GMRS-50X1 Features Review

[coryb27]

As a side thought, if GMRS is something you enjoy and plan to keep using save you penneys and purchase a new part 90 radio with real features and the ability to program 1000 channels any way you like. Yes these radios can be priced from 300 to 800 but well worth it. I have several HAM rigs in the 800 to 3000 range, an Aeroflex service monitor that costs me many thousands, its my hobby and I invested it. I would love to see anybody find 1 case of the FCC tracking down somebody and issuing a fine for using part 90 gear because its not going to happen. Calls to the FCC will get you a response like, so long as we are not investigating you for other violations your part 90 radio is just fine. I have run into FCC field officers at commercial tower sites and have addressed the question in person showing them my GMRS setup (Motorola XPR5550 with handheld control) and the response was, that's a nice radio. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR plain and simple, cheap is cheap for a reason.....

[Elkhunter521]

Hey, the two tin cans worked. Hickam AFB, 1964. Had two tree forts. (No, not sissy tree houses) other side of the alley, 150 ft apart. They worked!

Dang, tried to get them to bedroom windows, couldn't keep the string tight.

[Elkhunter521]

High tech stuff!

[marcspaz]

LOL!

[revclstoner]

Well, I'll put my GMRS-V1 to the side and continue using my XTS3000 and TK-372G.

[gortex2]

I think Corey hit the nail on the head. You get what you pay for. I see this in my field for work daily. Customers put in a radio system on cheap then complain. It doesn't matter if it a garage GMRS repeater of a full blown countywide TLMR system. If you cheap out on features, option, subscribers, shelters, etc stuff will not meet your expectations. I have some cheap GMRS mobile radios and use them for what they are, being a cheap radio I can throw out. My go to radios cost over $5000 each but I use them for public safety along with my hobby stuff. There are alot of reasonable priced part 90 radios on the market and with some education can be very nice GMRS rigs. 

[marcspaz]

I have some cheap GMRS mobile radios and use them for what they are, being a cheap radio I can throw out.

 

LOL  I was thinking I was the only one who thinks like this.  I have a Midland MXT400 and 2 BTech handhelds that I use for spotting while offroad and other outdoor activities with an extremely high risk of falling in mud, getting full of dust, dropped, etc.  They only need to work for 100 yards, max, and for less than a minute at a time.  I'm not interested in getting a $800-$1000 worth of quality mobile gear full of coal dust.

[ChrisL]

The radio will scan through the tone codes and digital codes while receiving, to find a match.  The digital code scan is almost instant, but the TSQL is a bit slower.  Once you put it in DPL scan mode, it will continue to scan until the correct squelch is found.  However, unless someone is transmitting for 15 to 20 seconds straight, TSQL may take a couple of transmissions before the tone is found.  In my opinion, less than 30 seconds isn't bad.

 

Yes, you can run split DPL methods on transmit and receive.

Mr. Spaz,

 I went ahead and purchased the 50x1 mainly because of the ctcss scanning ability but I am not able to get it to scan. I reread your post and looked at Miklors site prior to writing this to see if there is any kind of instruction but I haven't found anything. I tried researching BTECH 50x2 radio since they are similar but was unsuccessful at finding an answer or video tutorial.

 Supposedly when it scans a "ct"  will appear on the screen but have not been able to make it happen. Hope I made sense.

 Thanks for your time.

 Chris

[marcspaz]

Hey Chris,

You have to be sure that TSQL or DCS have been previously enabled/activated as a separate configuration process, first.  If the DPL type you want to scan through is not enabled prior to following the guidance on pages 38 and 39 of the owners manual, it will not work.

[KAB8107]

Mr. Spaz,

 I went ahead and purchased the 50x1 mainly because of the ctcss scanning ability but I am not able to get it to scan. I reread your post and looked at Miklors site prior to writing this to see if there is any kind of instruction but I haven't found anything. I tried researching BTECH 50x2 radio since they are similar but was unsuccessful at finding an answer or video tutorial.

 Supposedly when it scans a "ct"  will appear on the screen but have not been able to make it happen. Hope I made sense.

 Thanks for your time.

 Chris

 

If it's like the UV-50X2 - It also won't scan if it is not actively receiving a signal - make sure it is receiving a signal; and first "enable" the tone mode like marcspaz said (such as set the tone to 67.0 then hit scan once the tone mode was enabled)

[thames]

I just received my 50X1 and am having issues communicating with my local repeater. Hoping I could get some advice here. Here are the symptoms and configs...
 

