Midland GXT1000VP4 5 50 Channel Waterproof GMRS Radios with NOAA Weather/All Hazard Alert. Includes Rechargeable Batteries, Dual Desktop Charger, Headsets and 12 volt Vehicle Adapter, Pair Packed. The GXT1000VP4 features the standard 22 GMRS Channels plus an additional 28 Channels. The GXT1000 meets the JIS4 Standard of exposure to water for 30 minutes and features the Maximum Power allowed for GMRS Handheld Radios for up to a 36-Mile Range. Weather Scan finds the nearest NOAA broadcast to stay
Great radios, BUT,
The radios by themselves are good, but be careful to read the fine print. The first time I went to use the radios one of them didn’t have a full charge on it. No problem, I just used AA batteries. Then we realized we could barely hear each other through the headphones even with the radios turned to max volume. I thought it might be the headphones, but they were very loud when plugged into a friend’s radio made by a different company. Midland blamed it on the headphones anyway, but they were not covered under the warranty. So I didn’t use the radios again for a few months until we went on another trip and I made sure to place the radio on the charger a day early this time so it would have ample time to charge. Same problem one radio didn’t take but half a charge. I contacted Midland on Friday explaining my situation, they got back to me on Wednesday to say there was probably an issue with the battery pack (No duh). I emailed back around 10:30 am and said I figured that much, but how do I correct it. They got back to me on Thursday night saying I needed to buy another battery pack because they are not covered under the warranty either. So what is covered? Turns out not much, not the headphones, not the battery packs, not the charger, not the adapter and not even the antennas. In short if all you need is just the radios and there isn’t a problem with them, the radios are OK, but heaven help you if there is a problem with them. It will take forever for someone to tell you that’s not covered under the warranty. That large 3 year warranty logo needs to include an even larger asterisk. Radios get 5 stars, everything else including the warranty and service gets 1 star for an average of 3 stars. If I need to buy all new accessories to replace all these defective ones I just bought, maybe I should consider a different brand radio.
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Don’t expect 36 mile range,
All manufacturers exaggerate the range of these little radios. I have used these to hear users on top of a 14,000 foot mountain from 6 miles away, but there were no obstructions between me and them. That’s the best distance I’ve achieved. I had a lower power version of these and they worked well for several years before one of them died. I saved its battery as a spare for these and I can still use the one working with these. Most Midlands use the same rechargeable batteries, although you might carry at least four alkalines along if you expect to be away from the recharger for more than a day. If you’re camping out you might want to establish a timetable to use them to extend battery life. They have excellent channel security, either with just two of them or in a group. Hearing other users of the same channel can get very annoying. The numerous privacy choices prevent that almost 100{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9}. Like others, in a city or any enclosed space the range is very limited. The headsets can be handy of you’re fishing or hunting. I’ve used 2-way radios for more than 40 years. The first ones I had were the size and weight of bricks. These are state-of-the-art, light, with good clips and among the best currently available.
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Total Junk,
Either I’ve ended up with the only 10 radios Midland has made that were junk, or the other reviews are from Midland employees. My radios just won’t hold a charge, stop working after 2 days or start to sound like I’m talking under water.
We purchased 2 pairs of these for a video production. At first I couldn’t believe how good these were. The range, albeit not a million miles like they say, was VERY VERY good! Several miles for sure. Very impressive. So we bough 3 more pairs the same week. But before the second set showed up, the first 4 started flaking out. The batteries wouldn’t hold a charge. I thought they were being overcharged, but the book says to keep them on the charger when not in use.
It wasn’t 2 weeks before the other ones started flaking out on us too.
Out of the 10 radios there are only 1-2 that appear to work without any issue. For the life of me, I don’t see how these have gotten such great reviews since we’ve only had 10-20{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9} reliability at best with the ones we’ve purchased.
I don’t have any recommendations for any other radios since this is our first radio purchase. These have so much potential, but fall very very short! If they would just stay on and hold a charge for longer than 30 minutes, I would be in love with them because the reception/transmission signal is simply incredible (when working)!
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