GMRS Setups

[Tye]

Im looking at adding a GMRS setup and was wondering if such a setup exists.

Modularity to be able to do the following:
- output through stereo speaker (ie our vehicles center channel speaker not one of their own external speakers)
- capability to have a momentary latching switch you can push tied to an external mic for communicating rather than the old school coiled wire and transmitter that is hanging somewhere in the vehicle
- control screen that is not fixed to the body of the radio that can be mounted separate from the main housing to allow you to hide the main box

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[Imonamoose]

Never seen anything like that....

 

[projectbadlands]

A true UHF radio will be able to do most with the exception of tying in to your OE speakers since the audio signal will be powered from the radio itself rather than the vehicle's amplifies and module.

With that said, I have a kenwood in my zr2 and a Yaesu in the Bronco both with have the body of the radio hidden, the faceplate is visible on or near the dash and have external speakers I have set up where I hear the audio clearly.

 

[HotdogThud]

The first and second things are just a wiring thing and entirely dependent on how ambitious you are.

The third, to echo what @projectbadlands said, there's a few radios out there that fit the bill, the Midland MXT-575 and a few offerings from BTech also do it. lots of options if you're patient enough to hunt for them

 

[TEAMSLO]

- control screen that is not fixed to the body of the radio that can be mounted separate from the main housing to allow you to hide the main box

Midland MXT 575 has screen built into the handheld mic. Other detach type faces, there are options such as Wouxon, Yaesu, among others.

I believe there are externally mounted mic and push to talk kits, I just don't know enough about them as I haven't used them before. Might be something I look into.

 

[Bellime]

I did a Midlands MXT275. My stereo is the basic OEM so I had no center dash speaker thus I purchased a new upper section with the center speaker hole and the grill to snap in. I also got the external speaker from Midlands and removed the speaker from the plastic box.

taking apart the upper dash was easy then installing the new section, adding the external speaker.

I installed the MXT275 in the area above the glovebox with a self fabricated bracket was simple.

ran the power for the radio to the first auxiliary switch.

and lastly I ran the microphone extension through the dash up through the A-pillar to the auxiliary switch box and installed CAT6 feed through connector.

installed a magnetic mic block on the front edge of the Auxiliary box.

 

[Tye]

Thanks for sharing this is great. Almost all the way there for what im looking to do. I just need to figure out how to replace the handheld mic with a hidden push to talk option.

 

[Bellime]

Two other things to complete the install was the add of antenna extension and whip ran to the rear. The last was due to the package deal of the 2 handheld remotes with charging stand, they got a clip add to the bottom for easy mount on the rear edge of mic.

 

[JONNEE]

@Tye To remote the mic itself, that will take a bit of DIYing, but it can be done, like @HotdogThud suggests.

Most/all(?) hand mics have electret microphone units inside. Needs power from the radio to make them work. If you're skilled with soldering and hacking, you can get your hands on an aftermarket mic like for a PC (as long as it's got a audio plug on it, not a USB). The other thing you'll need is some sort of mechanical switch that will act as your PTT (push to talk) button. For that, you want a momentary switch, which remains closed only when you're pushing on it.

Depending on whether you have a foot or a hand free more often, for a spare left foot you could consider a floorboard mount PTT switch. If it's a hand, depending on which one is most available, placing a small high quality PTT momentary switch somewhere your hand is most often is fine. Very importantly, don't put a PTT switch where something might inadvertently rest against it and cause the radio to be jammed into transmitting continously. May also want an LED visible to you to indicate whether or not the radio is transmitting, just in case.

Now comes the fun part. Depending on the radio and cable connection from the mic, can either cut the existing mic cable and replace the internal PTT connection with your new external PTT switch, or open the existing hand mic case and do the rewiring there. Same with replacing the existing electret element in the hand mic with your new external mic.

Make sure to use shielded cable for both of the external devices, so that RF interference is less likely to get into the radio via these new connections. As well, use a couple of snap-on toroid RF filters on both cables to improve the probability that stray RF interference doesn't get back to the radio.

Me, I'd replace the entire existing hand mic assembly and cable with a custom cable that plugs into the radio using an identical connector, and has a little box at the end into which the new mic and ptt switch can be either plugged in or hard-wired. Then, dress the cables into the dash or wherever so that they're not visible. That way all the coilly-cord issues go away.

Issues you may face: the output level of the new mic may be greater or less than the existing mic element built into the hand mic. If greater, your voice may sound really distorted, like you turned an amplifier to 11 into cheap speakers. That can be fixed with a small 10 to 50 k ohm potentiometer. You'd have to adjust the pot to get acceptable audio quality. Hopefully, it's not the other way around where the new mic has a lower sensitivity than the existing mic. Another one is if the new PTT switch has three contacts on it; make sure to use the one that's NO or normally open.

In any event, good luck!

Cheers - Jon

 

[retiredarmymp]

I chose the Midland MXT 575 for the extra power but it’s larger size makes it difficult to hide. I found a great location on the firewall just to the left of the brake pedal arm. I purchased an extension cable from Amazon to run the mic mount to the center console by the charging pad. When I’m not using it, I can remove the mic and put it in the glove box so nothing can be seen. I just use the speaker in the main unit and it’s more than loud enough even though it’s mounted under the dash.

 

[B Miller]

I did a video on this topic recently. Maybe it will help you out:

 

[Catmandu]

I did a Midlands MXT275. My stereo is the basic OEM so I had no center dash speaker thus I purchased a new upper section with the center speaker hole and the grill to snap in. I also got the external speaker from Midlands and removed the speaker from the plastic box.

taking apart the upper dash was easy then installing the new section, adding the external speaker.

I installed the MXT275 in the area above the glovebox with a self fabricated bracket was simple.

ran the power for the radio to the first auxiliary switch.

and lastly I ran the microphone extension through the dash up through the A-pillar to the auxiliary switch box and installed CAT6 feed through connector.

installed a magnetic mic block on the front edge of the Auxiliary box.

Do you happen to remember the part number for the center dash section?

 

[Bellime]

Do you happen to remember the part number for the center dash section?

M2DZ-78044E82-DA M2DZ-18978AG​

Defroster Grille Grill center speaker​

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