I don’t think Midland radios are very good.

[SvenMarbles]

I'm not sure when Midland became Yaesu. I only remember that for the past 30 years they made what were considered the "cheapo" CB radios. Are the Midland GMRS radios superhet?

I only ask because of a conversation between 4 guys on the repeater today. Slamming "the Chinese junk". As far as I know Wouxun is the only thing trying to do non homodyne radios for the GMRS space.

 

[WRYZ926]

For the cost of a Midland MXT500 or MXT575, you will be better off buying the Wouxun KG-1000G or KG-1000G Plus. All are 50 watt radios and cost about the same price. The Wouxun KG-1000G is super heterodyne. 

I had a Midland MXT500 and never got more than about 35-38 watts out on high. The Wouxun KG-1000G puts out 45-48 watts on high. The KG-1000G sounds better on transmit and receive and is an all around better radio. 

Needless to say, I kept the Won and got rid of the Midland.

[SvenMarbles]

5 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

For the cost of a Midland MXT500 or MXT575, you will be better off buying the Wouxun KG-1000G or KG-1000G Plus. All are 50 watt radios and cost about the same price. The Wouxun KG-1000G is super heterodyne. 

I had a Midland MXT500 and never got more than about 35-38 watts out on high. The Wouxun KG-1000G puts out 45-48 watts on high. The KG-1000G sounds better on transmit and receive and is an all around better radio. 

Needless to say, I kept the Won and got rid of the Midland.

That's what I suspected.

I haven't owned a Midland GMRS radio, but I have owned their products in the past pre-GMRS. I didn't think much of it..

 

[OffRoaderX]

1 hour ago, WSAK691 said:

Are Midland radios good?

That depends on how you define "good"...

• Midland Micromobile radios are GREAT for someone that wants a decent quality, EASY TO USE, NO BELLS AND WHISTLES GMRS radio.. They are priced high but that price is worth it to many people willing to pay for that simplicity and the fact that the company is at least based in 'Murica.
• I have had several Midland radios (6 or 7?), with the power output ranging on them from 105% of its rated output to around only 75% .. But dont be fooled - although it's good to get what the box says, you will NEVER notice any difference between 35 watts and 50 watts in regular usage.
• Most of the mobile units do not have cooling fans but never once, ever, in all my usage of my Midlands, not once, has one ever over-heated, shut-down, or stuttered due to high-heat or over usage.
• According to the Midland Marketing Manager, the Midland Micromobile GMRS radios are a hybrid of Superheterodyne and HOMOdyne.. But I dont remember which half (RX or TX) is SUPERhet and which part was HOMOdyne... and most people buying this type of simple radio wouldn't care anyway.
• Anyone complaining about the lack of features on a Midland is obviously not who Midland is selling their radios to, and should therefore be ignored.
• Anyone slamming you over the air simply because your radio is chinese is a moron and should be ignored with extreme-prejudice.. Just tell them you're transmitting on a iCom radio and as long as your roger-beep is off i GUARANfuckingTEE you that they will never be able to tell the difference.

For MY money, I would buy a KG-1000G, but only because I am a radio dork.  However I have many friends that are regular-people that prefer the simplicity of the Midland radios and were more than happy to pay the $$ for that simplicity.

[Raybestos]

I have long suspected that Midland GMRS design engineers suffer from some form of arrested development.  So many things, they missed the boat on.  With regard to ht's that are promoted for use in the wilderness (also their Base Camp radio), they have woefully deficient battery capacity.  I believe most of their ht's are packed standard with something like a whopping 700mAh battery.  Additionally, and as far as I know, none of the Midland ht's are repeater capable, yet they promote use of their ht's and repeaters (along with mobiles) for farm and agriculture use.

The mobile designs also are a mixed bag of weirdness.  Some mobiles may only do narrowband FM while others are capable of narrowband and wideband on GMRS.   Some of the smaller mobiles may not allow for different encode/decode CTCSS/DCS tones on repeaters that use differing encode and decode tones.  The biggest issue with their mobiles that I see is they do not allow for programming additional repeater or simplex channels above the standard 22, 23, or whatever they come packed with.  This means if you regularly travel into and out of areas where the repeaters might use the same frequency, say 462.675, and one repeater uses a 141.3 PL and the other uses a 67.0 PL, you will need to pull over and change PL's when driving out of one repeater's coverage area and into the coverage are of the other.  Midland lamely tries to excuse this deficiency in design by saying they are making their radios simple to use for those who just want to hook up their radio and talk.  Never mind that as you gain knowledge and/or benefit from the experience and wisdom of friends, you will likely want to expand the capabilities of your mobile radios.  If your radio doesn't allow for such expansion, you are just out of luck.

