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Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio

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Hi all, I am new to the forum and wanted to start by contributing where I can.

About 2 years ago I did an install project in my TJ with a Midland MXT400 GMRS and Icom IC-2730A ham radio. I'm planning a project now to move both of those radios into my Gladiator. I did a 5-part blog post series on this install as well (link below).

The project involves a couple of electronic components that are typically not part of most installs - that includes a power distribution block (power up to 6 devices), a master fuse, and a timer that will shut down the radios if they are accidentally left powered on for a set amount of time.

I am planning on installing both radios and the power distribution block behind the rear seat. Both antennas will be mounted on the front fenders.

If there is enough interest I am happy to detail the install in this thread and also shoot video to show the entire install process start to finish. I know there are many radio install threads on the forum already.

If you would find this info helpful or have an interest in it please drop a reply below!

This is the wiring diagram from the TJ system for reference, and the link to part 1 of the install write-up I did.

https://southeast4x4trails.com/midland-mxt400-gmrs-radio-icom-ic-2730a-ham-radio-install/

Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio Midland MXT400 and Icom IC-2730A - Jeep Wiring Diagram
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SargeDiesel

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Im new to the radio scene..... I am considering installing the
MXT575.

I have some experience with Ham radio , I own a cheap handheld so I could get familiar before I tested for my license.

But after much research, it seems most clubs and trail parks are moving to mandatory GMRS radios.... is this what you are seeing ?

I want a radio obviously for emergency situations first and entertainment second. So it seem the GMRS is more friendly and less strict than the HAM operator requirements.

I would love to hear your thoughts about which type and what radio you would suggest.

I also am very interested in your build and how you go about it. I don't think mine would be as involved as yours, I was thinking routing to a fuse block near the battery, and connecting it to my AUX system, for a quick push button on/off disconnect.

Thanks for any assistance/information you can provide.
 

hjdca

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Im new to the radio scene..... I am considering installing the
MXT575.

I have some experience with Ham radio , I own a cheap handheld so I could get familiar before I tested for my license.

But after much research, it seems most clubs and trail parks are moving to mandatory GMRS radios.... is this what you are seeing ?

I want a radio obviously for emergency situations first and entertainment second. So it seem the GMRS is more friendly and less strict than the HAM operator requirements.

I would love to hear your thoughts about which type and what radio you would suggest.

I also am very interested in your build and how you go about it. I don't think mine would be as involved as yours, I was thinking routing to a fuse block near the battery, and connecting it to my AUX system, for a quick push button on/off disconnect.

Thanks for any assistance/information you can provide.
fyi,
I just installed the MXT575 in my JT. I put the base unit underneath the steering wheel. There is a spot for it there. Ozark Overland on you tube has a video on installing it under the steering wheel. Before the MXT575, I had the MXT275 hooked up to my 12 Volt constant wire in my Aux switches package. I kept having random interference that the squelch would not quiet down..... I believe it was the 12 volt constant wire that was causing the random noise.

With the 50 watts of the MXT575, I went directly to the battery and skipped the Aux switches.... -- I now get zero interference on the radio. Squelch at level 3 keeps everything quiet.
 

SargeDiesel

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fyi,
I just installed the MXT575 in my JT. I put the base unit underneath the steering wheel. There is a spot for it there. Ozark Overland on you tube has a video on installing it under the steering wheel. Before the MXT575, I had the MXT275 hooked up to my 12 Volt constant wire in my Aux switches package. I kept having random interference that the squelch would not quiet down..... I believe it was the 12 volt constant wire that was causing the random noise.

With the 50 watts of the MXT575, I went directly to the battery and skipped the Aux switches.... -- I now get zero interference on the radio. Squelch at level 3 keeps everything quiet.
Thanks for the quick reply and explanation/tips.

Do you by chance have any information/opinion on the
WOUXUN KG-10000G ? I have read good things about it and it is the same brand as my handheld HAM radio.....

Thanks
 

hjdca

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Thanks for the quick reply and explanation/tips.

Do you by chance have any information/opinion on the
WOUXUN KG-10000G ? I have read good things about it and it is the same brand as my handheld HAM radio.....

