Midland GXT710VP3 22-Channel 26-Mile GMRS 2-Way Radio (Pair) Reviews

• Works pretty good.

  
  By A1GU406SIZSPZ4 on 2007-08-31
  We bought 5 pairs of the GTX710VP3. They are working very well, we're using them in a 6 story building in New York City. I had one person in the basement, while the other went a couple of blocks away and it worked fine.
  
  

• Best GMRS radio I've found

  
  By A2AGD4UR6E8O3B on 2007-09-22
  We recently purchased the GXT710 rechargable 26 mile Midland GMRS radios through Amazon. This is the third set of Midland GRMS radios and the sixth set, including other brands we've purchased. We use the radios aboard cruise ships and find the GXT 710 to be the best we've owned. From ship to shore, the reception was great and on most places of Mariner of the Seas, the reception was also great. I've found the more powerful the radio, the better the signal penetrates the metal and other obstacles aboard ships and on hiking trails. The GXT710 is not necessairly more powerful than the previous models, however the antenna is longer on this model and appears to help.
  
  

• Good hand held

  
  By A3VXAT7RLNL0UG on 2007-11-21
  A very good hand held radio for family communications at a reasonable distance of 3 to 4 miles,but if you are expecting to be able to communicate at the claimed 26 mile range,you will be disapointed, as you will be with any of these types of hand helds that claim over a 5 mile range, unless you can get access to a repeater, and that is a whole nother situation which requiers an FCC licence.
  I bought these for there small size, ease of operation and solid construction, they perform as I expected and I am very satisfied.
  
  

• It's not all it says it is.

  
  By A1G6N4WSHNK8DL on 2007-12-11
  I assumed the walkie talkies would work well after seeing good reviews.
  
  I just used these on a cruise with 6 other people and 26 miles is not even close to what we got, the farthest we could use these were at most 1 mile over open water, fully charged.
  
  Many times I couldnt even hear the others while on the same boat.
  
  Only at about 300 feet or less you can hear the other person pretty good, anything beyond 300 feet it gets very staticy or you can't hear them at all.
  
  Besides they are very bulky.
  
  A few times after charging it for 6 hours the battery would die out right away.
  
  The chargers are preety cool but they dont let you know when the walkie talkies are fully charged, you have to guess or look at the battery icon which is not the best indicator, considering it can show full and die an hour later.
  
  
  
  
  

• Excellent for Florida Parks

  
  By AZ2CV9LAYX0U8 on 2007-10-21
  I bought for use it in Disney and Universal and works perfect, very clear in open spaces. Some problems, that I expected in this radios is for communication in the city, the distance is very low (I think is no longer than 1 mile)
  Maybe I expect more duration of the batteries but for the whole day is enough
  
  
• Pleased
  By A17GRW6B5BD1XD on 2007-09-07
  Chances are you're looking to upgrade your radios to a more powerful set. These radios have the maximum wattage currently allowed by law and transmit and receive clearly. Since I've only used them in outer space, they will do the mileage stated and then some. More earthly type users can expect diminished mileage account not being in the line of sight. I highly recommend this pair, however a gravity holster would be a plus.
  
  
• Midland GMRS 2-way radios
  By A4Q9SANT6HF2P on 2007-12-13
  I have been using 2 way GMRS radios for about 15 yrs from fishing in Alaska to bird hunting in Ohio. I have tried several brands recently and these have been the best for clarity of voice and distance, regardless of price. I first tried them in NW PA 2 weeks ago steelhead fishing in a twisting canyon for a distance slightly over a mile. They worked fine. What a blessing to have a charger to set them in at night so they are ready to go the next morning. I set them up with manual activation rather than voice. I like the "beep" feature when the transmit button is released, NOAA weather radio that really works, and a size that is not the smallest, but that might be why they work so well. The only negative is that they have so many features you can use, it takes a bit of practice setting them up so everyone is communicating the same. Four of us (2 sets)are using them and all comments were positive.
  
  Rick in Ohio
  
  
• Excellent choice!
  By AHMJ77LIHXCUD on 2008-02-15
  My 'tween son and I have long used two-way radios on cruises and when he goes out to play, but this is the first set of Midlands we have had. We have had great success previously with Motorola Talkabouts, and a short, horrid stint with a pair of Cobra's.
  
