Midland Gxt500/550/565 Series Gmrs/frs Radio Owners Manual

GXT500/550/565 Series 
    GMRS/FRS Radio
X-TRA TALK
®
OWNERS MANUAL
www.midlandradio.com 

®Model GXT500/550/565 Series
Page 2www.midlandradio.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS2
Introduction3
Important Notice, FCC Licensing4
LCD Display5
Controls5
Battery Installation6
Installing the Belt Clip6
Charging the Optional Battery Pack7
Low Battery Level Indicator7
Operating Your  Radio8 - 13
External Speaker/Microphone Jack14
Troubleshooting Guide15
Use and Care15
Specifications and Frequency Charts16
Warranty Information17
MIDLAND Family Products18
Accessories18
Accessories Order Form19 

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Page 3www.midlandradio.com
Welcome to the world of Midland electronics
Congratulations on your purchase of a high quality MIDLAND product.
Your 2-way radio represents the state-of-the-art in high-tech
engineering. Designed for GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)
operation, this compact package is big in performance. It is a quality
piece of electronic equipment, skillfully constructed with the finest
components. The circuitry is all solid-state and mounted on a rugged
printed circuit board. Your...

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Page 4www.midlandradio.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE, FCC LICENSE REQUIRED FOR GMRS OPERATION
The GXT500/550/565 Series operates on GMRS (General Mobile Radio
Service) frequencies which require an FCC (Federal Communications
Commission) license. You must be licensed prior to operating on channels 1 - 7
or 15 - 22, which comprise the GMRS channels of the GXT500/550/565 Series.
Serious penalties could result for unlicensed use of GMRS channels, in violation
of FCC rules, as stipulated in the Communications Acts...

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Page 5www.midlandradio.com
CONTROLS
LCD DISPLAY1. LOW BATTERY ICON– Indicates the
battery level is low.
2. TRANSMIT (TX) ICON– Indicates
radio is transmitting a signal. 
3. eVOX– Indicates when eVOX mode is
active.
4. CHANNEL NUMBER– Changes from
1~22 on GMRS/FRS band (1~10 on
WX band).
5. RECEIVE (RX) ICON– Indicates radio
is receiving a transmission.
6. KEY LOCK ICON – Indicates KEY
LOCK mode is on.
7. WX BAND ICON– Indicates when the
radio is in Weather Band mode  
8. VIBRATE-ALERT ICON– Indicates...

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Page 6www.midlandradio.com
BATTERY INSTALLATION
Your GXT500/550/565 Series radio operates with either 4 AA alkaline
batteries or an optional NiMH battery pack. The belt clip should be
removed (see below) to ease installation or removal of the batteries. 
To install the batteries:
1. With the back of the radio facing you, remove the belt clip (see 
diagram below) for easy access, then remove the Battery Cover 
by pressing down on the top center and sliding it down from the 
radio.
2. Insert  4 AA...

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Page 7www.midlandradio.com
CHARGING THE OPTIONAL BATTERY PACK
Your GXT500/550/565 Series is equipped for using an optional
rechargeable NiMH battery pack (not included) which can be
recharged using a desktop charger (not included). Initial charge time
is 24 hours with a charge time of 12 hours thereafter. For maximum
battery life, we recommend charging the   battery pack when the low
battery icon comes on. Remove the radios from the charger when the
charge time expires.
To charge using a Desktop...

POWER ON/OFF AND VOLUME 
Rotate the POWER/VOLUMEknob  clockwise to turn the radio on and
increase the volume level. Rotate the control counter-clockwise to
reduce the volume level and to turn the radio off. During Power On,
the radio will beep 3 times with different tones, the LCD will display a
“self-test” message for 1 second and the LCD display will indicate the
last channel selected.
TRANSMITTING AND  RECEIVING A  CALL 
To communicate, all radios in your group must be set to the same
channel and...

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Page 9www.midlandradio.com GXT500/550/565 SERIES QUICK REFERENCE CHART
MONITOR 
Pressing and  holding  the MONITORbutton  for 1 second will let you
hear noise so you can adjust the volume level of the radio when not
receiving a signal. This should be used to check activity on your
current channel before transmitting. 
Press and hold  the MONITORbutton  for 1 second again to get out
of  MONITOR mode.
SCAN 
Your GXT500/550/565 Series can scan all 22 channels for activity. To
enter, quickly press the...

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Page 10www.midlandradio.com CALL TONE 
Your GXT500/550/565 Series can transmit a call tone for a fixed
length of time. To send a call tone, press the CALLbutton.  The TX
icon will appear while transmitting a call tone and a tone can be heard
on the speaker for confirmation. 
KEYPAD LOCK 
To avoid accidentally changing the radio setting, press the LOCK
button for 4 seconds. The KEY LOCKicon will appear on the display.
PTTand CALLwill still be active. Repeat the same procedure to
unlock the keypad....