Got My New MXT500 - Not Impressed

[MichaelLAX]

On 4/18/2022 at 3:34 PM, wayoverthere said:

edit: downloaded and installed, but no luck reading from the anytone, and trying to mess with things in the .dat and .fre files just ended up with system errors and making the program unusable.  the fact that they limit what tx frequencies you can program via the software makes me think it's not all that locked down in the firmware, similar to the Wouxun 805g, but dependent on programming limitations in the software to keep it in-band.

Not surprising: .dat files are generic and have no predefined structure.  So one particular software's .dat file will probably have no connection to anothers.

[wayoverthere]

1 hour ago, MichaelLAX said:

Not surprising: .dat files are generic and have no predefined structure.  So one particular software's .dat file will probably have no connection to anothers.

Yeah, it wasn't particularly surprising. One of those "worth a try things"...though that does bring to mind something else to try, to see if opening the dat file from the radioddity software works with the Midland software.

What I tried previously was using the Midland software to try readying from the anytone radio (just to clarify).

[jwilkers]

So...the btech isn't holding steady numbers...started at 51 watts on 462.650, and slides downward as I transmit. SWR is solid 1:1 into a Midland 5/8 wave whip.

Those rebranded QYT radios are famous for that. Take underpowered finals "overclocked" for lack of a better term and drive them to 50 watts. Pair that with a very inefficient cooling system and you are looking for trouble. I've got a similar btech amateur rig and I lost 70cm power output completely.

Sent from my SM-A125U using Tapatalk

[Citizen]

On 1/12/2022 at 2:45 PM, MichaelLAX said:

My home power supply delivers 13.9 volts to my Anytone AT-779UV for its ~20 watts output; my car, only 12.5v.

 

On 4/18/2022 at 4:25 PM, Citizen said:

I have in my notes that the AT-779UV at high power is actually 25 watts.  Don't remember where I read that, but it lead me to specifically make a note of it.

 

On 4/18/2022 at 5:14 PM, MichaelLAX said:

You may be confusing it with the Anytone AT-778; a completely different radio, which is listed for 25 watts.

If I recall correctly:@OffRoaderX's YouTube review of the DB20-G, showed it at 18 watts on his meter.

 

On 4/19/2022 at 3:10 AM, wayoverthere said:

that lines up with seeing 18 from mine into a dummy load, and 22 into an antenna, both on high...i usually use medium power.

 

On 4/22/2022 at 12:42 PM, donniefitz2 said:

I found that the AT-779UV puts out 18 watts UHF and it does 25 watts VHF. 

 

Well, I found where I read that the AT-779UV should put out 25 watts, at least in VHF (and only 20 on UHF).  I knew I wasn't going crazy....

Let me explain:

I have two AT-779UV's that I bought separately.  Before I got the radio(s), I donwloaded the AT-779UV Instruction manual.  On the last page (p9), under Transmitter Power, it shows "VHF: 25/5W, UHF: 20/5W" (see image).

That said, and in conflict, the hard-copy instruction booklet for Transmitter Power shows "UHF>18W VHF>20W".

I double checked myself to make sure I'm not mistaken.  And these are only what the instructions "say", which probably are not accurate.  Oh, the CCR instruction manual writers strike again!

Unfortunately, I do not (yet) have a power meter to actually measure the two radios myself, so will rely on @OffroaderX's video as stated.

...

[MichaelLAX]

Anytone obviously believes these are alternate facts!  (with apologies to Kelly Ann Conway; well known GMRS jammer in her spare time )

[marcspaz]

So, something new that I am extremely disappointed about with my MXT500.

 

When I got this radio, I did not bother doing any real testing of the receiver for noise rejection, filtering and selectivity.  And today I don't need to because I know it sucks. The receiver is so bad, that I may send this back to Midland for repair and then sell it, because it's not reliable and therefore not usable. 

 

I went offloading this weekend and opted to use my MXT500 because it is water and dust resistant and my other radios are not. I used the radio for about 14 hours a day for 3 days, out in the mountains of PA. This was the first time I used the radio for more than a few minutes for testing and getting familiar with the radio.

