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Cobra 200
- Thread starter Hc714
- Start date
I am seriously considering picking up a 150 GLT. Anything new on this? Reason I am thinking along these lines is that right now they seem to be having a 100 buck rebate and the darn things are as low as 160 or so... I mean... is it worth it to end up with it for like 75 bucks?
i own this radio...
i purchased the cobra 200 about a month ago from one of the techs that frequents this board. it was peaked and tuned, 10kHz button disabled, and i use it only in the CB band. summation: i'd give it four stars out of five for performance...five out of five for functionality, and two-and-a-half to three stars for workmanship. it's an above average radio for the price-point, but it's a new model with bugs.
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my opinion a month on is that it is a good--if temperamental--radio. i have had the issue of the radio going inop (requiring power cycling) a few times for no known reason--as i was not in SSB or transmitting at the time.
i also noticed early-on that there was an issue with the radio on high pwr on SSB...the audio coming over the talkback was distorted, and it seemed to be pulling an inordinate amount of power...the backlighting would dim. i can't guess what the explanation is on that, but *if* i were to guess, it would be that the fact that the radio is peaked might drive one of the amplifiers a bit too much on SSB. this phenomenon does not occur on AM. my solution is to utilize the radio in low-power to drive an external amplifier, and it seems to work just fine in that configuration. i have not tested extensively with the external amplifier on SSB. my personal ethic is to only use enough power to make and maintain communications, so i tend to run completely barefoot when doing local communications, and only really use any power if lower power levels don't cut the mustard.
if i were to make a suggestion for this radio, it would be to nix the low/high power switch in favour of a pot to control output power. my experience (limited with commercial radio equipment) is that switches tend to be alot more temperamental compared to pots.
all this being said, this is a LOT of radio. there's good functionality in the fine/coarse clarifier adjustments. pots are sensitive *enough*, but not hair-trigger...which is good--just the way they should be, IMHO. audio is good to my ear...which is good, because there's no way to adjust the speaker (hi/med/low tone control, for instance).
as a stand-alone unit, this radio gets out *very* well...i can easily talk without skip conditions 15 miles and more away on a clear channel...which, in my area, is one-town over. i live in an area that has very little terrain to speak of, and it is not a terribly populous area. in the small rolling hills areas, 10-15 miles is still a go. can't speak to mountainous areas, as i've not travelled extensively with the radio yet; however, if the other areas are a clue, my guess is that this radio will perform on the high end of the bell curve.
on a congested channel, it will certainly cut through the distant channels and actually has presence locally. again, i adjust power as neccesary to make/maintain communications, so...
as far as receive...it hears well. it is also susceptable to noise...for instance, going through areas that have alot of above-ground high voltage lines. in the little village in which i live, unless i'm listening to someone right in town, and even with the noise-blanker/anl engaged, most receive outside a typical cb bubble is a washout.
as far as using this radio as a driver: superior performance in my configuration. (cobra200 -> magnaforce600--a class B (4x2SC2879))...i get props at all power levels--barefoot to full-out--and have not recieved a single complaint about bleeding. no complaints about TVI/RFI, either.
now, as i've only had the unit around a month, i really can't speak to any long-term issues. the only maintenance issue i've had is having to spray a bit of WD-40 at the channel selector to keep it loose...and i've only had to do that once.
the knobs for volume/squelch, swr cal/echo and the like seem to wiggle a bit coming through the front panel...compared to, for instance, the galaxy and uniden models i've had in the past. i'm not prepared to say it's a workmanship thing, per se...but more an attention to detail thing in terms of manufacturing...and cobra's been in the business long enough to know that doesn't fly on mobile units.
the other thing i noticed with the knobs is that the channel selector can be made to change channels once in awhile without actually clicking to that next channel.
