Midland XT511 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Emergency Crank Radio by Midland
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Digital camera reviews of Midland XT511 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Emergency Crank Radio
Digital camera Review: Big features, small performance
Summary: 2 Stars
I have to think that there is tremendous quality control variability with this radio based on the wildly different reviews.
I'm a radio geek and have been collecting radios for the last 40 years. When I saw the ad for this Midland I just had to have it. I thought it would be a perfect addition for my camping adventures. The radio seems to be totally loaded with just about anything you would need. It has a GRMS/FRS 2-way radio, an AM/FM radio, a weather radio, a clock with alarm and even a 3 LED flashlight. Add to this the fact that it runs on both alkaline and a wind-up rechargeable battery! Wow.
Sadly, none of the functions work very well. Both the AM and FM reception are very subpar. AM reception could only receive the strongest stations and they bled over adjacent frequencies. Many stations that I could pick up on a cheap pocket radio could not be picked up on this radio. FM was worse, only picking up a couple of very powerful local stations.
Weather band worked, but only barely. I was able to pick up many more channels on a little Grundig/Eton wind-up.
FRS/GRMS radio functions were similarly mediocre to poor.
Cranking was more awkward than on other emergency radios that I have used including those by Freeplay and Grundig.
On a positive note, the LED flashlight is nice and the clock/alarm is also a nice feature. You also get a lot of accessories, including an external mic, both car and AC chargers and a carrying strap.
Overall, I was disappointed by this radio. The fact that others like it suggests to me that there may be a lot of variability between radios. However, in general, I would pass on this radio. There are many inexpensive GRMS/FRS radios that would do a better job. If you are looking for a good emergency broadcast band radio check out those made by Freeplay or Grundig/Eton.
Digital camera Review: Can You Hear Me Now? Nope!
Summary: 2 Stars
When you compare the features versus the price the Midland XT511 sounds too good to be true. It is too good to be true. That's because the features do not live up to the hype by the manufacturer's marketing staff. You are likely to be disappointed with this radio.
First and worst is the reception. A radio with poor reception is at best a toy and at worst a doorstop. The external antenna is a whopping 3" tall. It is meant to look like a 1/4 wave antenna but is not. Weather band reception is poor, the worst of any weather radio I own (including two other Midland radios). If you flip through the seven weather bands (manually) while holding the radio in different positions you might be able to receive one if NOAA has a nearby transmitter. Poor reception makes the "alert" function a joke. If the radio cannot pick up the station it cannot get the alert. If you live in an area where dangerous weather is a possibility it would be suicidal to depend on the XT511. There are vastly better weather radios for half the price.
FM reception is equally poor. I was barely able to receive a few of the strongest stations in the region (the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area). Holding the antenna with your hand helps but small, far less expensive FM radios work much better. Reception of strong local AM stations is fair although most have annoying hiss. For a digital tuner the amount of drift on the FM and AM bands is unacceptable. You have to tune back and forth "around" the broadcast frequency to get passable reception. The XT511 feels like a poor analog radio with a digital face.
GMRS/FRS reception is a joke. I tested it with hand-held transceivers from other manufacturers. It works best when the other person is close enough to hear you say, "come here, please" in a moderate voice. Transmit and receive reception from one end of a suburban 3-2-2 house to the other was poor. The person helping me test kept shouting, "did you say something?" The Midland XT511 is in desperate need of a functional antenna or, at the very least, a jack for an external antenna. Then again, once you use the Midland XT511 you may be loathe to waste additional money on accessories.
The manual says the XT511 is "designed to give you maximum range under optimum conditions." These are defined as "over water," "open rural areas without obstructions," and "flat areas where you can see the other person." In other words, in situations where you could easily be seen miming "call me." The manual also notes that, to ensure maximum range, you should "point the ANTENNA upward." I found it actually worked best if you turned the radio on its side. If you need two-way radios buy a pair of hand-held GMRS/FRS radios (with weather channels) and you will get more use out of them.
