Midland GXT1000VP4 GMRS Two-Way Radio

Works really well we can here around the areas we go to keep track of family The clarity is awesome and in sturdy black case overall appearance Charging takes a long charge Very portability just clamp to my purse and go

Bought a set of these a little over two years ago for the intended purpose of using them to help herd a pack of Cub Scouts around on various outings. Originally, I needed a set of radios that would work over a mile, mile and a half range of various terrains. Tested when received over the ground I initially needed them for, mostly flat, but the longest range was not line of sight and partially screened by a copse of trees. Radios worked just fine. Since then I've used them in more varied terrains from heavily wooded to urban and in ranges of up to three miles (that one urban) with no issues. My original usage intent was at our yearly Cub Scout day camp. Sometime we would need to split off a group of the boys to go to different locations with a set of adult leaders. (Like a trip to the john, nurse or Webelos activity.) One radio would stay with the main group and one would go with the others so we'd have a means of linking up should the main group have to move on to the next activity before the others returned. I've also used them on hikes and nature walks with the pack. I'll put one at the head and one at the rear of the column in case line of sight contact has been broken. (Just try and stay in sight contact in a corn maze - LOL!) If we need to spread out even further, I have an older, cheaper set of FRS/GMS radios with less power which I can distribute through the group and we can relay messages if the lower power units don't have the juice to transmit all the way. We've also used them when spread out over a larger, urban area to co-ordinate during our Scouting for Food Drives. They've worked out well. We have an effective means of maintaining contact without resorting to shouting at each other and trying to get the others attention. Battery life has been more then sufficient for a one day outing. Bear in mind though the more you transmit, the faster the batteries are used up. That's just common sense. I love having the ability of swapping the battery packs out for AA's if necessary. This brings me to one peccadillo about these radios which is mentioned in another review, but I believe is buried in the comments section, so I'll bring it up in the actual review. When recharging one of the battery packs, even though the battery is completely recharged, when placed in the radio and switched on, the unit fails to operate. There is an easy fix for this. Simply take the battery pack out of the radio and switch it on for a while. Then replace the battery pack and the radio should function just fine. Not sure why this is, and it's certainly a bit annoying, but there ya go... In my opinion, most reviews lack a discussion of two things: First, the weather alert function of these radios work extremely well. Living in the Mid-West, weather can blow up, especially in the summer, very quickly. The safety of my Scouts is my primary mission. Being alerted to changing weather is absolutely critical. My MIL lives in a very rural area and I took these radios along when we visited last. A line of tornadoes blew through the area and these radios warned us when we needed to take cover and when it was safe to come out. Secondly, to operate these radios legally in the GRMS band at maximum power (and maximum range) you NEED an FCC license. The current cost of the license is $85.00 (although there is talk about dropping the license requirement) which seems steep when compared to the roughly $59.00 cost of the radios. However, the license is good for 5 years, which breaks the cost down to $17.00 a year. Now, obviously, your chances of getting busted by the FCC is virtually nil, but it would be my luck to be Mr. Nil. (Plus I'm using these with my Scouts, so I feel obligated to be "morally straight" and be licensed.) If you don't want to spend the money to be licensed, simply use only the FRS bands or throttle down the power on the GRMS bands. At low power you don't need a license, but be advised that you're lessening your range doing so. So, I'm pleased with these radios and do recommend them. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat. Just bear in mind the range claim is wishful thinking in the extreme. If you have needs like I outlined above I have every confidence you'll be happy with them, too.

Can't say they work as far away as they say (maybe on a flat prairie). But they are simple to use, great sound quality, durable, and held a charge ALL DAY and well into a second day. Very impressed so far. I would have given it 5 stars but bought this set because of the ear pieces. Wish the ear pieces that came with them were more comfy. I will probably have to replace those. They also made it very hard for them to hear me.

