Best Motorola Micromobile GMRS Form Factor
- Thread starter sastocky
- Start date
TrailHunter
Hooked
I have the MXT275 with the main unit inside the glove box. I have an iphone cable attached to it so my wife has her own charger. I like the simplicity of it without having to have access to the head unit. The volume on the Hand held has been just fine... but I run a hard top.
sastocky
Member
Well @TrailHunter leads into my next question. Is the MXT275 sufficient? Or…spend money to get the MXT575?
TrailHunter
Hooked
I guess it depends on how you use it.. The 275 has worked perfect for me. It will reach out to a mile or 2 sometimes.. And I even talked to someone 50 miles away using a repeater.. but that was just f’n around. The reality for me is I generally go out with 5-10 rigs and even if we are spread out on a trail it works great. On the freeway headed to the trail it works great. 50w or 15w.. if you are spread out with a mountain in between you, it’s going to struggle. I also carry a few 5w GXT handhelds and often end up handing those out to buddies.. and those work pretty damn good too.
Sometimes more wattage just means people that aren’t in your group are going to hear you. 5W in a small group works just fine.
Now.. if you consistently run with 20-30 Jeeps and tend to be the trail leader or tail gunner… get the 50W for that extra punch.
I believe the 50W is only the sending power.. so lets say you are up front and 20 jeeps back in winding canyons is your buddy with a 5W handheld… he might hear you.. but you may not hear him. And the guys in the middle will probably be able to transmit to both of you just fine.
So if you want the option to reach out farther for those few times it may help… or you consistently run with large groups that get spread out far on the roads and trails, get the 575. Otherwise the 275 will probably get the job done 95% of the time.
And just to add.. my antennae isn’t even setup where its “supposed” to be. I have it right where my CB antennae was.. on the tire carrier between the rear tire and the hard top... reaching past the hardtop a few inches.. And it still does just fine.
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sastocky
Member
Thanks. It is always good to have feedback from actual users.
jamesrw30
Active Member
You rated output wattage is only for TX. Your RX will always depend on the receiver in the radio and the antenna system. So , as stated, if you're putting out 50w, which you won't actually be with loss of the coax and antenna (unless the antenna has gain built in), everyone else may hear you better. If they are miles out talking on 5w or less, you may not hear them depending on terrain. When you're talking simplex, terrain plays a big factor. Trees, ridges and all that will knock signal down fast. Repeaters are generally owned by someone and can't be used, unless they are HAM repeaters which technically require a license to use. A radio rated at 50w output is great, but if it's got 10 or 15 watts reflective well that kills your gains. Antenna placement can play a big factor also. Now all this is coming from the world I work in which is public safety P25. Mostly 700 and 800 mhz. But all this still applies in the vhf and uhf world. I've used radios similar to both over the years. If you don't want a radio hanging out in the open, one with handheld mic controls is great. Functionally you shouldn't notice a difference. It's really preference. You can do rally well with a handheld as long as you aren't needing to talk to someone miles away.
Chain Reaction
Active Member
It would also be good to have someone test your antenna/coax for SWR to test reflected power once installed. Just make sure it's being tested with the correct test set for UHF and not CB. Also, as jamesrw30 noted, antenna location is important and depending on the antenna it will most likely require a good ground plane.