OffRoaderX

Probably watched someone on Youtube remove one..Thusly voiding the warranty.

Probably watched someone on Youtube remove one..Thusly voiding the warranty.

It is nearly impossible to get an accurate SWR reading on a HT antenna without specialized equipment... But even if your reading of 2 was accurate, an SWR of 2 is perfectly fine.
Stop overthinking everything and just use your radio. 

Probably watched someone on Youtube remove one..Thusly voiding the warranty.

It is nearly impossible to get an accurate SWR reading on a HT antenna without specialized equipment... But even if your reading of 2 was accurate, an SWR of 2 is perfectly fine.
Stop overthinking everything and just use your radio. 

Well.. No.. Because "tone" and "Privacy Tone" would include CTC, CTCSS, and PL, which are not the same. and we don't want to go down that rabbit hole.

Jeezus...  WHY in TF would you want to do that?

Jeezus...  WHY in TF would you want to do that?

Jeezus...  WHY in TF would you want to do that?

Be careful watching those videos!  Many people here have decreed that guy is just a shill and will say or do anything that the cheap-chinese-radio manufactures tell him to say or do. 
This must be true because everyone that proclaims this has a forum signature that say they have had a H.A.M. license for 20 years or more.

Jeezus...  WHY in TF would you want to do that?

Jeezus...  WHY in TF would you want to do that?

Jeezus...  WHY in TF would you want to do that?

Its just people talking.. Many in Spanish.. its not "a complete zoo", its just busy.

Jeep: XTL5000 w/Midland MXTA26 antenna
Out of the Jeep while off-roading: XTS2500
Base: XTL5000 connected to Tram1486
Office: KG1000GPlus w/MXTA26 on a cookie sheet in the window
Couch: XTS5000
Repeater: Vertex 7000 w/Tram1486 and LMR400 coax.
Other than the repeater all the coax is just inexpensive black-coax.
 

Sorry to have to be the one to break this news to you but bragging about not being a ham BUT how easy it would be to pass the examS "if you wanted to" is a strong indicator of being a latent sad-H.A.M. .. Your other posts already proved you also fall into the "some people" category..
And as the inventor of the term Sad-H.A.M., my declaration is final and cannot be disputed or overturned.

The FCC ID on my GMRS version is:  2A4F8TD831G

Its just people talking.. Many in Spanish.. its not "a complete zoo", its just busy.

I have heard a few people mention that Youtube has some good videos going over every aspect of using GMRS and pretty much all GMRS radios. 

Well.. No.. Because "tone" and "Privacy Tone" would include CTC, CTCSS, and PL, which are not the same. and we don't want to go down that rabbit hole.

Unless you are trying to bounce your signal off the moon, just mount your antenna in the best spot you can, as high as you can get it, and it will work fine for for highway/trail comms.
My antenna is mounted above the rear tail-light/rear fender of my jeep, below the roofline, where many "experts" warned me it "will not work". and while it certainly does not work as well as it could, it works just fine. I can hit a repeater with it at 92 miles and regularly get 20+ miles on simplex and have never had issues on the trail where i could not hear someone that others could, or they could not hear me.
My two words of advice are:
1) ignore the 'experts'
B ) - dont over-think it.

Warning: Do NOT listen to the "experts" that love to spend your money - for occasional tuning/testing of your antenna you do NOT NEED a $500+ SWR meter.
Normal people use inexpensive meters like the Surecom SW-33 or SW-102, and they work just fine.
If you plan on testing/tuning antennas professionally or as some kind of a hobby, then by all means get one that costs much more and is *slightly* more accurate.

"illegal"? No.. Not complaint with FCCs regulations? Maybe.. But, the FCCs certified the radio sooooo.. Does the FCCs care? According to the FCCs' lack of enforcement, No Do any normal people care? No

That depends on how you define "good"...
Midland Micromobile radios are GREAT for someone that wants a decent quality, EASY TO USE, NO BELLS AND WHISTLES GMRS radio.. They are priced high but that price is worth it to many people willing to pay for that simplicity and the fact that the company is at least based in 'Murica. I have had several Midland radios (6 or 7?), with the power output ranging on them from 105% of its rated output to around only 75% .. But dont be fooled - although it's good to get what the box says, you will NEVER notice any difference between 35 watts and 50 watts in regular usage. Most of the mobile units do not have cooling fans but never once, ever, in all my usage of my Midlands, not once, has one ever over-heated, shut-down, or stuttered due to high-heat or over usage. According to the Midland Marketing Manager, the Midland Micromobile GMRS radios are a hybrid of Superheterodyne and HOMOdyne.. But I dont remember which half (RX or TX) is SUPERhet and which part was HOMOdyne... and most people buying this type of simple radio wouldn't care anyway. Anyone complaining about the lack of features on a Midland is obviously not who Midland is selling their radios to, and should therefore be ignored. Anyone slamming you over the air simply because your radio is chinese is a moron and should be ignored with extreme-prejudice.. Just tell them you're transmitting on a iCom radio and as long as your roger-beep is off i GUARANfuckingTEE you that they will never be able to tell the difference. For MY money, I would buy a KG-1000G, but only because I am a radio dork.  However I have many friends that are regular-people that prefer the simplicity of the Midland radios and were more than happy to pay the $$ for that simplicity.

Sorry to have to be the one to break this news to you but bragging about not being a ham BUT how easy it would be to pass the examS "if you wanted to" is a strong indicator of being a latent sad-H.A.M. .. Your other posts already proved you also fall into the "some people" category..
And as the inventor of the term Sad-H.A.M., my declaration is final and cannot be disputed or overturned.