  These Midlands are the best pair of radios we have had yet. We just got back from our most recent cruise, and they worked *beautifully.* His favorite hangout was deep down on deck 2, while mine was usually way up on 10, and it was very rare that we had a problem with the radios even with all that metal between us. The sound was clear, and we had no static or sub-channel crosstalk.
  
  We never had one issue with battery life. I don't think we ever even fell below 3 bars of power. We put the radios back on the very compact and travel-friendly charger dock every night before bed.
  
  I am *very* pleased with these radios, and recommend them highly!
  
  
  
• Good radios overall
  By A1XYKRX1UAQIUL on 2008-03-01
  Pros--
  
  -If using NiMH rechargeable AA batteries, they will last several days
  -Interface is simple to use once you have read the manual to understand what all of the menus do
  -Adjustable transmit power to save battery when you are in close range
  - 5 watt max so they probably go further than typical GMRS (since others seem to top out at 2 watts)
  -Radios are smaller than other Motorola radios that also use 4 AA batteries
  -Water resistant (although I would still be careful and try not to get them wet)
  -The feature to scan through all of the channels has a dedicated button and is NOT buried deep in the menu!
  -The belt clip seems pretty solid, unlike some of the Motorola GMRS radios
  
  
  Cons--
  
  -Battery charger is not automatic so it will not turn off when the batteries are full. I would recommend instead on using your own rechargeable AA NiMH batteries.
  -The rechargeable battery that comes with them is only 700 mAH. You can get a ser of AA NiMH batteries that are 2700 mAH and will last much longer.
  -If the batteries are removed from the radio, or they die completely, the settings (ie channel and privacy code, etc) get reset to the default.
  -Audio quality is pretty good, although it is better on the Motorola T7400
  -(minor) It is all plastic and does not have a non-slip grip. This may be more of an issue if your hands are wet.
  -The privacy codes are separated into 'DCS' codes and 'CTCSS' codes. This is not a big deal if you are planning to only use Midland radios. But if you are trying to use say Midlands and Motorolas, then it may be hard to match the privacy codes on each one since the numbers likely will not match.
  
  Overall I am very happy with these radios and do recommend them!
  
  
• Good, but can use some improvement
  By A2I6FBIO6L2C5T on 2007-08-09
  Sound quality is great, but housing is made of cheap plastic and a little bulky.
  
  
• Lifesaver
  By A138ALJMX31ZPC on 2008-03-01
  These 2-way radios were a lifesaver for my wife and me as we traveled from Georgia to New Mexico in separate vehicles (UHAUL and car). The voice clarity and reliablity of this product allowed me to communicate with my wife along the journey with assurance and much more frequently than I anticipated!! We experienced car trouble along the way, so talking on the 2-way radios enabled us to make planned stops to recharge the car battery...despite tractor trailers whizzing by at high speeds throughout the day and night only a few feet away from us! The duration of the fully charged battery pack was about 16 hours (about 85% standby time). We remained within 1 mile of each other, so reception distance was never a concern. We both felt the quality of these radios saved us much grief and aggravation...and maybe even our marriage!...Hmmm...maybe I should reconsider...I mean getting a car charger for these fantastic radios!
  
  
  
• GMRS Radio Performance
  By A3I9IMTP6801XB on 2007-11-05
  I recently purchased two Midland GXT710VP3 22-Channel GMRS 2-way Radios. I find that they operate very well. They are easy to operate and communications is good. However dont expect the 26 mile range they advertise. Like any other GMRS radio, you can expect about a four mile range under perfect conditions and in nonperfect conditions a mile or less is common. Perfect conditions is straight line.
  
  
• Work Great!
  By A3I3IWVLOY3BPY on 2008-03-03
  I bought these radios thinking that they probably would probably end up being a toy, how wrong I was! We have NO cell coverage and I wanted to have some way to communicate when riding horse deep into the forest. These radios have a clear signal, even in tall pines for easily 3 miles. If you go to a high spot, the distance increases to about 12 miles(haven't gone any further). I was going to be happy if they only worked on our ranch(125 acres), which they do, but the added distance into the forest makes them invaluable.
  
  
• Great radios
  By ATJRI0DQPAYXL on 2007-11-07
  We used these in the NC mountains on a large piece of property that we own. Our cell phones don't work there, but these radios were great. We ordered a second pair for when more family is in the area!
  
