Mobile gmrs options

[Dune88]

Hey sorry if this was covered or is in the wrong section. Most of my searches turned up to inactive or old threads. Looking for a mobile unit to put in my truck to replace my cb radio. I've seen Midlands mxt400 which I really like, just seems to be a steep price for something that seems to be the pofang bf9000.only difference seems to be the certification. I've heard good things about the Kenwood. Tk805? Found them pretty cheap. My only concern is buying something used, especially unseen. Really would like something new but then seems to narrow my options to the midland or getting something like the bf9000. As much as I would like to save the cash and seems a lot of people do it. While I rather not do something illegal even if it isn't enforced. The biggest concern is the build quality and cleanliness of the output. What are your guys thoughts?

 

Thanks

[ilikeeggs]

I started out with the MXT100.  Great little radio.  Now you can get them cheap on ebay.  I bought the MXT400 as soon as they were available.  40 watts is nice and it's FCC approved.  I agree with buying used.  You don't really know if there are any problems or not with the radio.  IF the radio is cheap enough then maybe it's worth a risk.  One thing I enjoy with Midland is their warranty.  There is a one year on the MXT400.  I recently returned a GXT5000, three years into a five year warranty and they send me a brand new one. 

Whatever you go with, make sure that you get a decent antenna.The magnetic mounts are good in a pinch but won't let you use the full potential of your radio.  If possible, get an NMO mount and get an antenna that you can trim to GMRS frequencies.  Tram, Comet, Larsen all make good ones..  Some people have their preferences.  They are all reasonably priced too.  Check ebay.

[Dune88]

Thank you for reply. I think I'm going to go with the mxt4000. Does it shows frequencies as well or just channels? I was looking at getting the midland nmo antenna. Figure it would be already tuned for gmrs.

[pfactor]

I agree with ilikeeggs.

I currently have a MXT400 as a base unit and it is truly a great little radio. Full MSRP @ $249 with an occasional discount on Amazon.

I'm thinking seriously about buying a second unit.  Yes a big thumbs up from this user.

pfactor    

[ilikeeggs]

Sorry for the delay. The read out is channel only. So far I've enjoyed it. I recently picked up a Laird BB4503 NMO antenna. Found it on sears website for $33 bucks, shipped.  You can find others on ebay. Just search GMRS mobile antenna. Plenty out there. I think most of them are better than the one Midland offers. 

[mainehazmt]

Check out some Motorola gm300's good solid radio and cheap. I've used them for over 30 hard to kill. Easy to program up to 40- 45 watts all day

[VegasUnderworld]

If all you want is great, quality communications, check your local Craigslist for used Motorola radios.  I've seen Motorola UHF radios for sale as little as $50.  Tx and Rx is crystal clear, but it's not something you can program on the fly and has no options other than communications.  If you want something with more features and don't want to go really cheap, a good place to start your search is with Yaesu and Icon, but you'll likely have to modify your radio for GMRS frequencies. 

[PastorGary]

The Moderator Staff at MyGMRS would like to remind new members of our statement regarding recommendations to use equipment not designed for GMRS operations:

 

https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/51-equipment-technical-information-and-personal-responsibility/

[WQWI871]

That gets me curious, by the way. Are there any (handhelds) that are both part 97 and part 95 (or part 90) approved? I know the odds of a radio being approved for different services is low, but, if the radio complies with the technical specifications of multiple services, the only thing that is missing to be legal is just a certification (and license, if applicable). Sorry to ask here, I just thought with G's friendly reminder up their, my comment was suitable. I can create a separate topic if need to do so.

[SteveC7010]

That gets me curious, by the way. Are there any (handhelds) that are both part 97 and part 95 (or part 90) approved? I know the odds of a radio being approved for different services is low, but, if the radio complies with the technical specifications of multiple services, the only thing that is missing to be legal is just a certification (and license, if applicable). Sorry to ask here, I just thought with G's friendly reminder up their, my comment was suitable. I can create a separate topic if need to do so.

Uh, there really is not Part 97 type acceptance like the other services. Remember that hams can build their own gear from scratch. So any Part 95 radio could be used in the amateur service by an appropriately licensed ham.

 

My experience with Part 90 gear is pretty much limited to Motorola radios. I can't speak to anything older than the 1225 product line although it is easy enough to research Part 95 type acceptance if you have a specific model in mind. The 1225's, both mobiles and portables, were the last radios to be Part 95 certified. (Except, of course, for Motorola's bubble pack FRS/GMRS products.)

[WQWI871]

Uh, there really is not Part 97 type acceptance like the other services. Remember that hams can build their own gear from scratch. So any Part 95 radio could be used in the amateur service by an appropriately licensed ham.

 

My experience with Part 90 gear is pretty much limited to Motorola radios. I can't speak to anything older than the 1225 product line although it is easy enough to research Part 95 type acceptance if you have a specific model in mind. The 1225's, both mobiles and portables, were the last radios to be Part 95 certified. (Except, of course, for Motorola's bubble pack FRS/GMRS products.)

I guess I meant amateur radio that is also part 95 (or 90) approved, but, that works, too. I know the Baofeng UV-82C is part 90 approved, with the amateur bands locked out, but, I think I seen that they can be unlocked in the software to transmit if licensed. I don't mean to be picky, It's just frustrating having to carry multiple radios, because I use GMRS as much as amateur. From what I see (I could be missing something), the Yaesu FT-65, for example, complies with the technical specifications of GMRS, but, non amateur bands are locked to receive only, and, It's not approved on non amateur bands. The asia version of the FT-65 doesn't have those bands locked out, but, probably still not approved.

[Bdog]

Another suggestion, would be the kenwood tk series. It takes some doing but the software and programming cables are available. The 880 I got as an eBay purchase and it's been mostly great. I would not recommend purchasing a radio withou the ability to program it, unless you buy a commercial preprogrammed radio with privacy codes already in it. I had a local dealer program for me but they didn't do the tones right and it was very expensive. They did go over the radios for me though and tuned them up. It was very difficult to find a dealer willing to work with non governmental customers.

[Bdog]

if you are going to program radios btw you should avoid Motorola series. Good radios but their dealer program is quite aggressive about allowing non dealers access to programming software. Also don't be an idiot. If you don't k ow what you are doing don't do this.

[axorlov]

Second for Kenwood TK-880. There is 25W and 40W versions, 40W is called TK-880H. Both are Part 95A approved. And there are 3 versions different by frequency alignment. For GMRS you'd need TK-880-1 or TK-880H-1. Software is KPG-49D, available on ebay or comb the internets. Programming cable is on ebay.

[Guest]

With respect to the moderators and others here: I had this debate a while ago in a Radio Reference thread which ended up getting locked because of flames and rants. With that being said: the NPRM (which is now becoming law of the land on the 28th of this month) spoke of how the FCC realizes people are using Part 90 equipment on GMRS and that it was mostly acknowledged and ignored. While I understand the "part 90" and "part 95" rules, the actual technical certification of transceivers in both parts adhere to similar, if not exactly the same specifications. It is why the FCC hasn't intervened to slap down people using Part 90 equipment which is usually many times more expensive than "commercial offerings" from other brands. 

 

That being said, I still say "go with your gut" considering that on GMRS here we have almost all Motorola repeaters running with a absolute skew of radios. Since I also maintain an almost 30-repeater DMR network, most people use their Motorola or Hytera or other Part 90 accepted radio for DMR and have the local GMRS repeater programmed into the zone right next to the DMR and analog ham channels. 

 

I am at a crossroads for my own gear because I have a Connect Systems CS710 and CS810 in my possession for GMRS/DMR/Amateur radio/UTAC/etc use which were purchased and furnished to us by state emergency management as a tool since we maintain many of their systems - not to mention they wanted to see how they stacked up against similar offerings. While I love the radios for my truck and to throw in my work bag - for personal use I haven't adopted DMR (and in turn any UHF radios) for myself. I owned Motorola XPR gear and sold it just because of the price of the CPS and the remote head or HHCH mount for my 5550 was more than what I paid for the radio. Now I want the CS800D for my personal vehicle but have a love/hate with the one in my truck because of the small screen and tinny audio. But the remote mount was AWESOME! Simple Cat5 cable and that's it. For my handheld I want to hold out until the AnyTone dual band comes out, because I don't like how the MD-2017 is snapping SMA connectors for some people.

 

Anyway - enough ranting on about the radios. I just hope with the new rules and what I mentioned above about the FCC acknowledging Part 90 radios on GMRS people can stop tip-toeing around the issue and just use a "reputable commercial radio" for their budget and needs. I just sent my last two MTS2000 radios down to TX with my wife for flood relief with the thought that the radios might not survive the trip if they get dunked. I sent them because they ARE cheap radios... and wasn't going to send my work XTS5000s down.

[n4gix]

As an alternative to the MD-2017 (which I own), you might consider the GD-77 from Radioddity. At $88 for a dual-band DMR/Analog HT it is a very good value, and does not have that silly trackball...