Thanks
I do not know anything about the Wouxun, but, the you tube channels say it is the best radio out there. I bought the MXT575 because of the stealth mode of being able to hide the base unit, and I also like the two speakers - one in the mic and one on the base unit. The MXT575 is loud with both speakers -- louder than the MXT275 -- and I need it with the top down. The MXT575 also seems to be a much better all around radio than the MXT275. For me, It is more predictable than the MXT275.
 

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SargeDiesel

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I do not know anything about the Wouxun, but, the you tube channels say it is the best radio out there. I bought the MXT575 because of the stealth mode of being able to hide the base unit, and I also like the two speakers - one in the mic and one on the base unit. The MXT575 is loud with both speakers -- louder than the MXT275 -- and I need it with the top down. The MXT575 also seems to be a much better all around radio than the MXT275. For me, It is more predictable than the MXT275.
I actually was getting ready to pull the trigger on the 575... can you hear plenty loud enough with windows up and down without needing the "deluxe external" speaker ?
 

hjdca

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I actually was getting ready to pull the trigger on the 575... can you hear plenty loud enough with windows up and down without needing the "deluxe external" speaker ?
Yes, If you put the base unit under the steering wheel and have the mic mounted high on the dash pointed at you -- with both speakers on (base unit and mic), you can hear with the top down, windows up or down. The MXT575 is the loudest GMRS car radio I have ever heard.
Note: CoolTechLLC has a good MXT575 kit for the Gladiator.
 

SargeDiesel

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Yes, If you put the base unit under the steering wheel and have the mic mounted high on the dash pointed at you -- with both speakers on (base unit and mic), you can hear with the top down, windows up or down. The MXT575 is the loudest GMRS car radio I have ever heard.
Note: CoolTechLLC has a good MXT575 kit for the Gladiator.
thanks, I was going to get the external speaker @ 20% off, but it sounds(no pun intended... ha ha) like I don't need it. Thanks
 

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I mounted my 575 under the steering column as suggested and had a couple hiccups for those of you who haven't done the install yet.
First, the space above the computer (black metal box with vent holes, i assume its the computer) fits the radio perfect at a standstill, but I found out the hard way when turning out of my driveway the steering column has wide spots that hit it when rotating the wheel.
Second the space above the 575 once installed with velcro between the two is almost nothing, which made placement very challenging and repositioning tricky (had to use a putty knife slide in between the velcro to get it apart and to stay that way so i could move the radio).

Above the computer and below the column does work, i ended up moving mine towards the passenger side so it is only partially sitting on the computer, but the industrial strength velcro is keeping it in place and rattle free.

Just my two cents from what I ran into.
 
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Thanks for the reply and questions everyone!

I decided to record video of this install project vs. do a write up as I mentioned in my original post. I'll post those videos as I edit and finish them them, but would like to share some photos as I progress in case anyone would like to follow along.

@SargeDiesel

Im new to the radio scene..... I am considering installing the
MXT575.

I have some experience with Ham radio, I own a cheap handheld so I could get familiar before I tested for my license.

But after much research, it seems most clubs and trail parks are moving to mandatory GMRS radios.... is this what you are seeing ?
There are still plenty of folks running CB's out there, but GMRS has definitely gained a lot of popularity over the recent years. Midland has put considerable effort into marketing to the Jeep and off-road community, which (in my opinion) has contributed to that growth.

Our club runs GMRS only, no CB's. About 90% of club members are using Baofeng UV-5R's programmed to GMRS frequencies and the other 10% run Midland radios (MXT400's).

This is a very common question for sure - the link in my original post has some more details about GMRS vs. Ham and the differences if you want to read some of the background.

I want a radio obviously for emergency situations first and entertainment second. So it seem the GMRS is more friendly and less strict than the HAM operator requirements.
In a nutshell, yes GMRS is more friendly. The license fee is now $35 for 10 years (finally reduced from $70 earlier this year) and no test is required. It covers your immediate family (spouse and children) as well. Whenever we go on trips and drive separate vehicles I give my wife one of the GMRS radios to use which is nice.

From a (radio) technical perspective - the GMRS is very similar to the 70cm ham band. Both are FM radio signals (vs. CB is an AM signal), they both operate on the 400 Mhz portion of the spectrum (GMRS is 462-467 Mhz, Ham 70cm is 420-450 Mhz) and both the Midland MXT500 and MXT575 have a max power output of 50W, which is the same as most mobile Ham radios for 2m/70cm.