 

On the first day, after having the radio on for about 30 minutes, a few people I don't know started chatting on a close-in repeater. The repeater is close enough to me that I receive its signal well enough that there is zero noise/static in the signal. After just 3 minutes of hearing the chatter, the receiver started cutting in and out. Not the audio, but the actual receiver would flutter as I watched the signal meter and hear the audio just go away and comeback rapidly. 

 

I turned on my handheld, just to confirm it wasn't the repeater or interference and the handheld was receiving the conversion perfectly.  This issue persisted over the entire 3 days. If a conversion went on for more than a few minutes, the receiver went to crap.

 

To make things even worse, it started raining on the second day and it rained all day.  The whole time my headlights were on, we could hear a distinct crackle and interference with the receiver. Also, every time the windshield wipers moved, you could hear the wipers motor in the receiver. On top if that, my Jeep was completely off and a buddy pulled along side me to talk, and I could hear HIS windshield wiper motor on my radio.

 

This is not a wiring issue with my Jeep. It is not an issue with filters on my power lines or my antenna cable. I simply unplugged my existing amateur radio equipment and plugged the MXT500 into the existing power and antenna system. None of my other gear has any issues on these connections. 

 

Now, as if that wasn't bad enough, listen to this... I was talking to someone at their home, on my local repeater while driving around last night (just dealing with the noise and receiver flutter] and I needed to jump out of the Jeep and run in a store.  The repeater is about 25 miles from my neighborhood. So, I hoped out and grabbed my handheld so I could keep chatting while walking around in the store.

 

The guy I was talking to asked me if I made any adjustments to my radio. I said "I just got out of the truck and switched to my handheld". I thought he was going to give me a bad report, but instead he said that may handheld radio had a better signal into the repeater and the audio was much much better. 

 

When I got back outside, I confirmed the Midland was in wideband and on full power.  I'm so disappointed that the transmit signal of the Midland and the receiver quality or so bad. I mean, my quality into the repeater was better with a 5w HT while inside a building from 25 miles away... my heart sunk even more.

 

I know you can't see it, but im making my sad face. 

[WROZ437]

So what is the best option for those of us that don't want to deal with everything involved with obtaining and reprograming older Kenwood or Motorola mobile units? Is all of the "CCR" stuff trash? Is there no good affordable option for those of us that just want a simple reliable radio? You know, something like an MXT500 or MXT575 that actually works?

[gortex2]

23 minutes ago, WROZ437 said:

So what is the best option for those of us that don't want to deal with everything involved with obtaining and reprograming older Kenwood or Motorola mobile units? Is all of the "CCR" stuff trash? Is there no good affordable option for those of us that just want a simple reliable radio? You know, something like an MXT500 or MXT575 that actually works?

Ive said it in the past. I run the 275 in both my Jeeps and the 115 in my parents vehicles. Also had a 115 in my Motorhome we just sold. I have yet to find issues with any of the radios. With that said I run good NMO mounts and 1/4 wave antenna's on all of them, except my mothers Renegade. We have a Larsen glass mount on that. They work great on my repeater. 99% of my traffic is simplex when traveling for Jeep events or camping. When at a camp ground I had my repeater in the MH and would use sometimes. Even when traveling up and down the east coast I have yet to find a repeater I could not access that I wanted to. I guess its all on what you expectations are . I find the ease of use and basic controls a plus especially for my parents who are in the 70's. Been doing GMRS for a long time and other than my public safety gear all my GMRS stuff is Midland for the purpose above. Simple. Reasonably priced.

If your in an area where you are bouncing all over repeaters and split tones and such I guess they aren't the best option but I find many worry about that when its not really an issue. YMMV

[gortex2]

Oh and as reference all my vehicles have APX 8500 mobiles with the GMRS bank in them. I still find it simpler to use the midland.... 

[marcspaz]

16 minutes ago, WROZ437 said:

So what is the best option for those of us that don't want to deal with everything involved with obtaining and reprograming older Kenwood or Motorola mobile units? Is all of the "CCR" stuff trash? Is there no good affordable option for those of us that just want a simple reliable radio? You know, something like an MXT500 or MXT575 that actually works?

 

 

So, I never provided an update on my situation.  I did some serious testing and I discovered that the noise issues I am having are directly related to my Jeep.  I have been driving with my roof and doors off all season.  The noise issues I have been experiencing are 100% due to some obscure airflow while the Gladiator is stripped down, causing static electromagnetic interference, and just with one antenna location.  If I switch to my secondary antenna mount in the rear of the pickup bed or if the roof and doors are on, I have zero issues.