  
• Midland GXT710VP3 Two Way Radios With26 Mile Range
  By A13HTVO3QFFCRI on 2007-12-29
  Be very careful of what you are buying. It says up to 26 mile range under best conditions, what it doesn't tell you is if you are on a FRS Channel that you need to be on, because the other channels are restricted by the FCC. You can not set your levels to low, medium, High. High gets max miles and low gets least miles. Your Two way radio goes to low and the most distance we have gotten from our radios is less then 2 miles. This has been very disaponting to us. We weren't expecting 26 miles but we thought 8 to 10 would be good as our daughter lives about 7 miles away from us and she and her mother were going to use them instead of their cell phones all the time.Not to much use to us with that range.
  
  
• Midland GXT710 Works Well on The Road
  By A1TSERKYKKB5L7 on 2008-01-08
  My wife and I purchased two Midland GXT710 2-way radios just before we took a trip from Delaware to Key West in separate cars. We wanted to be able to coordinate gas, food, restroom, overnight stops on the road without using our cell phones. We used only the FRS channels with a privacy code, since the owner's manual said GMRS channels require an FCC license. Most of the time we were within 2 miles of each other. We were also on I-95 most of the time, and rarely out of "line-of-sight." We only lost contact one time, and we were probably only 2-4 miles apart, and possibly on opposite sides of an ov erpass.
  We charged the batteries each night, and never had an issue with lack of charge.
  
  We will try them on a boat trip later this month.
  
  They worked great for road trip communication.
  
  I will check into FCC licenses to see how complicated/expensive that is. It would be nice to have the 26-mile range advertised on the water when one of is in port or on a dingy.
  
  Steve B
  
  
• Pretty Good Radio
  By A1SDK8NXKI921H on 2008-03-08
  We use radios on our Mini Cooper club tours, to keep the group together (often more than 30 cars), warn others of things on the road (bicyclists, traffic, rocks, etc), and turns being made. (Not to mention occasionally being comedians on the air)
  
  These radios have performed quite well for us. They do tend to lose some range in hilly areas, but we expected that. The charge has lasted all day for us, and being able to set channels and sub-channels is great.
  
  I recommend these radios. A very good value.
  
  
• Good Radio for a cruise ship
  By A2R2MHK1PYC2QJ on 2008-04-22
  I bought six of these radios for a family cruise. I couldn't be happier with our results. The batteries had plenty of power for a long day and were always fully charged by morning. This radio has three power settings, we found that the medium setting provided enought power to cover the entire ship. One can turn off the ring tone and the beep after talk tone so it is less annoying to the other travelers. There are many options that are programable and the instructions make it a simple task.
  
  
• Worked Great on Cruise
  By A2IMAS35I68539 on 2008-04-27
  Purchased to use on cruise ship in April. We had 10 kids and parents using the same model. We had no problems reaching from deck 2 up to 11. We did need to all be on the same privacy code. Before we changed to a specific privacy code we could hear tons of other people. We also found that using the vibrate instead of the tone alert was not only better to reach the kids who were sometimes in a loud environment but also limited the impact we had on other cruisers.
  During an excursion in Mexico my husband was about 6 miles from me and I could still hear him great. Overall, great product.
  
  
• Hyperbole
  By A16UF4NHHBS27X on 2008-05-19
  It is my opinion that this product is much over-hyped. In order for this product to work for anything over one mile, one should expect SUPER optimum conditions; i.e. only flat land with no obstructions (trees, buildings, etc.). We've not been any place where we could even try something approaching a 26-mile range.
  
  Shipping costs, speed of delivery, care in packaging, etc. were all excellent.
  
  
• One wasn't even able to receive anything over 100 ft
  By A3GXVVPQIDA3E7 on 2008-06-07
  Didn't realize that one of the radios was bad, took it out for a trip, was basically a brick through the hike.
  
  One radio was not able to receive anything over 100 ft. Back to Amazon for refund, waste of time!
  
  
• GREAT Quality item
  By A37Z380LUJZFD4 on 2007-12-29
  Got these for my 8 year olf son and he loves them. They have great range so far, and have reached 3-4 miles across town with clear reception even with all the houses, trees and building inbetween. Very easy to use.
  
  
  
• Radios
  By ARG0OFCVRX4R0 on 2008-03-03
  For the price these are very good and do the job, even under hard
  conditions.
  
