Cobra 75 All Road Wireless CB Radio, Dual-Mode AM/FM, Full 40 Channels

Hello everyone, today I’m doing a short review on a Cobra 75 All roadCB radio. I say short only because there are other reviews that do a much better job from a technical perspective than I ever could. Anyway, the other day I started reliving my trucker days from decades ago, and dug out my old CB. It’s not a bad radio, but I would be hard pressed to get it to fit in my pickup truck. That’s where a small modern radio comes into play, as it can be tucked away yet still meet my needs as an occasional user. (Build quality) Nothing on this radio seemed cheap to me, yes the handset is made of plastic, but it doesn’t have that cheap plastic feel to it, it just seems solid. (The screen) Speaking only for myself, the screen shows all of the necessary information that I would want. There is the option of customizing certain display options to better meet your needs; and I found the screen easy to view from the driver's seat, even though the handset is not sitting directly in front of me. (AM/FM) I like the option of having AM capabilities as it expands the options available to me. Unfortunately I haven’t found anyone around here with the same features on their radio so I was not able to test this feature out. (Speaker) For being as small as it is, the speaker works surprisingly well, I had no problem understanding what was being said. (Features) The handset offers all of the features I would want on a radio. I think considering the amount of room that’s available on the handset, that they did a good job of laying it out. Depending on the size of your hands, you might be able to operate the buttons on the handset with one hand. I have it mounted to the dash of my truck so it's easy to work the buttons one handed. (Bluetooth) I didn’t check this out, as I have mine wired directly to the transceiver. Depending on your setup, it might be advantageous to use this feature, for example on a four wheeler or boat. (IP66) This rating falls just short of what cell phones are rated at, yet is more than adequate for a radio that won't be submerged in the water (I hope). I'll probably always prefer a full size radio with analog like knobs, as I can operate them without looking at the radio itself. Yet the Motorola All Road does a good job of balancing features and performance. Some say CB radios are dead, but I disagree. While not as prevalent as they once were due to advances in technology (cell phones) they still have a place when looking for general information, or wondering why the traffic is backed up ahead of you.

Short review: This CB preforms just as good as my 29LTD does on the bench. The reviews saying it’s quiet, make sure the RX audio “DSP” level is set to off vs the factory default of 1. Also make sure it’s set to “DX” and not local, it’s deaf on “local”. I found that setting it to DX, squelch off, and RX DSP to level 1 works well and it only makes noise when it hears something. I wish the included USB power adapter had the same funky twist lock port like on the “black box”. Also, if you do end up using this in something like a side-by-side, make sure that USB port is sealed. If that plug cover comes off, nothing is stopping water from entering it. Now on to a more technical review. After receiving and unpacking this radio, it was put to some tests on the bench with an IFR service monitor. First tests were receiver sensitivity. Receiver DSP doesn’t do much for RF performance other than help clean up noise. You’ll rarely need to go above level 2 because it starts sounding horrible set any higher. AM results DX setting: .1uV or less on AM with 50% modulation. (Pretty much as low as the service monitor will go.) Local setting: 1uV or more on AM with 50% modulation. (Very local receiving ranges) FM results DX: .1uV (as good or better than some of the commercial radios I’ve had to service) Local: 5uV (very, very, local) TX results AM Average power: 3.69 watts (FCC complaint) Peak (TX DSP on, 1): 12.19 watts Peak (TX DSP off): 15.4 watts Modulation (TX DSP on, 1): 80% Modulation (TX DSP off): 90% FM Power: 3.5 watts Deviation: +.7Hz (this was impressive) I haven’t done any testing after being installed in a vehicle, but from bench testing, I don’t doubt it’ll work just fine as a CB when paired with a decent antenna. If you were wondering about making any tweaks, not reasonably possible at this time. However, the USB port appears to be an actual USB port so eventually someone will figure out how to make changes via firmware.