While there are plenty of Ham operators in the off-road community, you will find more GMRS users simply because there is no written test to pass.

I would love to hear your thoughts about which type and what radio you would suggest.
I am Midland fan, and ran the MXT400 in my TJ and loved it. It was mounted overhead, with the entire radio body along my with Icom IC-2730A ham radio like this -

Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio 2022-08-03_18-41-20


The reason I am installing the MXT575 in the JT is because I don't want to mount the entire radio body either on the dash or on the right side of the center console. With the MXT575 I can mount the mic on the dash and the radio body on the rear wall of the cab - plus the other reasons mentioned in the comments above w/ the fully integrated mic and dual speakers.

I also am very interested in your build and how you go about it. I don't think mine would be as involved as yours, I was thinking routing to a fuse block near the battery, and connecting it to my AUX system, for a quick push button on/off disconnect.
This would work as well, using the switch as you mentioned. My JT doesn't have the aux switches, plus I am planning on powering other devices off of the fuse block in addition to both radios.

Thanks for any assistance/information you can provide.
No problem, feel free to message me if you would like to discuss any of these topics in more detail!
 

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Now for the first progress photos - painting the antenna mounting brackets to match the JT.

These are the Topsy Products JT/JL fender NMO brackets. The MXT575 antenna (Larsen NMO 450CHW) will be on the passenger fender and the IC-2730A antenna (Larsen NMO 2/70B) will be on the driver fender.

I sprayed the brackets with 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer first -

Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio IMG_2832


3 coats of body color matched Mopar Touch-Up paint (Sting Gray for my JT or paint code PDN) and 3 coats of Mopar Clear Coat -

Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio IMG_2834


And will mount them on the fenders once they dry overnight -

Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio IMG_2835


And here is a photo of most of the parts for the install and the radios -

Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio IMG_2837


Parts Links:
 

SargeDiesel

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Thanks for the reply and questions everyone!

I decided to record video of this install project vs. do a write up as I mentioned in my original post. I'll post those videos as I edit and finish them them, but would like to share some photos as I progress in case anyone would like to follow along.

@SargeDiesel



There are still plenty of folks running CB's out there, but GMRS has definitely gained a lot of popularity over the recent years. Midland has put considerable effort into marketing to the Jeep and off-road community, which (in my opinion) has contributed to that growth.

Our club runs GMRS only, no CB's. About 90% of club members are using Baofeng UV-5R's programmed to GMRS frequencies and the other 10% run Midland radios (MXT400's).

This is a very common question for sure - the link in my original post has some more details about GMRS vs. Ham and the differences if you want to read some of the background.



In a nutshell, yes GMRS is more friendly. The license fee is now $35 for 10 years (finally reduced from $70 earlier this year) and no test is required. It covers your immediate family (spouse and children) as well. Whenever we go on trips and drive separate vehicles I give my wife one of the GMRS radios to use which is nice.

From a (radio) technical perspective - the GMRS is very similar to the 70cm ham band. Both are FM radio signals (vs. CB is an AM signal), they both operate on the 400 Mhz portion of the spectrum (GMRS is 462-467 Mhz, Ham 70cm is 420-450 Mhz) and both the Midland MXT500 and MXT575 have a max power output of 50W, which is the same as most mobile Ham radios for 2m/70cm.

While there are plenty of Ham operators in the off-road community, you will find more GMRS users simply because there is no written test to pass.



I am Midland fan, and ran the MXT400 in my TJ and loved it. It was mounted overhead, with the entire radio body along my with Icom IC-2730A ham radio like this -

2022-08-03_18-41-20.jpg


The reason I am installing the MXT575 in the JT is because I don't want to mount the entire radio body either on the dash or on the right side of the center console. With the MXT575 I can mount the mic on the dash and the radio body on the rear wall of the cab - plus the other reasons mentioned in the comments above w/ the fully integrated mic and dual speakers.



This would work as well, using the switch as you mentioned. My JT doesn't have the aux switches, plus I am planning on powering other devices off of the fuse block in addition to both radios.



