Midland T290 Series Walkie Talkies – Owner’s Guide

Congratulations on purchasing a Midland T290 series GMRS two-way radio. This high-performance radio is designed for reliability and ease of use, with features that make it ideal for personal or professional communication.

Key Features

• 36 GMRS Channels
• 121 Privacy Codes (38 CTCSS / 83 DCS)
• 9-Level VOX for Hands-Free Use
• 5 Selectable Call Alerts (10 on T295 with animal sounds)
• Vibrate Alert (T295 only)
• NOAA Weather Scan, Radio, and Alerts
• Scan & Monitor Modes
• Roger Beep (End of Transmission Tone)
• Silent Operation
• Keypad Lock
• High/Medium/Low Transmit Power Settings
• Rechargeable NiMH Battery Pack
• Desktop Charging Option
• Battery Level Indicator
• External Speaker/Mic Jacks

FCC Licensing Notice

GMRS use in the U.S. requires an FCC license.
GMRS channels include 1–7 and 15–22. Unlicensed use may result in penalties.
To apply: visit www.fcc.gov or call 1-888-CALL-FCC and request form 605.

LCD Display & Controls

1. TRANSMIT POWER LEVEL ICON - Indicates TX Power setting (H/M/L)
2. NOAA WEATHER (WX) BAND ICON
3. KEY LOCK ICON
4. VOX ICON - Indicates when VOX mode is active.
5. CHANNEL NUMBER– Changes from 1~36 on GMRS band (1~10 on WX band)
6. VIBRATE ALERT ICON
7. BATTERY METER
8. RECEIVE (RX) ICON
9. TRANSMIT (TX) ICON
10. PRIVACY CODE ICON – Indicates Privacy Code setting (CTCSS/DCS)
11. PRIVACY CODE– Indicates Privacy Code selected by user (oF~38/oF~83). It can only be set in Ch 1~22
12. POWER/VOLUME KNOB
13. PTT Button– Press and hold to transmit voice communication
14. CALL/LOCK Button– Press to send a CALL ALERT signal. Press and hold to turn KEY LOCK on/off
15. MIC
16. SPEAKER
17. ANTENNA
18. EXTERNAL SPEAKER/MIC JACK
19. MENU BUTTON - press momentarily to access Menu mode
20. MONITOR/SCAN Button– Press to enter SCAN mode. Press and hold to enter MONITOR mode
21. UP / WX SCAN and DOWN Buttons– Make adjustments in MENU mode. Press and hold the UP button for 5 seconds to activate the NOAA Weather Scan function

Battery & Charging

• Use the included BATT5RX NiMH rechargeable pack
• Charge via desktop charger; LEDs flash during charge and stop when complete
• Best practice: charge with radio powered off
• Battery indicator shows when charge is low; “bt Lo” will flash

Operating Your Radio

Turning On/Off & Adjusting Volume

• Turn knob clockwise to power on and increase volume
• Counterclockwise to lower volume or turn off

Reset to Default Settings

• Hold the UP (▲) button while turning on the radio

Transmitting & Receiving

• Hold PTT and speak clearly 1" from the mic
• Release to listen for incoming transmissions

Getting the Best Range

• Use on Hi power with fresh batteries
• Line-of-sight communication yields best results
• Channels 8–14 are low-power by FCC rule

Menu Navigation & Settings

Weather Functions

NOAA Weather Radio

• Hold UP/WX for 5 seconds to start WX scan
• Radio stops on active NOAA channel
• Press MENU to manually select WX channel

NOAA Weather Alert

• Automatically ON during WX Scan
• In WX mode, MENU x2 > Toggle AL On/Off
• Alert sounds for 20 seconds, then switches to WX band

Extra Features

Monitor Mode

• Hold MONITOR for 3 seconds to hear weak signals

Scan Mode

• Press SCAN to cycle through all 36 channels
• Stops on active channel for 6 seconds
• Press PTT to stop scan and talk on active channel

Keypad Lock

• Hold CALL/LOCK for 4 seconds to lock settings
• Icon will appear; PTT and CALL still function

Using Accessories

Compatible with:

• Headsets (AVP1, AVPH3, AVPH5, AVPH4, AVPH7, AVPH2)
• Shoulder speaker mics (AVPH10)
• Throat mic (AVP-H8)
• Rechargeable battery packs (AVP17)

Available at: midlandusa.com

Troubleshooting Guide