My husband is less than impressed with out new Midland GXT800 radios. He doesn’t think that they are any better than our old Motorola FRS 5200s. We’ve tried them on a GMRS channel with no improvement. Everything that I’ve read recommends these radios. Are we doing something wrong? Why aren’t they better than our FRS radios? Can we use an external antenna? Any imput would be really appreciated.
Unless you are in an area heavy in obstructions, you should definitely be seeing more range from a Midland GXT800 than a Motorola T5200. The T5200 is an FRS-only radio, meaning it is limited to 14 channels and a half watt of output power. The Midland is around 1.6 watts.
Double check that you are on a GMRS channel (1-7, 15-22), and that the radio is in high power mode. Otherwise, it sounds as if you may have a defective radio. If you purchased it from us, contact us and we will exchange it for you.