Cobra 2000 GTL

Raccoon · Jun 25, 2020

Hey everyone ,
I have a Cobra 2000 GTL that was my Grandmother's . It hadn't been turned on in over 15 years until my Mom fired it up one day , and left it on for about a year ... almost constantly . Then when I got it , I hooked it up and started using it and it worked beautiful for a few months ... then all of a sudden , one day it started drifting way off frequency when I'd key up .

I was just wondering if anyone here has any idea what is making it drift off like that ?? I use to have a really good CB repairman in my area , but he isn't doing much anymore , if anything at all ... and due to the fact that it was my Grandmothers ... I don't want to risk it by shipping it in the mail . So I was hoping it was something I could fix myself .

snow bird · Jun 25, 2020

Most Likely thing is the Caps are all old and need to be replaced. It is like a lot of us Getting Old and Need to be Fixed.

Tokin · Jun 25, 2020

Where are you located? Yes i agree with caps. Pretty typical for radios of that age. A good multi meter will also be your friend.

Raccoon · Jun 25, 2020

Tokin said:
Where are you located? Yes i agree with caps. Pretty typical for radios of that age. A good multi meter will also be your friend.

I'm located in South Central NY , near the NY/Pennsylvania border line .... roughly about "30 miles south" of the Watkins Glen race track .

Tokin · Jun 25, 2020

Ok, east coast. Well shipping isnt that big of an issue for the most part. Keep it east of the rockies and use priority 2-3 day mail to keep it out of the system as much as possible. Double box and use air cushion in the inner box and hard foam in the outer. Make sure to insure it well.
You can figure $40-$60 each way depending on distance. My skill level is pretty low, most of the time my gear either takes a 140 mile round trip ride to a reputable shop or it gets shipped. Unfortunately i dont have any suggestions as i havent shipped for repairs in quite a while but others here might.
The 2k was a fun base and quite popular thru the years so theres lots of parts. If its mostly unmodified, no extra channels/original chip, no mod limiter clipped ect it would up its value. Sounds like it may have been in the family since new or close to it?

Raccoon · Jun 25, 2020

Tokin said:
Ok, east coast. Well shipping isnt that big of an issue for the most part. Keep it east of the rockies and use priority 2-3 day mail to keep it out of the system as much as possible. Double box and use air cushion in the inner box and hard foam in the outer. Make sure to insure it well.
You can figure $40-$60 each way depending on distance. My skill level is pretty low, most of the time my gear either takes a 140 mile round trip ride to a reputable shop or it gets shipped. Unfortunately i dont have any suggestions as i havent shipped for repairs in quite a while but others here might.
The 2k was a fun base and quite popular thru the years so theres lots of parts. If its mostly unmodified, no extra channels/original chip, no mod limiter clipped ect it would up its value. Sounds like it may have been in the family since new or close to it?

Thanks for the info Tokin .

My grandmother bought the radio new , and it's been in the family since ... and then I've had it for about a year or so now . I'm not the "Golden Screwdriver" type , so I haven't opened it up to look inside it , or mess with anything . But for whatever reason , to my surprise ... my Grandmother did have extra channels put in it , which I don't use anyway . I usually just hang out where the locals are at . Or sometimes , I rotate around the dial to talk with the truckers on 19 ... or I shoot skip on other channels . But whatever the case , I stay in the 1 - 40 range . I have no idea why she had extras put in it ... but she did . But that's all that has been done to it . Besides that , the radio is in really nice shape ... almost "Like New" . That's why it bothered me when it started drifting off frequency after a few months of running it with no sign of any issues .

Tokin · Jun 25, 2020

Raccoon said:
Thanks for the info Tokin .

My grandmother bought the radio new , and it's been in the family since ... and then I've had it for about a year or so now . I'm not the "Golden Screwdriver" type , so I haven't opened it up to look inside it , or mess with anything . But for whatever reason , to my surprise ... my Grandmother did have extra channels put in it , which I don't use anyway . I usually just hang out where the locals are at . Or sometimes , I rotate around the dial to talk with the truckers on 19 ... or I shoot skip on other channels . But whatever the case , I stay in the 1 - 40 range . I have no idea why she had extras put in it ... but she did . But that's all that has been done to it . Besides that , the radio is in really nice shape ... almost "Like New" . That's why it bothered me when it started drifting off frequency after a few months of running it with no sign of any issues .

Tokin · Jun 25, 2020

Being ssb base some folks like to work the freeband mostly above 40 upper and lower ssb. 27555 is a popular frequency.
Extra channels were usually part of a package of mods a lot of folks got that back in the day if done well made the base worth more. Now alot of folks pay more for factory stock units to collect or modify themselves.
Id leave the mods alone if the radio was talking and recieving well before the problem and just replace/upgrade what it needs.
Theres lots of good people here and im sure if youre set on refurbishing it someone here will be able to help in some way.

Raccoon · Jun 25, 2020

Tokin said:
Being ssb base some folks like to work the freeband mostly above 40 upper and lower ssb. 27555 is a popular frequency.
Extra channels were usually part of a package of mods a lot of folks got that back in the day if done well made the base worth more. Now alot of folks pay more for factory stock units to collect or modify themselves.
Id leave the mods alone if the radio was talking and recieving well before the problem and just replace/upgrade what it needs.
Theres lots of good people here and im sure if youre set on refurbishing it someone here will be able to help in some way.

