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Who's the BEST Cobra 148-GTL Tech?

CTStallion

Active Member
Aug 29, 2010
196
21
28
Connecticut
Happy 2014...

I have an old 1990 (Philly) Cobra 148-GTL that is giving me fits; works great on RX, and will transmit an AM carrier, but will NOT modulate properly on AM or SSB.

Have already changed ALL electrolytic capacitors, RF predriver, driver, and final, have tested ALL transistors (on RX) and have changed over anything suspect. Have changed ALL transistors in the transmit audio section, etc. Even changed out the bias transistor.

I CAN properly bias the driver and the final, but radio is NOT usable on transmit at this time.

Who do you recommend I send it to? Who's the best YOU KNOW OF on the 148's?... so that I perhaps will give HIM a go at it.

Thanks:)
 

also if you have a tone generator to inject a tone to the radio you can put the tone in at the mic pin plug and if you still do not have any out put puit the tone in at the mic gain controll so you can try to locate what area you are loosing the input of audio.
 
I have a 148 that is doing kind I the same thing, it has great rx but no tx. If I push down in the center of the board sometimes it will key up and just squeal. Who would be the person to send it to? Maybe Doug's custom cb's?? I am asking as well. Mine is a 91 Philly made, but someone installed a connex board in it back in 1995 per the writing on the inside of the lid. It also looks as they have installed a channel kit onto the noise blanker, center is regular 40 and the others I have no clue about as I don't have a freq counter. I just want to get the radio restored or at least transmitting again as well. Sorry not trying to highjack your thread in any way sir, I am just having kind of the same issues. Mine are located around the center where the 2 cans and what look to be crystals. Just looking for advice as well as maybe who to send it to. Thanks
 
Sounds like it time that you two send your radios off to a tech if you don't have the equipment or the experience to fix the radio.

Sometimes members can fix some of these problems here on this forum; but certainly not always.

Cap replacement in +25 years old radios is a means to sometimes fix a radio; but more often it is done as a process to restore it.

I suggest that you go over the solder joints and look for solder pads that look dull/dark and/or flaky and touch them up.

With the multiple problems presented here on two separate radios, it would be best to start another thread 222DBFL for your radio.
 
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No problem, just going to send it out, probably to Doug's custom cb's. I have a magnum 257hp with some issues that need to be fixed as well. Thanks for the info though and to the poster, good luck getting it sorted out. God bless
 
CTStallion, and 222DBFL, Tim at Snakeradios.com is THE MAN for these radios.

give him a call and he will make them work right.
LC
 
Thanks for all the replies, found a local tech that I didn't know existed near me, has been in business for over 20 years. Works on all radios. Marine and hf as well as cb radios. Going to give him a try. Again thanks for all input and god bless.
 

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