Midland MXT500 P/A intercom feature

[Elkiny]

Hello all, I recently installed a Midlands  MXT500 radio into my hunting rig. It came with an external speaker which I also installed and of course that’s connected to the radios external speaker port (3.5mm jack). The radio also has an intercom connection on the back of the radio, that connection is a mini 5 pin TLR. Has anyone been successful in setting up the P/Aintercom? I’ve tried everything I can think of but no matter what I do, when I make a PA announcement, the audio comes out of the external speaker and not the horn…thoughts?

[WRUE951]

4 hours ago, Elkiny said:

Hello all, I recently installed a Midlands  MXT500 radio into my hunting rig. It came with an external speaker which I also installed and of course that’s connected to the radios external speaker port (3.5mm jack). The radio also has an intercom connection on the back of the radio, that connection is a mini 5 pin TLR. Has anyone been successful in setting up the P/Aintercom? I’ve tried everything I can think of but no matter what I do, when I make a PA announcement, the audio comes out of the external speaker and not the horn…thoughts?

The PA audio is suppose to come out of the external speaker.   I'm not sure what you mean by 'horn'.  If you mean a PA megaphone speaker, that needs to be plugged into the external speaker.  If you want to use both you'll have to install a secondary audio switch.  Also, if your Midlan is prior to 2024 then you will need to update the firmware to utilize the PA and you can do that via software/instructiopns from their website 

[Elkiny]

Thanks for the response. I was referring to a PA horn which I have located under the hood of the truck. I would like to utilize both. So what is the purpose of the intercom connection port on the back of the radio? What is that used for?

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, Elkiny said:

Thanks for the response. I was referring to a PA horn which I have located under the hood of the truck. I would like to utilize both. So what is the purpose of the intercom connection port on the back of the radio? What is that used for?

Perhaps it’s a line level output to feed an actual PA amplifier.

[WRUE951]

try unplugging the external speaker when using the PA.  Pretty sure you will hear the PA.. If that works for you,  you might think of installing an audio switch to toggle the external speaker while using the PA.  Also, Steve suggested a PA amplifier. Some radios don’t have enough ump to drive a PA megaphone. If you don’t think it is loud enough then follow Steves suggestion. 

[Elkiny]

Thanks for the response. I was referring to a PA horn which I have located under the hood of the truck. I would like to utilize both. So what is the purpose of the intercom connection port on the back of the radio? What is that used for?

[Elkiny]

Understood, thank you all!