I figured that's why she got them . She just never struck me as the "Extra Channels" kind of CB'er . She was more of a "Do As You're Suppose To" kind of person .... lol

Between my Grandmother , my parents , and my own interest in the radio hobby .... I've been into radio (SWL, CB, and Ham) for quite a few years now ... probably since about 1977/78 . It just seems like quite a few of my radios took a nose dive all at about the same time .... and no repairman in my area anymore .

Tokin · Jun 25, 2020

Raccoon said:
I figured that's why she got them . She just never struck me as the "Extra Channels" kind of CB'er . She was more of a "Do As You're Suppose To" kind of person .... lol

Between my Grandmother , my parents , and my own interest in the radio hobby .... I've been into radio (SWL, CB, and Ham) for quite a few years now ... probably since about 1977/78 . It just seems like quite a few of my radios took a nose dive all at about the same time .... and no repairman in my area anymore .

I moved a few years ago and its always a struggle to find the savvy techs. There's some talented folks here and shipping if done well is a option. There may be a tech in your general vicinity you might not know of yet lol.

Raccoon · Jun 25, 2020

Tokin said:
I moved a few years ago and its always a struggle to find the savvy techs. There's some talented folks here and shipping if done well is a option. There may be a tech in your general vicinity you might not know of yet lol.

I have at least 5 radios that are in need of a little help . Which was why I said that it seems like quite a few of my radios took a nose dive all at about the same time .... lol

But my two top radios that need to be looked at are my Cobra 2000 GTL , and my President HR-2510

loosecannon · Jun 26, 2020

i think that there might be a couple of techs in your area.

If mikes radio repair is still in business he is in Maryland.
I don't think he has a website but you can find him on youtube.
word is he's a bit hard to get ahold of these days, but i've never tried to contact him myself so i can't say for sure.
he knows his stuff for sure.

most likely you can fix the radio by replacing all the electrolytic capacitors, but there is also a chance that you will cause damage to the radio in your attempts if you don't have experience doing this type of work.

really its just unsoldering two leads of a part, pulling it out, putting in a new one, and soldering those two leads, BUT! if you don't get all the solder off, or push the part around while its still soldered in place, you can pull the trace right off the board, or worse, crack the PC board.

once that happens, your chances of ending up with a problem free working radio go way down.
you could end up ruining the value of your CB radio, and im not sure if you've looked, but you have like the most valuable CB model around.

if its in good shape and doesn't have any extra holes drilled in the case, you can get upwards of 500 dollars for it. (i know you aren't looking to sell it but you should know what you have)

other parts of the radio are going to be all but impossible to find, and there is no guarantee that the caps are the only problem you have, or that they are the culprit for the issues you are having now.

i think your best bet is to do some digging, talk to the locals in your area and try to find someone to do the work for you. contact your local amateur radio club and ask them if anyone in the area is a competent technician. (they may make fun of you for asking a ham about a CB radio, but they will all know who the good techs are LOL)
most these days are working out of their houses, and don't have a brick and mortar business.

if you can't find anyone where you are, then you are going to have to bite the bullet and send it off.
if you do that, just expect that it's going to cost you 60 dollars or more each way.
that's because you will need to double box it, and pack it like its going to the moon.

the added bonus of sending the radio to a technician is that along with the repair, they can align the radio for you, and with its age, it definitely needs it.
hope this helps,
LC

Klondike Mike · Jun 26, 2020

loosecannon said:
... most likely you can fix the radio by replacing all the electrolytic capacitors, but there is also a chance that you will cause damage to the radio in your attempts if you don't have experience doing this type of work.
LC

Your post, LC, reminds me of my first post here around 10 years ago. Cobra 2000, showing 92.000Mhz. You were the first responder. Can't remember the details, but most likely you recommended to change the electrolytics. That project started me on to where I'm at today. My, how time flies ...

Raccoon · Jun 26, 2020

I could do the work myself .... I use to buy older dead radios , bring them back to life , and their former glory ... and then sell them . But I haven't done that in a long time , and my eyes aren't as good as they use to be . Not that I don't think I can do it , because wearing my glasses makes a big difference .... and working on solid state & tube equipment isn't nearly as bad as this surface mount stuff is . I considered doing it myself for a minute ... when I saw people selling the Cobra 2000 electrolytic cap kits on ebay .

Raccoon · Jun 26, 2020

loosecannon said:
once that happens, your chances of ending up with a problem free working radio go way down.
you could end up ruining the value of your CB radio, and im not sure if you've looked, but you have like the most valuable CB model around.

if its in good shape and doesn't have any extra holes drilled in the case, you can get upwards of 500 dollars for it. (i know you aren't looking to sell it but you should know what you have)

By the way LC , if you like the Cobra 2000 .... then you probably don't want to hear about the CPI CP2000 (CPI - Communications Power Inc.) radio that I've been trying to track a power cord down for ... right ?? ... lol

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