This is my second purchase of this radio...even after reading the bad reviews. My 1st one plugged into into the wife's car ; zero problems and everything was perfect! I took my other very expensive radio out of my truck and installed the new one (#2) and the SWR's went crazy...my 1st reaction was: bad radio! I almost sent it back but decided to check the antenna system out. After verifying all of the connections with an ohm meter they checked out good...bad radio! When I shut the door I heard the radio perk up so I started wiggling wires and sure nuff bad connection on the coaxial cable to the radio (which I had already checked) Problem was solved by changing the coaxial. I think the problem was as a shorter SO239 connector that the Chinese use on their devices...and yes it's made by the Chinese. Final remark ...excellent radio! My experience with CB's...31 years and many basic and quite a lot of Ham radios!

Worked good for a custom install on my adventure bike. I amounted it in a tank bag and I was able to connect it to some Bluetooth earplugs for semi hands free operation. They do sell a separate strap on remote, but I passed because there is no power button on the remote and the remote battery only lasts about a day before it needs charged. I like how small the main unit is and easy to tuck away. The mic and display is a little bulky though. They get away with charging around two hundred dollars for this unit.Because there aren't a whole lot of other bluetooth options, especially that are this compact. I got this on sale for around $160 and bought one for a friend as well. And that price, I would say, they are a good value. If you're looking for a weather resistant radio for a motorcycle side by side or other off road vehicle, there really aren't a whole lot of options this compatible.

Super simple setup and so easy to discreetly install. My wife loves it since it just disappeared into her vehicle unlike my more traditional large professional unit. It also has the benefit of many more modern features for half the price of a unit like mine. The quality is on par with more expensive larger units and it is compatible with a wide range of blue tooth products including her vehicle. The range is average but that is federally regulated so can't really complain there. The size creates a portability in vehicle akin to a solely handheld unit while maintaining it's vehicle mounted nature since we could literally mount it any where in the vehicle and just move the handset from power port to power port allowing anyone in the vehicle to use the unit. I won't upload pics because that would give away its location.

I had problems from the moment I took it out of the box. The Bluetooth handset would not connect to the radio it took MANY times power cycling the radio and handset to get them to sync. I was ready to return it and probably should have but it did eventually sync up and does work now. Listening to audio on the handset definitely sucks although there is an external speaker jack on the rear of the radio. I’m sure there are good applications for this like when you don’t have any place to place the radio close to you but for me this was and does work now. Listening to audio on the handset definitely sucks although there is a external speaker jack on the rear of the radio. I’m sure there are good applications for this like when you don’t have any place to place the radio close to you but for me this was a bad purchase. I don’t recommend this radio. It seems like just barely average in functionality. I would return it if I still had the box intact.

Product is well made and works as advertised. Best feature is the backup provided by Cedar Electronics, the distributor for Cobra products. I had questions regarding the correct installation in my Corvette (being a plastic body) and the service representative walked me through the points I needed to address during the install. The fact the handset can be plugged into a USB port and not the radio box, which is connected to the vehicle's power and the coax from the Firestik antenna and placed anywhere in the vehicle helps eliminate the connection cables normally needed for the handset to work. Very clean install and minimal space needed for handset. Handset stows easily in center console when not being used and I was able to mount the antenna inside the vehicle out of sight. No one can tell I have a CB in the car. Handset has a SWR meter in it and helps when tuning the antenna to the vehicle. Very Pleased with product and performance.

Harley touring bikes no longer offer a CB option. I was able to mount this under the seat and power it from the accessories 12 volt outlet. This powers on with the bike so I didn't have to worry about draining the battery. Mounted the handheld to the tank with a plastic holder and ran the cable under the seat back to the base unit. I then sync'd the radio to my Bluetooth helmet as a second cell phone (The road glide as the first cell phone). This setup works pretty well. There is a slight delay in the helmet when the signal switches from the primary BT device to the secondary BT device so I have to remind my riding group to push talk then wait a second before speaking. Otherwise this is a nice solution to maintain CB connectivity with the rest of the group