Midland walkie-talkies compared: GXT, LXT, X-Talker and XT50 PRO

Midland walkie-talkies: GXT, LXT and X-Talker in the US, XT50 PRO in Europe

Midland sells two groups of walkie-talkies. The US line is GXT, LXT and X-Talker. In Europe, Midland sells the XT50 PRO, which works on PMR446 at 446 MHz.1 In the US line, the GXT radios are GMRS, and the LXT and X-Talker radios are FRS.234

US models

European model

Which Midland radios need a license

FRS radios need no license. GMRS radios need an individual license from the FCC, and there is no exam.56 Midland's manuals for the GXT1000 and GXT67 PRO both say an FCC license is required for GMRS operation.78

So the LXT600, X-Talker T51 and X-Talker T10 are the no-license choices, as Midland sells them.349 One detail on the T10: its manual mentions a license on channels 1 to 7 and 15 to 22, even though Midland sells it as an FRS radio.9 The GXT1000 and GXT67 PRO are the GMRS choices.

On the GXT1000, channels 8 to 14 are low power.7 More on the two services is in FRS and GMRS walkie-talkies and in do you need a license for a walkie-talkie.

What each Midland US model adds

• X-Talker T10. The simplest one. Midland claims up to 20 miles.10 It has 22 channels, 38 privacy tones and 10 weather channels, and it runs on 3 AAA batteries. The manual says not to immerse it in water.9
• X-Talker T51. Claims up to 28 miles and adds a rechargeable battery with USB-C charging.4 It keeps 22 channels, 38 tones and the weather channels. The manual says not to immerse it in water.11
• LXT600. Claims up to 30 miles.3 It has 36 channels and 121 privacy codes that work on channels 1 to 22 only. It also has a desktop charger with a rechargeable battery or 3 AAA batteries, and a jack for a headset. The manual says not to immerse it in water.12
• GXT1000. A GMRS radio with a claim of up to 36 miles, 50 channels, 142 privacy codes and a loud SOS siren. It uses a rechargeable NiMH pack or 4 AA batteries.27
• GXT67 PRO. A 5 W GMRS radio rated IP67, with a 2500 mAh Li-ion battery, USB-C charging and 99 channels. It also has repeater channels 15 to 22.813 Midland's spec sheet claims 16 hours of battery.14

A repeater is a tall station that rebroadcasts your call so it travels farther. IP67 means dust cannot get in, and the radio survives 30 minutes under 1 meter of water.15 The GXT1000 is rated JIS4, which Midland describes as protection against light rain or splashing. The rating does not hold while an accessory is plugged in.2

How far Midland radios reach: claims and Midland's own FAQ

Midland's product pages claim up to 36 miles for the GXT1000, 30 for the LXT600, 28 for the X-Talker T51 and 20 for the T10.23410 For the GXT1000 the page adds "only over water or open rural areas, optimum conditions".2

Midland's own FAQ is more modest. It says the GXT1000 averages 0.5 to 2 miles in normal conditions, and the LXT600 averages 0.5 to 1 mile.23 That matches what Cobra, another maker of 2 W US radios, lists: 0.5 to 1 mile in a town and 1.5 to 3 miles or more on flat open ground.16

Do not rank Midland radios by their claimed miles. The strongest radio, the 5 W GXT67 PRO, claims "up to 5 miles" depending on the terrain, the lowest number on the list.8 The numbers come from different pages with different rules.

The Midland XT50 PRO in Europe

The XT50 PRO has 85 channels: 16 on PMR446 and 69 on LPD, a separate low-power service near 433 MHz at 10 mW. The PMR446 part runs at 500 mW.1 Use the PMR446 channels when you pair it with another brand, because only they match other PMR446 radios.

Midland claims up to 8 km in open space and 12 hours of battery. It has a 700 mAh pack with micro-USB charging, VOX with 6 levels, 5 call tones, a jack for a headset and a weight of 94 g without batteries.1 It carries IPX2, which covers only drops falling from above.115 For rain, a splash-proof IPX4 radio such as the Talkabout T82 Extreme in Motorola Talkabout models compared is the safer match.

The manual says the radio can be subject to national restrictions, so check your country before you use the LPD channels.1 Midland's other European models are not covered here. The XT50 PRO is the one whose manual is public.

Midland privacy codes: DCS is numbered on its own

A privacy code is a quiet tone or a digital code that opens the speaker only for your group. CTCSS is the tone and DCS is the digital code.

On a Midland GXT or LXT you pick the mode first (off, CTCSS or DCS) and then the number. The CTCSS numbers run 1 to 38, and the DCS numbers start again at 1: up to 83 on the LXT600 and up to 104 on the GXT1000.1217 A Motorola Talkabout has one list, 1 to 121, with the DCS codes at 39 and up.18

The Motorola number is the Midland DCS number plus 38. The GXT1000 has 21 more DCS codes, numbers 84 to 104, with no match on a Motorola.1718 The X-Talker T10 and T51 have only the 38 CTCSS tones, so numbers 1 to 38 are the only codes they share with other brands.119

How to pair Midland radios with other brands

1. Put both radios on the same channel. Use channels 1 to 22 on a US radio, because those numbers are the same FRS channels on every brand.19
2. Set the privacy code to off on both radios.
3. Call from one radio and listen on the other.
4. Add a CTCSS number from 1 to 38 on both radios once the call works.

The code comes second because a radio with a code set ignores calls from a radio that sends no code.21 A US Midland and a US Motorola pair this way. A European XT50 PRO and a Motorola T62 pair the same way on PMR446. A US radio and a European radio never pair, because FRS and PMR446 use different frequencies.120

Pick both radios below and the matcher shows the setting for the second one. The full lists are on channels and privacy codes.

Questions

Sources

1. XT50 PRO user manual · Midland Europe
2. GXT1000 GMRS Walkie Talkie 2-Pack, product page · Midland USA
3. LXT600VP3 FRS Walkie Talkie 2-Pack, product page · Midland USA
4. T51VP3 X-Talker FRS Walkie Talkie 2-Pack, product page · Midland USA
5. 47 CFR Part 95 Subpart B, FRS · eCFR
6. 47 CFR 95.1705, individual licenses required · eCFR
7. GXT1000 owner's manual · Midland USA
8. GXT67 PRO product page · Midland USA
9. T10 X-Talker owner's manual · Midland USA
10. T10 X-Talker FRS Walkie Talkie 2-Pack, product page · Midland USA