 

That said and after experiencing a tad bit of frustration due to no fault of the gear, I will still contend that the top two over the counter mobile GMRS radios are the KG-1000G and the Midland MXT500. 

 

The MXT575 seems decent, too, but I have only experienced it from using one installed in another persons Jeep.  Though, the MXT575 doesn't have a Compander feature (I don't see it in the manual or menus), which isn't a must, but it is a nice feature for Midland to Midland communications when both have the feature.

[gortex2]

Thanks for the update Marc. I want to grab a 575 also to play with but can't justify the cost when my 275 works fine and where I need more power the APX does the trick ! 

[WROZ437]

23 hours ago, marcspaz said:

 

 

So, I never provided an update on my situation.  I did some serious testing and I discovered that the noise issues I am having are directly related to my Jeep.  I have been driving with my roof and doors off all season.  The noise issues I have been experiencing are 100% due to some obscure airflow while the Gladiator is stripped down, causing static electromagnetic interference, and just with one antenna location.  If I switch to my secondary antenna mount in the rear of the pickup bed or if the roof and doors are on, I have zero issues.

 

That said and after experiencing a tad bit of frustration due to no fault of the gear, I will still contend that the top two over the counter mobile GMRS radios are the KG-1000G and the Midland MXT500. 

 

The MXT575 seems decent, too, but I have only experienced it from using one installed in another persons Jeep.  Though, the MXT575 doesn't have a Compander feature (I don't see it in the manual or menus), which isn't a must, but it is a nice feature for Midland to Midland communications when both have the feature.

Thanks for the update! I believe you have a Gladiator, which is also what I have, so I find your experience interesting. Which antenna location did you find problematic?

I am also a huge fan of driving without doors or a roof. Currently I have an MXT 275 and no immediate plans to replace it as I am generally happy with it even though I don't use it a ton. That said, I am always willing to improve my setup, within reason. My antenna is currently mounted to the driver's side cowl but I have a full height bed rack and I am seriously thinking of moving the antenna to the rack. The obvious drawback there is the height that will be added to the truck but I think radio performance could be better due to the height. I could also add a true ground plane on the rack.

Sorry to derail the thread. 

[ldcarson]

I got my MXT575, but haven't hooked it up yet as I am still playing with the Wideband version of the MXT275 which was just returned from Midland.  I have to say am impressed with Midlands turn-around time on the MXT275.  Optimally it would be nice if we could just do it with Chirp.

[marcspaz]

5 hours ago, WROZ437 said:

Thanks for the update! I believe you have a Gladiator, which is also what I have, so I find your experience interesting. Which antenna location did you find problematic?

 

The location that causes me trouble when everything is off is a lip mount 1/4 wave on the driver's side rear of the hood.  It is only on channel 19 and only when I am stripped down and moving (unless someone with bad filtering on the wipers or alternator stops next to me).

 

When I move the radio to one of the antenna mounts in the bed of the truck, I have no issues.  But if I want to run amateur VHF/UHF and HF along with my GMRS radio, its not an option, so I stay off of channel 19 when possible.  Otherwise, if I am on the repeater on 19, I just user my TSQL instead of running splits and leaving the receive side open.

 

 

 

5 hours ago, WROZ437 said:

My antenna is currently mounted to the driver's side cowl but I have a full height bed rack and I am seriously thinking of moving the antenna to the rack. The obvious drawback there is the height that will be added to the truck but I think radio performance could be better due to the height. I could also add a true ground plane on the rack.

 

 

I am not sure where on the cowl your antennas are mounted, but almost anywhere on the cowl is a bad idea for multiple reasons.  First it's way to close to the occupants of the vehicle.  There should be at least 2.6 feet between people and the antenna so no one gets sick from RF radiation exposure.  It cooks you just like a microwave oven cooks food.

 

Second, my cowl and corner caps are plastic.  So if you want to use a 1/4 wave antenna or another antenna style that requires a reflective ground, the SWR will be high and the performance will be very poor.