Works well and not difficult to use. Change teh light to turn green when charged. Also, screen gets multicolored in hi-heat days (>90f)

I am personally GMRS licensed to use these radio's. What's nice about this radio is that people who don't have a GMRS license aren't just limited to 7 low power FRS channels. This radio does actually give you more options to use more channels legally if you don't have a license. What the manual exactly says about licensing is, " You must be licensed prior to operating on channels 1 - 7 or 15 - 42, which comprise the GMRS channels of the GXT1000/1050 Series. Serious penalties could result for unlicensed use of GMRS channels, in violation of FCC rules, as stipulated in the Communications Act's Sections 501 and 502 (amended)." The way it reads, it doesn't sound like a license is required for channels 8-14 but these only operate on low power FRS. Channels 43-50 will allow you to use all three power combinations constituting low, medium, and high. The manual also says, "Note : You cannot adjust the power setting on the FRS channels (8~14 and 34~37). They are set to Low power per FCC regulations." I personally recommend that people use the radio's according the manufacturers instructions. I would also encourage people to comply with GMRS regulations when using the radio's. The odd thing about the instructions is that the say those are low power FRS channels 34-37 in one specification are set to low power but in another section the manufacturer tells you not to use them without an FCC License. They don't tell you what the specific frequencies are for channels 23 through 50. The radio's themselves do get pretty good range even in low power. The sound is pretty good, the auto-squelch is pretty good. The radio's are fairly durable. The range is pretty good across all power settings. You can choose between the supplied rechargeable battery pack or AA alkaline or AA NiMH rechargeable. The only thing I wish that I could get is a crank charger for the Midland Battery packs. Take it from somebody who actually owns one. This is a great radio. I've owned Midland, Motorola, and other brands. Midland, Motorola, and Uniden are all good brands. I'm kind of partial to Midland but I've owned a number of different brands. These three companies just seem to put out better products than the cheaper off brands and knock off radio's. Cobra also puts out a good product. I highly recommend that you read the manual from the manufacturer for how to legally use the radio's and double-check that information with the FCC. Don't rely on my post in case I got anything wrong and the FCC requirements may change. My review was not written with the intent of informing people about how to legally transmit with the radio's. You should get that from the manufacturer and FCC. [...]

The radios were well packaged and came fully charged. The instructions are clear and well thought out. I tested the radios in the hilly wooded terrain of southeast Ohio and the sound was clear 1.5 miles away. So far, so good.

I went with Midland because they offer a line of mobile gmrs radios also I can talk about 3.5 miles on high power with me at the house on the back deck and my friend inside his car. Range would be farther if one party was up high and had a clear line of sight. This is comparable to any handheld radio [ham, commercial ,marine ] so dont get disappointed if you cant talk 36 miles from your living room to your wife at Walmart. The radio works well and has a nice feel to it.Appears to be of good quality.Has plenty of volume and some nice features like scan,weather channels etc. The receive seems to be pretty good I had it on scan today and it was picking people up on a distant repeater and also some local farmers during the harvest season .This just setting atop my entertainment center inside the house Battery life is typical for a handheld.You can also power it up with AA batteries if you need to So these fall kinda in the middle.You could get a chinese radio cheap [ Legal? } or move up to a ham handheld more money [can only talk to other hams] On another note looking at the most critical review nimh rechargeable batteries output 1.2 volts where standard alkalines output 1.5 volts .So the radio operates on 6 volts Thats why you only need 4 alkaline batteries. If you use only the amount of power you need you will extend the battery life. Thats normal with any handheld.Your not going to talk 36 miles unless your on top of a very tall building or mountain and your not going to talk forever on high power with the battery capacity you have. There are only 22 shared frs/gmrs channels not 50.The extra channels above 22 are existing channels with a pre programmed privacy code.Which is nice .Not really extra channels tho Folks get led astray .Its possible for hams to talk to the international space station on 5 watts so when they say 36 mile range it is not a false statement but it is not typical. 50 channels well sort of.Midland has done the work for you.Want to use a privacy code go to one of the channels above 22.Already done for you. With realistic expectations whats not to like Read the directions and take a look online at the frs/gmrs channel guide because each service has different power limits except channels 8 to 14 which are only low power 1/2 watt only. Go online and there are several radio line of sight calculators you can use to estimate your radio range I hate to see a bad reviews from folks on something when really its more lack of knowledge and operator error not the products fault Update 6 months later my radios are still going strong.I have had no problems.The 700 mAh battery packs have worked ok .But they are only 700mAh.Typical for AAA batteries.Going to a AA alkaline could get over 2000 mAh and last longer but not rechargable. AA lithium ion rechargeable batteries 1.5 volt are available but they are expensive. Your going to need some spare batteries and packs thats just the nature of handheld battery powered radios whether frs/gmrs ,Ham,Marine ,business or whatever.

