| Author |
Message |
    
Kilowatt
Intermediate Member
Username: Kilowatt
Post Number: 188
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 10:06 am: | 
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I was wondering if anyone had checked out the new "old-style" Cobra 148GTLs.
If you have, are you happy with it?
Is the quality pretty good?
Are the internal parts of high quality?
Does it work well on SSB, etc.?
Would you say it is as good as the old ones?
As good as a Uniden Grant? ;-)
Thanks in advance for your opinions!
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Yankee
Intermediate Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 469
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 3:26 pm: |
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Hi Steve, Yes I think I've had maybe 3 of the newer old style 148 GTLs over the years. The last one I had I gave to my son Carl Jr. as a birthday gift and I've talked to him sideband from here at my QTH in Oklahoma to his 200 miles north of New York City, He runs barefoot, about 25 watts and that 148 had killer audio with an Astatic hand power microphone and a Shakespear Super Big Stick, but can't compare with my Grant XL because the audio stage on the Grant XL has been all reworked, (stock componates swapped out for better grade). |
Jellybean
Junior Member
Username: Jellybean
Post Number: 49
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 6:32 pm: |
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I bought one about 4mos ago. Nice audio on am, but not good on ssb on the one I bought. It just wont get stable. Looks cheaply made inside.
Just a pennies worth. |
Yankee
Intermediate Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 471
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 7:23 pm: |
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Sorry Steve, I didn't know of the new prodution 148 GTL, until I looked it up on the Copper site, the one I gave my son is the true Uniden Cobra 148 GTL. |
Stickshift
Intermediate Member
Username: Stickshift
Post Number: 202
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 11:15 pm: |
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Bought a brand new 148 in 1995 and it was the biggest pile of junk I've ever owned. I won't ever buy another one again, unless it's a pre-94. Go with a Uniden. Their quality didn't go down hill. I never understood why anyone would pay good money for a junk Cobra when they could buy a good Uniden for less. Cobra messed up big time when they decided to not to have Uniden produce their radios for them any longer. |
Kilowatt
Intermediate Member
Username: Kilowatt
Post Number: 195
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 08, 2005 - 9:25 am: |
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Thanks y'all! I was thinking about getting one of the 148s to play with if they were "decent."
I think I'll just order a Magnum S-3200B from Copper, instead. (Those big handles look cool!) |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 287
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 08, 2005 - 2:19 pm: |
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I really don't think Cobra would put out a product that didn't work well. It might not look the same inside as the others, but I'm sure it works fine in stock form. Peaking it out is probably a little different. Whether it works as well as the older 148s I can't say because I haven't owned either. |
Patzerozero
Advanced Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 670
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 09, 2005 - 10:15 am: |
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recently installed texas star dx350 with a 2004 cobra 148 i obtained for a customer last year. he used 148 in big truck with no problems in 9 months of daily use. i did channel mod & a couple other things to it-we'll have to see how it lasts now! anyway, it 'sounds' alright, nothing out of this world, but he's happy with signal reports with & without the amp on. receive is better then the galaxy's he used to use-he's not a hardcore CBer, but a daily user of 1 & he noticed the difference between the 148 & galaxy immediately. |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 281
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 9:10 am: |
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I've been using a 148NWST in my car now for 2+ years. Now when I bought it new and tried it out it was ok on AM but SSB was a little wimpy and I could not clarify very well. In fact my dads 148 was useless on SSB all together. So I found a premium tech who did some amazing things by replace many of the inside componets with better ones. Setup for Astatic mic and a little more wattage. I have talked skip to so many I lost count. Get all kinds of unsolicited good reports. Never a bad report. This radio has even been in a head on collision in my car at 55 mph and is still going strong. Also has been baking in my work parking lot for 2 summers now getting ready for 3. I would buy another without a second thought. I like it because it has none of the dumb extras I dont need. Well except for soundtracker.....what a waste. It will narrow things up a bit as to only hear a voice but far off voices are hard to hear and close sound garbled so Sound Tracker button gets no love from me. |
Itatorro
Junior Member
Username: Itatorro
Post Number: 13
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2005 - 10:23 pm: |
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I would say stay away from the cobra line. I got a 29wxst from ratshack on tue and returned it today. It is no better than my 75wxst withthe except. of the larger speaker. To boot it was expensive, $143. I only got the 75wx because of space limits in my new Wrangler and I wanted to try somthing else to compare to. I also put in a KL400 amp and it helps me get out a bit better runing at 50w DK an 95w swing. italked across water 16miles with S10 report but i can't make a DX contact. I guess it just doesn't have that "Big Radio Sound" so no one wants to talk to me.