My local repeater is on 550 @ xxx.0Mhz Tone in/out

Channel 27 is set to 462.550

T-CTC is xxx.0

R-CTC is xxx.0

When I transmit to 462.550 I see the radio go from 462.550 to 467.550 when PTT is keyed. I see 'DeC:xxx.0' below the channel quadrants. My local repeater has a courtesy tone but I do not receive the courtesy tone when I Tx to it although I do hear traffic when people are active. My SWR with the 50X1 is 1.15 to 1.2. What's interesting is that I am able to hit this 550 repeater with my MXT400 using the same antenna and setup with no problems and a low SWR (1.15). I am also able to hit another repeater on 650 with the 50X1 successfully and hear the courtesy tone and was able to make contacts. This leaves me to believe the unit is programmed wrong or defective...

 

Additionally I am seeing that settings may not be storing correctly. See the videos below of me attempting to troubleshoot with BTECH support.

 

Factory Reset and reconfigure per instructions from support: https://youtu.be/E2uHXAyBnP4

 

Setting Storing Issue: https://youtu.be/ovlJnxGSQHg

 

 

Any advice is appreciated!

[marcspaz]

I just received my 50X1 and am having issues communicating with my local repeater. Hoping I could get some advice here. Here are the symptoms and configs...

 

My local repeater is on 550 @ xxx.0Mhz Tone in/out

Channel 27 is set to 462.550

T-CTC is xxx.0

R-CTC is xxx.0

When I transmit to 462.550 I see the radio go from 462.550 to 467.550 when PTT is keyed. I see 'DeC:xxx.0' below the channel quadrants. My local repeater has a courtesy tone but I do not receive the courtesy tone when I Tx to it although I do hear traffic when people are active. My SWR with the 50X1 is 1.15 to 1.2. What's interesting is that I am able to hit this 550 repeater with my MXT400 using the same antenna and setup with no problems and a low SWR (1.15). I am also able to hit another repeater on 650 with the 50X1 successfully and hear the courtesy tone and was able to make contacts. This leaves me to believe the unit is programmed wrong or defective...

 

Additionally I am seeing that settings may not be storing correctly. See the videos below of me attempting to troubleshoot with BTECH support.

 

Factory Reset and reconfigure per instructions from support: https://youtu.be/E2uHXAyBnP4

 

Setting Storing Issue: https://youtu.be/ovlJnxGSQHg

 

 

Any advice is appreciated!

 

 

I watched your videos after reading your post.  It looks like you are doing everything correctly.  I have good reason to believe your radio is defective.

 

I did comment on your thread, asking if you tried to program it via CHIRP of if you are only using the front panel programing options.  It's not likely that CHIRP will help, but it will all but guaranty its not something you are doing.

[thames]

I watched your videos after reading your post.  It looks like you are doing everything correctly.  I have good reason to believe your radio is defective.

 

I did comment on your thread, asking if you tried to program it via CHIRP of if you are only using the front panel programing options.  It's not likely that CHIRP will help, but it will all but guaranty its not something you are doing.

 

I replied in the other thread. Thanks again!

[Elkhunter521]

Hey Mr. Marcspaz,

 

You did a most outstanding job on the evaluation of the GMRS-50X1. Proof of this is that You are now the go to man for this radio.

 

I did buy one in spite of the reviews. However, I run it at 25watts. Without any test equipment I can only say it works great out of the box. I have a Midland 400, & 275 and all reports have it sounding much louder with more clarity than the Midlands.

 

Tnhanks again for the review.

 

Keith T.

[scootle]

Well, let's see. If every active GMRS licensee  (the FCC says there are 56,338 of us) bought 1 radio at $150 ea. that would net $8.4M. Then, let's assume retailer profit is 40% (66% markup).  That leave $100 per radio ($5.4M total) to the manufacturer (we won't worry about any wholesalers, etc. here).  

 

Now, I'll take a wild guess and say it would cost $200k to design a radio from scratch (I.e. not base it on any existing product) and another easy $200k to setup the manufacturing capability.  That brings the manufacturer's gross income down to an even $5M.

 

Next, let's guess each radio costs $50 to manufacture, and another $10 to box, warehouse and ship.  That is a cool $2.8M and the manufacturer is now down to $2.2M. Note that if this was the only product of its type, the manufacturer's costs would be much higher.

