gortex2

Well, If you knew anything about Midland you would know they have been in the radio business for 50 years. For decades they were a go to LMR radio for law enforcement, wildland and DNR applications. I still know agencies with Midland LMR gear in use. They also have had GMRS radios long before anyone you list on this site. My first Midland was a xstal radio and we had to wait over 2 months for the channel we got licensed to arrive. They were also the first FRS radio to the market when the FCC approved them. Yes part is marketing and they are the ONLY vendor I have ever seen at an offroad show or any event in that industry. Handheld CH. KISS. My parents are in their 70's. They want to pick up a MIC with no buttons and talk. The midland mobiles do that fine for them. For my Jeeps I have the MTX-275 (actually had another arrive yesterday..and wife wanted the Jeep one so it was $10 more than the standard). The HHCH is perfect for a vehicle such as the Jeep. We use one repeater that is mine so dont care about having 50 repeaters in the radio. The wife can jump in and it turns on and if someone say go to ch 4 she turns to CH4. Lastly 90% of the folks we wheel with run Midland as does JJUSA. For that fact its the same and anyone can jump in my rig or hers and know how to use the raidos. What many forgot on this site is we are a very very small user group that gets on a forum. Tons of folks out there use GMRS and have no interest in forums, repeaters, or being ham lite. They just use radios. I have farms all around me that use Midland gear and every tractor, combine, truck has one in it. If I want to play ham radio or outher service I just switch over the my APX8500.

My reasoning is why is it needed ? Public Safety Radios systems dont use roger beeps and have worked just fine for years. Ive never once seen the reason for it in any of my communications. My repeaters are used all the time and users know how to operate on them. I guess its just how you use a radio or have used one. Ive never had a FF or SAR unit walk up to me and say "hey I need it to beep so I know folks are done". You will also not hear it on most commercial LMR systems. Highway departments, water departments, tow trucks, parks and rec departments all know how to use a radio. As said its all up to the individual, but I dont allow it on my repeaters and dont plan to change that.

I dont use it in GMRS, HAM Radio, CB or LMR.

That was most of it. Our shop sold lotys of GMRS systems to schools, malls and other small outfits. Mainly because we were north of Line A and even an itinerate UHF split would take over a year to get a license on. GMRS was 5-7 days after we submitted. Sold alot of Midland LMR gear, some Motorola and ICOM stuff.

At one point the FEMA report showed 85% outage accross Western NC. Most sites were affected by power. I know of multiple sites still down due to damage. Most cell sites have enough power for 5 minutes if that. Alot has changed since the days of ma bell and the reliability that was built in the networks.

When I'm on my bike for SAR stuff radio is in backpack with antenna out in open. BT mic on my APX radio and I'm good to go.

Can you yes. Should you no. They are ham radios. Use radios with the proper certification.

As said it all depends. In the end its what your going to use it for. Alot of folks on here trash midland gear but its simple to use, relaible and plentiful. If 99% of your stuff is talking to your mobile, to another user on simplex then they make good gear. If your trying to make GMRS ham lite and want 100 repeaters in the radio then its not for you. I have many midlands that are used for what they are. Never had issues with any of them and just ordered another for our new Jeep.

I have to agree with socalgmrs which bothers me but spending a bit more up front on proper gear normally results in happy life and better performance. Ive seen many folks come on here, get annoyed when they use inferior gear then get disgusted with performance and disappear. If your serious about the service buy stuff made for the service and use it. Very few of the GMRS users are on this site. The majority of GMRS users buy a GMRS radio and talk and dont care about all the bells whistles and other stuff.

I dont have that microphone but on my early 275 all channels are narrow band. On my new 275 repeaters are wideband. The 575 lists both wide and narrow available in the manual as well as on the site. The 275 doesn't list that info. Ch 8-14 are not in either radio. I guess is there a need for wide narrow ? I use my midlands to talk to other jeeps on the trail and thats about it. Being 99% of the folks are on hand helds or other midland mobiles it works out of the box. YMMV I'd be curious to know if you do swap mics and it gives you that ability. I am guessing it does not.

Just send it back and get a Part 95 radio

I think solar is great for those that can use it, my issue is it getting crammed down my thoat. For use case our SAR Team has a 40' shipping contianer. This is divided into a 20' storage unit and a 20' classroom. Being we are volunteer and not funded a monthly electic bill isn't the best. We installed a 100 watt panel and some batteries. This year we got a grant to replace the 30 year old batteries. Doesn't cost us anything and is more than enough for a class, or to stop and grab gear at night. I also have a shed on my property. NO AC power in it and only way is overhead due to concreate. I put a 20 watt solar panel, a 3ah battery and a LED strip light. On a motion detector. Perfect to go in grab a wrench or other tool and leave. It wont last 8 hours but fills a need. On the other hand I could not run my house or want to. I wont be alive by the time I make my money back.

I use GMRS same way I've used it for 30+ years. As a tool for my family and friends to talk. I also use it on trails with friends now.

I have used the Laird/Larsen version of that antenna in the past for investigators cars as well as my wifes vehicle. All use was on TLMR and not on conventional simplex stuff. On scene of an incident it worked ok (should I can see all the FF's from my windshield). Larsen still sells this antenna - SB450FME12 for 450-470. So depending on your use case its a good antenna. If you can't talk on a HT from inside your car with rubber duck this wont help. Works very well for close by or good repeaters.

No. All scanner feeds scan certain sources, frequencies. No one just scans unknown frequencies.