Newbie. Radio question

Bob P

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2025
Location
Winston Salem NC
Hi everyone,

I am completely new to the offroading scene, and eventually looking to get into overlanding with my GF and new friends.

My first club ride is go8ng to be the Fall Fling. Super excited.

Now to my question, should I think about investing into a radio? I have no experience with them and would like some advice if I should go ahead and get one ot wait. I think its listed as optional.

Thanks!
Bob P.
 
I'm a big fan of having comms (a radio) out on the trail. Sometimes I never use it, other times we're constantly passing information along in a group.

As for a radio to get, there have been threads on here. The options range from picking up a pair of decent Midland GMRS radios from Wally world to going all out with a hamster license and bouncing off repeaters to tell a guy in Australia how cool your off-road trip is.

I'm a fan of picking up a Baofeng radio off Amazon for about $20 and programming it with GMRS channels.

Edit: Technically, you need a GMRS license to use those channels vs. FRS channels.
 
I'm pretty sure they sell a UV-5R that already has the GMRS channels programmed into it and carries the appropriate type certificate. Buy that one. The USB cable to reprogram it costs as much as the radio, and the knockoffs don't work very well.
 
Radios are a gateway drug 🤦🏾‍♂️

My group started off getting our feet wet with handhelds

GXT1000AZ Two-Way GMRS Radio - Single Pack | Midland Radio

The GXT1000AZ two-way GMRS radio gives you maximum output power with Xtreme Range Technology. Check out this top-selling two-radio today at Midland Radio.
midlandusa.com midlandusa.com

I bought a 2 pack with charger base initially. Filled out the form, and paid my money. (No idea if you still have to pay for a license but it's just a formality. No test, just give you an FCC number)

From there we all decided GMRS was just far superior to CB and we all ditched the CB in our rig as well as tow pigs and got base mounted units

Midland MXT115 MicroMobile 15-Watt GMRS Two-Way Radio

Expand your communication range with the MXT115 MicroMobile two-way radio. This 15-Watt GMRS radio offers NOAA weather alerts & a USB charging port.
midlandusa.com midlandusa.com

With good antenna. We can be several miles apart and still communicate.

After a year I had battery issues with my handheld. Asked Midland where to buy batteries...instead of showing me batteries to buy, they sent me a brand new blister pack of 2 radios 😳

Then 2 years after my base unit in the Jeep my mic went out. I asked about a mic and they sent me a brand new one. Customer service with Midland has been outstanding. And I'm very pleased with their products
 
shawn said:
I'm pretty sure they sell a UV-5R that already has the GMRS channels programmed into it and carries the appropriate type certificate. Buy that one. The USB cable to reprogram it costs as much as the radio, and the knockoffs don't work very well.
Click to expand...
I prefer the UV82. But yeah, here's a couple of UV5s that are programmed.

The issue with the cables is that the most popular one from before isn't Win 11 compatible. I forget which chipset it was. But the cables are only $10-15 bucks.
 
Southern_Transplant said:
I prefer the UV82. But yeah, here's a couple of UV5s that are programmed.

The issue with the cables is that the most popular one from before isn't Win 11 compatible. I forget which chipset it was. But the cables are only $10-15 bucks.
Click to expand...
I bought and returned a few cheaper cables that didn't work at all or were intermittent before getting this one:

 
my 2 cents at the end
get a handheld frs/gmrs, and get a handheld cb radio
Youll be good for any group you tag along with
Leave the headunit/antenna project be until you really determine your usage.
 
If you get a Midland- it will come with the channels (with DCS tone) already programmed to work with the channels that CNC4x4 uses. (We intentionally picked ones that Midland uses.) If you get a Baofeng or other- myself and a few others in the club can program it for you. I had a Chinese mobile unit in my jeep for several years- it died. For now, I use a handheld Baofeng 5r in the tow rig and in the jeep.
 
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