The radios are decent for limited, short-range use. The 3 star rating is because the range claim is bogus so I must bash them for that. I own four of them (just got two more) but you should ignore the marketing and especially the "up to 36 Miles range". You have probably already heard this but the ranges in the marketing for all GMRS handheld radios are bogus (all the brands). I don't know how they get away with these ranges in their marketing/specs. Having said this, the GXT 1000's are among the best in the price range. Seriously -- just tell it like it is -- for $35 each you would not expect that kind of range so why mislead. I am a FCC licensed operator so I use these at the maximum power and with higher powered mobile units and base stations with high-gain elevated antennas. I use them in a suburban environment and on a ranch. Here is what I have found: Handlheld (GXT 1000) to Handheld (GXT 1000) 1. Line of sight over water (a lake): Crystal clear at up to one mile - usable at two miles (haven't tried further because the lake is only two miles long so I didn't care) 2. Over land -- open ground: 1/2 mile clear -- usable up to a mile -- intermittent at 1.5 miles 3. Over land through treed area: usable up to 1/2 mile but very intermittent beyond 4. Elevated, open line of sight (e.g./ hill to ground): usable at up to 2-3 miles (unless there are trees or structures in the way -- then see #3) Handlheld to Base Station (25 Watt - 6 dB gain antenna at 30') Line of Sight: usable at up to 6-8 miles (but very sensitive to elevation), nothing at 10 miles even on a hill (note that in the same 10 mile elevated location a mobile unit at 25W with short 1/4 wave antenna is quite usable so it's not about the line-of-sight -- they just don't have the power, antenna or filtering to be useable in real-life conditions at that range) This is my personal real-life information. Not scientific to refute their claim of 36miles (perhaps a theoretical calculation -- through space in a vacuum with 0 humidity or particulates). Also keep in mind that at 11 miles the curvature of the earth will obscure line of sight on a handheld (unless you are both very tall). So why do I have four of these things: 1. They are very useable for short range needs (especially over water or line of sight: boat-to-shore, car-to-car, around the ranch, family/group hiking, etc. 2. They are relatively durable and moisture-resistance (but keep them in a zip-lock bag on the boat and in rain -- they are not really waterproof -- despite the marketing). 3. Battery life is decent 4. Work well for a bit longer range with mobile or base station units. (but not 10 miles) 5. They are very cheap (seriously -- for $35 each they are very good / useable -- a decent antenna costs more than that)

Supero mis espectativas, se escucha muy bien, los uso en distancias cortas, no mas de 1/2 kilometro, en ciudad y con edificios de por medio y no tiene ningun problema, por el precio es muy recomendable. El paquete esta muy completo, sobretodo poderlo cargar en el coche, aunque la bateria le dura bastante tiempo.

Work perfectly

Escelente equipo, se nota la calidad que te ofrece la marca, el único inconveniente es que las baterías recargables de fábrica no son de un mayor tiempo de uso.

La distancia no es como lo indican, pero en vialidad de carretera a 3 km entre carros me funcionó bien. En cuanto a zonas con edificios como naves industriales con muros o en hoteles no supera los 200 metros. Pero para el precio y sus bondades vale la pena. En la selva con cerros y flora abundante llegó a los 2 km y se perdía la señal

Buen alcance. Se escucha otras conversaciones.