Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 33
 Not so pleased with the Cobra Road Trip Hand Held CB Radio January 5, 2007
Martin L. Grodt (Los Angeles)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I tested the Cobra hand held CB on California Rt. 99 today. Not so good. Tuned into truckers' channel 17 (for North-South traffic) and heard mostly noise. There was very little discernible language so I squelched out the noise and waited...and waited. I called out for a radio check and got a comeback--loud but not clear. The speaker in that hand held CB is awful. It's abrasive to listen to.
It is my opinion that the short 10 inch magnetic roof antenna is ineffective in receiving clear signals and if you do get a clear nearby signal it is unlistenable because of the poor quality of the speaker.
This CB radio needs some work to make it worth using on the road. Perhaps a longer whip antenna in the roof mount along with a better quality extension speaker will make the system less annoying. I was looking for a portable system for temporary use, but the Cobra HH Road Trip CB is pretty poor. Personally, I wouldn't buy it again.
 Cobra Quality, Could have saved the Kim Family? December 9, 2006
Hilow (San Francisco, CA USA)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
In no way am I down playing the heroism of James Kim in trying to save his family but! It's ironic, a guy that into cutting edge technology, that poor family stuck in the wilderness resulting in a death; would not have happened with something as simple as the "ANCIENT" technology this radio provides. How? Getting directions from truckers, calling for help. Maybe 4watts in not that much but at night atmospherics do strange things. On a clear night and from a lofty postion its possible to increase your radio range. The 2 sources of power the radio provides will save your bacon champ.
Where there is no cellphone reception or (god forbid) natural disaster this unit and a separate scanner will save your sweet bee-hind!
The supplied magnetic antenna will do for initial use, this radio is rated a FULL 4w, same as a hardwired unit. I purchased a longer magnetic roof mount at Kragen auto parts for $12, the exact same one at Rat Shack sells for $30. Reception improved dramatically. Fer such a small unit it delivers the same features as a full size one.
1) Signal strength bar indicator(a biggie).
2) Illuminated channel display
3) Battery life indicator(they last forever)
4) Channel Scanner feature
5) Weather bands
6) Sound Tracker Technology
7) Power Saver mode
This is a simple to use Radio, the wiring with all the jacks, antenna, 12v power gets clumsey. Channel changing is clumsey too. The key is located directly on top of the channel selectors, accidental keying will occur. This unit works. Living in SF no one uses a CB. That will change come the next "big one". To talk to people I drive to the nearest freeway and talk to truckers.
For the price are you kidding me. Buy it.
 Cobra HH Road Trip CB - What I like and what I don't November 12, 2006
Thomas J. Sawyer (Northern Virginia)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I purchased two of these units for our emergency "go" kits and regularly carry one in the truck.
I like the size and features where you have both CB and weather channels, the hot swap between services is handy as is the CB channel 9/19 hot key. The noise filter does work and gives better reception under some conditions.
Some limits I've found: The antenna designed for use with the unit in CB hand held mode limits communications to under a quarter mile line of sight in my case and the magnetic vehicle antenna will go about half a mile. I'm looking for a better mast antenna for the vehicle.
The weather channel reception is comparable with my scanner.
One thing that I didn't realize when I purchased the radios, and this would have made a difference to me, the A/C charging adapter is NOT part of the package and must be bought separately so if you want to stay off of the battery charger merry-go-round I recommend buying the charger when you buy the radio. Be aware also that the power cord provided for use in a vehicle does NOT charge the radios batterys.
What I really don't like and almost caused me to return the radios: These units use 9 - "AA" batteries, I purchased 18 rechargable batteries - about 5 bucks each, I hadn't purchased the chargers with the radios and ended up buying the biggest stand-alone battery charger I could find locally, all of the chargers I found work in paired sets and mine handles 8 at a time, so 9 is a real pain.
Tom
radio review September 1, 2006
Gregory R. Long (usa)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought 2. One of them gets used everyday for work and has been most helpful and is working fine. The other was purchased for trips and boating. It also works fine and was useful for the purpose in which it was purchased. Of course though, the distance in which it is advertised to reach and the actual distance are two diffenent numbers; the latter being less; though adequate for out uses.
works great, but...... August 31, 2006
F. Carlin (Greene, NY)
This handheld CB works great on all channels, but only for short range. The external antenna helps a lot when traveling by car. All in all a good buy for the money.
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