GMRS Mobile radio options

[Prerunner1982]

Most anyone that has looked at getting a GMRS mobile radio is likely familiar with Midland's offerings .... but there are or will be other players.

Baofengtech recently entered the GMRS mobile radio market with their GMRS-50x1 radio. BTECH Mobile GMRS-50X1 - BaoFeng
This is advertised as a 50 watt radio, but also has 20w and 5w.
It has narrow band or wide band as the GMRS channels actually change bandwidth depending on the channel.
This radio can do split tones which is something currently lacking in Midland's line up. Split tones is in regards to repeater operation where the receive tone and transmit tone of the repeater may not be the same.
This radio comes in about $70 cheaper than Midland's 40 watt mobile, not including any promo codes.

TYT will be coming out with a new GMRS mobile radio called the GMR45.
This radio only has high and low power, 45w and 5w respectively.
From the manual it appears this radio is only narrow band so while it will still communicate with a radio running wide band it may sound a little different to the person on the other end.
This radio also does not appear to do split tones.
It will be interesting to see what price point this radio comes in at. While it does have high power it is lacking other features and as such I feel this radio should come in around $125.

Midland is still trying to stay competitive.
They have said that they are coming out with a 50 watt radio that will do split tones and has the form factor of their MXT-275 and they are expecting to be released later this year. I would expect or hope this radio to also have NOAA weather frequencies but I cannot say for sure.
With the pandemic the release likely has been pushed back and with nothing currently showing on the FCC website I see an early to mid 2021 release being more likely but we shall see.
With their current 40 watt radio (MXT-400), lacking split tones, the 275 form factor, and NOAA already coming in at $249 I can't imagine they are going to be able to price the new 50 watt radio higher than that. So either the new 50 watt will replace the MXT-400 all together or the will reduce the price of the MXT-400 and put the new 50 watt radio in it's place at $249.

Unfortunately Midland's prices are pretty high (though they do run a 20% 15% off promo code, OverlandUSA Overland15) and when they were the only option for plug and play units that may have been fine but hopefully as more competition comes on board the prices will come down to stay competitive.

Daystar and Rugged Radios also offer a GMRS mobile radio, but they are even higher priced than Midland and not worth it for what they are. You could get a nice dual band ham radio for the prices they are asking for a GMRS radio.

Will continue to update this thread with more info regarding Midland's new radio or if any other GMRS mobile radio is coming into the market.

 

[SLV Overland]

What would your recommend for a handheld walkie with vehicle charging capabilities?

We are looking at picking up a few units for our local overland crew and others who want to join our trips; but usually the walkie units run out of juice so fast that they're not feasible options unless they can be charged on the fly, during use, in the user's vehicle.

Thoughts? -- and thank you so much for the help!

 

[Prerunner1982]

@SLV Overland
I don't have any first hand experience with FRS/GMRS handhelds so I can't recommend any particular make/model, however it appears that Midland, Uniden, Cobra and Motorola all make some models that are chargeable via USB.
Some models to look at: (may be more available)
Midland- X-Talker T31, T51, T55, T59. T61, T65
Uniden - Appears most all of their SX and GMR models are USB chargeable
Cobra - Most of their ACXT and CXY models appear to have USB charge ports.
Motorola - T200, T260, T402, T600, T800

 

[SLV Overland]

@Prerunner1982 Thank you kindly for your recommendations! I'll peruse and see which model makes the most sense.

 

[SAFETYRUNNER]

I just purchased the Midland MXT275 from moy buddies at Crutchfield. Seems just right for me, adding to my pair of FRS/GMRS handhelds.

MXT275 specs

 

[Prerunner1982]

Midland is now looking at a Early 2021 release for their 50 watt version of the MXT275 with split tones.

 

[Boppa's Travels]

Midland is now looking at a Early 2021 release for their 50 watt version of the MXT275 with split tones.

Those 4 antennas are getting closer to realty.

 

[weiln12]

I know I'm late to this, but the best GMRS HT I've seen is the BTech GMRS-V1. Battery life seems good and will last all day. They make USB chargers for it and they also have DC power for it directly. I have one and have used it on a few trips, and a couple of family members also have them and have had great experience. They'll do split tones and pretty much everything else and they're programmable, I used chirp and it worked great. All told, pretty decent product for $55 and by far the best GMRS HT I've seen. The only downside for your use case is the charger is a stand which is a pain. For a group, they do make a 6-port charger that may be of benefit.

It also has detachable antennas that use the standard Baofeng reverse SMA (I think that's it) so many antennas and adapters work if you need that.

What would your recommend for a handheld walkie with vehicle charging capabilities?

We are looking at picking up a few units for our local overland crew and others who want to join our trips; but usually the walkie units run out of juice so fast that they're not feasible options unless they can be charged on the fly, during use, in the user's vehicle.

Thoughts? -- and thank you so much for the help!

 

[Oranger]

Midland is now looking at a Early 2021 release for their 50 watt version of the MXT275 with split tones.

Where did you hear that? I would love to keep tabs from the same source.

 

[Prerunner1982]

Where did you hear that? I would love to keep tabs from the same source.

I believe that came from a comment their facebook account made. They also have an account on another overland type forum where they have made a few mentions as well.

 

[Prerunner1982]

Looks like a couple more coming down the pipeline....except I still don't see anything from Midland. The mid 2021 release may be looking iffy.

UTVcom.com (Stingray UTV LLC)
COM-G95
20/7 watts, Channels 1-14 RX only, Channels 15-30 TX/RX
Wideband/Narrowband
Looking at the manual split tones appear to be possible.
Repeater capable, not programmable
Pre-programmed with NOAA and "Off Road" Frequencies (business band) as RX only. "Off road" frequencies are in the same order as the Rugged Radios.
Same as / or resembles the BTech Mini UV-25x2 and QYT KT-8900.

Anytone AT-779UV
20/5 watts. Supposedly a GMRS radio however the manual did note 25/5 watts for VHF?
Channels 1-5 and 15-22 TX/RX.
Narrowband only and not repeater capable.
Manual shows the mic jack also being the programming port and that the radio appears to be split tone capable.

 

[LostInThought]

Most anyone that has looked at getting a GMRS mobile radio is likely familiar with Midland's offerings .... but there are or will be other players.

Baofengtech recently entered the GMRS mobile radio market with their GMRS-50x1 radio. BTECH Mobile GMRS-50X1 - BaoFeng
This is advertised as a 50 watt radio, but also has 20w and 5w.
It has narrow band or wide band as the GMRS channels actually change bandwidth depending on the channel.
This radio can do split tones which is something currently lacking in Midland's line up. Split tones is in regards to repeater operation where the receive tone and transmit tone of the repeater may not be the same.
This radio comes in about $70 cheaper than Midland's 40 watt mobile, not including any promo codes.

TYT will be coming out with a new GMRS mobile radio called the GMR45.
This radio only has high and low power, 45w and 5w respectively.
From the manual it appears this radio is only narrow band so while it will still communicate with a radio running wide band it may sound a little different to the person on the other end.
This radio also does not appear to do split tones.
It will be interesting to see what price point this radio comes in at. While it does have high power it is lacking other features and as such I feel this radio should come in around $125.

Midland is still trying to stay competitive.
They have said that they are coming out with a 50 watt radio that will do split tones and has the form factor of their MXT-275 and they are expecting to be released later this year. I would expect or hope this radio to also have NOAA weather frequencies but I cannot say for sure.
With the pandemic the release likely has been pushed back and with nothing currently showing on the FCC website I see an early to mid 2021 release being more likely but we shall see.
With their current 40 watt radio (MXT-400), lacking split tones, the 275 form factor, and NOAA already coming in at $249 I can't imagine they are going to be able to price the new 50 watt radio higher than that. So either the new 50 watt will replace the MXT-400 all together or the will reduce the price of the MXT-400 and put the new 50 watt radio in it's place at $249.

Unfortunately Midland's prices are pretty high (though they do run a 20% 15% off promo code, OverlandUSA Overland15) and when they were the only option for plug and play units that may have been fine but hopefully as more competition comes on board the prices will come down to stay competitive.

Daystar and Rugged Radios also offer a GMRS mobile radio, but they are even higher priced than Midland and not worth it for what they are. You could get a nice dual band ham radio for the prices they are asking for a GMRS radio.

Will continue to update this thread with more info regarding Midland's new radio or if any other GMRS mobile radio is coming into the market.