The mic is also a tiny speaker. Plugging it in disables the radio's built in speaker and there is no option to override this "feature." Given the poor reception under the best of circumstances, trying to understand what is coming over the mic/speaker is a challenge. I suspect doing it like that was a cheap way to cut off the speaker when transmitting. Manufacturers of budget products often cut corners but I wish they wouldn't do that with a chain saw.
The XT511 has a USB jack which the manual claims "can be used to charge a mobile phone" using the dynamo crank. And if you believe that, I have a bridge you might want. If you can do 100 one-arm push ups you might be able to top off a cell phone battery. If you are a normal human, forget it. Even the manual confesses that this feature is "for emergency use only" and that the XT511 "is not intended for recharging a fully discharged battery." I pray I am never stuck with only the Midland XT511 for "emergency use."
For a product this shoddy, the Midland XT511's manual is decently written. That's good because most features are not at all intuitive. I wasn't able to figure out how to set the clock without the manual. Many of the configurable settings have cryptic codes that don't make sense until you read about them in the manual.
The display is odd. The "7:20" time display has a "7" that is 1/2 inch tall next to ":20" that is 1/4 inch tall. The display for an AM radio station at 1080 has a 1/2 inch "108" next to a 1/4 inch "0". Overall it has the feel of a display designed for another location (China?) that was re-purposed for North America.
At half the price the Midland XT511 "base camp" radio might be a reasonable toy for kids. At $50 it costs too much and fails to deliver the promised functions. Mine is going back for a refund. I recommend that you avoid the Midland XT511 and save yourself the return postage.
Digital camera Review: Childs toy at best
Summary: 1 Stars
This radio is a cheap piece of @#!%*&!!! The way it's advertised as a base radio for a sportsman's outing??? No way!! I wouldn't trust this thing to talk across the street no matter trust my life to it! If I had to rely on it in the event of an emergency I'd feel very nervous. Its construction is very light plastic that feels flimsy in your hand. Reception is mostly static. Range is even worse. The hand mic is a plastic joke. I was so disappointed when I received it I boxed it back up in the very same box it came in and returned it that very same day! For the price(100$), I expected a radio of similar quality as the C Crane C.C. Radio. This is a receive only radio but of great quality in the same price range(125$). I was expecting something similar because I have Midland two way hand held radios that I love and they work great? I can't even imagine that the same company made both of these products! My recommendation is to bring extra batteries and use a 5 watt hand held radio as your base radio and leave this radio at the store. Save your money and get an extra set of Midland GTX hand held radios that can be used at base camp or in the field. I've never given a review this bad ever but this product is so bad I thought people needed to know. Especially sportsmen like myself that rely on technology like this.Digital camera Review: Decent product, but poor build quality.
Summary: 3 Stars
It is a decent product that has all the features I wanted in a handcrank emergency radio / flashlight / cell phone charger /2-way radio. All of the features seem to work alright. However, the build quality is very poor, especially for an item that is intended to be for emergency / outdoor use. For instance, the retaining clip for the hand mic/speaker broke within a minute of it's being out of the box. It looked like it had been hand glued on, and the glue had been poorly applied. The fit and finish are worse than my $5 no-name handcrank radio/light. I have other Midland 2-way radios and they are much better made than this.Digital camera Review: Disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this radio for this years hurricane season. Figured it would be nice to have an NOAA radio and the ability to charge cell phones in the case of a loss of power. Decided since Midland has been in the business for awhile, this would be my best choice. Unfortunately, this radio just didn't perform as expected.
I'm not sure how others are able to get the advertised run time on the crank feature. You have to charge it with the crank (powered off) and hopefully you don't mind cranking for a while. A couple of minutes doesn't cut it.
The light is pretty weak (it's an led light, so I didn't expect much). Reception with our NOAA station was decent and radio stations seemed to be average. Scanned the area's UHF and didn't pick up anything, so I'm not sure what kind of range it has (didn't really purchase it for the UHF anyways). The backlight is nice, but if you are running off battery you can't afford to use it (hopefully, you aren't in the dark or still have power). Haven't tried out the cell phone charge. It's also not very user friendly.
In the end, I regret buying the Midland radio.