PB92

They didn't stay on too long, but it was obvious that they were not licensed or understood radio etiquette. I set my Midland MXT400 to "scan" so it covers all the channels, that's how I ended up finding them. Really liking this 400.

No my mistake folks, it's 462.600. Never could type well............. :-(

Well the GMRS radio was another "layer" of comms for my prepping gear. I may add yet another, as I am a huge fan of redundancy. Besides so far I think I like the GMRS aspect...... I don't understand all there is to GMRS, but I didn't know everything about custom high-end CB's either 30 years ago. I like it, I'm having fun. 
 
I'm not at this time interested in getting my ham ticket for reasons I mentioned in another thread (yes I know ham is popular in the prepping community) I did quite a bit of research on which way to go...GMRS, FRS or MURS. I decided on GMRS.  

Well, I can pickup these two guys talking in Suffolk County NY from East Haven, CT. Both antennas pick them up. So far, the Midland MXTA11 "seems" to perform just a tad better then the DPD antenna....(all though I like the all black DPD look). Could that be the 1/2 of DB in gain the Midland has over the DPD, I can't say.
 
Mostly all of my operation is while I'm driving, sometimes I will sit in front of my home. I don't have any hardcore data to back up my observations, just a small swr meter.
 
I did not set or adjust any swr's on either antenna. I may hook the meter up in the next few days and see...(weather has been miserable).

Any noticable difference? Just curious. I have a Browning on my truck. 3bd gain. Seems to pick up just a smidge of engine noise or something. Trying to save a little without sacrificing my tx.  
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Hello all,
 
So, I'm in East Haven CT.  On my way home from work about 1230-1300) I listen to these two operators talking on channel 17 (462.000). Been listening for about 2 weeks. Now my MXT400 has 3 power settings, low is about 3w, med is about 15w, and high is about 40w.
 
I had the radio on low, when I could I keyed the mic, gave my call sign and said monitoring. Did that for a few days. No response. Then I went to medium power, same thing, nothing.
 
So today, 3/22/18, I listened to them all the way from about North Haven CT (about 1/2 way home). The closer I got to my house, their signal strength got higher, and then about 1000 feet before I got to my driveway, their signal pegged my meter all the way up. So I started looking for antennas on houses and vehicles, figuring these guys are right here, few houses away, basically right on top of me. Saw nothing.
 
Now I have lived here for 18 years, I know the neighborhood well.
 
I initially thought they were using a privacy code, I could hear them but they couldn't hear me..(if that's how the privacy codes work on GMRS)..don't know.
 
 Then they started talking about this last snow storm. Now in East Haven we got maybe 3 inches of snow. They were saying they got 14 inches. I said whoa, 14 inches, where are these guys??
 
Then one finally said......."yeah here in Suffolk County we got hit good". Suffolk County, that's in Long Island, NY. So I checked the distance, from East Haven, CT to the closest point in Suffolk County is 50 miles as the crow flies.
 
Sooo, if they are on ch17 GMRS, their signal is knocking my door down, I hear them crystal clear, and I keyed at 40w....how could they not hear me????????
 
Now if this was my CB, ok, I get it, I'm "shooting skip"........I have talked from CT to Indiana on skip...................but how is this working on GMRS??

Soladaddy, I understand the MXT400, 115 and 105 are narrow band. Cateyetech, I really like this radio. Performs outstanding. I installed this under my Cobra 29LX in my P71 Interceptor  with custom fabricated brackets........(I have to take a pic and post it here). It'seasy to use (if I can do it anybody can).........I run it on low power except for a couple channels that are active I run it on medium power.
 
The first antenna I used it with was the Midland MXT11A, a 6DB gain antenna. I mounted it on a NMO mount on the trunk lid (hole was already there) Gave great performance. I then ordered the DPD Productions GMRS double 5/8 wave 5.5DB gain in black....(Commsprepper highly recommended the DPD).
 
 So far it seems the radio receives a little better with the Midland antenna. I'm still testing on which antenna gives the best performance. The only and I mean only little fuss I have with the 400 is I would like the ability to change the screen color.
 
I would very much recommend the MXT400. I have the MXT100 as a backup radio.

I agree with cateyetech, it's a great GMRS radio and I recommend it as well. (Thumbs up)

Yes we do and yes we do   
I bought a lightly used one a few weeks ago and we installed it in my son's pick-up truck,
with a Browning WSPBR10353 magnet mount and a BR-176-S 450-470mhz 5/8 wave 3Dbd gain antenna.
He runs on Medium power and makes a great connection with our base/repeater.
It has a good clear Rx & Tx (even with our 5yr old granddaughter with the mic) and has a easy to use menu.
They only use the radio for talking to our family group, so it is kept keys locked on one freq set.
Hits our station like a hammer!!! anywhere around town and  it's hilly around here   
 
It provides clear and uninterrupted (12v truck power) conversations with my son on his way to work and evening conversations with my granddaughter 
after school (pre-K) on her ride home.   
 
