Business Radio Compatibility

Will the MB400 Business Radio work with my BR200 Business Radio?

Short answer is yes, and there's more to the story! Not only does it work with the BR200, it will also work with many other models of onsite business radios.

What other radios will my Midland Business Radios work with?

The Midland BizTalk® BR200 and the MB400 use the UHF frequency spectrum between 450 MHz and 470 MHz, specifically the "Onsite Business and Industrial Band Pool" of frequencies. 

More importantly, they are pre-programmed to the same channels, making them compatible with each other, right out of the box. The pre-programmed channels are the same as used on other popular models such as from Motorola® or Kenwood®.

They are also programmable to selected business band frequencies, making them compatible with other brands of onsite business radios. Programming is easy with our free software and step-by-step instructions.  

What about the transmit power difference?

Keep in mind the MB400 is a more powerful business radio than the BR200. At 4 Watts of transmit power, it will give you much more coverage than radios at lower power levels. The MB400 will be able to be received by lower power radios, but they may not be able to transmit back to the MB400. 

So long as you are in range of the lower power radio, you will not need to worry about reliable communication.

What won't my BR200 or MB400 Business Radio work with?

There are a lot of other two-way radio technologies out there;  many are expensive and not compatible with the Midland Business Radios because the BR200 and MB400 use the FM Analog transmission method, which is the most common and reliable method for onsite business radios. 

Transmission methods not compatible with FM analog include the following:

• Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) that uses a TDMA transmission, such as Motorola®'s MotoTrbo®'s SL and XPR radios
• NEXEDGE® which is Kenwood®'s version of a digital radio, and uses FDMA transmission method. This is also referred to as NXDN® with models that start with "NX" or "TK-DXXX" and would not be compatible with Midland's Business Radios
• 900 MHz digital radios using DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology) which is a legacy cordless phone technology. Models from Motorola starting with "DLR" and "DTR" are also not compatible with the BR200 or MB400.

While the BR200 and MB400 use the UHF Onsite Business Band, there are other frequency bands outside this UHF pool which also are not compatible, to include:

• VHF (Very High Frequency, 136-174 MHz)
• MURS (Multi-User Radio Service)
• FRS (Family Radio Service)
• GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)
• 800 MHz
• 900 MHz

Even though FRS (Family Radio Service) and GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) do use the UHF band, they're restricted to certain frequencies and are not compatible with Midland's Business Radios.

One last word on business radio compatibility...

This article is only looking at technical radio compatibility, asking the question, "Will they talk to each other?" There may be differences in features or functions between the various brands and models that are too numerous to identify here. 

*All company and product names mentioned here are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders