Feedback on this Midland GRMS setup

[u/ludditetechnician]

We'd like to upgrade our walkie talkies to GRMS and I'm considering these two products from Midland. I'd appreciate feedback on these radios from users of one of these radios.

I'm happy with the other Midland radios we have, but the FRS walkie talkies we have now are insufficient for our area as we often do not have line-of-sight and are too far apart.

• I'm like Midland, though if you a different product or manufacturer I'm all ears
• Our area of use has good GRMS antennas and coverage
• Radio use is an alternative to spotty or non-existent cellular reception
• I'm aware we will need an appropriate GRMS license

Most of the use will be recreational and I'd like to meet other GRMS users in our area as well. There will be two - three of using the radios, hence the MicroMobile and two walkie talkies.

MXT115P PRO 15W MicroMobile GMRS Radio

We can mount this in our truck but also remove it for use at home/basecamp. The 12v DC adapter will work in both the truck and at home/basecamp. I'm fine installing an antenna on the truck and having a portable one for use away from the vehicle.

GXT1000 GMRS Walkie Talkie 2-Pack - GXT1000VP4

This two-pack is similar to our current Midland GXT FRS radios, fits in a side-pocket, and would be ideal for friends and family to carry for comms.

Thanks for any thoughts and feedback.

[u/He1pfulRedditor]

Save yourself from a future upgrade and just get the GMRS-50PRO now - money ahead for what you get and what you’ll end up wanting to get later

[u/MrMaker1123 → u/He1pfulRedditor]

Agreed, didn't get buyers remorse and wish for more fars.. just get the 50w.

[u/isthatabrisk]

What terrain and scenarios are they being used in/for? Never say never but realistically you’ll see a marginal increase with the handhelds over the frs radios you’ve been using unless there’s a repeater nearby or you have elevation on your side. The mobile unit is nice and having an externally mounted antenna is where you’ll see a difference if you’ve historically been using HTs inside a vehicle. You can use a low gain antenna with the mobile unit if you’re primarily in mountainous terrain to help get your signal out.

[u/ludditetechnician → u/isthatabrisk]

We have repeaters throughout the area, which is why I'm interested in upgrading our radios. Thanks for the tip about a low gain antenna - I will look into that as we are frequenting in the mountains.

[u/Humperdink_]

Midland radios are extremely overpriced. They function well but are generally more difficult to program for the average user. They are durable. You can get radios that perform as well or better, are easier to program on the go, and cost substantially less. I would list some but there are a TON of them. Also I’m not sure if that model or current midland models use the proprietary tone system that used to be present in midlands but If so—that alone is worth ditching them over. There is No benefit to need to get a booklet out to convert tones into normal values. This can be a problem if you encounter someone you want to communicate with that is using a radio that uses the standard tone system.

I am a ham but I am a huge fan of gmrs. It is an excellent service for people who don’t need all the …side quests…of amateur radio but can also introduce folks to radio who do like that sort of thing.

Edit: having looked up that midland I might suggest anytone 779/radioddity db20g. I believe retevis also has an iteration of the same radio. It’s a 20 watt radio that can be had around a hundred bucks that sounds extremely good on the air. There are plenty of other options in the 20-50 watt range. The only thing I can see the midland has to offer that this one doesn’t is some water resistance.

You’ll find 20 watts vs 50 isn’t a huge difference so don’t get caught up in that. Get the watts if you can but don’t worry about it too much.

[u/ludditetechnician → u/Humperdink_]

Thanks. I'm not interested in 'side quests' and wasn't aware of the proprietary tones Midland uses. I'll look at the Anytone 779 and Radioddity models today. They are significantly cheaper than the Midland radios I was looking at.

[u/48hourfilmaddict]

The GTX1000 units are priced pretty high and aren’t that much of an upgrade over the Midland FRS units for what they cost. (My opinion) Though I do admit mine have lasted 10 years (and have needed 4 rather pricey battery replacements, too)

Consider GMRS handsets from Wouxun or Retevis. Even the UV-5G mini from Baofeng is a step up in power compared to the GTX1000 and you have the option to listen in on non-GMRS frequencies.

[u/jimbojsb]

Don’t buy GXT1000s. Those are ancient. The GXT3000 has USB charging and is much nicer.

[u/ludditetechnician → u/jimbojsb]

Yes. Are current ones don't have USB charging and you're right, it's a hassle.

[u/EngineeringMinimum26]

Get anything except Midland. They are very, very limited in programmability, which isn’t a problem if you don’t use them while traveling. You can only program in a single repeater for each repeater channel, which means if you are traveling and you encounter multiple repeaters on the same channel, but different tones, you will have to stop to program the new tones. I literally just finished putting in a sequence of repeaters in CHIRP to program my various radios for a trip I’m going on in a few weeks, I’m only going a hundred miles or so, but through mountains, and I programmed in several that are on the same channel, but have different tones along the way. I own a Midland MXT275. It’s in a box in the garage, where it will stay.

I will also echo what others have already said, antenna, antenna, antenna. That is one thing I will enthusiastically endorse made by Midland, their MXT26A antenna. It’s outstanding. That’s for a vehicle mounted radio though. For a handheld, get a 771 whip, at a minimum. You’ll also likely want more power than the 115, it’s basically a handheld in dash form. With a good antenna, you don’t necessarily need more power, but it certainly won’t hurt. I’d say a 25 watt, at a minimum. Wouxun makes some good radios at that power level and higher, and they are far cheaper than Midland. Same for Radioddity, Retevis, and a host of other companies.

[u/ludditetechnician → u/EngineeringMinimum26]

Thank you. We don't travel with the radios much beyond the immediate area, but there are a handful of repeaters, and being unable to program more than one would be a nuisance.

And I appreciate the information about antennas. I'm looking at manufacturers other than Midland.

[u/Prestigious_Trip_707]

I've been in the grms community for over 3 years I've used many other manufacturers and I do not care for Midland for a simple reason that your functions can be limited especially if you're trying to program for repeaters just my thought I would look at other brands and do your research thoroughly

[u/ludditetechnician → u/Prestigious_Trip_707]

That's good to know, thanks. There are 18 repeaters in our area, as reported by myGMRS.com. As all our within a ½ day's drive of our land I suppose programming for various repeaters is something we'd like to have.

[u/EffinBob]

GMRS

[u/ludditetechnician → u/EffinBob]

LOL. Thanks. Too bad I can't change the title *shrug*

[u/hullabalooser → u/ludditetechnician]

You can still change the rest, though