 

Next, in order to get 56,000 people to buy this radio you have to advertise. Easily $0.5M and throw in another $0.5M for promotion, trade shows, etc. Now we are down to $1.2M. Taxes, overhead, retirement plans, health insurance would likely add another $2M and we end up with a nice profit of $1,000,000.00  IF every single GMRS licensee actually bought one. The real number is likely to be under 10%. But, let's be generous and say it would be 25%.  So, after all this work the net profit is going to be around $200,000 and would result in a totally saturated market for years to come. And, don't forget you have to either pay off your investors or the bank, or have had the cash to finance this on your own.

 

And, THAT is why you do not have the perfect GMRS radio being sold today for $150.

 

Great review by the OP.  Thanks for doing that.

 

I thought it was interesting to see that there are less than 60k GMRS licensees in the FCC system.  I guess the market segment for this service is dominated by bubble pack radios for the most part, not equipment that is halfway between bubblepacks and actual full-bore amateur radio gear... I suppose that's where the Chinese manufacturers fill in for the time being.

[WREB270]

I have tested 3 of the UV-50X2's the first put out 32watts, the second just died in about 30 seconds bouncing between 0 and 9 watts and the third only output 21 watts.

 

I was going to get the x1 for GMRS use but if it's the same unit as the X2 just locked out to be FCC compliant... I think I will pass and am looking at the Midland MTX-400 instead. Icom makes the F6021 UHF 400-470 but it's only Part 90 certified, then they also have the 2730A advertised in the same range I was at one point considering for amateur, but it is a bare radio and all brackets etc are add ons, even to mount the face to the radio is extra.

[berkinet]

...Icom makes the F6021 UHF 400-470 but it's only Part 90 certified, then they also have the 2730A advertised in the same range I was at one point considering for amateur, but it is a bare radio and all brackets etc are add ons, even to mount the face to the radio is extra.

 

If you are considering the Icom IC-2730A, why not look at the F6021? Neither radio is certified for GMRS and the IC-2730A is not even certified for Part 90 (it is certified Part 15 only).  In other words, if you are willing to look at non-GMRS certified radios, there is a huge world of possibilities out there, including used quality professional equipment (eBay).  Specifically, search these forums on Kenwood (including some Part 95E certified radios) and Motorola.

[WREB270]

I did mention the F6021 in my post, it's part 90 not 95 certified. I also said I considered the IC-2730A for amateur not GMRS but you need to buy a bunch of basic items(like to attach the face to the body) that are considered extras just to get it set up. I considered a M1225 as well off of eBay but, unsupported as they are and getting fairly beat up examples left in UHF, don't want to get one and it die in 6 months, the MXT400 at least has some warranty to it.

[berkinet]

You posted a request about help selecting a radio, to which I responded. If you don't want to hear what other people have to say, don't post. My point was, if you are willing to consider Part 90 radios, there are a lot to choose from.

 

If you don't want an M1225, the CDM1550 is newer and there are a lot of them on eBay. They will outperform a cheap CCR (and the Midlands are exactly that at inside) long after the CCRs have died.  However, if you don't like Motorola, try Kenwood. They are solid radios and easier to get software for. Just search the forum, there are dozens of posts on the Kenwood radios.

 

But, suit yourself.

[Radioguy7268]

I'll point out that I've got a customer running M1225's in Concrete Mixers. They've been on the air with this system since 1998, so 21 years & counting. They've had a few failures along the way, but it's mostly been related to some driver dumping a fresh cup of coffee into the radio, rather than a failure of design.  Yeah, after 20 years, they don't look all that pretty, but they sure do work.

 

If you want something more "modern" - you can take a look at the CM300/PM400 which also has a pretty good reliability record.

 

If you don't want to invest in the programming software & cables required, you can always just figure on an extra $25 to $35 in "sunk" costs to have them programmed. Many sellers will include basic programming for a few channels in the cost of the radio. Don't expect to get 250 channels programmed for free, but if you're in that mode, you would definitely be better off to roll your own programming.

 

I'd still rather spend $100 to $150 on a used Motorola or Kenwood radio built to last, than a Midland radio brand new. That's just my opinion.

[SteveC7010]

I’ll add my two cents for Motorola. The M-1225 is exactly as described above. They just keep on working.

