Super Clean GMRS Radio Install!

[Bo-Ronco]

I was told to get the ghost cause the long whip can be pretty dangerous when off roading. Damn...

Dangerous how?

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[Hannaboy78]

I dunno. I could see them doing some damage to paint and windows on a rough trail but I guess if your not sitting next to it it won't whip you.

 

[Bird Dog Off Road]

Ghost antennas are fine for most people’s needs. I’ve used one on my old 4Runner and now my Bronco without issues.

 

[Nick72]

So Midland got back to me....

"I am very sorry , at this time there is no menu option or programming to allow the MXT275 or the MXT575 to automatically power on."

well that is super helpful and totally explains why mine stays off but Blaylock's comes on.

I Think Ill start a pole and ask the forum. Maybe Blaylock's the odd ball

My 575 will power up when I turn on the Aux switch it's connected to.
For clarity, I initially turned the radio on with the power button on the mic and haven't touched it since.

 

[da_jokker]

My 575 will power up when I turn on the Aux switch it's connected to.
For clarity, I initially turned the radio on with the power button on the mic and haven't touched it since.

Yeah I'm dumbfounded, especially with Midland responding how they did. What they say matches with my experience with my MTX275, but clearly others have something else going on that Midland claims is impossible.

By all rights, if my radio is on and I turn off my ignition, which kills power to my cigarette lighter, when I turn the jeep back on, it should power on and it does not.

Oh well, not the end of the road. Eventually I'm going to wire this up to some sort of toggle switch directly off the battery and be done with it

 

[Bronco21fan]

I still don’t got my mtx275 installed wish I new someone to install it I’m just not good with this kind of stuff

 

[Bronco21fan]

I just got my MXT275 installed under the center console. Since there are two bolt holes on the aft side of the roll bar I fabricated an antenna mount and installed my antenna there.

How do you get decent reception with the antenna mounted on the inside love we’re you
Got it mounted though I’m scratching my head trying to figure out we’re to put it I got the extra soon thing that goes bye the ditch lights might do that but then got to figure out how to run the wires and shit ughhhhhh

 

[Nick72]

Yeah I'm dumbfounded, especially with Midland responding how they did. What they say matches with my experience with my MTX275, but clearly others have something else going on that Midland claims is impossible.

By all rights, if my radio is on and I turn off my ignition, which kills power to my cigarette lighter, when I turn the jeep back on, it should power on and it does not.

Oh well, not the end of the road. Eventually I'm going to wire this up to some sort of toggle switch directly off the battery and be done with it

It is strange. A switched source is a switched source. Shouldn't matter if it's a power point, toggle switch, or aux switch that is controlled by the position of the ignition switch.
Just for fun, run a temporary power circuit to the battery with a toggle switch and see if it works. Shouldn't make a difference but stranger things have been known to happen lol.
I haven't gone back through other posts to double check, but this issue seems to be with radios that are using the power point plug instead of hardwired installs. I could be wrong though.

 

[LSU Jonno]

How do you get decent reception with the antenna mounted on the inside love we’re you
Got it mounted though I’m scratching my head trying to figure out we’re to put it I got the extra soon thing that goes bye the ditch lights might do that but then got to figure out how to run the wires and shit ughhhhhh

In these vehicles, it's probably not going to be a noticeable performance hit based on exactly where you mount your antenna (inside or outside). The roofs aren't metal. If you mount your antenna on the roll bar, there will be slight distortion of the antenna pattern from the fiberglass hardtop or the metal bars from the soft top, but again probably not super noticeable.

The antenna specs are quoted (probably) from mounting these antennas with a good electrical bond to a flat ground plane. A painted roll-bar isn't that, but neither is a plastic mirror cowl panel (neither is a powder coated metal bracket that is fastened with a painted screw to a plastic cowl panel).

 

[JetMech]

How do you get decent reception with the antenna mounted on the inside love we’re you
Got it mounted though I’m scratching my head trying to figure out we’re to put it I got the extra soon thing that goes bye the ditch lights might do that but then got to figure out how to run the wires and shit ughhhhhh

I can't find the link currently but the Midland site had an article about how Jeep owners could install the antenna inside of the hardtop due to it being fiberglass and wouldn't cause any interference. I only had my MXT275 and a handheld Midland FRS radio to test distance but I was able to hear the MXT275 from 2 miles away in town while the handheld was inside my house. I couldn't hear the handheld due to the distance though. We were on the phone to verify reception.

 

[da_jokker]

So my MTX275 antenna is the one that came with it, and I just shoved it up through the sade access panel of my jeep so that it sticks up about halfway above the dash on the inside corner of the front windshield.

Works just fine. I don't know if the Bronco has that same ability or nit, but if so, I'm going to do the same thing.

I'll try to take a pic later.

 

[da_jokker]

I still don’t got my mtx275 installed wish I new someone to install it I’m just not good with this kind of stuff

That is the beauty of the MTX275. It doesn't need to be Installed. Simply zip tie the radio to any non-hot area 7nder the dash (I've seen people stupidly mount them on, or real close to, the heater hoses which get extremely hot!

Use the cigarette lighter adapter for power (simply unplug it when you don't need it), And it comes with a little magnetic antenna that you can literally lay on top of your dash.

I'll take a picture of how I install the antenna on my current Jeep, but my entire radio can be pulled out in less than 5 minutes because nothing is permanently installed.

 

[da_jokker]

How do you get decent reception with the antenna mounted on the inside love we’re you
Got it mounted though I’m scratching my head trying to figure out we’re to put it I got the extra soon thing that goes bye the ditch lights might do that but then got to figure out how to run the wires and shit ughhhhhh

I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but this whole concept of people having to mount external antennas is crap. I mean if you're trying to get your radio to work to its maximum range then sure. But my little antenna is inside my Jeep, half blocked by firewall, and the other half behind the windshield, and I use it to talk to people on the trail just fine.

This isn't meant to make long distance phone calls and it will work perfectly clear for anyone in you trail group.

 

[Bronco21fan]

I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but this whole concept of people having to mount external antennas is crap. I mean if you're trying to get your radio to work to its maximum range then sure. But my little antenna is inside my Jeep, half blocked by firewall, and the other half behind the windshield, and I use it to talk to people on the trail just fine.

This isn't meant to make long distance phone calls and it will work perfectly clear for anyone in you trail group.

Thank you glad to know you can put the antenna on the inside

 

[BroncoKong Jr.]

I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but this whole concept of people having to mount external antennas is crap. I mean if you're trying to get your radio to work to its maximum range then sure. But my little antenna is inside my Jeep, half blocked by firewall, and the other half behind the windshield, and I use it to talk to people on the trail just fine.

This isn't meant to make long distance phone calls and it will work perfectly clear for anyone in you trail group.

Some of us need it for more than just trail chat. Simple as that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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