Unlike some other Chinese vendors, Radioddity is actively working on adding new features to the firmware, as well as improving the CPS. They are very proactive to consumer suggestions as well. One of the 'native' features is the "Promiscuous Mode", which allows you to create a new frequency pair, and receive any and all of the Talk Groups offered. This without the need to know the Color Code, and is Time Slot agnostic as well.

On the other hand, Contacts are limited to 256, and Channels are limited to 1025...

If anyone had told me as little as a year ago that I'd be able to buy such an HT for under $100 I'd have laughed in their face!

[WQWI871]

I did see and consider the Radiodiddy GD-77 for It's value, because as you mentioned, that is by far the cheapest dual band DMR handheld to find, being about the same price as a mono band MD-380. But, it just seemed like a cheap radio. I'm not saying It's a bad radio, just looks a bit cheap. I decided to wait for the Anytone D868UV or the Retevis Ailunco HD-1, hopefully sometime this year. I will still consider the GD-77 for It's value, though, that's far more doable for me. I would've purchased an MD-380 by now if it were dual band.

 

On a side note, what I'm mostly looking for in a DMR handheld, and, I know this may be a waste to some, but, private / group calls, private / group messages, analog mode, normal talk on DMR repeaters, clock and gps. I don't plan on using talk groups much, I may pick a couple talk groups for the fun of it every now and than, but, I'm not very interested in that. The D868UV, by the way, seems pretty solid on the 6W. Which is nice because my Baofengs are solid on the 8W and if I do manage to save for a dual band DMR, I would want to carry it over an analog considering it is also analog, so, I'd prefer to compromise as less as possible so that It's more of an upgrade than a downgrade. I noticed recently that I wasn't reaching a local repeater good with the 5W FT-65 when my Baofeng UV82-HP is always solid in the exact same spot.

[WQWI871]

Dang. That TYT TH- UV8200 looks nice, but, not many reviews. It's like a 10W dual band MD-380, but, is analog not DMR. And, roughly $100. Eh I know there's compromises, but, it sucks that It's difficult to find one radio for multiple needs.

[n4gix]

I'm not sure what you mean by the GD-77 looks "cheap." I can assure you that it is a solidly built as any MD-380/390 or clone. It does weigh a few ounces less than an MD-380, and has a somewhat slimmer looking profile since it just a hair taller...

[WQWI871]

Sorry that was a poor choice of words, I didn't mean it like that lol. It's difficult to explain what I meant by cheap. I don't think the MD-380 looks cheap, and, although the GD-77 takes on the same form, it just seemed different regarding construction. I'll still consider it for It's value. Hopefully if all is well with Irma, I can find something at an upcoming hamfest.

[WQWI871]

So, the Anytone AT-D868UV is available now, I see the going price about $160. I don't know for how long, but, that's cheaper than expected. I may go with it, as it doesn't seem too much more than the GD-77 (less than $220) but, I want to wait a little until I found out more about the Anytone AT-D868S which is suppose to be a 10W/5W/2.5W/0.5W model of it. Although the extra transmitting power is nice, it seems to have some compromises such as less channels and maybe contacts. 5W is usually not enough some places I go, but, 8W usually is. If the 7W of the 868UV is pretty solid, it may be okay, but, I'd rather not get it and the power is more of 5.5W, though the 868S 10W would be nice.

[Guest spd641]

So, the Anytone AT-D868UV is available now, I see the going price about $160. I don't know for how long, but, that's cheaper than expected. I may go with it, as it doesn't seem too much more than the GD-77 (less than $220) but, I want to wait a little until I found out more about the Anytone AT-D868S which is suppose to be a 10W/5W/2.5W/0.5W model of it. Although the extra transmitting power is nice, it seems to have some compromises such as less channels and maybe contacts. 5W is usually not enough some places I go, but, 8W usually is. If the 7W of the 868UV is pretty solid, it may be okay, but, I'd rather not get it and the power is more of 5.5W, though the 868S 10W would be nYou are limited to 5 watts on GMRS hand held

You are limited to 5 watts on GMRS hand held...William

[WQWI871]

You are limited to 5 watts on GMRS hand held...William

Despite my comment being posted in someone's GMRS topic, it was a random conversation that was going on that wasn't related to the original post or GMRS. I didn't feel the need to create my own topic or start a private conversation, though, I do apologize for "hijacking" the original post, and, unless someone has something to add onto that comment, I feel the conversation will cease.