Which handheld GMRS

R

R4D4R

Member
Looking to replace my ancient Moto Talkabouts. Went on a trip a few weeks ago and barely was able to get a mile between vehicles. Looking for something a little better. Ive read some reviews on the Midland GXT1000 and it has good performance, but the battery blows. Looking for a pair for around $100.
TIA
 
pugslyyy

pugslyyy

Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
I picked up a set of them (Midland GXT1000VP4) from Walmart recently. Was in a hurry and needed something right away. They work great.
 
R

R4D4R

Member
How is the battery life and charge time? That seems to be where most of the complaints come from. I'll be using it mostly in the jeep so one can be charged when under way. Does it have a charge cable for individual radios or just a cradle for them both? If I can drive with both plugged in, then the battery issue is moot
 
mep1811

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Back many years ago Radio Shack sold hand held GMRS radios with a full five watts of power. They were great. With an high gain external antenna and remote mike it was great. The antenna was a BMC so attaching an external antenna was easy.

There are some ham radios you can program the GMRS channels in it and you can get up to 8 watts . Currently the FRS/GMRS radios are limited to 2 watts.
 
osochuck

osochuck

New member
Out gxt1000 have had better range than expected, although we have not had to use for extended periods of time so can’t attest to how long last. But you can use regular batteries if needed.

We got a bundle package with a mobile unit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Red90

Red90

Adventurer
mep1811 said:
There are some ham radios you can program the GMRS channels in it and you can get up to 8 watts . Currently the FRS/GMRS radios are limited to 2 watts.
Click to expand...

A public forum is not really the correct place to encourage illegal radio use.

In any case, 2 Watts is the handheld limit for FRS. GMRS handhelds are allowed 5 Watts. The problem is that combination units must limit to 2 Watts and nobody wants to sell a GMRS only radio.
 
BigDaveZJ

BigDaveZJ

Adventurer
R4D4R said:
How is the battery life and charge time? That seems to be where most of the complaints come from. I'll be using it mostly in the jeep so one can be charged when under way. Does it have a charge cable for individual radios or just a cradle for them both? If I can drive with both plugged in, then the battery issue is moot
Click to expand...

Battery life on the pack that the GXT1000 comes with sucks. It's a 700 mah pack. I have probably 8 or 10 of the GXT1000s and on each one I just use rechargeable AAs and get days of use out of them. They're around 2100mah I believe. The OEM pack would be dead after a day of moderate use, and I loaned a GXT1000 with AAs to a buddy of mine for our sole means of comms in Moab for 3 days and it still had juice when he gave it back to me at the end of the trip. I have an 8 AA battery charger that plugs into a USB port that I use, charges them back up overnight just fine, but I also always have a spare set of 8 batteries ready to go.

Trying to tx from inside a vehicle is going to limit your range quite a bit too. With mediocre to perfect LOS (line of sight) I've been anywhere from 20-30 miles with my GXT1000s. On trails, in canyons and such, it drops quite a bit, but always works enough for me on the trail. I have MXT275s mounted in both our Jeeps, and then I'll grab a GXT1000 when I get out to spot too.
 
mep1811

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Red90 said:
A public forum is not really the correct place to encourage illegal radio use.

In any case, 2 Watts is the handheld limit for FRS. GMRS handhelds are allowed 5 Watts. The problem is that combination units must limit to 2 Watts and nobody wants to sell a GMRS only radio.
Click to expand...

I was not encouraging illegal radio use. Just stating a fact. Like, there are cars that can go faster than the speed limit. Not encouraging speeding just stating a fact.
 
R

R4D4R

Member
BigDaveZJ said:
Battery life on the pack that the GXT1000 comes with sucks. It's a 700 mah pack. I have probably 8 or 10 of the GXT1000s and on each one I just use rechargeable AAs and get days of use out of them. They're around 2100mah I believe. The OEM pack would be dead after a day of moderate use, and I loaned a GXT1000 with AAs to a buddy of mine for our sole means of comms in Moab for 3 days and it still had juice when he gave it back to me at the end of the trip. I have an 8 AA battery charger that plugs into a USB port that I use, charges them back up overnight just fine, but I also always have a spare set of 8 batteries ready to go.



Trying to tx from inside a vehicle is going to limit your range quite a bit too. With mediocre to perfect LOS (line of sight) I've been anywhere from 20-30 miles with my GXT1000s. On trails, in canyons and such, it drops quite a bit, but always works enough for me on the trail. I have MXT275s mounted in both our Jeeps, and then I'll grab a GXT1000 when I get out to spot too.
Click to expand...

Perfect. That's what I wanted to hear. Looks like a decent work around. Ideally it would be about a mile or three on the trail in a convoy. Alternatively, I want this for my daughter so she can have some comms on her bike in the neighborhood to home. Right now we can get at best .75 mile before it's totally lost signal with the old set. Our hood is only max 1.5 miles at it's furthest to home.
 
BigDaveZJ

BigDaveZJ

Adventurer
R4D4R said:
Perfect. That's what I wanted to hear. Looks like a decent work around. Ideally it would be about a mile or three on the trail in a convoy. Alternatively, I want this for my daughter so she can have some comms on her bike in the neighborhood to home. Right now we can get at best .75 mile before it's totally lost signal with the old set. Our hood is only max 1.5 miles at it's furthest to home.
Click to expand...

We max out around 1.5-2 miles in our neighborhood between HTs. Tall trees, relatively dense houses, and pretty hilly. The GXT1000s can transmit at 5 watts as well, but I prefer their form factor and ease of use over some of the other radios posted so far for what it sounds like you're looking for. I added a radio in my house too with an antenna on the roof, greatly extends local range with HTs. These radios rely heavily on LOS, and even moving short distances can greatly impact your range, for better or worse.

For the Jeeps too, it's really easy to temporarily mount an MXT275 with a mag mount antenna.
 
N

NOTNSUV

Member
R4D4R said:
How is the battery life and charge time? That seems to be where most of the complaints come from. I'll be using it mostly in the jeep so one can be charged when under way. Does it have a charge cable for individual radios or just a cradle for them both? If I can drive with both plugged in, then the battery issue is moot
Click to expand...

I have 2 of the Wouxun 805G GMRS radios. Receiver is much more 'sensitive' than most. They work quite well, good battery life, interchangeable antennas and functions are programmable, including GMRS repeaters with either cable/software or from the front panel/keypad.

Wouxun KG-805G GMRS Two Way Radio

The Wouxun KG-805G is the radio that professional GMRS users have been waiting for. It's a true business quality radio designed with the needs of the GMRS power user in mind!
www.buytwowayradios.com www.buytwowayradios.com

Also check out for lots of real world information.
https://mygmrs.com/

I'll be installing a Kenwood TK-8180 25w mobile with 1/4 wave NMO mount antenna on the roof of my XJ and hand out HT to my co-cruisers.

Used-Radios.com

World's largest supplier of pre-owned two way radios. 30 day no hassle warranty. Join thousands of satisfied customers nationwide. Over 50,000 radios in stock. Infrastructure Systems. Call Us 720-459-7557. Shop Mobile Radios. Two-Way Radio Portables.
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