 

A friend of mine with a Gladiator had installed his antenna in the same place (on the corner cap) and couldn't understand why hes receive was so poor with regard to audio quality and his range was terrible.  While we were on a wheeling trip, I moved his antenna to the lip of the hood instead and his performance greatly improved.  He went from only having about 1/2 mile of usable range to being able to talk to me simplex while 2 towns over.

 

If you want to mount the antenna on the top of the rack, I strongly recommend making sure the rack is grounded to the bed and the frame with 3/8" or 1/2" braided grounding strap.  Make sure the antenna mount is touching metal (preferably unpainted by using puncture screws).  Also, because the roof is either plastic or fabric and the significant loss of reflective surface area, I would use a 1/2 wave antenna so it doesn't require a ground plane to work.

 

A good NGP antenna will be about 13" tall plus about 1"-2" for the mount... so maybe 15" tall about the rack.  This would be the shortest, BTW.  Many are as tall as 32".

[kidphc]

On 6/16/2022 at 2:57 PM, marcspaz said:

 

The location that causes me trouble when everything is off is a lip mount 1/4 wave on the driver's side rear of the hood.  It is only on channel 19 and only when I am stripped down and moving (unless someone with bad filtering on the wipers or alternator stops next to me).

 

When I move the radio to one of the antenna mounts in the bed of the truck, I have no issues.  But if I want to run amateur VHF/UHF and HF along with my GMRS radio, its not an option, so I stay off of channel 19 when possible.  Otherwise, if I am on the repeater on 19, I just user my TSQL instead of running splits and leaving the receive side open.

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure where on the cowl your antennas are mounted, but almost anywhere on the cowl is a bad idea for multiple reasons.  First it's way to close to the occupants of the vehicle.  There should be at least 2.6 feet between people and the antenna so no one gets sick from RF radiation exposure.  It cooks you just like a microwave oven cooks food.

 

Second, my cowl and corner caps are plastic.  So if you want to use a 1/4 wave antenna or another antenna style that requires a reflective ground, the SWR will be high and the performance will be very poor.

 

A friend of mine with a Gladiator had installed his antenna in the same place (on the corner cap) and couldn't understand why hes receive was so poor with regard to audio quality and his range was terrible.  While we were on a wheeling trip, I moved his antenna to the lip of the hood instead and his performance greatly improved.  He went from only having about 1/2 mile of usable range to being able to talk to me simplex while 2 towns over.

 

If you want to mount the antenna on the top of the rack, I strongly recommend making sure the rack is grounded to the bed and the frame with 3/8" or 1/2" braided grounding strap.  Make sure the antenna mount is touching metal (preferably unpainted by using puncture screws).  Also, because the roof is either plastic or fabric and the significant loss of reflective surface area, I would use a 1/2 wave antenna so it doesn't require a ground plane to work.

 

A good NGP antenna will be about 13" tall plus about 1"-2" for the mount... so maybe 15" tall about the rack.  This would be the shortest, BTW.  Many are as tall as 32".

Marc,

I had my Comet 2x4sr mounted on a ditch light bracket (used hood hinge screws as mounting location) right off the corner of the hood on my Landcruiser. I was having issues with RFI on half of the GMRS frequencies. Wrote a thread on it. Also was getting wiper motor noise etc.

Well recently i moved it half way down the hood on a different mount about 2 feet further. Mostly because the ditch light mount was rocking. New mount the antenna is too damn stiff and rocks the mount as well. Not as bad since its secure to the fender and not the hood.

Side benefit seems to be (still testing). That there is a metric crap ton LESS RFI. Even though its now next to the fuse box and battery. From what I figure on my truck 90% of the noise was being generated from the Vacuum accumulator motor (not a stereo typical booster setup).

Super long winded. Sorry. Chrysler products are not known to have the best ecus nor wiring. Have you tried moving the antenna further down the hood (towards the bumper). Although hearing wiper motor noise from another vehicle is a bit much. Was this an issue with your old 400?

[marcspaz]

@kidphc that's good to know that you had luck with moving your mount. I haven't moved mine yet, but when I get back to Virginia, if the dealer is done with some unrelated work, I'll pick it up and try sliding it forward. Worse case, I can swap the front and rear functions, using the back for UHF and the front antenna for VHF.

