Can anyone dumb down how to connect to a repeater using a mxt275

[Tic1355]

Im new to gmrs...i bought 2 mxt275s and i use 1 for a homebase with a comet CA on my roof with approx 40' of lmr400 coax running from radio to antenna...i do not know if i maybe have a bad connection where i spliced lmr connectors or not.... I thought i had a good connections, and i also  soldered and used a good quality tape...question is can i check signal strength with a digital multi meter?  I thought if i knew connections are good then i know im not doing the input frequency correctly because i cannot seem to connect to a repeater. These radios arent simple to connect to a repeater after you have fallen 25 ft onto concrete and lose your ability to comprehend what you read couple yrs ago..very frustrating would appreciate any help considering i cannot even find anyone to hire to do this part...thanks, dumb guy 

[SteveShannon]

6 hours ago, Tic1355 said:

Im new to gmrs...i bought 2 mxt275s and i use 1 for a homebase with a comet CA on my roof with approx 40' of lmr400 coax running from radio to antenna...i do not know if i maybe have a bad connection where i spliced lmr connectors or not.... I thought i had a good connections, and i also  soldered and used a good quality tape...question is can i check signal strength with a digital multi meter?  I thought if i knew connections are good then i know im not doing the input frequency correctly because i cannot seem to connect to a repeater. These radios arent simple to connect to a repeater after you have fallen 25 ft onto concrete and lose your ability to comprehend what you read couple yrs ago..very frustrating would appreciate any help considering i cannot even find anyone to hire to do this part...thanks, dumb guy 

I don’t know how you could easily test signal strength with your DMM, but you can transmit on one of the 22 simplex channels (1-22) on one radio and see the signal strength on the other radio.  You might not be able to hear your voice if the two radios are too close to each other, but at least you’ll know that you’re transmitting.

Do you hear the repeater at all?  If you hear the repeater then chances are your connections are good.

Lastly, you could use your DMM to test the coax connectors for shorts and opens.  The center pin on one end of the cable should read a very low impedance to the center pin on the other end.  The body of the coax connector on one end should read a very low impedance to the body of the coax connector on the other end.  Testing between the center pin and the body of the coax connector with the coax connectors on both ends disconnected from both the radio and the antenna should indicate a very high impedance.

Good luck!  Please let us know what you find.  Although it’s possible that the connectors have a problem, most of us get either the frequencies or the tones wrong when first getting started. Welcome to the forum!

[H8SPVMT]

It may sound silly by it worked for me on my MXT 400 A full reset to factory setting:

To restore the functions on a Midland MXT275 radio, perform a factory reset by pressing and holding the PTT (Push-to-Talk) and Weather buttons simultaneously while powering on the unit. 

How to perform a factory reset

1. Turn the radio off using the power/volume knob.
2. Press and hold the PTT and Weather buttons on the microphone at the same time.

1. Turn the radio back on while continuing to hold the PTT and Weather buttons.
2. Wait for the reset confirmation. The radio will reset to its factory default settings. 

What a factory reset does

A factory reset returns the radio to its original, out-of-the-box settings, which can resolve various issues such as:

• Programming errors.
• Incorrect channel or privacy tone settings.

[H8SPVMT]

It may sound silly by it worked for me on my MXT 400 A full reset to factory setting.

 

[WSEN940]

As you have two radios. You mentioned one having the comet antenna. Do you have an antenna for the second? If not, just set them to the same simplex channel and transmit from from the one with the comet and see if the one without an antenna picks it up. If they are close enough, the lack of an antenna may be in your favor as it won't overload the input. I don't have that radio, so no idea if it will work.

If you do have a second antenna, get the radio's away from each other and see if they can talk to each other....you will need to be a bit down the street probably or they may overload the input. If they can chat simplex, then the repeater setup will be the next thing to address. 

[Tic1355]

Thank you