Anyway i just ordered an M257..small and i WILL find a place to mount it.
j |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 325
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 16, 2005 - 10:12 pm: |
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I think the 75WXST kicks butt for what it is! It sounds great on transmit, quite loud. Best to use an external speaker if you have room though. I replaced it with a 257 also but put it in the box truck and then in the new tiny car. Good radio IMHO.
Try this: hold the button on the far left of the face down for a while(can't remember the label) Bingo, freq in MHz 
Chad |
Yankee
Advanced Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 675
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, June 17, 2005 - 11:29 am: |
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I haven't yet had the chance to look inside one of these so called new Cobra 148 GTLs, but the picture screams made in China.
I do know that the sound tracker model and the one that followed it are China made and are not to good. Nowhere near the quality of the original 148s, 2000s and the Grant XL and LT. If One can get their hands on any of these great radios from Uniden, it's best that you get the idea that you may never see another one and hold on to those original 148s, 2000s and both of the Grants.
Carl CEF-357 |
Itatorro
Junior Member
Username: Itatorro
Post Number: 20
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 12:47 am: |
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Chad, I agree with your statment and i have had a couple good audio reports using the 75 I just can't understand, so well, a lot of the recieved audio unless it is a good signal without to much combining from other stations on the channel. Oh, it gets plenty lound and i hooked an external on it but it didn't help me to hear any better. Purchased it to be just a trail rig and that would have been a good place to stop but then i was trying to using it on the expressway and all the sudden i needed an amp and good ears.. I will be traveling frequently between VA and NYC over the next 3 yrs so Let me get something i can talk down the road with and posibly get a little DX on the way. even though solar activity is on the decline.
it |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 328
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 9:08 am: |
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You made a good choice on the 257, Sounds like you did the same thing I did, the 75 was my first real cb then I got hooked. The 257 bridged the gap perfectly but I found it soooo much better on the Imax in the house that I bought another AM only for the truck and still have the 75 in the tiny car. The honda is pretty quiet and it does OK. In the loud old truck an amplifierd external did it for me with no problem, just negated the purpose of it's size
Good luck with the 257, please take time to sit down with it while not driving to learn it well, it has a lot of features and it sucks to get caught in a "feature" you don't want while in freeway traffic
Chad |
Itatorro
Junior Member
Username: Itatorro
Post Number: 34
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 8:32 pm: |
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My 257 came in yesterday and today i put it on the bench at lunch time and it seems to be tuned pretty good. I opend the mic though and turned the gain up a littl. not that it needed it. with the IFR comms analyzer we have i was getting 101% mod with a loud wistle. the power out was 29w pep am and SSB didn't check rcv though the IFR is new and i havnt learned to us it good yet. I adjusted the meter VR as it was full scale on key no matter what the varible power was set at. Had to turn that VR all the way down to get 3 bars with 4watts ...thats as close as i could get it.
I am transfering to VA so i won't get it installed fo a few weeks. will prob. operate it with it sitting on the pass seat on the trip down though. |
Skipman
New member
Username: Skipman
Post Number: 3
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 04, 2005 - 1:50 pm: |
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Plain and simple there is no comparison between an older 148 and the new JUNK..Cobra declined big time when uniden stopped with them. Like all companies cobra went cheaper and cheaper in is cheaper out sad but its the bottom line, many components in the newer boards are so cheap they couldnt go any cheaper if they tried. Just my 2 cents.. |
