Sound of Silence - What did you say?

[GeauxGreddy]

I installed my radio, registered with the Overlords, and checked the SWR AND fars ability of my two very cool and very fancy new antennas. Thats right, I have a pair. 

I then passed the broken neck test while in my sons 4th grade carpool line. Despite what "they" may tell you when laying on adjacent pillows, length does matter. Trust me. Pretty sure Lulu Annes mama flashed me.  Small chested though, so I am not positive. Hot. 

Due to my successes in installation and subsequent feather fluffing, I was PUMPED when I hit the trails last weekend.  As soon as the first words were spoken...I was at FULL attention, ready to go from 6 to 12.  Then.....womp womp womp.  Whispers...near silence. I need some radio viagra.

I couldn't hear a durn thing the trail leader or tail gunnar were saying.  We had a spread of about...200 yards. Only 10 Jeeps. I was 3rd in line behind our dear leader. Flat woodlands. My CB radio could reach the gas station 2ish miles up the road (I've lead people to the trail from the gas station over my cb when they arrived late).  I have video on the Tubes of You of screaming loud comms clearly heard over my very cheap and very abused Uniden Pro 520. So far, I am not impressed with this new fangled technology. I am, as the kids would say, disappoint. I even turned on a 2nd handheld GMRS radio to supplement sound amplification. Which nearly killed my ears when I mic'd up without turning off said 2nd radio nestled against my jimmies. Of course it was on vibrate..duh. Great feature.

So, to ye, the Masters of GMRS, do I need to supplement my 250 dollar GMRS mobile radio with an external speaker OR.....do I need to remind people to make their words directly and LOUDLY into the hand held voice capturing contraption?  

[Guest]

I have no clue what the first 3/4?of this post are about but…. Here goes…

 

I have Motorola speakers in my old loud trucks.  I can hear them fine doing 60mph pulling a big trailer with the windows open and the diesel screaming.  They are cheap and work great.  Plus once I’m parked and can turn them up and hear my radio 100ft away no problem.   Also it’s very likely some, Many most may have had a certaIn brand of raDio that only or are factory set to narrow band.  So you won’t be abLe to heAr them well if your radio is set to be wide baND.    One of the many reasons I cant stand that particular radio brand. 

[GeauxGreddy]

38 minutes ago, WRXP381 said:

I have no clue what the first 3/4?of this post are about but…. Here goes…

 

I have Motorola speakers in my old loud trucks.  I can hear them fine doing 60mph pulling a big trailer with the windows open and the diesel screaming.  They are cheap and work great.  Plus once I’m parked and can turn them up and hear my radio 100ft away no problem.   Also it’s very likely some, Many most may have had a certaIn brand of raDio that only or are factory set to narrow band.  So you won’t be abLe to heAr them well if your radio is set to be wide baND.    One of the many reasons I cant stand that particular radio brand. 

LOL. Just having fun, because life is too short. 

I should have mentioned, after only being able to barely hear the others, I switched from wide band to narrow band. The MXT400 has that capability.  Same result.  Any idea which motorola speaker you're using?

[Guest]

9 hours ago, GeauxGreddy said:

LOL. Just having fun, because life is too short. 

I should have mentioned, after only being able to barely hear the others, I switched from wide band to narrow band. The MXT400 has that capability.  Same result.  Any idea which motorola speaker you're using?

No clue as to the part number. They come in a 2 pack from eBay for $24. They work great and are very loud and clear.  Also use them in the house on the base radios so I can hear the radio in the rear of the house. 

[nokones]

Please note the Motorola and Midland part numbers, and the type of connectors for each speaker. There is nothing wrong with the Midland speaker. You might want to get the Midland Speaker so you don't have to change out the connector on the Motorola Speaker.

[nokones]

And this is where I have my speakers mounted in my 23 Jeep Wrangler Rubi 2 Dr. The Motorola Speaker is my for Motorola XTL5000 UHF radio I use for GMRS and the Cobra Speaker is for my Cobra 25 LTD Classic AM-FM CB Radio.

[WRYZ926]

I can vouch for the Midland SPK-100 being a good speaker and plenty loud enough to hear in a noisy environment. I have one attached to the top roll bar on my Honda Pioneer 500 and I can hear my rain just fine while running 35 mph down a gravel road. And the Pioneer 500 is pretty noisy going down the road/trail. Yes the SPK-100 cost more at around $65 -$70 but it is IP rated for water and dust. The IP rating and being 20 watts is why I went with the SPK-100 for my SxS.

The SPK-100 works well with my Wouxun KG-XS20G and my TYT TH-8600 radios.

[WRUU653]

If you’re needing to boost the volume more than a remote speaker, Midland has a waterproof powered amplified speaker with noise cancelation. Midland- SPK200 Heavy-Duty 20W Amplified External Speaker 

Here’s a review 

Edited August 25 by WRUU653
Added a proper review

[WRYZ926]

Basically the only difference between the Midland SPK-100 and SPK-200 is the SPK-200 has noise cancellation and an amplifier that requires a power source. If the SPK-100 works fine in my SxS, it will work in a Jeep. One won't go wrong with either speaker.