my experience with GMRS so far

[Billoftt]

I would recommend using shielded Cat6 cable for the microphone. Cat5 “may” let in a bit of noise depending on what’s around the cable to make noise.

What I DO know be an irrefutable fact is that it is quite annoying to buy a Cat5 cable, various panels in your vehicle to install it only to find noise on it and have to rip it out, buy a Cat6 cable and put that in.


Sent by electrons or some crap like that.

 

[Thinman]

Glad this got bumped. Started poking around and hit the Midland site....

25% off across the board. Grabbing an MXT275 for $112, free ground shipping.

 

[reaver]

Glad this got bumped. Started poking around and hit the Midland site....

25% off across the board. Grabbing an MXT275 for $112, free ground shipping.

Me too. I've been eyeing them for a while, and the 25% off made it too good to pass up.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Good info on the Cat6, I don't keep up on that stuff at all. Should make for stealthier installs when I get around to doing it a little more permanently in my truck.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

I'm finding myself wanting more than my Midlands can provide . . . mainly access to the repeaters along the Front Range that the Midlands are not compatible with as they cannot do "split codes." Debating between sticking with my Midland stuff as it serves most of its purpose well and getting Ham too, or upgrading some of my GMRS equipment to Kenwood/Motorola/Icom/etc. I've got 4 mobile units and 2 handhelds from Midland already, so I think I'll just stick with them and start working on Ham and really taking advantage of repeaters and higher powers.

 

[MidlandUSA]

I'm finding myself wanting more than my Midlands can provide . . . mainly access to the repeaters along the Front Range that the Midlands are not compatible with as they cannot do "split codes." Debating between sticking with my Midland stuff as it serves most of its purpose well and getting Ham too, or upgrading some of my GMRS equipment to Kenwood/Motorola/Icom/etc. I've got 4 mobile units and 2 handhelds from Midland already, so I think I'll just stick with them and start working on Ham and really taking advantage of repeaters and higher powers.

We are aware of the split tone issue with the current models. Our 50 Watt MicroMobile with the MXT275 style mic will have the split tone capabilities. We are looking at a late 2020 launch date.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

We are aware of the split tone issue with the current models. Our 50 Watt MicroMobile with the MXT275 style mic will have the split tone capabilities. We are looking at a late 2020 launch date.

Good to know, thanks for the info! Hadn't heard about this unit coming out, but I will definitely be looking forward to it as I still need to purchase a couple more units and really like the MXT275 style mic where I can remote mount the radio. Will there be any handhelds coming out that work with split tones?

 

[MidlandUSA]

At this time Midland does not manufacture any handheld radios that are repeater capable. It is on our roadmap but no timetable has been set on a release date.

 

[phsycle]

Are most of you guys running the stock antenna or did you upgrade? I am thinking of picking up a MXT275 and deciding between the MXTA26 (32” whip) or MXTA25 (Ghost antenna which is something like 3” tall). Assuming the 32” whip will get me the most range but I like the low profile of the Ghost antenna when going through the brush. As long as it performs decent.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Been playing around with ground plane some more. A buddy of mine 3.5 miles away picked up some GMRS units to use on Boy Scout trips, so we've been testing out our setups. There's a pretty substantial hill in between us, definitely no line of sight. With the antenna on my camper I can't pick him up, but the same antenna on the roof of my Jeep, even at a lower height, works perfectly. So I ordered a ground plane kit for the camper and hope to install it this weekend. Also considering a J pole for the house, but would prefer to not mount it outside. I have solar panels on the roof, and aluminum siding, so I might just deal with it being on the roof. If the ground plane kit shows a marked improvement though, that is much more discrete than a J pole and I'd likely go that route.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Are most of you guys running the stock antenna or did you upgrade? I am thinking of picking up a MXT275 and deciding between the MXTA26 (32” whip) or MXTA25 (Ghost antenna which is something like 3” tall). Assuming the 32” whip will get me the most range but I like the low profile of the Ghost antenna when going through the brush. As long as it performs decent.

I've used all 3 styles and noticed a decent improvement going from the stock little mag mount up to the whips. I don't have the 32", but the older Midland whip, and it has been working great for me. I should have tried the ghost antenna (again, not Midlands, got a Browning before Midland released theirs) when testing yesterday.

 

[dreadlocks]

There's a guy on ebay who will custom tune you a GMRS J-Pole ladder, I bought one from him long ago and it worked great for my inital repeater testing:

Walkie Talkie & Two-Way Antennas for sale | eBay

Great deals on Walkie Talkie & Two-Way Antennas. Be prepared and able to communicate in case of emergency with the largest selection at eBay.com. Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

 

[reaver]

Good info on the Cat6, I don't keep up on that stuff at all. Should make for stealthier installs when I get around to doing it a little more permanently in my truck.

I actually did the remote mount, and a dash mounted jack for the mic. I used shielded cat6, and mounted the unit underneath the center console in my Xterra. I goofed on where to drill the hole, and had to move it over, but I'm still happy with the result.

 

[Billoftt]

Here’s a gentleman that makes j-pole and slim-jim’s. He cuts them to GMRS.

UHF 440-470 MHz Slim Jim Antenna - KB9VBR Antennas

Are you looking for a UHF omni antenna with a little more gain? Our UHF Slim Jim Antenna delivers up to 6dbi of gain on the 440 - 470 Mhz UHF bands, which is almost twice the gain of a J-Pole and 5 times the gain of a 1/4 wave ground-plane antenna. Plus the antenna also have the great low noise...

www.jpole-antenna.com

Sent by electrons or some crap like that.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Here’s a gentleman that makes j-pole and slim-jim’s. He cuts them to GMRS.

UHF 440-470 MHz Slim Jim Antenna - KB9VBR Antennas

Are you looking for a UHF omni antenna with a little more gain? Our UHF Slim Jim Antenna delivers up to 6dbi of gain on the 440 - 470 Mhz UHF bands, which is almost twice the gain of a J-Pole and 5 times the gain of a 1/4 wave ground-plane antenna. Plus the antenna also have the great low noise...

www.jpole-antenna.com

Sent by electrons or some crap like that.

That's exactly who I intended on using, but I hadn't seen that model. Thanks!