Midland GXT600VP4 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
Midland GXT600VP4 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
- Offers up to a 18-mile transmission range
- All-hazards emergency weather radio with a 24/7 severe weather and hazard information feature
- Offers 22 Channels and a 18-mile transmission range
- Vibrate alert provides silent page and call notification
- Value Pack includes: two radios, two rechargeable batteries, dual desk charger, AC adapter, DC adapter
Midland GXT600VP4 5 Watt 22 Channel GMRS Radios with Rechargeable Batteries, Desktop Charger and 2 Headsets, Pair Packed. The GXT600 features the Maximum Power allowed for GMRS Handheld Radios of 5 Watts, for up to a 18 Mile Range. Stay up to date with the latest weather and hazard information with the NOAA Weather/All Hazard with Alert feature. The GXT600 features a Vibrating Alert for silent notification, 3 Level E Vox for Hands Free operation, 121 Privacy Codes, Scan of the 22 Channels,
Rating: 
(out of 52 reviews)
List Price: $ 89.99
Price: $ 199.99
More Gmrs Radio Products
Review by Wisconsin Jeff for Midland GXT600VP4 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
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These radios work very well in the thick woods of northern Wisconsin. They work for up to about 2 miles. Compared to the Motorola 1 watt radios which only worked over a distance of about 1/2 mile they are much better. For all of the people who don’t like these, first of all manufacturer claims of 5, 10, and even more miles of reception are not realistic unless perhaps you are out on the open waters of the great lakes with excellent atmospheric conditions. That is just the nature of all radios of this type. A few watts (5 watts in this case)will not get you very far. Just consider that your average nite lite bulb runs on 4 watts and this will help you to put it into perspective. These radios need to convert your voice transmissions into sound so for them to do it over a distance of 2 miles in thick woods and do it loud enough so that you can hold a conversation is a pretty good accomplishment in my book. In other words, if your radio does not work up to your expectations then a. you need to realize that it is the laws of physics, energy, and matter that govern their performance and b. of course companies tout the virtues of their product under excellent conditions i.e. that’s marketing so get used to it. You get what you pay for. Considering what I paid for these I would recommend them to everyone. They are an excellent purchase. I’m buying 2 more. By the way the only reason I gave them 4 stars and not 5 stars is the fact that Midland advertises them as having 18 miles of reception. I’ve heard of marketing (see point b. above) but even to me this is a bit much.
Review by Sergey for Midland GXT600VP4 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
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PROS: Good transmission range, great sound quality. Large solid capacity battery. Radio is can use AA batteries. Additional accessories included: car charger and head sets. Very low price for radio quality and accessories package.
CONS: At “high” transmission power battery life is limited to 2-3 hours when in active use. Weak ergonomic design. Heavy. Weak belt clip.
Before I purchased this radio I had Motorola TalkAbout 5500 (1-watt, 5-miles) and Motorola SX800R (2-watt, 18-miles) radios. Based on my experience with these two radios I evaluated the Midland GXT650 VP4.
The price was not a concer for me when I shopped for the new two-way radio. Being dissatisfied with the transceiver quality of previous radios I was looking for the most powerful radio on the market. In April 2007, the most powerful (5-watt) radios on available on the market were Midland GXT650 VP4 and Cobra LI 7000-2 WX VP. I was not able to find any customer reviews for the Cobra radio. It was pricier than Midland. Unlike Cobra, Midland adds to the standard accessories packaged the car charger and the head sets.
When using the Midland GXT650 it became clear that this is a quality radio. The TRANSMISSION RANGE and wave penetration was far superior to those radios I had before. Note, I used “hi” power mode at 5th channel which is GMRS. Here is a few tests I gave to the radio.
Usage Test 1: Surrounded by solid concrete I was in the basement of the 18 stories project building while my friend was on the 12th floor. The quality of transmission was as clear if I were speaking from the room next door.
Usage Test 2: My friend was on the ground level of the airport while I was about half-mile away driving a car. The range was obstructed by a few concrete building, road ramps, and a little hill in between us. In this terrain, the radio did not worked at the distance of one mile apart, which is reasonable in the terrain described.
Usage Test 3: My friend uses Motorola TalkAbout 5500 (1-watt, 5-miles) at the top floor apartment of the 6 stories building in Brooklyn, while I’m on the 12-th floor of the project building. The distance between us is 3.5 mile with a few obstructing buildings. My friend could clearly receive my transmission, while my Midland radio was receiving signal with difficulty. Nevertheless, we could communicate to each other.
To mention the Motorola TalkAbout 5500 and Motorola SX800R none of the above could operate in the scenarios above except #3. While having a “name”, ergonomic design, and good battery life those radios have much sorter transmit/receive range than the Midland GXT650. Also, it seemed to me that the Midland GXT650 is easier to do SETTINGS. Only one button push automatically turns the radio to receive Weather Channel. Only one push locks the keys from being accidentally pushed. Setting other functions is easy and quite intuitive, however it takes reading manual at least once in order to know all the radio capabilities. The radio BATTERY comparability to use AA batteries (needs four) is a great advantage. If you need communication in critical situation like skiing, hiking it is very convenient to have a backup 4-pack of AA batteries a pocket in case if the radio rechargeable battery dies. Furthermore, you can still use your radio after the rechargeable battery becomes not functional in several years. To my dismay, the battery life is very short when actively used in “high” power mode. In moderately used for short communications the new battery may last for 1 – 2 days in “hi” power mode. Having the CAR CHARGER is also very critical. I the past I have encountered several situations when my radio died and I was not close to an electric outlet. You also may charge and operate in “high” power mode than driving in car pack. The radio is less ERGONOMIC and easy to grip than Motorola radios. It is a little HEAVIER also, but that’s should be expected drawback having a powerful battery. The BELT CLIP is standard plastic clip. It would be nice if Midland can add little hole that can fit a thread to hang the radio on the neck.
