Midland GXT-400 (7 Channels) Two Way Radio
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- Maximum Range: 10 Miles
- Power Output: 4 Watts
- Channels: 7
- LCD Display: With LCD Display
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GXT-400 two way radio (also covers GXT-400VPI, VP4,450VPI)
Pros
Easy to use, nice clip belt, clear reception, sturdy case
Cons
Low quality speaker and weak ring. Vibrating mode weak and useless
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
8 time the power buys you less than double the distance in slightly hilly terrain (The effective radiated power (ERP) is 2W, not 4W as advertised)
Review update a year 1/2 later:
They still work fine ! One of them spend a couple of hours in a snow bank (my wife), the other one fell in a lake while turned ON (my son). Both radios survived my family. They even survive my screwdriver. Yes as an electronic engineer, I like very much to see what is inside. They are easy to reassemble.
Now a word about distance. All what is below is correct. But after having lost contact after walking 1/2 mile, I sometimes walk two thousand feet farther and make contact again. It seems it has to do with constructive or destructive interference. I could talk to someone across the town (1 1/2 mile) with plenty of building and one 50 ft high hill between. The trick is to climb stairs or walk on top of a boulder or find a place between 2 building. If you walk while you try to ring the other party, you are certainly sure to pass across a constructive interference.
Their only weaknesses is the weak ring. If you are in a slightly noisy environment or 20 ft away from your radio, you wont hear the ring. The caller is better shout than ring you.
Psst, the vibration mode is also weak and useless.
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original review
We had a pair of TalkAbout FRS. One started to malfunction after 2 month.
So bye bye Motorola.
We use to ski and we need something to reach everywhere in the ski center. The Midland GXT400 was the only one to deliver 4W. So I tested the 4W GMRS freq against the .5W FRS channels both on the GXT-400.
My wife stayed at home and I walked away until the FRS went out of range. Then we switched on the 4W GMRS and walked more until it went out of range. There are some 20feet high hill around my home and some building and plenty of forest. So I suppose this is a typical set.
I repeated this test in two opposite direction.
Result: The FRS channel went out of range after approx 2000 feet in both direction. In one direction, I lost contact on a foot bridge and regain contact while climbing the hill past the bridge. Walking a little farther and the FRS channel died.
So we switched on the GMRS 4W. That bought us another 2000 ft after which the signal went dead again. In the other direction, the GMRS 4W bought us a little less than 1000ft.
If I were to pass a straight line btw home and the blackout zone, the line would pass no more than 30ft above us. So you see it takes very little hills to block a powerfull signal.
Current consumption.
A quick test with an Amp meter showed that the Talkabout consume 40mA and the Midland consumes only pulses of 40mA. So on average, the Midland is more thrifty on power which is good news on our battery budget. A set of rechargeable batt should last much longer on the GXT-400 on standby.
Alain Boutin, NH
They still work fine ! One of them spend a couple of hours in a snow bank (my wife), the other one fell in a lake while turned ON (my son). Both radios survived my family. They even survive my screwdriver. Yes as an electronic engineer, I like very much to see what is inside. They are easy to reassemble.
Now a word about distance. All what is below is correct. But after having lost contact after walking 1/2 mile, I sometimes walk two thousand feet farther and make contact again. It seems it has to do with constructive or destructive interference. I could talk to someone across the town (1 1/2 mile) with plenty of building and one 50 ft high hill between. The trick is to climb stairs or walk on top of a boulder or find a place between 2 building. If you walk while you try to ring the other party, you are certainly sure to pass across a constructive interference.
Their only weaknesses is the weak ring. If you are in a slightly noisy environment or 20 ft away from your radio, you wont hear the ring. The caller is better shout than ring you.
Psst, the vibration mode is also weak and useless.
--------------------------------------------------
original review
We had a pair of TalkAbout FRS. One started to malfunction after 2 month.
So bye bye Motorola.
We use to ski and we need something to reach everywhere in the ski center. The Midland GXT400 was the only one to deliver 4W. So I tested the 4W GMRS freq against the .5W FRS channels both on the GXT-400.
My wife stayed at home and I walked away until the FRS went out of range. Then we switched on the 4W GMRS and walked more until it went out of range. There are some 20feet high hill around my home and some building and plenty of forest. So I suppose this is a typical set.
I repeated this test in two opposite direction.
Result: The FRS channel went out of range after approx 2000 feet in both direction. In one direction, I lost contact on a foot bridge and regain contact while climbing the hill past the bridge. Walking a little farther and the FRS channel died.
So we switched on the GMRS 4W. That bought us another 2000 ft after which the signal went dead again. In the other direction, the GMRS 4W bought us a little less than 1000ft.
If I were to pass a straight line btw home and the blackout zone, the line would pass no more than 30ft above us. So you see it takes very little hills to block a powerfull signal.
Current consumption.
A quick test with an Amp meter showed that the Talkabout consume 40mA and the Midland consumes only pulses of 40mA. So on average, the Midland is more thrifty on power which is good news on our battery budget. A set of rechargeable batt should last much longer on the GXT-400 on standby.
Alain Boutin, NH
