gortex2

Appears same as the TRAM 1481 and most likely made by the same china company. Most of the multi piece trams fall apart after a few years. Basically a hoppy antenna. Mine last 2 months in NY before it snapped in the wind. Since them I only use commercial LMR antennas made by reputable companies.

being you dont list frequencies its hard for us to guess. If one channel is 144 nd one is 151 that can explain issues. VCO unlock can happen if the radio was retuned for a specific band. More info can help.

That appears to be the 160 Ch so should be the proper one. I don't have my programming PC in front of me to check a code plug with that model. Some good info in this post from before also - CDM1550LS+

If you want an LMR style rig look for a M1225 or CM300. the other great GMRS radio is the CDM1250/1550 but watch the 1550. There are a few models and one only has limited conventional support. The 1250 is a rock solid unit and can be had for under $100 if you shop around.

Guys lets get back to the Midland MTX500 stuff. There is a section in the forums for arguing called Amateur Radio or Miscellaneous Topics

You will spend more money on cable and connectors than the antenna many times. Spend more on the proper antenna. As gman1971 said terminate the cable where it breaches the building and ground with proper lightening protection (again $$) then run a smaller cable. If a short cable (under 10') is needed RG142 or similar could be used to the mobile/base/portable. With all of this said manage expectations. Using ham grade home made antenna and RG8 cable will not give you the benefits you hope for in most cases. There will be those that claim its better but YMMV. Determine your use case. If this is a repeater or abase for simplex spend the funds and do it right. If its just a way to hit a local repeater then you may not need what you are looking for.

And also remember the cable cost. 60' mast means at minimum 75' of cable to get you in the house. RG/LMR is most likely not the best option here. You really want LDF hardline which will cost almost or more than your mast. As was stated earlier 60' is on the edge of a mast. I would start looking at tower sections. Rohn is solid performer and 50' with a 10' mast of aluminum would be ideal. Still needs guyed but will stay up much longer than pipe bolted together. Budget everything you need and decide if 60' is really what you need.

a better base antenna would help for simplex. Also you never mentioned what cable you use on the base radio.

All of those are chip radios that are used for HAM, GMRS and MURS along with some other services. Same radio same hardware, different firmware. None are specifically made for GMRS. That's the one issue with GMRS is there is only 1 or 2 manufacturers that build specific GMRs radios. All the rest are modified as above. I equate simple as less features so I guess that's the balance.

What lesser expensive GMRS built radios do this ? I have yet to find a GMRS mobile that was designed as a GMRS mobile other than Midland. All other are a CCR radio that has firmware to lock it in a band or frequency range. You can buy the same radio with different model numbers ie: DB-20=Anytone779, KG1000G=KG1000M=KGUV980.... Guess I don't understand the dual mode statement. Scan allows you to monitor other GMRs channels. If you meant other uses (Amatuer, MURS, Scanner) then it wouldn't be a GMRS radio. I have no need for a MTX500 as I already have the MTX275 so am not going to order one to run checks on my service monitor. When the new 575 comes out I may upgrade one of mine and run some tests to see what it shows. If I need 50 watts I'll use my APX, but have yet to find a reason to. I find it strange that people get all worked up over Midland charging a few $ more for a GMRS only radio but no one mentions Motorola T800 series that cost about $130 a pair and can't use repeater splits nor have removable antenna's. Walk around any campground or park this summer and you will find talkabouts all over....Its all about how folks use the radio. Many just push and talk. Simplex is the most likely the most used mode in GMRS so Midland, Motorola and other manufacturers will cater to that before they worry about the 300 users on mygmrs....

I watched the video as a user of GMRS and GMRS only. He made mentions of other channels he wants to listen to. The radio is a GMRS radio and GMRS only. Was never intended for other uses. I still go back to the fact that the Midlands are good basic mobiles and fit a market of a user who just wants to buy a radio and turn it on. Up until about 10 years ago GMRS was 90% Part 90 gear with a few other manufacturers making gear specific to GMRS. The CCR world has changed GMRS and in many parts Amateur Radio also. Some good but bad at the same time. As said in the past Midland will sell hundreds if not thousands of the radios and thats what makes the market grow.

I run the XTL5000 at home on both UHF and VHF for HAM stuff as well as public safety. Great receivers in them. If you do some online searching they can be found pretty reasonable especially in non P25 flavors. In my vehicles I run the APX. They will cost a bit more but 6500 analogs are out there as are 7500 but finding a APX 7500 VHF/URHR1 is challenging. Not many were made so it most likely will be an R2 which is out of the ham band and not useable.

