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Cobra 75 Questions

The Jerk

Active Member
May 6, 2008
647
66
38
Reading, PA
I have a need for a discrete radio in a car my girlfriend just purchased...a Jeep Compass. It doesn't need to be a killer radio, just a basic radio for when we travel.

Looking at a new Cobra 75...is there any problems with them? Can they be aligned/tweaked like any other radio? I'd really like to stay away from a regular CB chassis...

I am also looking for a small discrete antenna, most likely a magnetic since I doubt she will like holes drilled. The Wilsons are too big, she hates the one I have on my car. Is there anything smaller? I have a Hustler RQM that's 42"s tall...probably not mush smaller than a Little Wil, but the base is smaller.

I've seen some of the cellphone look alikes from Francis (specifically, the DS-14)...are they anything worth buying? I know this is a surface mount (meaning it requires drilling the hole), but I like the fact its 14" tall.

Any suggestions?
 

I think you're going to be disappointed in the answers you get, but here goes:

That Cobra 75 is small, but it's a terrible radio. I know because I had one a long time ago. It was as deaf as deaf could be. You could have another driver right next to you key up and it wouldn't crack open the squelch on the Cobra 75. There also isn't really anything you can do to tune it. You would be better off with a small little radio like a Uniden 510.

Also, small antennas don't work very well, either. If you 're looking to just communicate a mile or so, you might be able to get by with a "through the glass" antenna, but don't expect any miracles. That Wilson Lil' Wil is about as small as you can get and it's already a compromise.
 
Not that it wasn't what I expected to hear...if you read the literature on the 75, it sounds like a real deal...oh, well...I thought it would be too good to be true!

Through-the-glass?? If you are referring to the Firestik DS-14 I referenced, they are a through-roof mounted antenna, albeit short and cell-phone like...but they are not a through-glass (for clarification).

OK, then I guess the next option a Pro520 (with RF gain, I hate squelch-only radios) and maybe this Hustler magnetic I have (similar to a Little Wil). Would that be a touch better option?
 
Yea, I would stay clear of the Cobra 75 Soundcrapper. I took one on a trade years ago and it was more for listening then anything, not abig talker at all. It would be a quick vacation radio at best. I sold it on the forum and had trouble getting 35 bucks for it.
 
The Uniden 520 is a good radio! I'm sure the Hustler magmount will work as good as any short mag mount antenna...which means not as good as a full size antenna, but it will get you a couple miles down the road. But I would definately use the Uniden 520 if you can do that. I've had one for several years in my Jeep, and it really is a decent little CB.

BTW, they really do make "through the glass" CB antennas. They're garbage. Don't buy one :)
 
BTW, they really do make "through the glass" CB antennas. They're garbage. Don't buy one :)


I know, I owned one at a point in life...it was complete garbage.

I'm considering having the coax upgraded on the Hustler since the connector is only crimped on and the coax is almost the size of a pencil lead...have some mini-8 installed with soldered ends.

I'm looking at the Pro520...I was noticing Clay's Radio Shop offers a tune up for $25, an internal noise filter for $25...do they do good work and is their noise filter worth the $$?
 
Now you are starting to spend more money that you weren't origianlly wanting to spend.
I think it is fair to say that you want a decent radio in the car. And that radio must work; and it must work well enough to be practical. Practical enough to be useful.

So, buy a good, used radio that can REALLY talk and get a practical antenna theat can REALLY get out. Find a Uniden 122XL or a Cobra 29LTD for $60-75 and get a used magnet-mount K40 for $50 and have at it. You can set it up so that it can be removed with little difficulty and no damage to the vehicle - no problem.

So what if a better radio doesn't come new out of the box? You want a new radio that comes out of the box - that you wished you would have put back in the box and returned because it didn't work out the way you hoped? A lot of these new Unidens aren't at all like the Unidens of years past - just not the same thing at all. It happens - you know. Most of the new radios that you find in big retail stores (Target, WalMart, etc...) are pretty much garbage - and as useless as boobs on a doorknob.
 
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I'm looking at the Pro520...I was noticing Clay's Radio Shop offers a tune up for $25, an internal noise filter for $25...do they do good work and is their noise filter worth the $$?

Whether or not the Tune-up is worth it is really your call. There's not a lot you can do to that radio. Putting the $25 toward a good mic might be a better investment, IMO.

Internal noise filter? No. You can make one yourself for a few bucks and attach it to the power cord. There's a simple one in the Home Brew section.
 
Hmmm, replied and it never took!? Interesting!

I was going to post that I have multiple setups, primarily Grants with small AB-1 amps...I actually have several radios I could throw inthis setup that would be most likely better quality than a 520 (including another Grant XL Philly). I also have at least two complete Wilson 1000 mag mounts. But everything I have is either full chassis or physically large.

But in this case, I am trying to be discrete since the car is new, has a smaller interior, and it is HER car! The Pro520 would be about the right size, and I could possibly hide it in the center console. The 520 is about $55, whereas the Cobra 75 is around $125...so instead of spending more, I'm actually spending less.

I was just curious about Clay's because I could get "everything" done before it shipped...but I do not know his quality of work. I was curious how an internal mod for noise could cost as much as many external noise limiters, the reason I asked. I have a semi-local shop I would prefer to have do any work on it (a member of this forum)...so it works out better (buy a stock radio and have it tuned locally).

As for the antenna, hmm...still debating about that...might try this Hustler since its sitting here and more/less unobtrusive. Have some better coax installed and run it. I may look at a white Wilson 1000 mag mount...but that getting pretty big (the remote-controlled car look, she hates it)...
 
Ooops! Sorry...My mistake...The Magnum OmegaForce that I have was bought from and worked on Clay's. Sounds good to me - I like it.

K40's don't have that 'RC' look; they're stylin...
 
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the lil wils work great ..[for thier size] look at the wilson 500 its a little bigger
but not as big as a wil-1000.the uniden 520 is a nice little cb.and while a wilson1k
would really make that radio really talk.a lil will would do.personally i wouldnt
waste my time replacing coax,connectors on a hustler antenna.and just get the lil
wil.imho the lil wil is superior to all other 3ft antennas.they tx,rx,and handle more
power than any other 3ft. antenna.my wife had the 510xl with a lil wil 10 miles
mobile 2 base.
 


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