Enter
the Cobra Radios
I've always been a fan of Cobra radios. My first radio was a
Cobra and when they called up to ask if I'd play with some new models,
I jumped at the chance. They sent me out an 18WXSTII and a 19DXIII.
These are their two newest CB models.
The two radios
fit two different user tastes and both are 40 channel units. The
18WXSTII is a "regular" sized radio, whereas the 19DXIII
is a compact unit. The 19DXIII would be a wonderful choice for users
that want a small, compact radio that can be tucked away under the
dash, inside a center console or just about anywhere else. I guess
I'm just fond of the big radios, so I chose to mount the 18WXSTII
in the Project TJ.
18WXSTII
Probably
my most-liked feature of the 18WXSTII is that the speaker is mounted
on the front of the radio, eliminating the need for an external
speaker. You can mount the radio in front of you, under the dash,
or over your head and you'll still be able to hear it. The speaker
is quite loud, in fact, and can even be used at reasonable speeds,
even with 35" mud tires. The 18WXSTII also has NOAA weather
band, which comes in handy when you are trying to figure out if
it's time to get off the trail in or not. A simple switch toggles
you between CB and weather.
The
18WXSTII features:
- 40 CB channels
with SCAN feature
- 10 NOAA weather
channels
- Dual Watch
monitoring
- SoundTracker
Noise Reduction System
- Volume control
- Squelch control
- Channel Selector
- CB/Weather
switch
- Receive (RX),
Transmit (TX), and Weather (WX) indicator lights
- Signal strength
meter
- Instant Channel
9/19 toggle switch
- Heavy-Duty
microphone with 9 foot cord
- Mounting
Bracket
The radio
includes everything you need, including a basic mount, microphone,
and wiring. |
The front-mounted
speaker is a huge plus and can even be heard in an open Jeep
at reasonable speeds. |
Just like our
old Uniden radio, the Cobra was mounted to the Turbo City bracket.
Again, we removed the top and used self-tapping screws to fasten
the radio to the bracket and then windshield frame. One thing you'll
have to figure out is what to do with your wiring. For now, ours
is tie-wrapped on top where most people can't see it. The Turbo
City mount just really doesn't give you a whole lot of pretty options.
Operationally,
the 18WXSTII works great and is ergonomically designed. The three
main knobs (Channel, Volume, Squelch) are easy to get to and operate,
even while driving. It's easy to use them without even looking.
This
radio features Cobra's exclusive SoundTracker Noise Reduction System,
which helps to clarify and boost good signals, once you have the
squelch set right. It's a great feature, but can, at times, make
an already strong signal a little too in-your-face. Being able to
switch it on and off via the switch is nice.
The Scan feature
works nicely, as well. If you just want to sit back and find other
users, hitting the button causes the radio to scan the channels
incrementally, looking for a signal. Once it finds one, it stops.
Dual Watch is
also a great feature. You can use this to toggle between two channels
that you set using the same button. I find this feature good if,
for example, you are a trail leader and your group is on, say, channel
4. Your club's other group is on channel 10. Using Dual Watch, you
can toggle easily between 4 and 10 with the push of the button instead
of changing channels using the knob. Nice touch.
Both the 18WXSTII
and the 19DXIII have unusually large microphones. In our windshield-mounted
application, the microphone does get in the way of our visor. In
order to unlatch the soft top or put the visor down, we have to
take the mic off of it's holder and then replace it once we're done.
It's a minor inconvenience, but worth noting. Other mics are available
and we could probably use our small one from our old Uniden, as
the pins are the same.
COBRA
RADIO #2 --->>>
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