Awesome information! A few thoughts:

• 50W vs 15W doesn't buy you too much - maybe a 1.2x transmit (only) range through ground clutter, but line of sight is usually the limitation and more power doesn't help there.
• A good antenna, well installed and tuned will do more than 50W vs 15W - specifically it will improve both transmit and receive.
• My last Baofeng didn't last for more than a few months of light use. I probably won't buy from them again unless I need something cheap/disposable.
• I'm not aware of any GMRS repeaters in my region using split tones - perhaps because the radios largely don't support it. Even on the ham bands, split tones are rarely used.
• TYT and Anytone both have reasonable reputations for low-mid tier radios. (Better than Baofeng at least)

 

[Prerunner1982]

Another new GMRS mobile radio coming to market...the Wouxun KG-1000G.
This radio sounds great, but comes with a heafty price tag of $310. Though it's pricing is right up there with rugged radio it's way outside of their league.
5/10/20/50 watts with 5 watts on the appropriate channels and repeater capable with split tones.
Wide and Narrow band capable.
HOAA Weather channels
Programmable with up to 999 memories.

Now for the cool parts of this radio.
It's got a remote head with two backing plates, one flat and one to angle the control head. It's based off of the Wouxun KG-U980P quad band radio.
Consequently it is also wide receive as well covering 50-53.995MHz (6m), 108-179.995MHz, 320-349.995MHz, 400-479.995MHz, and 700-985MHz. It is able to receive Airband (AM) as well.
It is also a dual receive/dual display radio.
Dual external speaker outputs and a speaker in the mic.
You can also connect two of them together with a supplied cable and make your own repeater.

If I were okay with spending $250 on the Midland MXT400 I would probably save a bit more and make the jump to the Wouxun, it appears to be by far the best GMRS mobile radio on the market.

Wouxun KG-1000G GMRS Base/Mobile Two Way Radio

The Wouxun KG-1000G is a new GMRS base/mobile two way radio packed with a plethora of features at an unbelievably affordable price.

www.buytwowayradios.com

 

[Prerunner1982]

And it appears rugged radio has re-branded the TYT GMRS45 I noted in the 1st post....@ $325

 

[Ubiety]

Have an older Garmin RINO handheld and it is a rock star. It’s battery last days, built in GPS, nice graphical display, NOAA. The RINOs can also place other RINOs on the map making them APRS like. My copy is definitely not overpowered (5 watts max if I recall) and is not a cheaper radio. But it’s a tank and quite often the loaner GMRS radio that I hand out on the trail.

Thanks for starting and maintaining this thread @Prerunner1982!

 

[M Rose]

Have an older Garmin RINO handheld and it is a rock star. It’s battery last days, built in GPS, nice graphical display, NOAA. The RINOs can also place other RINOs on the map making them APRS like. My copy is definitely not overpowered (5 watts max if I recall) and is not a cheaper radio. But it’s a tank and quite often the loaner GMRS radio that I hand out on the trail.

Thanks for starting and maintaining this thread @Prerunner1982!

I have several Rhinos... 2 older models and a couple of newer models... we use them quite a bit within the family. Like Greg says... they are tanks.

 

[Downs]

@SLV Overland
I don't have any first hand experience with FRS/GMRS handhelds so I can't recommend any particular make/model, however it appears that Midland, Uniden, Cobra and Motorola all make some models that are chargeable via USB.
Some models to look at: (may be more available)
Midland- X-Talker T31, T51, T55, T59. T61, T65
Uniden - Appears most all of their SX and GMR models are USB chargeable
Cobra - Most of their ACXT and CXY models appear to have USB charge ports.
Motorola - T200, T260, T402, T600, T800

I've got a set of the Midland T51s. Solid little FRS radios and the battery life is quite long. I use them as hand out FRS radios for those unlicensed and around the house. Haven't used the USB charging feature yet. I keep the base on the table by the front door since we use them around the property. The base runs on USB power as well.

 

[Ubiety]

I use them as hand out FRS radios for those unlicensed

Yeah, I thought about the "legitimacy" of handing a GMRS radio to an unlicensed user after my above post... Live and learn.

 

[Prerunner1982]

Looks like Midland is getting closer to launching their new GMRS mobile radios.
The MXT500 will be a hard mount mobile, 50 watts, split tone, wide and narrow band, IPX6 water resistant, NOAA WX channels, and USB C charging port. Manual notes Hi/Med/Low power but no indication of what Med or Low power is. I would assume 15w and 5w respectively. Technical Description on the testing shows low is 5w as expected.


The MXT575 will be the 50 watt version of the MXT275 to also include split tones, High/Low power, and USB C charging port.

 

[Prerunner1982]

And per a contact Midland is now saying release will be in October.