None of the Midland GMRS mobiles include a cooling fan, something you will quickly understand the need for if making multiple key down transmissions in a short time or extended transmissions.

 

As WRYX926 correctly noted above, you will get a much better bang for your buck with a KG1000G or KG1000G+.

 

[SvenMarbles]

30 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

That depends on how you define "good"...

• Midland Micromobile radios are GREAT for someone that wants a decent quality, EASY TO USE, NO BELLS AND WHISTLES GMRS radio.. They are priced high but that price is worth it to many people willing to pay for that simplicity and the fact that the company is at least based in 'Murica.
• I have had several Midland radios (6 or 7?), with the power output ranging on them from 105% of its rated output to around only 75% .. But dont be fooled - although it's good to get what the box says, you will NEVER notice any difference between 35 watts and 50 watts in regular usage.
• Most of the mobile units do not have cooling fans but never once, ever, in all my usage of my Midlands, not once, has one ever over-heated, shut-down, or stuttered due to high-heat or over usage.
• According to the Midland Marketing Manager, the Midland Micromobile GMRS radios are a hybrid of Superheterodyne and HOMOdyne.. But I dont remember which half (RX or TX) is SUPERhet and which part was HOMOdyne... and most people buying this type of simple radio wouldn't care anyway.
• Anyone complaining about the lack of features on a Midland is obviously not who Midland is selling their radios to, and should therefore be ignored.
• Anyone slamming you over the air simply because your radio is chinese is a moron and should be ignored with extreme-prejudice.. Just tell them you're transmitting on a iCom radio and as long as your roger-beep is off i GUARANfuckingTEE you that they will never be able to tell the difference.

For MY money, I would buy a KG-1000G, but only because I am a radio dork.  However I have many friends that are regular-people that prefer the simplicity of the Midland radios and were more than happy to pay the $$ for that simplicity.

 

I'd rather have the fruitiest 7 tone roger beep imagineable and then also insist that it was an Icom.

 

 

[marcspaz]

 

I completely agree with OffRoaderX.  I am of the exact same opinions.  I have owned just about every GMRS radio there is to own and my two favorite purpose built, OTC GMRS radios, are the KG-1000G and the MXT500.  The KG-1000G is feature packed and is reliable.  The MXT500 is simple to use, water/dust resistant (huge plus for Jeepers who offroad) and reliable. 

 

As far as Superhet v Homodyne, I wouldn't get too wrapped up in that at these price points.  My Yaesu FTM-300DR double conversion superheterodyne receive sensitivity is -120.88 dBm, and my MXT500 (ROC/direct-conversion) receive sensitivity was -124.0 dBm... much better than the superhet Yaesu.

 

Their handhelds do fall short with the lack of repeater capability.

[nokones]

I have a Midland USA MXT500 radio that is not owned by a chinese corporation. My Midland puts out around 50 watts, don't remember exactly, probably more like 48 or 49 watts.  I think MXT500 is a great quality radio but definitely lack a ton of features.

Although, it's not my everyday radio, I keep it as a loaner radio for my radioless friends on Jeep runs or Porsche Driving Tours.

[SvenMarbles]

9 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

 

I completely agree with OffRoaderX.  I am of the exact same opinions.  I have owned just about every GMRS radio there is to own and my two favorite purpose built, OTC GMRS radios, are the KG-1000G and the MXT500.  The KG-1000G is feature packed and is reliable.  The MXT500 is simple to use, water/dust resistant (huge plus for Jeepers who offroad) and reliable. 

 

As far as Superhet v Homodyne, I wouldn't get too wrapped up in that at these price points.  My Yaesu FTM-300DR double conversion superheterodyne receive sensitivity is -120.88 dBm, and my MXT500 (ROC/direct-conversion) receive sensitivity was -124.0 dBm... much better than the superhet Yaesu.

 

Their handhelds do fall short with the lack of repeater capability.

Well superhet vs SOC matter a fair bit on the receive side. At any price point. A double  or triple conversion superhet receiver is unquestionably superior. I have silicon labs chip radios that hear Noaa weather 8 harmonics away and break a 1 squelch.

[nokones]

46 minutes ago, RayP said:

 Some of the smaller mobiles may not allow for different encode/decode CTCSS/DCS tones on repeaters that use differing encode and decode tones.  The biggest issue with their mobiles that I see is they do not allow for programming additional repeater or simplex channels above the standard 22, 23, or whatever they come packed with.

 

My MXT500 has a capacity of 128 channels and can be custom programmed for repeaters from Ch. 23 all the way to Ch. 128 and with split tones. Also, I can program channels 8-14 with custom repeaters channels.