 

And yes, both Jeep and Dodger/Ram vehicles cause a massive amount of RFI with most of the computers and controllers being in plastic cases instead of metal. I also can't run an HF Amp in my Jeep because anything over 100w below 50 MHz causes absolute chaos.  LoL 

[dangerruss]

I had the same issue with power output on my MTX500.  Midland claims they bench test every radio on power output.  Mine only put out 39 watts.  I sent is back for warranty repair because in was not even close to being in the +/_ wattage output specification.  They returned the unit to me and it was damaged in shipment.  They sent me another radio and I asked them to test it before the sent it to me.  When I received the new unit it measured 48 watt output which is within their specification output.

[WRYS709]

It's threads like these that always lead me to question the efficacy of purchasing any Midland products to anyone who posts that question, even though I have no direct experience with their products.

Where are the positive comments about Midland products???

It seems to me the only positive statement I have ever read on this thread (in the "modern era") about Midland is that the "Jeep" and "4x4" communities like to use them because newbies can go to Walmart and purchase FRS radios to use to communicate with the Midlands of the more experienced members of the group.

[Socalgmrs]

Midlands stink.  And btw a bubble pack FRS radio will communicate with ANY other gmrs no problem.  Midland are 2-4xs the price of a better radio.  

[WRYZ926]

I just noticed this old thread resurrected. I had a MXT500 and it was not putting out any where near 50 watts on high. I was also not impressed with the RX and TX sound quality. Needless to say the MXT500 was replaced by  Wouxun KG-1000G that is a much better radio. Heck the Wouxun KG-XS20G did a better job at reaching the repeater tower 21.5 miles away when we were testing the antennas on simplex compared to the MXT500.

[WRYS709]

2 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

Midlands stink.  And btw a bubble pack FRS radio will communicate with ANY other gmrs no problem.  

Not what others say here on this Forum.  FRS's are only narrowband and Midland apparently prides itself in coming with narrowband as the default (and in some cases, the only available setting).

 

2 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

Midland are 2-4xsbthe price of a better radio.  

What?

[gortex2]

Midland works fine for the intended audiance. There are way more folks out there using midland products than you think. If not Midland would stop selling it. I've seen them at Farm Shows, Jeep Events, RV Shows and other places. To be honest Midland has been doing GMRS stuff since beforer many of you were born. I have a xstal midland GMRS rig at home that my father put in a car 40 years ago. Yes products change but Midland is just one of many folks that sell stuff. They just cater to folks who want a plug and play radio. Not everyone wants 15 repeaters in there radio or ham and everything else. My parents love the KISS method. I run them in all my Jeeps for that reason. 

 

[Socalgmrs]

14 minutes ago, gortex2 said:

Midland works fine for the intended audiance. There are way more folks out there using midland products than you think. If not Midland would stop selling it. I've seen them at Farm Shows, Jeep Events, RV Shows and other places. To be honest Midland has been doing GMRS stuff since beforer many of you were born. I have a xstal midland GMRS rig at home that my father put in a car 40 years ago. Yes products change but Midland is just one of many folks that sell stuff. They just cater to folks who want a plug and play radio. Not everyone wants 15 repeaters in there radio or ham and everything else. My parents love the KISS method. I run them in all my Jeeps for that reason. 

 

All I can say is there are more uv5r radios in the world than all the others combined. Excel Motorola obviously    Midland spends 10xs the money on advertising then RandD.  That should also tell you something. They are geared towards people that don’t k ow any better.  Any radio is as simple or hard to use as you make it.    I’ve been in The off road world and made a good living from it for about 40 years.  No one that ever gets serious about radios ever keeps the midland products.  Or rugged junk for that matter.  They either get sold or go in the trash for better less costly radios. 

[Socalgmrs]

1 hour ago, WRYS709 said:

Not what others say here on this Forum.  FRS's are only narrowband and Midland apparently prides itself in coming with narrowband as the default (and in some cases, the only available setting).

So some gmrs frequencies are also narrow band so there is that.  Also narrow and wide can talk to each other just not with the best results.  I can also set any of my radios and any frequency to narrow if I need to. I have easily talked to narrow band FRS bubble pack radios with all of my radios I use for gmrs with zero issues. 
 

some people just have no clue what they are doing.  

[WRYS709]

58 minutes ago, WRXP381 said:

some people just have no clue what they are doing.  

Yes and for some reason they are recommended Midlands...