so, overall....the radio, for the most part, performs well. my gut tells me it's a radio that one kinda has to handle with kid gloves. the issue with the radio shutting off for no known reason is probably something cobra is going to have to address if they decide to keep this one in their inventory...it's a new model, there's going to be bugs...and if one is searching for a new radio to purchase, this might be something that drives people away until cobra can build cobra quality into this model.
for the money, and considering it's a new model, i'd give it four stars out of five for performance...five out of five for functionality, and two-and-a-half to three stars for workmanship. it's an above average radio for the price-point, but it's a new model with bugs.
i purchased the cobra 200 about a month ago from one of the techs that frequents this board. it was peaked and tuned, 10kHz button disabled, and i use it only in the CB band. summation: i'd give it four stars out of five for performance...five out of five for functionality, and two-and-a-half to three stars for workmanship. it's an above average radio for the price-point, but it's a new model with bugs.
-------------------------------------------------------------
my opinion a month on is that it is a good--if temperamental--radio. i have had the issue of the radio going inop (requiring power cycling) a few times for no known reason--as i was not in SSB or transmitting at the time.
i also noticed early-on that there was an issue with the radio on high pwr on SSB...the audio coming over the talkback was distorted, and it seemed to be pulling an inordinate amount of power...the backlighting would dim. i can't guess what the explanation is on that, but *if* i were to guess, it would be that the fact that the radio is peaked might drive one of the amplifiers a bit too much on SSB. this phenomenon does not occur on AM. my solution is to utilize the radio in low-power to drive an external amplifier, and it seems to work just fine in that configuration. i have not tested extensively with the external amplifier on SSB. my personal ethic is to only use enough power to make and maintain communications, so i tend to run completely barefoot when doing local communications, and only really use any power if lower power levels don't cut the mustard.
if i were to make a suggestion for this radio, it would be to nix the low/high power switch in favour of a pot to control output power. my experience (limited with commercial radio equipment) is that switches tend to be alot more temperamental compared to pots.
all this being said, this is a LOT of radio. there's good functionality in the fine/coarse clarifier adjustments. pots are sensitive *enough*, but not hair-trigger...which is good--just the way they should be, IMHO. audio is good to my ear...which is good, because there's no way to adjust the speaker (hi/med/low tone control, for instance).
as a stand-alone unit, this radio gets out *very* well...i can easily talk without skip conditions 15 miles and more away on a clear channel...which, in my area, is one-town over. i live in an area that has very little terrain to speak of, and it is not a terribly populous area. in the small rolling hills areas, 10-15 miles is still a go. can't speak to mountainous areas, as i've not travelled extensively with the radio yet; however, if the other areas are a clue, my guess is that this radio will perform on the high end of the bell curve.
on a congested channel, it will certainly cut through the distant channels and actually has presence locally. again, i adjust power as neccesary to make/maintain communications, so...
as far as receive...it hears well. it is also susceptable to noise...for instance, going through areas that have alot of above-ground high voltage lines. in the little village in which i live, unless i'm listening to someone right in town, and even with the noise-blanker/anl engaged, most receive outside a typical cb bubble is a washout.
as far as using this radio as a driver: superior performance in my configuration. (cobra200 -> magnaforce600--a class B (4x2SC2879))...i get props at all power levels--barefoot to full-out--and have not recieved a single complaint about bleeding. no complaints about TVI/RFI, either.
now, as i've only had the unit around a month, i really can't speak to any long-term issues. the only maintenance issue i've had is having to spray a bit of WD-40 at the channel selector to keep it loose...and i've only had to do that once.
the knobs for volume/squelch, swr cal/echo and the like seem to wiggle a bit coming through the front panel...compared to, for instance, the galaxy and uniden models i've had in the past. i'm not prepared to say it's a workmanship thing, per se...but more an attention to detail thing in terms of manufacturing...and cobra's been in the business long enough to know that doesn't fly on mobile units.
the other thing i noticed with the knobs is that the channel selector can be made to change channels once in awhile without actually clicking to that next channel.