[OffRoaderX]

16 minutes ago, WSAK691 said:

Well superhet vs SOC matter a fair bit on the receive side. At any price point. A double  or triple conversion superhet receiver is unquestionably superior. I have silicon labs chip radios that hear Noaa weather 8 harmonics away and break a 1 squelch.

Just based on this post alone, I can confidently proclaim that the Midland is not the right radio-choice for you.

[SvenMarbles]

1 minute ago, nokones said:

My MXT500 has a capacity of 128 channels and can be custom programmed for repeaters from Ch. 23 all the way to Ch. 128 and with split tones. Also, I can program channels 8-14 with custom repeaters channels.

Does it program on Chirp with alpha tags?

[OffRoaderX]

1 minute ago, WSAK691 said:

Does it program on Chirp with alpha tags?

No because none of the Midlands are CHIRP compatible..

See my previous post -The Midland is not the radio you are looking for.

[SvenMarbles]

Just now, OffRoaderX said:

Just based on this post alone, I can confidently proclaim that the Midland is not the radio for you.

I don't think they're for anyone who doesn't want to overpay for a radio for what it is. $400 for an MXT500 SOC radio or $389 for a Superhet which is measurably superior.

Don't be a goof and buy the wrong radio

 

 

[SvenMarbles]

4 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

No because none of the Midlands are CHIRP compatible..

See my previous post -The Midland is not the radio you are looking for.

 

5 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

No because none of the Midlands are CHIRP compatible..

See my previous post -The Midland is not the radio you are looking for.

I see. So what's the argument for buying an MXT500 over a KG-1000?

you can dummy-buy both, and just turn them on and use the channels.

[marcspaz]

8 minutes ago, WSAK691 said:

Well superhet vs SOC matter a fair bit on the receive side. At any price point. A double  or triple conversion superhet receiver is unquestionably superior. I have silicon labs chip radios that hear Noaa weather 8 harmonics away and break a 1 squelch.

 

Did you not read my post?  My MXT500 had measurably better performance than my FTM-300DR.  Saying a receiver is "unquestionably superior" just because it's a superhet is foolish.  Especially when I just shared measured proof that your statement is not correct.  While superheterodyne receivers are traditionally better performers when compared to direct-conversion receivers, that is only a generalization.  There are plenty of instances were DCRs are fantastic performers, and some superhet receivers are trash.

 

You can say it isn't true or its anecdotal, but I have bench-tested hundreds of transceivers in my lifetime.  There is definitely a correlation between similarly equipped DCRs and superhets at the same price point having similar performance.

[Raybestos]

...

[Raybestos]

21 minutes ago, nokones said:

My MXT500 has a capacity of 128 channels and can be custom programmed for repeaters from Ch. 23 all the way to Ch. 128 and with split tones. Also, I can program channels 8-14 with custom repeaters channels.

I was not aware they had expanded the channel capacity of the 500 by that much.  I stand corrected on that.  Thank You!

[SvenMarbles]

9 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

 

Did you not read my post?  My MXT500 had measurably better performance than my FTM-300DR.  Saying a receiver is "unquestionably superior" just because it's a superhet is foolish.  Especially when I just shared measured proof that your statement is not correct.  While superheterodyne receivers are traditionally better performers when compared to direct-conversion receivers, that is only a generalization.  There are plenty of instances were DCRs are fantastic performers, and some superhet receivers are trash.

 

You can say it isn't true or its anecdotal, but I have bench-tested hundreds of transceivers in my lifetime.  There is definitely a correlation between similarly equipped DCRs and superhets at the same price point having similar performance.

I did read that. But I was being polite, because that's not real.

[marcspaz]

Just now, WSAK691 said:

I did read that. But I was being polite, because that's not real.

 

What's not real?

 

[SvenMarbles]

2 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

 

What's not real?

 

Do you really want this?

[marcspaz]

Just now, WSAK691 said:

Do you really want this?

I'd wouldn't have asked, otherwise. What are you saying is not real?

[nokones]

23 minutes ago, WSAK691 said:

Does it program on Chirp with alpha tags?

I don't have a clue if you can program it with Chirp or not and even if you could I would never use it.  I'm using the Midland programming software.

[SvenMarbles]

4 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

I'd wouldn't have asked, otherwise. What are you saying is not real?

So when you said "-120dbm vs -124dbm" that sounds like you're on someone's receive and measuring that anecdotally. Am I right? Because that's not typical receive sensitivity metrics.

 

[Socalgmrs]

38 minutes ago, nokones said:

My MXT500 has a capacity of 128 channels and can be custom programmed for repeaters from Ch. 23 all the way to Ch. 128 and with split tones. Also, I can program channels 8-14 with custom repeaters channels.

But you still paid 2-3xs the money of a better radio.  
 

for the money I’d never own a midland radio.