GME making a move

[Frenchy]

For those not aware, GME has decided to step into the GMRS world of Radios. The cool thing is it's also made in Australia vs most others that are made in China(Midland included here).

In Australia GME is known for CB type UHF Radios with a 5 watt limit. Because of that they currently only have 5 watt radios for GMRS. Give it some time and they will most likely step up the game on that!

For more information check out their website. https://gmeus.com/

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[Frenchy]

Well I did another thing today. I went and bought a GME GMRS Radio. When I was looking at what they had, I decided to go with the Outback Value Pack. I do have my reasons for getting that over the other Value Pack and we shall go over it.

Now if anything I did take time to go over GME's videos on good old YouTube. That helped me make my decision. Here are a few of them.





After watching these I decided the XRS-330COB-U Outback Value Pack. This decision was made from these factors:

#1 All XRS Mobile Radios are 5 Watts. A unit that costs more and doesn't have more power kinda had me a bit uneasy even though the next unit has a speaker in the main body.

#2 The Value Packs lower the overall cost significantly with everything included vs buying everything individually. When you can save, it is important. It even includes the GME Magnetic Mic Mount.

#3 The Outback Value Pack has the Medium Duty 2.1 Db Antenna. The Spring Base isn't as big as the HD Antennas or the Midland Highland Antenna. It's also very light.

#4 The XRS Range has its own App to run on the Phone. Though GME Claims this particular set of radios may not be able to use a particular function, it is possible that you may be able to see other XRS Users in your Group last Transmission Location on the App that your radio received. It is widely used in Australia with the CB UHF XRS Radio, but due to rules in the US with the FCC, it may not be available. Only a test with another GME XRS user will be able to determine.

#5 The XRS Range is very complet enough that you can program quite a bit. It is also simple enough that you can use it without fault even without setup.

#6 It is the only brand that I have found to be made outside of China. These are designed and made in Australia. Everything else that I have seen is made in China(if you can find another communication radio that isn't made in China, please show me. I don't care what band it is used on).

When opening the box you have a nicely packaged product. It even includes a sticker!

After removing the small internal cover, you get to see all the small bits.

Taking a closer look you will see the "Made in Australia" labels on the Unit, Mic and Antenna. If anything it is very reassuring!

For more details on setting up the Radio I have attached the instructions. Thankfully it applies to all the radios available.

https://gmeus.com/app/uploads/XRS-IM.pdf

Now one thing I did notice is the fact that the GME XRS Range does not have NOAA Stations available. This isn't necessarily a bad thing for me since I already have the SiriusXM Travel Link and Garmin Tread Weather. This is something to keep in mind if you like the NOAA Stations. Also keep in mind that there are multiple places you may not reach a NOAA Station. I have experienced this multiple times in Colorado.

Installation will hopefully happen this weekend. Once it is in, I will update.

 

[Frenchy]

Well the install is complete. It took a little bit since I had to remove my Midland MXT575 with Highland Antenna. I would say it took a out 2.5-3 hours to complete.

Once the Midland was out, I started on the Antenna. I mounted it to the rear of my Topper Roof Rack. With the Front Runner Antenna Mount I can fold the antenna over when. It in use which makes it nice for most situations. Whe. It is in the upright position, I have little to no interference with other objects(even the WeBoost is a t a different height).

After the antenna was mounted, I took time to route the antenna underneath the cab and into the drivers compartment. With the 16.5 FT cable it was perfect to have the base unit in the Center Console like my previous Midland. If anything it just takes up way less space!

After hooking up switched power(the back of the 12 volt socket there) I connected the Mic and turned things on. I connected the phone with the App and updated the firmware. I was also going through the app and noticed you can change a lot of the channel settings and then set them to the radio. Makes it nice when you don't want to go through the Mic itself.

I will also state that the Mic is very easy to read. It's a simple black screen with white letters that don't mess with the eyes like the Midland did with different backgrounds.

After all that I went ahead and he led all the channels to see if I could get anyone nearby. Thankfully I got one person and was able to do a check on channel 5(set for a power limit of 5 Watts and what the radio is designed for). Due to only having 5 Watts of power and a 2.1 Dbi Antenna I was able to get one person on channel 5 and that's it. I don't know where they are tight off, but I suspect it is close and I could hear them clearly. It was probably the clearest any of the transmissions I have received on both my Midlands and this GME.

Now there is certainly more testing I will need to do with others and thankfully I know a guy nearby. I just have to see what I can do. I also contacted GME to see if they would be willing to add the NOAA Weather Stations to the XRS Range along with sending a petition to the FCC to be allowed to use the Location Service like they do Down Under. If that can be unlocked, I can see a lot of individuals switching to GME from more powerful GMRS Radios.

With that said, if you are in Colorado and have a GMRS, let's get together and play a little bit. I suspect it will be fun.

 

[Cmar]

The 5 watt limit was (still is) a Govt regulation from the 1970's it was introduced because of supposed interference from higher powered CB radios in the old 27MHz band. At that time a lot were imported from the US and Asia and it wasn't too hard with a bit of clever soldering to bump them up to 10- 15 watts. (don't ask how I know)

 

[Frenchy]

The 5 watt limit was (still is) a Govt regulation from the 1970's it was introduced because of supposed interference from higher powered CB radios in the old 27MHz band. At that time a lot were imported from the US and Asia and it wasn't too hard with a bit of clever soldering to bump them up to 10- 15 watts. (don't ask how I know)

Yeah here in the US 4 Watts is the legal limit for CB and GMRS has a legal limit of 50 Watts. Though the GME is very clear and nice, I feel GME would benefit to jump up in power.

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