from Midland. The magnet base is pretty large and not even sure it will work on front bumper. I'm even thinking about the window mount. I would like something that I can remove easily and move to other vehicles. Thanks
When we use ours, the top is off and we’re using the sun shade. We set the magnetic base on the top of the roll bar and run the wire down to the radio. Easy to move around and nothing permanent. Will more than likely do the L bracket once the rockhard cage comes in

Brett
 

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I took a pic of the new JeepUnique grab bar mic mount finally! Here it is. It works really well and hangs on tightly to the mic, even when bouncing around off-road! It sits next to the Uniden Bearcat CB.
d0FlrD3.jpg
 

JLUSoCal

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I took a pic of the new JeepUnique grab bar mic mount finally! Here it is. It works really well and hangs on tightly to the mic, even when bouncing around off-road! It sits next to the Uniden Bearcat CB.
d0FlrD3.jpg

Wait Dan you live or drive through in Danville - :like: Nice

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