so, overall....the radio, for the most part, performs well. my gut tells me it's a radio that one kinda has to handle with kid gloves. the issue with the radio shutting off for no known reason is probably something cobra is going to have to address if they decide to keep this one in their inventory...it's a new model, there's going to be bugs...and if one is searching for a new radio to purchase, this might be something that drives people away until cobra can build cobra quality into this model.
for the money, and considering it's a new model, i'd give it four stars out of five for performance...five out of five for functionality, and two-and-a-half to three stars for workmanship. it's an above average radio for the price-point, but it's a new model with bugs.
cphilip said:
I got one about six months ago for $99 after rebate and I am happy with it. The meter light burned out and when I went to replace it like a dumby I failed to turn off the radio and it damaged something when I put the iron to it ! It's in the car that I drive during day light hours anyway. Also one day when the inside temp of the car gt up to 160 deg. (south Texas) the display went wacky, but after turning the unit off and on it never did it again. I run it on the high power setting of 15 watts into a K40 magmount and get great reports. I have heard my wife on it and I must say it sound really good !
I am having a hard time not justifying it. This $100 rebate deal is making the thing list, when its all done, at $60-69 depending on whom you buy it from. And this rebate deal lasts until Oct 15th. I would replace my current truck radio which is a 29 NW ST WX.... the only thing I would lose is weather radio from what I can tell. And at that price I guess I could afford to keep the 29 as a back up while the 150 was in the shop. And if I am lucky it might even fit the current bracket! Not certain about that. But then I could just put in a couple of two prong plugs on each radio and have quick disconnect wiring too.
Let me ask you this.... what antenna set up are you running? I currently have a Fire Stick 5 footer on this truck. Wonder if its adequate for this change?
Let me ask you this.... what antenna set up are you running? I currently have a Fire Stick 5 footer on this truck. Wonder if its adequate for this change?
cphilip said:
If your antenna has been working good for you I would not change it unless you like trying diffrent antennas. See my last post for my antenna.
Oh yea. It's been doing good. Although just the other day I decided to double check my SWR and it was a tad off. I think my screw got messed with. The little red cap is missing and it was set up with that on. And I think someone turned the tuning screw. Its showing like 1:1 on channel 1 and 1:1.5 on channel 40. And I do recall when I first put it in I had tweeked that thing nice and even at about 1:1.2 or somesuch on both ends. So I will have to go back and mess with that now anyway.
Thanks for the input.
On a related note: I found Amazon is selling this thing for $119 with free shipping. Of course you then probably need to double check the alignement and all that... but a savings of 40 bucks gets you to the technician of your choice. And your initialy out only 19 bucks after the rebate is applied and before tuning it...
Thanks for the input.
On a related note: I found Amazon is selling this thing for $119 with free shipping. Of course you then probably need to double check the alignement and all that... but a savings of 40 bucks gets you to the technician of your choice. And your initialy out only 19 bucks after the rebate is applied and before tuning it...
The 200 is going strong after the fix! The 200 sounds great and he's ran it on high power on side band for several hours with no problems.Great customer support DTB Thanks 8)
I've been hearing all the comments about the 200. I've had mine for over a year now with no problems. I used mine yesterday to try and see if it would shut down or give any of the problem I've been hearing about.
No problems.
I ran it on High SSB/AM mike gain wide open, no shutdown
and no heat. The heatsink barely got warm.
I guess I got lucky or DTB did it right.
No problems.
I ran it on High SSB/AM mike gain wide open, no shutdown
and no heat. The heatsink barely got warm.
I guess I got lucky or DTB did it right.
Well here we go again the driver went out in mine again. Have good reason to beleive it was a close lightning strike and static. Oh well of to be repaired it goes again. Also found it funny the other guy near me who had similar problem with his bought a 95t and was talking on it it one night he told me the audio was still better on his 200 and he switched it and I could not beleive it much cleaner on the 200.