No problem, feel free to message me if you would like to discuss any of these topics in more detail!
I purchased th MXT575, so I will be following your install. One quick ? .. I purchased a lip mount from Midland, but now I'm not so sure... If I wanted to get a different mount and put it on the side of the hood cowl, basically next to the radio antenna, would that cause any interference to either system ? I appreciate your help.
 

SargeDiesel

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Thanks for the reply and questions everyone!

I decided to record video of this install project vs. do a write up as I mentioned in my original post. I'll post those videos as I edit and finish them them, but would like to share some photos as I progress in case anyone would like to follow along.

@SargeDiesel



There are still plenty of folks running CB's out there, but GMRS has definitely gained a lot of popularity over the recent years. Midland has put considerable effort into marketing to the Jeep and off-road community, which (in my opinion) has contributed to that growth.

Our club runs GMRS only, no CB's. About 90% of club members are using Baofeng UV-5R's programmed to GMRS frequencies and the other 10% run Midland radios (MXT400's).

This is a very common question for sure - the link in my original post has some more details about GMRS vs. Ham and the differences if you want to read some of the background.



In a nutshell, yes GMRS is more friendly. The license fee is now $35 for 10 years (finally reduced from $70 earlier this year) and no test is required. It covers your immediate family (spouse and children) as well. Whenever we go on trips and drive separate vehicles I give my wife one of the GMRS radios to use which is nice.

From a (radio) technical perspective - the GMRS is very similar to the 70cm ham band. Both are FM radio signals (vs. CB is an AM signal), they both operate on the 400 Mhz portion of the spectrum (GMRS is 462-467 Mhz, Ham 70cm is 420-450 Mhz) and both the Midland MXT500 and MXT575 have a max power output of 50W, which is the same as most mobile Ham radios for 2m/70cm.

While there are plenty of Ham operators in the off-road community, you will find more GMRS users simply because there is no written test to pass.



I am Midland fan, and ran the MXT400 in my TJ and loved it. It was mounted overhead, with the entire radio body along my with Icom IC-2730A ham radio like this -

Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio IMG_2837


The reason I am installing the MXT575 in the JT is because I don't want to mount the entire radio body either on the dash or on the right side of the center console. With the MXT575 I can mount the mic on the dash and the radio body on the rear wall of the cab - plus the other reasons mentioned in the comments above w/ the fully integrated mic and dual speakers.



This would work as well, using the switch as you mentioned. My JT doesn't have the aux switches, plus I am planning on powering other devices off of the fuse block in addition to both radios.



No problem, feel free to message me if you would like to discuss any of these topics in more detail!
Sorry you gave me a thumbs up before I could finish my edit....... I purchased a lip mount from Midland, but now I'm not so sure... If I wanted to get a different mount and put it on the side of the hood cowl, basically next to the radio antenna, would that cause any interference to either system ?
 
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Sorry you gave me a thumbs up before I could finish my edit....... I purchased a lip mount from Midland, but now I'm not so sure... If I wanted to get a different mount and put it on the side of the hood cowl, basically next to the radio antenna, would that cause any interference to either system ?
If you mount the 575 antenna on the passenger side next to the FM radio antenna, when you key up the 575 at full power it could interfere with the FM radio signal if the radio is on. I didn’t listen to the FM radio much in my TJ, so it wasn’t really an issue. Basically the 575 signal could overpower the FM radio signal since the radio antenna is right next to the 575 antenna.

As far as the Midland mount itself, that is an NMO mount and uses the same antenna connector that the fender brackets use. You can run any antenna that has an NMO base. I would put the lip mount on the drivers side of the hood and you probably won’t have an issue.
 

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fyi, I use two Cowl mounts (from CoolTechLLC) and one under hood mount from Quadratec. I use the two Cowl mounts for GMRS and CB - only one at a time -- you can see the CB antenna is not mounted because I rarely use it. The Quadratec under hood mount can take more weight, so, I use it for my 5 foot light stick with a spring...

Note: I am running a Laird Technologies - B4505CNS - 450-470 Antenna w/Spring, No Ground Plane. I liked its performance better than the Midland MXTA26 antenna - using the MXT575 50 watt radio.
Jeep Gladiator Detailed Radio Install Project - Midland MXT575 GMRS & Icom IC-2730A Ham Radio zZxuL8
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