Cobra 75 WXST All-in-Handset Mobile 40-Channel CB Radio

PUT UNIT IN MY MODEL A FORD, LOVE IT. DOES EVERYTHING I NEED.

I purchased a Midland 75-822 CB first and then a Cobra 75WST about 5 months later, they are both designed with most, if not all, of the electronics built into the handset type of CBs. I wanted to use an external speaker with the handheld CB for better sound clarity. The Cobra's external speaker jack is in a more covenant, out of the way location, with possibly easier to operate with one hand controls than the Midland CB. On the Cobra the remote speaker plugs into the remote adapter and not directly into the handset as the Midland unit must. This eliminates that extra (in the way) wire running from the Midland handset to the external speaker and places the extra wire out of the way connecting it directly to the remote adapter of the Cobra, not to the handset. With an external speaker plugged into the Midland CB its on/off volume and squelch controls are even more difficult to access. The Cobra handset has a longer coiled cord that's nice but its handset is a little overly large but not unworkable.

The Cobra volume and squelch controls are more conveniently located but don't have any mid range markings. This makes it hard to see where your settings are until something comes in too low to hear or screeches out too loud. They are also a little hard to reach and work with, with your thumb, especially with the on/off volume control which is a little hard and stiff to switch off. The Midland's controls are on top and kind of a two handed operation, neither manufacture's design is a clear winner while driving a vehicle but maybe the Cobra is a touch ahead here for one handed use. By the way, when I purchase hand gloves, they are the extra large size.

The Sound Tracker system appears to work but maybe a bit of a scam from my informal tests. When you turn the Sound Tracker on, the signal is noticeably quieter but the Midland is always just as quiet in my comparison tests and nothing to switch on.

Each time when you turn your Cobra unit on to listen or talk you have to remember to push a button to activate the Sound Tracker and if you disconnect the 12 volt power all the CB's settings are instantly lost. The Midland CB retains its settings if it's turned off, and also as long as the 12 V is connected plus even for a period of time even if the 12 V supply is disconnected.

The Weather Band stations in my area seemed to come in better on the Midland but not much better, I will call this a near tie.

Neither CB radio is a clear winner in my mind. I think if I were purchasing CBs again it would be the Midland 75-822 because Midland also offers so much more with their CB than the Cobra. The Midland unit comes with a bonus of two different battery packs, one for regular batteries and a second one for rechargeable batteries plus a rubber ducky CB antenna. That makes the Midland fully portable allowing you to use it away from your vehicle, not requiring the vehicle's 12 V supply and the vehicle's CB antenna. Sometimes Midland also offers a power supply brick with their CB to charge the batteries. It's not a very sophisticated charging unit; it does not shut off or tell you when the rechargeable batteries are fully charged. This leaves you to guess at the time and if they are fully charged. A fast external charger would probably be a better option. The Cobra is missing most if not all of these features and from my Internet searches the Cobra cost more.

Both of my CB radios had electrical problems when first purchased. The Midland came new from an e-bay purchase and I had to return it directly to Midland for repair/replacement as the display did not work when it got to around 45 degrees in temperature outside. When the unit warmed up all was OK and in June, July, and August it took a while to notice the problem. It was cheerfully replaced (not repaired) and they sent me back several more parts than I sent them. The Cobra unit received signals OK but would not transmit right out of the box. I did not notice it right away as I assumed since the receiver worked OK and I was reusing an existing antenna all would be OK. I had the option to return it to the seller or mail it in for, I guess, replacement just as Midland's offered but the Cobra CB came from Amazon. Returning to Amazon turned out to be a wonderfully simple and fast exchange process. All my friends have been really impressed when I explained the exchange. Fortunately I returned the complete Cobra CB, not knowing Amazon would cross ship me a complete and completely new unit, with Amazon paying all the shipping both directions. As I remember it took just around a week, maybe one or two days longer than the original delivery, I guess they waited just long enough for them to determine my unit was in the mail and on its way back before they sent the replacement.

Again both CBs are very comparable with no clear winner in my mind but I think maybe Midland has the edge but not enough for me to return my Cobra and order a Midland. By the way I have no ties to any of the companies in this review.

This is from my best memory, I hope this helps in your CB radio decision.

Dennis

First, a little about my background. I am an amateur radio operator (ham radio), and an electrical engineer. So, I know a little about radios. I got another car, and decided to put a two-meter mobile and a CB in it. Since the 2M mobile takes up all available space for mounting a radio, I decided to choose this model as my CB. I have had it going for a few days now and it seems to work just fine. The advantages of this model, besides the obvious one of being easier to mount, is that it also includes weather reception, a scan mode, and an actual frequency display (a rarity among normal legal CB's). About the only bad points that I can see is that the unit itself is somewhat large and looks awkward on my dash, the speaker does not sound fantastic (but not too bad considering the size), the knobs are a little difficult to adjust while still attached to the dash, and the cable is coiled and flexible but it is so thick that you have to really tug on it to get it to extend. The thing that amazes me is the marketing hype. The "soundtracker" technology is close to useless. If you power on the radio without and antenna, soundtracker sounds great. However, if you turn it on with an antenna attached while truckers are talking all over the state, soundtracker does nothing for that type of noise. The problem is that, with CB, you never really get quiet conditions. If soundtracker is so great, why even include a button to turn it off? Why not just leave it on all the time? Soundtracker also claims to increase the transmission strength. There is really only one way to transmit at full legal power. If soundtracker does actually improve transmission, that means that they intentionally crippled transmit when soundtracker is turned off. So, the whole soundtracker thing smells to me like a bunch of marketing hype. This is still a good choice for a CB, though, if you cannot mount a regular-sized unit in your vehicle. Just make sure to get a good antenna. I chose a Larsen designed for 11-meter usage in an NMO mount.

I got this radio as a birthday gift from my wife back in March. It's been a long time since I've had a CB and I really like this one's features especially the scanning and duel watch features and the ability to easily move it between vehicles. This week the speaker in the handset died on me also. However, this unit has a two-year warrantee so I don't understand another commentor's remark that when his unit broke down it would cost more to have it repaired that the unit originally cost. As I was driving to the warrantee center, the speaker came back on, but the sound was very scratchy. It wasn't "off frequency," it's just that the speaker was faulty. The repair center replaced the speaker in about a half hour and now everything works fine. You may want to go to the Cobra Electronics web site (Cobra.Com) and see if a warrantee center (not just a dealer) is near you if you have any concerns about this unit's speaker. I would have given this radio 5 stars if it hadn't been for the speaker problem.

I bought this for my Jeep which I take off-road in Southern California every weekend. I go to remote places and bought this to communicate with others on the trail. I'm no CB expert and this is my first one. I wish more detailed information were included on which antenna to use and what parts were required (mounting options for example). The radio was easy to install and use.

On my first trip with the radio, the internal speaker stopped working -- less than 20 miles into the trip. I had the top and doors off my Jeep and was on the freeway traveling 70 MPH with the volume turned nearly all the way up. I could hear conversations on the radio for awhile but then silence. When I arrived at the begining of the trail, I looked for what might be wrong. I could see by the signal indicator that the radio was still working but could hear nothing.

I considered calling Cobra to tell them what a disappointment my first experience with them was and to see what options I had. Instead, I bought a plug for the included external speaker jack and wired the radio to my Jeep's speakers.

Overall, I am happy with this radio especially it's size. I also appreciate the all-channel scan and weather channels. I will remember this experience , though, before buying anything else from Cobra.