Recommended GMRS radio for vehicle

[koni13]

Any recommendations for a reliable GMRS radio for both off roading, travels and around town. Would be great to hear pros and cons on experiences on usage, brands and prices. 

[OffRoaderX]

All you are going to get is people re-enforcing their opinion that whatever they bought is the best.. and, you will get one that will say "brand X is junk and everybody i know that ever had one returned it or threw it away"...You can ignore him because we are all pretty sure that he is rhee-tarh-ded..

Tell us what is important to you in a radio and you will likely get some better recommendations ..

[WRYZ926]

I will suggest getting a mobile radio with a good IP rating since you said you want to use it while off roading especially if you are in an open type vehicle such as a Jeep or UTV.

Knowing what features you want will help us give suggestions. And don't forget that you will need a good antenna. 

[Hoppyjr]

Maybe watch some video reviews and user experiences on YouTube, so you can get an idea of the various features offered by different brands.

[koni13]

Good range, inexpensive, easy to use setup along with installation and reliable. 

 

[WRUQ357]

I've had a Midland MXT275 in my jeep for awhile. Pretty good radio for what it is. Put it on a simplex channel and talk. I didn't like having to go into the menu to go to repeater channels. I finally bought a Radioddity db20-g and all you have to do is scroll up to the repeater channel with the tone dialed in. Probably not explaining it right, but it works for me. 

[WRXB215]

3 minutes ago, WRUQ357 said:

Radioddity db20-g

I'm starting to think this one is the UV-5R of mobile radios. It's popularity is quite impressive.

[koni13]

6 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

I will suggest getting a mobile radio with a good IP rating since you said you want to use it while off roading especially if you are in an open type vehicle such as a Jeep or UTV.

Knowing what features you want will help us give suggestions. And don't forget that you will need a good antenna. 

I have a set of handheld GMRS radios, although seeking a GMRS radio to ping repeaters and maintain in vehicle. Should have NOAA capabilities and two band monitor. Attempting to get a feel for what others are using as will be my 1st radio in vehicle. 

[koni13]

8 minutes ago, WRUQ357 said:

I've had a Midland MXT275 in my jeep for awhile. Pretty good radio for what it is. Put it on a simplex channel and talk. I didn't like having to go into the menu to go to repeater channels. I finally bought a Radioddity db20-g and all you have to do is scroll up to the repeater channel with the tone dialed in. Probably not explaining it right, but it works for me. 

Which do you prefer and did either one come with antenna? If not what antenna do you use for better distance range with communications. View the radioditty is much less in price range.

[amaff]

Another DB20-g user here. It's not perfect, but for <$100 it's hard to beat. More money to spend on a good antenna mount and antenna. And it meets your brief.
Will receive NOAA radio, dual band listening (...unless you unlock it). And like WRUQ357 said, it's as easy as changing to a repeater channel and setting the tones.

You can even program in channel names from the face of the radio (ie: without plugging in a computer) if you want.

My only real complaint is, like many cheaper GMRS radios, it's super restrictive on what it'll allow you to program (ie: it wants the channels in very specific places. Channel 1 goes in memory slot 1, etc) and it only has 8 or 9 'extra' repeater channels. But that can be... fixed (see above).

Something to note: The Retevis flavor of this same radio (they're both basically Anytone 779UVs with different stickers on them. My DB20-G even said "ANYTONE" on the power up message when I first got it) does *not* come with a programming cable, that I've seen. The Radioddity does. So if that's something you want, keep that in mind. You can buy the cable for a few bucks, but Amazon shows the Radioddity $10 cheaper than the Retevis that doesn't come with it.

There are some programming quirks (and the manual sucks) but there's plenty of info out there, including on this site, with user guides.

 

TLDR: Not the best radio, but does what you want for relatively little $.

[koni13]

23 minutes ago, WRXB215 said:

I'm starting to think this one is the UV-5R of mobile radios. It's popularity is quite impressive.

Yes have seen reviews appears a highly recommended radio, leaning on this one as a favorite.

