OffRoaderX

The actual, correct spelling is: Magiguhsquirtz..  But the SQ is silent.

This is a nice little radio.  I hear the best GMRS channel on Youtube will be reviewing it a few days before its available for purchase.

Depending on the signal you are listening to, some amount of static/broken reception (aka Picket Fencing) is to be expected..
But, if it's really bad, then you likely have a loose connection in your coax connectors or the antenna mount, etc. You say the connections are tight but also make sure the antenna is not loose on the mount (if it has a screw-on mount).
It could also be worn/broken coax.  IIRC, the coax..actually more like a thin wire, that comes with the MXT400 is VERY thin and is not very durable.
I suppose it is also possible that there is a loose connection inside the radio, but IMHO, that is less likely..
are you sure it's not just regular picket-fencing of a weak signal? If it happens to even very strong signals, then something is loose/worn.

All of the good Youtube GMRS channels will be publishing reviews on the day it's available for purchase..

I only watch the ones with GMRS geeks and youtube hobos.

This is a nice little radio.  I hear the best GMRS channel on Youtube will be reviewing it a few days before its available for purchase.

This is a nice little radio.  I hear the best GMRS channel on Youtube will be reviewing it a few days before its available for purchase.

Some of the early UV9GPro and the UV9GLite had Roger beeps, but IIRC, the bulk of the UV9GPro units do not have a Roger Beep.. Due to the outcry of customers from around the world, they added it back for the UV9GX.
Mid power is now 2watts, high power is still 5watts.. I dont remember what low power is, but its the same as the the UV9GPro.
I'm only telling you this because YOU are my favorite user here at MyGMRS ...

The KG-1000G setup will have more output but a "real" repeater like the VXR7000 with only half the power, has much better (almost 2X) range - probably because the internal shielding which reduces desense, and the better/high-quality duplexer.. you COULD spend the extra money on a KG1000 setup for a better quality duplexer, but that gets costly.
The Retevis outputs far less power than either setup, but gets about the same range as the KG1000 setup..   Roughly 30-40 miles to a mobile radio, even further to a base-radio.

I have one right here on my desk.. It's a nice upgrade the the UV9G.. The release has been delayed due to supply chain/shipping issues, but it should be available soon (my GUESS is 30-60 days, but this is only a guess)..
Some new stuff on the UV9Gx:
theme able color schemes much brighter LED flashlight stiffer knobs can receive down to 219Mhz more power control settings for better battery life a priority channel button, pre-set to the official highway channel, CH19 more pre-programmed frequenicies and most important a ROGER BEEP .................affiliate link below..
Oops.. sorry.. bad habit.

I have one right here on my desk.. It's a nice upgrade the the UV9G.. The release has been delayed due to supply chain/shipping issues, but it should be available soon (my GUESS is 30-60 days, but this is only a guess)..
Some new stuff on the UV9Gx:
theme able color schemes much brighter LED flashlight stiffer knobs can receive down to 219Mhz more power control settings for better battery life a priority channel button, pre-set to the official highway channel, CH19 more pre-programmed frequenicies and most important a ROGER BEEP .................affiliate link below..
Oops.. sorry.. bad habit.

Did you mean MXT575?
Anyway - I heard a rumor that the MXT575 50W will be available for purchase very..very.. VERY soon...  I also heard that all of the good GMRS YouTube channels will post a review of the radio on YouTube on the day it is released, which is very..very soon..

For ease of use, mounting options and power/capabilities, you can't beat the KG-1000G which is a 50W SuperHet radio.. If you want something less expensive, the KG-XS20G is a good, small, very capable SOC radio.
For simplicity the Midlands are great - but they're not cheap, they have limited abilities and many/most of the pre 2022 models are narrowband only, which is an issue if you want anyone using a "real" GMRS (wideband) radio to actually be able to hear anything you're saying.

My opinion is based on having/testing/using virtually every mobile GMRS Radio on the market.

Maybe that's what Andrea meant, I cut and pasted directly from the email I received, including the incorrect grammar.

I have a repeater on Zello and it's a kludge to get setup and working.. But once you get through all that, it works fairly well.  Also, FYI, although you dont need GMRS license to use Zello, you DO need a GMRS license to transmit on a repeater connected to Zello.
Not knowing exactly what you want to do/accomplish, a better/more robust solution might be the MyGMRS Network.

Yes, but it would render your repeater useless.

We hear the same thing on the roads.. A lot of nothing and people that dont respond (probably using privacy codes)..
When offroading, the official GMRS channel is 16.. This a scientific fact because is "offroading" = "4 X 4" and 4 x 4 = 16 .. so this is the scientific answer to the question - it is explained in more detail in this video made by some Youtube clown:
 

It’s 10 years. Just got mine.