 

The CDM-1550 is a good choice but has a lot of bells and whistles that most GMRS users won’t care about. But, the right model 1550 can hold 160 channels. Its little brother, the CDM-1250 is limited to 64 channels which may or may not be a consideration. The CDM’s are programmed with fixed PL or DPL. They all use the same CPS and programming cable. Even the 4 channel CDM-750 can be a good choice if you need very few frequencies. A lot of folks like the 750’s in repeaters because of their low cost, high reliability, and simple programming.

 

Some models of the CM-300 and PM-400 can be set up for selectable PL. quite handy when you are traveling.

[RCM]

I did mention the F6021 in my post, it's part 90 not 95 certified. I also said I considered the IC-2730A for amateur not GMRS but you need to buy a bunch of basic items(like to attach the face to the body) that are considered extras just to get it set up. I considered a M1225 as well off of eBay but, unsupported as they are and getting fairly beat up examples left in UHF, don't want to get one and it die in 6 months, the MXT400 at least has some warranty to it.

I literally laughed out loud when I read this.

When I first got my gmrs license, I was tempted by Midland's marketing hype. And it looked like such a neat little radio. However, after I did my due diligence I decided against buying one. I'm really happy about that decision, too. Had I bought one, it would undoubtedly be sitting in the very back of a high shelf right now. I would probably not want to give away something I paid $250 for, nor would I want to take advantage of a newbie by actually taking money for something that I knew would handicap him from the beginning.

 

As for commercial radios failing, I've seen radios selling for $40 shipped that are way better than an MXT400. Even at double that price, you could buy three of them and a programming cable for the price of one MXT400. The software can be found as a free download, especially for Kenwoods.

 

My first gmrs radios were Kenwood TK-805s. With those you don't even need software: remove two screws, pop off the top cover, move a jumper, then power it up while holding a certain key sequence to enter programming mode. This allows you to program everything on the radio. The factory service manual (available as a free download) details exactly how to do it. When finished, power it down and back up and it's ready to operate. You can either leave the jumper in that position for future field programming, or move it back to the locked position. It doesn't affect radio operation, either way.

 

And, the TK-805 (like most of the Kenwoods) is part 95e accepted, so it is 100 percent legal for gmrs.

 

I bought several of them. I'm using one of them as the transmitter in my repeater. I'm thinking about putting up another repeater, and will probably use two of them for that. None of them have failed.

In fact, one of them was caked with dried soup or something when I got it. It worked fine, but it was ugly and some of the buttons would stick because of the caked-on goo. So I used soapy water and an old toothbrush to scrub it clean. After that it was good as new, and still is.

 

So, if you prefer to rely on the warranty from a proven (to be deceptive and misleading, that is) company, so be it. But I would rather have the better and less expensive commercial radios, and use the money I save to buy more of them. If one ever fails, it will just become a parts radio.

 

ETA: I just looked on ebay and found a few TK-805s on there for around $60 each. I also found lots of TK-880s for around the same price, including one seller who has 5 TK-880s for $55 each buy it now with free shipping, and a "make offer" option. You could probably get all five for $50 each, for $250 total. That's the price of one MXT400. A programming cable is about $12.

 

The TK-880 can also be set up for field programming if that's important to you, but it holds up to 250 channels so field programming is not necessary for most folks. Just enter the eight repeater pairs as many times as you need to get all the tone combinations you need.

[Downs]

Is there a TK880 usb programing cable or do you need a serial adapter? Been kicking around getting one.

 

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[axorlov]

Technically, you'd need a serial cable. However, there are bunch of cables on ebay that already include FTDI chip, making it USB. Like this, for example:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FTDI-USB-Kenwood-Programming-Cable-TK-780-TK-880-KPG-46/152844849543?hash=item2396435187:g:FCQAAOSwYVlaEPE5

[marcspaz]

...

You make a lot of good points that I don't disagree with, but I can't help but wonder how much of your opinion is biased by an extensive background in amateur radio.

 

In the ham world, we are really spoiled with access to top-notch hardware and many Hams like to tinker and learn. So, getting better hardware and going through the steps to build a great GMRS radio is nbd. I think most people who are new to GMRS don't fall into that category. I could be wrong... but I think that's the case and those people just want a turnkey radio.

 

Me personally, I love my Midland MXT400 radios. I have 3 of them in 3 different vehicles and they work fantastic for what I use them for.... including repeater use. Though, my opinion of GRMS is that it's the UHF version of CB, so maybe my expectations are just much lower. Especially when I "need" high quality comms, I have some nice, high performance ham gear.

 

Just a thought... and again, I agree with you. Just don't know that it's the only answer, is all.