  
• Works ok
  By A2QFS49EBSQF5Y on 2008-03-04
  We have 4 Midland walkie talkies in a group in the mountains (alps Austria)
  Distance of communication is very good (of cause it will not go through mountains)
  
  Think about one thing for good communication: Push the PTT button for one second before talking !!
  
  
  
  
• finally... a radio with clarity
  By A1XCKWJ1WQ0BIE on 2008-03-10
  I manage a fruit and vegetable farm in Florida where we have over a dozen radios in use by our employees. We have been using motorola radios for years and have had disappointing results with radio sound quality and longevity. After a lot of research, I settled on the Midland GXT710. We have been testing 3 pairs for only a couple weeks so cannot speak about longevity, but we are very impressed with the sound quality and distance compared to four different models of motorola two-way radios we have been using over the last 5 years. We also are able to communicate at a greater distance without the typical static. Dealing with a slightly bigger, bulkier radio is only of minor consequence given we, finally, are using radios with incredible sound quality!
  
  ... one note to the price. We paid around $53.00/pair-- about the same price we paid for the last pairs of motorola radios we purchased. And now the Midland price is over $115/pair. Not sure what happened there.
  
  
• Midland Performs Well
  By AYKMDEIMCHWY on 2008-05-04
  I've had this product for a few weeks and have used it during SAR training in the woods. Has worked as advertised and didn't take long to figure out all the menu options. No complaints. I like the fact that it comes with a charger. I won't give it 5 stars since I have only had it a few weeks.
  
  
• Work well, not waterproof
  By A13KIKOMA8JTZA on 2008-05-14
  I bought these recently to use at the beach. One thing I did not pay attention to when ordering was that these are not waterproof/resistant. If I were to do it again, I would look for a water resistant set.
  
  They work well, but contact must be made without trees or hills in the way to cover any distance.
  
  
• midland mod. gxt710 walkie talkies
  By A1TQC2FHGJ63N1 on 2008-05-14
  this set of walkie talkies are very good, much better than the ones i had.i haven't tested them for a real long range but they work fine at 8 miles although i was elevated and had a straight shot to the one i was talking to.they also work fine anywhere in the small town i live in anywhere i've tried them and in the surrounding area.
  
  
• Huge size turned us off
  By A3HRDRQ5VAFPQS on 2008-05-30
  I ordered these radios based on other great reviews, and to replace a set of Motorola radios we felt didn't last as long as they should.
  
  Upon opening the Amazon box, I was astonished to see how large these Midland radios are. Remember those old two-way radios you had as a kid? These are about the same size, and look just about as clunky!
  
  Our old Motorola units, although a bit larger than a cell phone, could easily be slipped in a pocket - there's no way in the world this Midland would fit in any pocket easily.
  
  Since we use these while working around the house, we need something small enough to easily carry.
  
  I'm returning these and looking for something a bit less bulky.
  
  Although Amazon is great, I do wish they would give dimensions on items like this - instead of just box dimensions. If I'd known the size before ordering, I definitely would have kept looking!
  
  
• Great for personal use
  By A2RS3INXDNVVJ3 on 2008-06-16
  I purchased these to use in town to be in contact with our son when he is out around the neighborhood. We use them daily. We do not use the total range they are intended for but have had great luck for what we need. The weather channel has also been great as just the other night we were out for a walk and the weather alert came on notifying us there was severe weather in the area and where is was going. Another feature that is great is that they can be put on vibrate so when one is being paged, not everyone knows and doesn't draw attention to what you are doing.
  
  

• Motorola TalkAbout Earbud with Microphone for All Series
• Midland GXT750VP3 26 Mile Range 22 Channel Two Way Radio
• Midland AVP-1 Microphones for G-225C2 and G-227C2 Radios (2 Headsets)
• Cobra FA 50-2 Recharging Accessory Kit
• Cobra GAEBM2 microTALK Earbud Headset with Inline Microphone

• Midland AVPH3 Transparent Security Headsets with PTT/VOX (Pair)
• Midland AVP4 Dual Desk Top Charger with 2 Rechargeable Battery Packs, and Vehicle Adapter
• Midland AVPH2 Closed Face Helment Headset for Midland GMRS
• Midland AVPH5 Behind the Head Headsets (Pair)
• Midland AVPH1 Open Face Helment Headset for Midland GMRS