From the Mountain West, East, and OAS (Jay, OK) shows, I am looking to add a good mobile GMRS radio to my 70cm/2m Ham unit for friends who are not HAMs.
I like the layout and basic features of the GME brand GMRS radios, but I don't know a lot about other brands beyond junk adverts and show booths with various GMRS radios bragging about power, mainly with some questionable weather ratings, along with larger sizes and harder vehicle placements.
While 5W of power isn't much, with a good antenna, I don't think 25W or 50W would be super beneficial to me in most use cases as I only have 2.5W hand helds to loan out. Being more Line-of-Sight and broadcast power not being linear in terms of range, it also limits the value of high broadcast powers and the extra heat and physical size of the units under consideration when comparing the GME units to others.
So, what do the more experienced have to say about modern vehicle-based GMRS radio options? I am looking for an easy install, with reasonable power draw, reasonable heat generation, and a remote mount of the base unit with mic control of everything. Cellphone app integration is something I don't see myself using, but I am open to other views and reasons why I might want to link the radio to my cellphone.
The GME thread in this forum suggests that the overall feature integration and layout are good, with a buggy app that will obviously get better over time. What this lacks, though, is a good overview comparing it to other mobile GMRS options that compete against it in similar price ranges. Australian outback testing and use suggest it is likely one of the better options today.
TIA,
Sid
I like the layout and basic features of the GME brand GMRS radios, but I don't know a lot about other brands beyond junk adverts and show booths with various GMRS radios bragging about power, mainly with some questionable weather ratings, along with larger sizes and harder vehicle placements.
While 5W of power isn't much, with a good antenna, I don't think 25W or 50W would be super beneficial to me in most use cases as I only have 2.5W hand helds to loan out. Being more Line-of-Sight and broadcast power not being linear in terms of range, it also limits the value of high broadcast powers and the extra heat and physical size of the units under consideration when comparing the GME units to others.
So, what do the more experienced have to say about modern vehicle-based GMRS radio options? I am looking for an easy install, with reasonable power draw, reasonable heat generation, and a remote mount of the base unit with mic control of everything. Cellphone app integration is something I don't see myself using, but I am open to other views and reasons why I might want to link the radio to my cellphone.
The GME thread in this forum suggests that the overall feature integration and layout are good, with a buggy app that will obviously get better over time. What this lacks, though, is a good overview comparing it to other mobile GMRS options that compete against it in similar price ranges. Australian outback testing and use suggest it is likely one of the better options today.
TIA,
Sid