[WRYZ926]

1 hour ago, koni13 said:

I have a set of handheld GMRS radios, although seeking a GMRS radio to ping repeaters and maintain in vehicle. Should have NOAA capabilities and two band monitor. Attempting to get a feel for what others are using as will be my 1st radio in vehicle. 

If having an IP65 rating for dust and water are important then I will suggest the Wouxun KG-XS20G Plus for $199. It is an excellent radio and very easy to program using the radio buttons or mic buttons. It has dual watch, NOAA channels, weather alerts and can receive 2m and 70cm bands.

Here is the link to Buy Two Way Radios so you can read the specifications. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-xs20g.html?___SID=U

There is nothing wrong with the DB2-G and it's very popular. But is is not IP rated if that matters to you.

As far as antennas go, the Midland MXTA26 is a very popular antenna as long as you are not restricted on antenna height. If you need a shorter antenna, then go with a good bottom loaded 5/8 wave antenna. 

[gortex2]

I run the MTX-275 in all my Jeeps for trail communications. Paired with 1/4 wave UHF whip on an NMO on all. 

[nokones]

I think a good Jeep Trail radio is the Midland MXT500. It is a simple radio to use for GMRS and has a 128 channel capacity. The radio is small, provides good RF power output, almost at 50 watts, but you should see about 45-49 with no problem. Also, the power draw is pretty decent at not more than 9 amps at the most. In addition, the Midland mobile antennae are decent GMRS antennae and have good VSWRs on the GMRS freqs.  I would think that a 128 channel capacity radio is more than sufficient for the trail.

The MXT575 is a decent radio but very very limited on channel capacity and and custom channel programming as opposed to the MXT500 radio. Thd MXT575 does have a handheld control unit for simplicity and convenience.

The MXT500 radio can be programmed with CPS whereas, the MXT575 is only menu driven programming.

The other Midland mobile radios are also good trail radios but they put out less RF power and in respect will draw less amps to power the radio. I'm not familiar with the channel capacities of the other Midland mobile radios and their drawbacks, if any. 

[WRUQ357]

22 hours ago, koni13 said:

Which do you prefer and did either one come with antenna? If not what antenna do you use for better distance range with communications. View the radioditty is much less in price range.

I prefer the Radioddity for simplicity. The midland comes with a little antenna and it worked quite well out on trails. I installed a nmo mount on the cowl of my jeep and run a midland ghost antenna now. If I wanted distance I'd would go with the midland mxt26 db gain antenna, and still might pick one up for driving to and from the trails, though there's really no one to talk to where I live. It's pretty quiet on gmrs and cb around here. 

[koni13]

11 hours ago, nokones said:

I think a good Jeep Trail radio is the Midland MXT500. It is a simple radio to use for GMRS and has a 128 channel capacity. The radio is small, provides good RF power output, almost at 50 watts, but you should see about 45-49 with no problem. Also, the power draw is pretty decent at not more than 9 amps at the most. In addition, the Midland mobile antennae are decent GMRS antennae and have good VSWRs on the GMRS freqs.  I would think that a 128 channel capacity radio is more than sufficient for the trail.

The MXT575 is a decent radio but very very limited on channel capacity and and custom channel programming as opposed to the MXT500 radio. Thd MXT575 does have a handheld control unit for simplicity and convenience.

The MXT500 radio can be programmed with CPS whereas, the MXT575 is only menu driven programming.

The other Midland mobile radios are also good trail radios but they put out less RF power and in respect will draw less amps to power the radio. I'm not familiar with the channel capacities of the other Midland mobile radios and their drawbacks, if any. 

Yes, so many options to choose from, Midland, Wouxun, Btech, Radioditty and on and on. Still debating as reviews have its pros and cons, appreciate!

[WRUQ357]

5 minutes ago, koni13 said:

Yes, so many options to choose from, Midland, Wouxun, Btech, Radioditty and on and on. Still debating as reviews have its pros and cons, appreciate!

