GMRS Radio

[ACESTABLES]

Hey all,

New to GMRS and looking to get a unit for my bronco. Wondering if people could share their opinion on the Rugged Radio GMR45 vs the Midland MXT575. For both I’ll be using the associated Stealth antenna. The Midland is about $150 more with accessories, however, the stealth antenna appears to be more powerful and the handheld mic has all the radio controls allowing me to mount the head unit in a hidden location. Of course the Midland is also more powerful. I have no experience with GMRS radios, in your experience is the extra cost worth it? I’ll be using it to talk car-car on overlanding trips and in case of emergency, however,
I’ll also have a Garmin InReach if needed.

Thank you!

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[BroncoTrail]

I am no radio expert but I went with Midland. Got three radios for $99.99 and they worked perfectly during Bronco Safari.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CTBHCWS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Midland is about $150 more with accessories, however, the stealth antenna appears to be more powerful and the handheld mic has all the radio controls allowing me to mount the head unit in a hidden location. Of course the Midland is also more powerful. I have no experience with GMRS radios, in your experience is the extra cost worth it?

I'd say yes.

 

[Bmadda]

One thing I learned about GMRS and wheeling at Bronco safari is its good to have a mobile install AND a handheld. If you wana get out and spot, you got your handheld. If you have somebody in your group who has no radio, or has a problem w/theirs, easy just to loan em the handheld. I have mxt575, and its a very powerful radio, and easy to use. Easy to mount hidden, and remove mic when not in use for an uncluttered dash. Yes to a certain degree you are paying for the name, but I feel I got what I was paying for, and would buy again. One warning...the mic cable extension is proprietary to Midland. Regular cat 6 cables don't work (didn't for me anyway...if anybody knows how to make em work, leme know!)

 

[ACESTABLES]

@Bmadda thanks very much I’m gonna go with the midland. Did you do the stealth antenna and do you have any issues with range?

 

[ACESTABLES]

@BroncoTrail thanks, I’m definitely going to get handhelds as well for times when I’m out of the vehicle!

 

[Arrowbear Rider]

Question, what frequencies were we using at the Safari? I was all ready to buy a set of radios and I'm learning different groups use different radios and frequencies. It seems that one group I went out with, and maybe the Bronco Safari used preset channels in the 400Mhz-520Mhz range and SoCal Broncos (Big Bear Bash) uses the lower racing frequencies down 136Mhz-174Mhz. If I'm correct????

If true I should get a dual channel radio like this:

BAOFENG BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF & 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery.

Or

BaoFeng UV-82HP (Blue) High Power Dual Band Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF) 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) Portable Two-Way

The first one has a bigger battery and the other is blue (maybe newer) and has three different settings for power level, 1, 5, or 7/8 watts.

 

[UtahBrandon]

There's a bunch of threads here, and I think the MX275 and MX575 follow pretty much the same install. Here's my MX275 install.

I just upgraded my stock antenna to the Midland 6db antenna for Bronco Safari and it performed so much better than the standard. Highly recommended.

 

[BroncoTrail]

Question, what frequencies were we using at the Safari? I was all ready to buy a set of radios and I'm learning different groups use different radios and frequencies. It seems that one group I went out with, and maybe the Bronco Safari used preset channels in the 400Mhz-520Mhz range and SoCal Broncos (Big Bear Bash) uses the lower racing frequencies down 136Mhz-174Mhz. If I'm correct????

If true I should get a dual channel radio like this:

BAOFENG BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF & 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery.

Or

BaoFeng UV-82HP (Blue) High Power Dual Band Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF) 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) Portable Two-Way

The first one has a bigger battery and the other is blue (maybe newer) and has three different settings for power level, 1, 5, or 7/8 watts.

If you get the Midland GMRS radios that I linked above, you won't need to worry about any of those silly frequencies. The trail leader will just tell you what channel to get on and then you're set....... just sayin'!!

 

[@BadBlueBronco]

I have the midland with the stealth antenna and I love it. Midland also has great customer service and replaced my unit once, it got lost in mail so they sent me another one. Both ended up showing up and they said I could keep the extra one.

 

[Combustion_King]

i have 2 Midland GxT1000 or something like that, i will give one out if need be, but they work great, multiple channel and feature. Range for what ive done is fine.

 

[Bmadda]

@Bmadda thanks very much I’m gonna go with the midland. Did you do the stealth antenna and do you have any issues with range?

I have the 6db full size antenna. I can hit repeaters 25 miles away with perfect clarity. For simplex in a trail group, its way more than needed. Haven't tried the 3db ghost yet, but hear it works well. Not sure what "stealth" is. The 2db magnet mount is pretty useless on a Bronco, cause there's not much a magnet sticks to on a 6g Bronco. I used the passenger side ditch light mount and low profile NMO cable. I went through the firewall grommet underneath the coolant reservoir (was a little tough pushing the coax through, but can be done)

 

[EOSeabee]

I went with the MX575. In my opinion and experience, you want the farthest reaching radio you can get. Stuff happens out on the trail, and you may need that extra power to get help. Hand-helds are great, but limited in range.
I installed it with the Mountains to Metal hidden mount above the glove box. Works great.

 

[BroncoA512021]

Hey all,

New to GMRS and looking to get a unit for my bronco. Wondering if people could share their opinion on the Rugged Radio GMR45 vs the Midland MXT575. For both I’ll be using the associated Stealth antenna. The Midland is about $150 more with accessories, however, the stealth antenna appears to be more powerful and the handheld mic has all the radio controls allowing me to mount the head unit in a hidden location. Of course the Midland is also more powerful. I have no experience with GMRS radios, in your experience is the extra cost worth it? I’ll be using it to talk car-car on overlanding trips and in case of emergency, however,
I’ll also have a Garmin InReach if needed.

Thank you!

My LI FB group has a Midland discount code -feel free to use it: LongBeach15

 

[Gypsyjon]

@BroncoTrail thanks, I’m definitely going to get handhelds as well for times when I’m out of the vehicle!

Just an FYI, GMRS radios operate on line of sight. Thus the taller your antenna, the more range you will have.

 

[JackFlack]

I believe that you need both a mobile (permanently installed) radio and a handheld. I own the Wouxon KG1000G radio ( Wouxun KG-1000G Plus GMRS Base/Mobile Two Way Radio (buytwowayradios.com)). With a reasonable antenna, the 50W really reaches out and in my opinion, in an emergency, you want as much power as possible. We also own two KG905G handhelds ( Wouxun KG-905G GMRS Two-Radio Value Pack (buytwowayradios.com) ) that we use when hiking, when one of us leaves camp, when we RV, and so forth.

I like GMRS radios, since when you travel with others that don't have a radio, you can hand them an inexpensive FRS radio ( Amazon.com: Midland - X-TALKER T51VP3, 22 Channel FRS Two-Way Radio - Extended Range Walkie Talkies, 38 Privacy Codes, NOAA Weather Alert (Pair Pack) (Black/Orange) : Electronics ) and they can talk to each other. The FRS radios are very limited in range/power (doesn't matter if they say "high power" or "long range", they are still limited to 1/2W). Any FRS radio doesn't need a license.

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