In general, I like the Midland GXT650 radio much better than those Motorola’s that I had before. I think it is one of the best and powerful two-way radios that you can purchase for the family use. On my personal scale it easily deserves 8 out of 10 point.
Review by John for Midland GXT600VP4 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
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This radio may have a slightly greater range than my older 0.5W Midland radios in the woods, but certainly not anything near the advertised 18 mile range in the woods. I have not tried them in open terrain or on the water yet. I have used them at distances slightly over 1 mile where some woods and hills came between the two radios, and transmission/reception was good. Of course you need to be sure you have them on HI power, which is not available on every channel, to maximize range. I have a feeling that those who had extremely poor performance did not have them on the max power setting.
Good features are the very long battery life on the included rechargeable battery packs (>48 hours of continuous standby with brief conversations several times per day), the included charging base, NOAA radio, and relatively small size. They seem to be reasonably durable, having dropped one from a tree stand where it lay in wet snow for a few hours. I’ve also had them banging around in my backpack and they don’t seem much worse off for the experience. I’m happy to see that the security codes are compatible with Motorola radios, which my older Midland radios were not.
The bad features are the fairly short range for such a “powerful” radio, the lack of a manual “squelch” knob to filter out unwanted transmissions from other radios in the area (granted, no GMRS/FRS radios made now have a manual squelch), and one more EXTREMELY ANNOYING “feature”: The “lock” button doesn’t do anything but lock the channel, so I frequently hit the “call” button accidentally even when the radio is on “lock.” The form is also bulky and not very handy to hold with cold or gloved hands. The Motorolas my buddy has are much more comfortable in the hand. Finally, I wish they had a clock and alarm so that I didn’t have to dig my watch out from under my gloves, jacket, and multiple layers just to see what time it was.
-1 star for the bad “lock” function, -0.5 for bad ergonomics, and -1 for range less than advertised. +.5 for the good battery life and included accessories, especially the charging base and batteries. For what I paid, 80 bucks, you might ignore the “18 mile range” gimmick and look at the more realistically advertised, but pricier Motorolas.
Review by J. Reece for Midland GXT600VP4 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
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I just got these yesterday, so I haven’t had much of a chance to experiment with them, but what little I’ve done has me very hopeful. On low power, they had no problem transmitting across my apartment (a very modest feat perhaps, but one that another set of two-way radios claiming ‘Up to 12 Miles’ couldn’t manage). The radios themselves will be tested more thoroughly soon. I’m mainly here right now to tell you about the accessories.
First, though, a word about radio expectations. If you buy a radio that says “up to 18-mile Range” that means that under the most perfect conditions imaginable, the radio is capable of reaching that range. This doesn’t mean that you will be able to speak to someone 18 miles away at the bottom of a mine shaft. When you really start getting into heavy brush or between large buildings, you’re dealing with enough material to completely stop your signal. Personally, I bought these hoping for a mile or two in a hilly, wooded area. If they provide me that, I’ll be ecstatic. If they provide only a half mile in the really terrible conditions in which I’ll be using them, I’ll be very pleased. This is to say that you must have reasonable expectations of your tools. Any 1-star review where the only thing the person says is “This radio only worked 5 miles through heavy urban sprawl” should be ignored. Take into account that these are radios, not satellite phones. If you want an 18 mile range in any conditions, you’re not going to be able to hold it in your hand for less than $500. That said, on to the radios and all the little goodies that come with them.
The boom mics that come with these radios are very nice. They have an in-line PTT button that works perfectly, and the earpiece is very clear. Even when someone is speaking very quietly, you can still hear them very well. Even when whispering very softly, the transmission comes through clearly. You don’t even have to have the volume turned up very far. I would expect to pay at least $20-$25 each for a boom mic this nice (and believe me, I’ve spent plenty of time pricing them), so getting them as a “free” part of this set is awesome.
The belt clips are very sturdy, and lock onto the radio so they won’t go sliding off if you run around with them. The springs seem very nice, so I would imagine that you won’t have any problem keeping them clipped to you. If you plan to do something extremely vigorous with them (like paintball, which is my plan) it wouldn’t hurt to get something a little more robust. For the average use I think the belt clip would be perfect.
The charging cradle works well. The radios are securely fit into it, meaning that if you have them in the cradle in your car, they won’t pop out and go sliding around unless you hit some pretty serious bumps. That’s another incredibly nice thing about this set. You get the wall charger, but you get a car charger as well, which I wouldn’t even have thought of. When you run out of batteries and you’re using a two-way radio, chances are good you’re not just hanging out at home. Having the car charger keeps you from having to carry around a ton of extra batteries on a camping/hiking/paintballing trip. If you run out, drop the radio in the charger for an hour or two and you should be good to go for quite a while.
As I’ve said previously, I haven’t used this for very long at all, so I will be revising my review as I get more information. With what I’ve seen so far, though, these are a fantastic deal.
Review by Michael for Midland GXT600VP4 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
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We needed a GMRS radio with superior range, and after testing a few different models, found the GXT600 and GXT650 series to be the best. Over five miles in difficult urban terrain is possible, even from a basement! Build quality is good, but not the most rugged for outdoor and camping use. Very handy design and easy to use. Especially good is the fact that you can use either a NiMH battery pack or AAA cells of various types. Very flexible power options and some useful acessories. Would rate it five stars if it were water/weatherproof and had removable coaxial antenna connector. Also wish it had adjustable squelch to pull in weak signals. Still, one of the best out there.