Anybody have a Cobra 25 or 29 CB Radio?

[Shelby Griggs]

TDR members, I need some help with buying a new CB.



My last CB was a 23 channel Midland which I had mounted in my 1968 Dodge D 100. That was in the late 70's, early 80's.



I am in the market for a new CB for installation in my new Ram. I

am looking for a good solid 40 channel CB with weather channels on board. The radio will be mostly used for monitoring traffic, etc. while traveling and of course monitoring weather, my profession is of the outdoor variety (land surveyor), so weather is always a concern. The radio would also be used for short range (up to 5 miles) communications from truck to truck occasionally. Finally it would be a backup form of communications in case of an emergency, but I am not relying on the radio for that. I will also have a VHF 153 MHz 25 watt radio on board as well as a cell phone. The CB is just one part of the communications package.



BTW, thanks for all of the antenna help for the VHF radio. Firestiks are on the way for both the VHF and CB radios.



Looking for any and all suggestions of a suitable radio, but have looked at the Cobra 25 WX NW ST and 29 WX NW ST radios. Are these good radios? Anybody who is familiar with these, could you explain the differences. They look to be the same physical size and have roughly the same features. I like the Cobra for the Nightwatch feature, but have been out of the market so long, I am probably missing a whole lot of other good radios too.



Any help would be appreciated.



TIA



Shelby

 

[Archive]

I can't speak fpr the 25, but I have owned a couple of 29's over the years. Mine don't have any of the soundtracker, nightwatch, features, but they have proven to be a solid radio. I took mine to truck stops for the ole' tweak n' peak treatment, and added a noise cancelling mike. The solid stock radio with those mods made for a great package for me. As far as I was concerned I was sacrificing some power to say Rangers, but in favor of reliability. Another question you might ask about is having that 29 lined up and adding an amp. But I'm really getting away from what I know first hand. There are definitely people on this board better versed in radios than I am. Good Luck

 

[OILBRNR]

From what I've read on some CB forums, the new Cobras are JUNK. Not like the old 29's at all. So based on that, and not wanting to spend the money on a Galaxy or other export radios, I ordered a Uniden, from Uniden. So here is what I wrote a couple of weeks on another thread regarding Ham vs. CB:

From the FWIW department, I just installed a Uniden PC78LTW on Mike Browlin's mount last night. I purchased the CB directly from Uniden as a factory 'referb. ' in like-new condition. Matter of fact, I could not tell it wasn't new. Not a mark on it. It was considerably less than anywhere else on the net.

http://www.uniden.com/docs/store/



Now I want more power, I'm thinking about a footwarmer (linear amp).



I also like the Midland 79-290, but figured I'd start with this Uniden and see how I like the CB world again. It is much different from the kinder-gentler years of the '70s.

 

[Ramafid]

Cobra 29

I have the Cobra 29 WX NW ST and like it very much. The night lighting is second to none. I've had it for over a year and have had no problems. I'm sure you could buy a better radio but for the price I think it's hard to beat. I would get a Wilson 1000 or 5000 antenna. I don't think there's a better antenna for the money. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Archive]

Cobra 25 junk?

I have the Cobra 25 WX NW ST. I personally think it is a good radio. If I didn't, it would not be in my Ram. I am able to talk to everyone in our BOMBvoys, and hear the weather forcasts and alerts. The first time you hear that baby go off for a wx alert, it will scare the bejesus out of ya!