So yes I love it!!!
And it is a great GMRS radio, but like all of the rebranded to 95 conformity GMRS only units it is very basic compared to unrestricted units.
 
I would recommend this as a good mobile unit.
 
How about you?   

Time for me to chastise Logan with a wet noodle once again I see, it has been a while...William

I have received that message as well.......................

I have received that message as well.......................

Just got this radio several days ago and have been using it on the Baltimore 462.625 repeater with the supplied rubber duck antenna.  Was able to talk several hours and didn't even dent the 1800 mAh battery of course it's new so time will tell, but I'll take it.  I especially like the tone scanning feature it is great for figuring out repeater tones when on the road.   Decided to order the Nagoya UT-308UV 21-Inch Magnetic Mount VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna to beef things up a little.
 
Looking at the BTECH MOBILE UV-50X2 50 Watt Dual Band Base radio haven't decided yet, but maybe a good option for the condo.  I already have a Pyramid P5-21KX power supply; hoping, it will be a good fit for this radio.

They didn't stay on too long, but it was obvious that they were not licensed or understood radio etiquette. I set my Midland MXT400 to "scan" so it covers all the channels, that's how I ended up finding them. Really liking this 400.

Certainly is, bring more people to the hobby.
 
 
I had some on 600 simplex the other day, no callsigns given, sounded like they were playing "Cops and Robbers" around the neighborhood, I didn't even bother going to talk around since I've never heard anyone actually use any other tone (sub channel as they know it lol) besides 67 hertz. I got on and said "WQXR714, what is your callsign?" it was silent for a minute and they said "WHO?" I replied "W,Q,X,R,7,1,4, you are required to have a GMRS license to operate on this channel, if you do not have a GMRS license I strongly suggest moving to one of the FRS channels, which would be 1-14." they were quiet......
 
I remember one time I was talking to someone and the dad actually got on, I explained to him the rule about licensing, I don't remember what happened after that but I think they moved to FRS. That was a fun one. 

Most people that I talk to about radio have a basic.........................
understanding of CB radio, the "truckers" they say. And of course I know a CB'er right off the bat.
 
But when I say "I operate GMRS as well".............(insert the sound of crickets here).............I usually get "whats GMRS?)............even the people that use bubble pack radios on FRS/GMRS most don't know the difference...............just a walkie talkie. Heard some "kids" yesterday down on ch3.............buuuut, as soon as I say I'm also a prepper, folks sort of put it together what GMRS is.
 
Its a good opportunity to explain it to them.

Same here, as I'm into high end custom CB (30+ years) and now GMRS........

Saw one where the 105 was better at receiving. Noticed that Amazon has been out of stock of the 115. Hoping its because they have stopped production to fix them.

Similar here... Radio communications enthusiast.
 
(I just wish there were some VHF and HF "channels" included in the service. )

Ahh I see. I have heard repeaters with a "synthetic voice" identify itself also....................

Interesting observation Matt,
I have visited that site plenty, and just from reading a lot of posts, I got the feeling that they felt any radio operator other then Ham is a lower of a person, not able to learn and take the test. I mean months and months I would visit there. My first plan was to get my tech license and become a ham.
 
Obviously, I have changed my mind, as I am here and operate GMRS.
 
No disrespect at all to the hams out there, just the feeling I got visiting there a lot. I "may" at some point get my Ham license, but I'm really not interested in that aspect of radio at this point. 73  

Hi Durake,
Yes, I do have a CVPI. Its actually one of my hobbies. I think I know these cars almost as well as the dealer does. Ofcourse, my idea of a "car" is a V8 in front and an axle in the back.............it's my daily driver and prepper vehicle. I have it setup to be a 4000 lb generator when the grid goes down here........and it does.

Hi Matt,
Soo sorry it took so long to get back. Only a few weeks into GMRS. Learning. I really like the GMRS format. I love this MXT400! It's mounted in my P71 Interceptor below my highly custom Cobra 29LX CB on a custom made bracket. I'll take a picture of the setup and try to post it here.
 
I'm still learning the 400. The speaker on the top of the radio is very clear and loud for its size. The display is nice, and I like the mic with the ability to change channels. There is a small slide button on the side of the mic, and when you slide it up it locks the channel change buttons. Nice feature.  Trying now to learn how to link up the 400 to local repeaters here in CT, see which ones are public or private.
 
I have been on ch20, there seems to be chatter around here on it. But so far I'm very very happy with it. 73....

Thank you Hans and hello.....I have been a CB'er for 30+ years, running custom built high end radios. I'm also a prepper, and the GMRS format works well for that. Huge fan of redundancy, so I have the Midland MXT100 Micro Mobile as a GMRS backup.....along with other electronics in the EMP can.   

Been using this for a long time, good stuff. And I'm very fussy about my equipment. Every bolt I take out on my car I apply Never Seez, big fan of it. But on my CB, GMRS and electronic connections I use the NO-OX-ID conductive grease.
 
Grease is called NO-OX-ID from Sanchem Inc, 1600 S Canal St. Chicago, IL. 60616 312-733-6100
www.sanchem.com