Batboard

I've recently purchased a GP-300 VHF 16 channel. How good do they stand up to drops and abuse.

Fairly well, actually. I've seen many used in Fire and Police service that were obviously quite a few years old and they worked well.

I've personally used them (My own and others) and they're pretty durable.

I don't have any "Run Over" stories of them, but I'm sure someone does. Just watch out not to get water or put too much stress on the mic jack; GP300's (And most of the Radius family of portables) are nutorious for the "broken mic jack" problem.

The GP300/P110 will take a lot of abuse, but you can NOT run it over by large aircraft*laughing*

I have the remnants of a GP300 that had this fate, and it's not pretty.

Aside from dropping it into a snow auger, or sidewalk, the radio should easily survive most abuse from 'accidental' abuses.

The case is durable and protects the radio very well, so do not worry about dropping the radio, or having it fall off of your belt.....it will take it.

I'd rate the GP300 as highly as almost any other Moto in terms of apparent, unscientific ruggedness. Some of the -R variants may fare a bit better but the GP300 is darn tough.

Decent radio, minus the way the speaker attaches to the housing, and the twin-pin speaker mic jack at the top of the case, as opposed to the side of the case.

I'd say that not having a LCD gives it one less thing to break.

We've had the same set of GP300s in service at my ambulance squad for nearly 15 years now. As of late, we've been replacing them with P1225s, in anticipation of moving to narrowband ops. The GP300s hold up pretty well. I don't think they quite equal the durability of the Genesis or Saber line, but they're no too far off.

I have two complaints with the GP300
-The speaker/mic connections
-Programming options

As an advanced user, I want the ability to reprogram my scan lists on the fly. I also want the ability to scan different freqs and set different priorities based upon the selected channel. Those options are not available with the GP300.

As everyone has already stated, the GP300 is a very durable radio. I have owned a UHF GP300 and now I own 2 UHF p110's (same thing as a GP300 just in a different case) and both can take all kinds of abuse. I also had the Astro saber I R and the main problem with the saber R is it's simply TOO BIG. The gp300/p110 is a great little radio and will suit most peoples needs very well. With a stubby antenna, it will fit in your pocket with ease. Most of the problems with these radios are found mostly in the battery contacts, and in the poor design of the external mic connections on the top of the radio. (read: keep the mic connections on the top of the radio covered with the accessory cover when not in use.) Other then that, have fun they are great radios, probably more durable then a lot of the mid-tier radios Motorola is making now.

I've packed a Gp-300 in my Bunker coat for Years now, Has survived many fire scenes, accidental drops, and a little bit of moisture (not much) and is still performing good.

One of the kids in my scout troop decided he was tired of carrying a UHF GP300 on his belt during a fund raiser so he set in on the pavement - you know what came next was it getting run over by a pick up truck. After we recased it, the only thing that doesn't work is tone decode!

I work for a television station, and our photographers have had GP300's for the last ten years. They are rugged, reliable, almost fool proof radios.