HAM ...

I can confirm you get the license for 10 years.

anyone that got a $35 license - can you confirm that it's for 10 years, and not for 5 years?

Yes, I know 2 people that got 'bad' DB25G radios.  IIRC they could not program them correctly but I dont remember exactly so I txt'd one of them to confirm. In both cases they sent them back and had them replaced with ones that actually work.  This was a few months ago so I would hope/guess that they are no longer shipping bad units.
Edit/Update:  Turns out it was 3 people that got bad units, and the issue was as you described, not being able to additional repeater channels and also not being able to do a factory reset.  All got replacement units that worked, but it was a PITA.  Have not been able to confirm if bad units are still being shipped.

Yes, I know 2 people that got 'bad' DB25G radios.  IIRC they could not program them correctly but I dont remember exactly so I txt'd one of them to confirm. In both cases they sent them back and had them replaced with ones that actually work.  This was a few months ago so I would hope/guess that they are no longer shipping bad units.
Edit/Update:  Turns out it was 3 people that got bad units, and the issue was as you described, not being able to additional repeater channels and also not being able to do a factory reset.  All got replacement units that worked, but it was a PITA.  Have not been able to confirm if bad units are still being shipped.

We hear the same thing on the roads.. A lot of nothing and people that dont respond (probably using privacy codes)..
When offroading, the official GMRS channel is 16.. This a scientific fact because is "offroading" = "4 X 4" and 4 x 4 = 16 .. so this is the scientific answer to the question - it is explained in more detail in this video made by some Youtube clown:
 

Well, it's been not quite a month now since I received a partial refund* for a brand new BCR-40U I purchased back in February.

I received the unit in early March and it was bad out of the box.  I contacted Bridgecom who instructed me to 'open a ticket'.  In fact, they don't do anything until you go through the process of opening a ticket.  Then you wait anywhere from a day to a week for a response.

I had my suspicions as to where the problem lay and informed Bridgecom that I could, with their approval, crack the cover and diagnose the problem and, that I am not only qualified to do this, but have state of the art test equipment (if required). However, they basically insisted that I send it in to them (at my cost ~$90 USD) I sent it insured of course, but even if I hadn't, it would have been about $50 to ship it back.

It turns out, it was a bad duplexer (as I suspected), and so they sent it back and it worked fine, save for yet another issue (I'll get to that).  Less than a day later, it stopped working for no apparent reason.

This time I decided to at least look at the programming and found that the repair tech left in a test channel and, after I removed it with the software, the repeater started working again.

Now to the next problem...

One of the first things I found wrong with this repeater is that if you program in a user with DCS on RX, that is the only user you can have, included the sysop/control user.  Tone squelch users, you can have as many as you want up to the limit of 23 users/coded squelch per channel.  After reading the manual and all of the sales literature, which makes no mention of this limitation, I Contacted Bridgecom (again), and they basically became forthcoming and stated it was a limitation of one of the chips controlling coded squelch system.  It is also important to note, that per the instruction manual, the unit IS CAPABLE of multiple DCS users.  Indeed, I think it was me pointing out that fact they agree to refund my money.

After that last confession and 2 primary failures, I decided enough is enough.  You spend good money for a new repeater you expect better.  So I requested and received a refund, well, sort of.

The refund appears to have been short the tax I paid for the original purchase.  Compound that with the fact that I had to pay to return it twice (once for the repair and once for a refund) at a cost to me of just shy of $200, I am out of pocket about $250 just for 'trying' a (brand new) Bridgecom repeater.

I'm really sad to have to write this, but others should be warned. 

I very much wanted to support a small American vendor/manufacturer, but I've never been so disappointed with any vendor/manufacturer.  Between the failures, slow service, basically false advertising (the DCS issue) and, having to pay to return (again twice) a unit that was defective from day one, it was just too much.

I'm kicking myself today because what I should have done was purchase a used Motorola repeater for less than what I paid for the 'new' BCR-40U.  And I am not talking buying off eBay either, there are plenty of mainstream dealers where you can get a used MTR2000 or even a Quantar for less than the BCR-40U.

Bottom, line, I have to call the Bridgecom BCR-40U a 'Don't Buy'. 
Not just for the defective unit, but also their warranty policies which leaves a customer out of pocket.  I had to pay for their problems?  WTF??

Indeed, given their service/warranty policies, I don't think I'll ever buy anything from them again.

Just my own experience, FWIW!