Midland MXT100 GMRS Mini Review

BigSwede

The Credible Hulk
.
IMO the "barrier to entry" in HAM is not the cost or difficulty of the test (as you've pointed out, costs are not high and anyone of reasonable intelligence can pass the test) it's the complexity of most HAM equipment. Even for a relatively "simple" radio like my Yaesu FT-50 (purchased off of CL for about $75) the process of selecting a frequency and setting the radio up for simplex operation can be headache inducing. The GMRS radio described in this post is just the opposite: Turn it on, select a channel and start talking.
It is easy to get bewildered by the technobabble of ham hobbyists, but if you ignore all that and just "select a frequency and start talking" you have nearly the same simplicity. Most of the ham users in our club don't do anything more than that, we just use 2M for trail comms. In fact I've never even used a repeater.
 

BigSwede

The Credible Hulk
I think we've pushed ham on people who (I believe) are smart enough to get this but just don't want to bother. Why should they? They just want to push the button and talk to someone. I get it. The overland/OHV/adventure hams probably should have pushed for GMRS instead but it came naturally to us and we didn't think it wouldn't for anyone else.

Truth!

If our club was still using CB I might be tempted to get us to change to GMRS, but the greater power/range of ham is still useful to us.
 

dstock

Explorer
Not exactly on topic, but I fired up my 2M Baofeng handheld that I purchased on sale at Amazon awhile back just to see what I could hear, and to further inspire me to study for the test. I've heard very little at our home near Los Angeles, so I thought I would have better luck at our cabin in the mountains above LA. Sure enough, picked up some conversations immediately and man was I disappointed! It was just as bad as some of the conversations on CB radio, F-bombs being dropped left and right, arguing over use of some repeater, goofy mic sound effects, etc. I guess I had it in my head that because it's regulated and licensed that the decorum would be better. Granted this is my first experience listening in on Ham, and I know there are bad apples everywhere, but seriously?? Glad my kids didn't happen to be around!
 

BigSwede

The Credible Hulk
I haven't done a lot of listening, but like you I was testing out a handheld I bought recently and listened to a local repeater for while... it was entirely civil, didn't hear any cussing at all, just some really boring conversations. But I have heard 2M is getting to be pretty CB-like in some areas.
 

dstock

Explorer
I haven't done a lot of listening, but like you I was testing out a handheld I bought recently and listened to a local repeater for while... it was entirely civil, didn't hear any cussing at all, just some really boring conversations. But I have heard 2M is getting to be pretty CB-like in some areas.

For a second I thought I'd grabbed my handheld CB and turned it on to Ch.19! As a contrast, we used GMRS radios from Los Angeles to Colorado and never heard anyone else on our channel.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
That is sad to hear, I've come across some questionable practices on HF a couple of times but in my ham experience (about 14 years now) has usually been supportive and courteous.
 

aearles

Observer
Not exactly on topic, but I fired up my 2M Baofeng handheld that I purchased on sale at Amazon awhile back just to see what I could hear, and to further inspire me to study for the test. I've heard very little at our home near Los Angeles, so I thought I would have better luck at our cabin in the mountains above LA. Sure enough, picked up some conversations immediately and man was I disappointed! It was just as bad as some of the conversations on CB radio, F-bombs being dropped left and right, arguing over use of some repeater, goofy mic sound effects, etc. I guess I had it in my head that because it's regulated and licensed that the decorum would be better. Granted this is my first experience listening in on Ham, and I know there are bad apples everywhere, but seriously?? Glad my kids didn't happen to be around!

I'm going to guess that what you were hearing was the 147.435 repeater (https://your435.com/). I'd heard about it before traveling to CA but ran into it by accident while in the area because it's on a frequency that's typically allocated for simplex. I was disappointed by what I heard from that repeater as well, and it's coverage area is huge so I had to lock out the frequency from my memory scan because it's always active (and annoying).

All I'm getting at is that the 435 repeater is not indicative of any the behavior/discussion typical on any other repeater I've tuned into nationwide. It's users are breaking the rules, and it's controversial but tolerated I guess. Don't let (what I'm guessing was) one repeater dissuade you from getting involved in the hobby.
 

dstock

Explorer
.
IMO the "barrier to entry" in HAM is not the cost or difficulty of the test (as you've pointed out, costs are not high and anyone of reasonable intelligence can pass the test) it's the complexity of most HAM equipment. Even for a relatively "simple" radio like my Yaesu FT-50 (purchased off of CL for about $75) the process of selecting a frequency and setting the radio up for simplex operation can be headache inducing. The GMRS radio described in this post is just the opposite: Turn it on, select a channel and start talking.
.

.
That's the thing about communications - it takes two (or more) to tango. ;) The best radio in the world is a paperweight if there's nobody to talk to on the other end.

Can't agree more with this, while it won't dissuade me from getting into Ham radio, the GMRS ends up being the go to on the trail for ease of use. I have 4 of the handheld GMRS bubble pack radios and because we hit the trails with a variety of experienced and inexperienced overlanders, they have become the go to radio for trail comms. Some may have their own, or only CB, or nothing at all. So easy to just hand them a radio with the channel locked to a frequency they can push the button and start talking. We don't separate that far apart on the trail that range becomes an issue.

There is something to be said for simplicity!
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Can't agree more with this, while it won't dissuade me from getting into Ham radio, the GMRS ends up being the go to on the trail for ease of use. I have 4 of the handheld GMRS bubble pack radios and because we hit the trails with a variety of experienced and inexperienced overlanders, they have become the go to radio for trail comms. Some may have their own, or only CB, or nothing at all. So easy to just hand them a radio with the channel locked to a frequency they can push the button and start talking.
As a ham it seems to me that getting a GMRS license and handing out GMRS handhelds makes the most sense as a single radio install in your vehicle. If you use a Part 95 commercial or business radio that can cover 420 to 470MHz you can also use this on 70cm ham. So you don't actually need two different radios to act as defacto net controller. Plus anyone else with a 70cm ham radio with wide band receive can hear the GMRS stations to stay partially in the loop.
 

dstock

Explorer
As a ham it seems to me that getting a GMRS license and handing out GMRS handhelds makes the most sense as a single radio install in your vehicle. If you use a Part 95 commercial or business radio that can cover 420 to 470MHz you can also use this on 70cm ham. So you don't actually need two different radios to act as defacto net controller. Plus anyone else with a 70cm ham radio with wide band receive can hear the GMRS stations to stay partially in the loop.

Been considering that option as well, I should probably start a new thread so I don't clog up this one. I'll link it once it's created.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Been considering that option as well, I should probably start a new thread so I don't clog up this one. I'll link it once it's created.
Roger. I think there are two main issues with this. First finding a Part 95 approved surplus (or new) radio that can be programmed to transmit out of band relative to it's approval (e.g. within the ham bands, which a GMRS radio may not do) and just generally finding something that can cover this range.

The Part 90 business radios are easy to find that cover 403-470 but their legality on GMRS seems to be vague and relies upon a fairly liberal interpretation of the phase "All station equipment in a GMRS system must comply with the technical rules in Part 95".

You can pretty much use whatever you want within the ham band and as long as you don't modify it (which to me means not breaking the radio open) should retain original type acceptance.

There are obviously some, the Baefong, etc. So it's possible to stay within the spirit and letter of the law. But it would be nice to have Motorola, Vertex, Kenwood, Midland radios to choose from, too.
 
Last edited:

dstock

Explorer
Roger. I think there are two main issues with this. First finding a Part 95 approved surplus (or new) radio that can be programmed to transmit out of band relative to it's approval (e.g. within the ham bands, which a GMRS radio may not do) and just generally finding something that can cover this range.

The Part 90 business radios are easy to find that cover 403-470 but their legality on GMRS seems to be vague and relies upon a fairly liberal interpretation of the phase "All station equipment in a GMRS system must comply with the technical rules in Part 95".

You can pretty much use whatever you want within the ham band and as long as you don't modify it (which to me means not breaking the radio open) should retain original type acceptance.

There are obviously some, the Baefong, etc. So it's possible to stay within the spirit and letter of the law. But it would be nice to have Motorola, Vertex, Kenwood, Midland radios to choose from, too.

Agreed and this is what I have been finding as well in my initial research, especially since I want a true mobile base station vs a handheld which is what keeps bringing me back to the MXT100. It's basically plug and play although I would add a permanently mounted antenna. No need to mess around with programming, etc. and it's reasonably priced in my opinion.

I wish there were more options, maybe there will be in the future if the MXT100 takes off in popularity. Eventually when time allows I will get licensed for Ham, it's just not a need/priority at the moment for me.
 

msoverland

Member
Agreed and this is what I have been finding as well in my initial research, especially since I want a true mobile base station vs a handheld which is what keeps bringing me back to the MXT100. It's basically plug and play although I would add a permanently mounted antenna. No need to mess around with programming, etc. and it's reasonably priced in my opinion.

I wish there were more options, maybe there will be in the future if the MXT100 takes off in popularity. Eventually when time allows I will get licensed for Ham, it's just not a need/priority at the moment for me.

Stay tuned! I hear the MXT series is going to deliver a lot more power this year.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,584
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top