My first Cobra 200GTL an absolute nightmare

[TonyV225]

All I can say is OMG WHAT A PIECE OF SH!+!!! Its the new board talkback ETC WELL ITS GOIN BACK NEW board and all!! IT has serious rf feedback through the audio section in the high power section it did this allover the band and me being a 98% sidebander this horrible sounding rig was only good for sticking in Cobra MFG area where the sun dont shine also power had a mind of its own I set it for under 100 watts after the rf problem was dicovered and every other key up was almost 200 watts and then down to 60 watts. I read some great reports on these and have a few friends running them and they sound and work great and trouble free well my luck to get the lemon after waiting over a week for it to arive. They are a nice setup by far no HF rig but still a neet toy or addition to ones collection if indeed its working properly so we will see what happens with the next one. I told the guy not to even bother sending this same one back even after fixing because Ive been down that road before and can see a potential headache before it starts so a new one should be here next week I hope anyways. Ill repost the results after this is resolved. Any othe comments are appreciated or your experiences with these radios.

 

[Butcher318]

Just do a search on the forum here, you will find numerous threads on this radio.......not many are good either. Not sure where you heard all these great things about the Cobra 200. I would dump it as fast as you can.

 

[Hardhead]

My original still works great. Sorry for your problems.
Send it to DTB. He can fix.

 

[Happy_Hamer]

All I can say is OMG WHAT A PIECE OF SH!+!!!

Please refrain from trying to bypass the word censor,,,


Call it what it is,,,,,,,


A piece of SHIT

8)


Thank you

 

[hotrod]

i agree this radio sucks badly.im also a ssber this has my vote
of being the worst radio ever produced.

 

[psycho]

Just do a search on the forum here, you will find numerous threads on this radio.......not many are good either. Not sure where you heard all these great things about the Cobra 200. I would dump it as fast as you can.

He needs to do what most people do with junk.......auction it on EBAY. :x

 

[DXman]

All I can say is OMG WHAT A PIECE OF SH!+!!!

Please refrain from trying to bypass the word censor,,,


Call it what it is,,,,,,,


A piece of SHIT

8)


Thank you

 

[hotrod]

Just do a search on the forum here, you will find numerous threads on this radio.......not many are good either. Not sure where you heard all these great things about the Cobra 200. I would dump it as fast as you can.

He needs to do what most people do with junk.......auction it on EBAY. :x

yup some vfool would probaly bid it up 300 dollars haha

 

[preacherman]

Tony...sorry to hear it's been giving you headaches
I have one now (my second one) and haven't had any problems (knock on wood). I think the variable output problems may stem back to the very low quality smt pots they use for the amc and alc circuits. Sometimes they die if you try to adjust them.

Before you throw it away...give them a chance to fix it. It won't cost you anything (well, maybe shipping)
YMMV,
preacherman

 

[TonyV225]

I told the guy not to bother fixing this one and to send a brand new one he said thats fine and this ones going back to cobra as a lemon. I just have a gut feeling this one is a definate future headache. What are you running your poer settings at AM HIGH and LOW and SSB HIGH and LOW

 

[Butcher318]

Keep this in mind, a local guy sent his radio back for repair. Cobra sent it back tuned and converted with tamper sticker on it. The radio had a very conservative (weak) tune done for a pair of 2290's. They said leave it like it is and if the sticker is removed or broken the warranty is void. This is why alot of these radio's fail, people crank them up like a 2970 or 95T and they cannot take it.

 

[TonyV225]

what do they suggest the power be set at?? this one was peaked and converted when shipped brand new IT WAS DOING 160 WATTS :shock: I was thinking that Ill have the guy set it at 100 watts AM FM SSB or 125 - 135 max should be ok although in actuality 100 watts is plenty nobody on the recieving end is gonna hear that difference of the extra 25 watts and after all thats how all or most HF rigs come 100 WATTS thats it so we can safely say thats plenty

 

[rfkid]

Cobra 200GTL

Tony:
I bought one of these when they were first available on the market, in September 2005.
I still love the look of the radio and it's supposed features. However, that's where it ended!
Transmit audio on ssb was horrible. I kept it 3 days and sent it back to the retailer on a trade for an S9. Never regretted that move!

 

[preacherman]

Tony....
I have mine keying 5 on low swinging pretty high...I think the low amc pot is bad...so I'm careful with it. right now, it's swinging about 75 watts on low and keying 30, swinging 125 on high. SSB is about 120 watts. Gets a little warm on long ssb qso's, but just warm to the touch....not "hot". I agree that although they can be cranked up like a 95t or a 2970, it's best to let it run a little lower.
preacherman

 

[TonyV225]

Well being the man I am Im gonna give another 200 a try but if this one fails Im goingv with the Magnum S-9 and will never mess with or recomend a new Cobra to anyone and I will post my glorious review of this radio whenever and where ever I can and I havent left feedback on the item on EBAY yet. The guy will get an A+ on business and making things right but the radio would surely get the thumbs down so I hope this next ones good to go or it and the whole idea of owning one ever again WILL GET SHIT CANNED. I am still gonna try an S-9 even if this new 200 works out but after I pick up my Yaesu 990 this spring