Correct.

For LMR radios the APX7500 series can be had in V/U. What exactly are you planning to use the radio for ?

MURS is licensed by rule as is GMRS. Its a Part 95 service. https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/multi-use-radio-service-murs Agree with the use case. Lots of old part 90 radios for the cheap that will take the channels and work great for that use.

Engineering and testing costs go up as everything else does. Add in manufacturing costs, shipping and every other thing involved in communications. It all adds up. Competition does change the price model but for certain items all vendors are in the same ballpark. Its not just radios. Its every piece of gear a FF or LE/EMS unit use. Heart monitors, ambulances, weapons, air packs all cost more every year. Its the price of doing business in some aspect. I dont have the answer but I definitely agree you get what you pay for....in all things. Oh and our SAR team still uses HT1000's that are way obsolete but they do what we need. We do have a mix of APX and XTS also but the HT is the go to radio for a field team.

Well as I agree radios cost money so does every piece of equipment a FF or police officer wears doing there job. About 10 years ago I got a FEMA grant for radio for our FD. It was the most money the FD spent on radios in decades. In the end the radio cost less than my interior gear, air pack and tools. If I fall thru a basement I want a radio that works in those extreme locations. I have also had friends die in a large fire. OSHA reports show communications was a contributing cause (as most do). As an officer or friend I wouldn't want to be the one to tell there wife, kids, family that we bought a inferior radio to save a $. $10K for a radio is not even worth one life. Same goes for the mobile side. Buy $500,000 ladder truck....Putting a $5000 mobile in it shouldn't break the bank. @gman1971 thanks for the comparison.

This has been a topic on many forums both radio and SAR for a few months. Some say Wyoming picked 307 because of the area code "307". For SAR in NY we don't recommend a channel. If we know what channel they are on we will monitor but other than FRS radios very few have a GMRS license. in 20 years I think only one guy had a FRS radio with him. Most have cell phones that dont realize when they get in the woods dont work or their battery dies.

You can cut the ends off and solder RED-RED and BLK-BLK if you prefer. I would just use some heat shrink butt splices for a temporary install as this. Remember though you may be pushing the limits of the 12V power port in the vehicle and the fuse shipped with the adapter.

Is the antenna planned to be used while driving or parked ? If parked the FG4500 is idea for the ladder mount. I run the FG4500 on my 38' MH on my repeater. I just get on site and mount (cable stays on the ladder). Its about 26" tall. The clamp kit that comes with it is ideal for the ladder on the MH. I'll admit I have left it on a few times after leaving the race track as I forgot. Its about 6" higher than the AC units on the roof. If mobile as said maybe Mag mount on a metal plate ? I did this on my fathers last Class C (Winnabego). Screwed a 12x12 piece of steel plate to the roof, dircor around edges and dropped his mag mount with a 1/4 wave on it. Used it for 3 years and it worked great.

Guess someone should call all these states and tell them to by CCR's. There is no reason for trunking systems with multiple sites...Not sure why AZ and CA have so many tower sites for radio systems.

My point was a CCR isn't going to talk 80 miles to a repeater. Unfortunately internet experts claim this is possible over and over and people believe I can go buy a POS CCR and an Ed Fong antenna and talk around the world. With quality equipment you can have great results. With cheap gear its not going to work. Manage expectations. If your gear cost less than dinner out thats what your going to get.

Your never going to talk to a repeater 80 miles away on an HT....

I would find a better antenna personally. While I prefer professional LMR antennas for hobby use many have ok luck with TRAM- https://smile.amazon.com/Tram-1486-Land-Mobile-Antenna/dp/B0043310UE/ref=sr_1_15?crid=2LPYYEER358ZK&keywords=UHF+base+station+antenna+450-470&qid=1643383873&sprefix=uhf+base+station+antenna+450-470%2Caps%2C40&sr=8-15 You can get a 90' SMA to N(F) jumper cable -12" long - https://smile.amazon.com/DHT-Electronics-coaxial-assembly-bulkhead/dp/B00COXZ2RM/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3OQOSYUSLFXJB&keywords=SMA+right+angle+to+N+(F)+jumper+cable&qid=1643383690&sprefix=sma+right+angle+to+n+f+jumper+cable%2Caps%2C44&sr=8-8

Asstated GMRS is in the middle of the business band. Most any UHF 450-470 antenna will perform fine.