Midland 450
Hello all,
I think this is my first post to AT. Just want to say thanks to the regulars.
I posted this on another forum. You can follow the whole link here
http://167.206.135.118/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=007831
Midland GXT-450
I recently picked up a set of Midland GXT-450 from Ebay for 58.00. They came with a set of earbud/microphones.
The Midland 450s are 4-watt radios and have a claimed line of site distance of 10 miles. In the real world, you will never get 10 miles, but I was talking to my daughter at a friends house 4 miles away with no trouble. There are lots of trees and at least one hilltop between us. I found that incredible!
My hunting buddy and I started using these at the beginning of the bow season here in the mountains of Virginia. I own a set of Motorola Talkabout 250s, and they don’t compare! That is an unfair comparison as the Talkabouts are not in the same class as the 450s nor are their radios as powerful. My hunting buddy has a 3 watt Motorola radio he has had a while. It is on the fritz and he will have to get another radio soon. He will be buying a set of the 450’s and not another Motorola, if that tells you anything.
The 450s have a vibrate function that can be used in place of the standard “call”. (There is a call button on the radio. When pressed it sends one of 6 user selectable tones or vibrates.) Also they have a “beep” that can be added when the person talking releases the send button. We have found that feature very handy as it keeps us from trying to talk over one another. The vibrate works well, but we have found its not really necessary, because we can hear so clearly with the mic/earbud combo. The mic/earbud combo disables the radios speaker, so the only thing heard is through the earbud.
The earbud/mic combo that came with my set is just about as good as it gets. The ear bud has a piece that wraps around the outside of your ear and the ear bud gets positioned perfectly inside your ear. The setup is comfortable and after a few minutes we don’t even realize its there. The mic extends to about the corner of your mouth. The mic is bendable to any position that suits you. The mic/earbud cord has a little mic button built into it about 9 in to 1 ft away from the ear bud. While you can use the radio’s talk button we have found the little mic button very handy and its about all we use.
The radio has the VOX feature, (voice activated), but we have never used it. I can’t comment on the feature.
The radios use 4 AA batteries for power or an optional rechargeable battery pack. The radios have 3 power settings HI, MED, and LO.
The radios have built in NOAA weather so you can check the weather whenever you want.
There is an optional rechargeable battery pack and charger/dock combo you can get for the 450s. I understand these are 4 AAA batteries in the pack. The down side is the AAAs vs the extra life of using 4 AAs. The charger/dock can use house current or a 12v cig adaptor to charge the batteries. I like the idea of just dropping the radios into a dock and they charge up with no hassle. I bought some extra GXT-325s that have the battery packs and chargers that are used in the 450s but have not used them yet. I have been using both Energizer Industrial AAs and some very good rechargeable AAs. To date we have not had to change batteries in the field yet, no matter what we have used.
I have seen the radios packaged alone, with the mic/earbud combo, with rechargeable batteries and dock, and with both the batteries/dock and mic/earbud combo.
I think the difference between the Midland 450s and the 400’s is the camo color of the 450’s. I believe everything else is the same. Personally, I feel the color is irrevelant. My hunting buddy and I clip the radio onto the front of our bibs and then put on our coats. Our radios cannot be seen.
The Midland 325’s seem to be the same as the 400’s but with a 3 watt radio instead of 4 watts.
Last of all, the radios come with the standard channels and privacy codes. You can use these to communicate with any other radio on the market that is set to the same channel and privacy code
I hope this helps. If you have any questions, just pm or email me.
Shane Kole
Bent Mountain VA.