If you're good with computers, then you can program most any of these radios to fit your needs. I'm not. Some of them are easier than others from what read on here. The MXT275 is a good radio, I just don't like how you have to go into the menu to get to the repeater channels. And also you have to follow midlands codes to install the repeater tones. I have it in my truck now because I don't think I will be using repeaters while in my truck, just mobile to mobile simplex. 

[WRUU653]

One thing to think about is where you plan to install the radio and if you have room or not. If space is at a premium you may want to look at a mobile radio that has a detachable head unit that can be located more easily with the main part of the radio remotely placed somewhere else. The Wouxun KG-1000 Plus comes to mind. I am not sure what other radios may do this. Good luck in your decision.

[LeoG]

On 11/1/2024 at 9:15 PM, OffRoaderX said:

All you are going to get is people re-enforcing their opinion that whatever they bought is the best.. and, you will get one that will say "brand X is junk and everybody i know that ever had one returned it or threw it away"...You can ignore him because we are all pretty sure that he is rhee-tarh-ded..

Tell us what is important to you in a radio and you will likely get some better recommendations ..

I have the Wouxun KG-XS20G and it's the best radio they ever made because it's the only one I've tried.  LOL

I like the radio.  Easy to program, buttons on the mic along with the unit, can plug it into the cigarette outlet and it's rated at 20 watts but mine puts out 25.  I'd say the sensitivity is more like -115dBm than the stated -120dBm (.25uV) because on occasion my TD H3 can hear things it can't.  But that a bottom end signal anyway.  Front end isn't perfect since it's a radio on a chip tech.  If you want a super het then do the Wouxun KG1000 which is 50 watts.

 

How'd I do Randy...

[WRYZ926]

One thing to remember abut Midland radios, their models with everything in the hand mic cannot be programmed using a computer.

Out of all the GMRS and amateur band radios I have, the Wouxun KG-XS20G and KG-935G Plus are the easiest to program. 

Guys give me good signal reports when using the KG-XS20G with a Comet 2x4SR antenna. 

 

[WRXB215]

1 hour ago, WRYZ926 said:

their models with everything in the hand mic cannot be programmed using a computer.

Interesting, I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up.

[WSFC997]

Another DB20-G user here.  Nice compact radio that will reach out as far as I need it to.  Simple to program, once you figure out the Radioddity software, and is unlockable to use for other frequencies (if you have a HAM license) or just to open up ALL the slots for a buttload of repeaters if you go past the limit in the GMRS version of the software.  

WSFC997

Jeff

[SteveShannon]

6 hours ago, WSFC997 said:

Another DB20-G user here.  Nice compact radio that will reach out as far as I need it to.  Simple to program, once you figure out the Radioddity software, and is unlockable to use for other frequencies (if you have a HAM license) or just to open up ALL the slots for a buttload of repeaters if you go past the limit in the GMRS version of the software.  

WSFC997

Jeff

My biggest gripe is the fact that there’s no alternative to the Radioddity software for,programming.  My second biggest gripe is that you can’t export channels from one configuration and then import them to another configuration even if the channels are compatible.  

[amaff]

5 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

My biggest gripe is the fact that there’s no alternative to the Radioddity software for,programming.  My second biggest gripe is that you can’t export channels from one configuration and then import them to another configuration even if the channels are compatible.  

Totally fair criticisms there. Not even being able to copy & paste lines like any other 'spreadsheet' type program is really dumb. The software is pretty clunky... it does the job, but there's no reason for it to be that annoying to use.

I don't have a ton of experience with a lot of different "CCR" programming software, but in my two data points, it seems to be a thing. Wouxun's is equally bad for my 905Gs.

 

[RIPPER238]

I have a Midland MXT275 and its been good for my off roading with all the standard GMRS features. Not great with repeaters but unnecessary for off road prepossess in most cases. Has NOAA too. The display on the Mic is really nice and its super easy to use and i have an upgraded MXTA26 6db antenna as well as the ghost antenna when i'm not off roading so my 4R will fit in the garage. 

But now that i have revisited upgrade options im thinking of going with Wouxun KG-1000G Plus.