PaladinLV
04-24-2022, 07:06 PM
It's not often, I start a new thread, in fact it's very rare, but considering there had been some threads lately about CB use with the Spyder I thought it might be good to give a bit of an initial review.
I'd been using a Midland 75-822 for almost 7 years with the Sena SR10. Have always used the rubber duck that comes with the unit, the 8 pack with 2800 mha NIMH batteries.
Just received within the last week, the Cobra HH RT 50 - "Road Trip" directly from Cobra since being a VET, it was a few $$ less than Amazon and could receive it quicker.
The unit comes with standard rubber duck, external antenna, base, and a car type charge (Lighter Plug) with 2 tips. One tip is for power, the other which is inserted over the original for charging.
The unit holds 9 batteries. Be careful when inserting as it is not the typical insertion of Positive "in".
The unit has some nice features, quick access to Channels 9 and 19, scan, and weather.
I am using mine with 1.5V 3400 mha rechargeable Lithiums made specifically for high-power consumption devices.
Reason for using lithium? 9 batteries = 13.5Vdc or the equivalent to your car thereby obtaining max power (wattage) out of the unit.
Will the Lithium stand up - too soon to tell.
But here is the real upside of the Cobra.
While the Midland "power pack" is virtually unusable on a bike due to the large interference on the receive side, and a terrible transmission on send side, the power cable and plug on the Cobra has ZERO interference in my test so far.
Additionally, when plugged in to the power unit, the batteries are bypassed.
As to the "charging," the unit "shows" the batteries are being charged, However given I am using Lithiums which require a "special charger" at this time I do not want to experiment to find out whether this truly works, or damage or catastrophic event occurs.
Note: Given that Lithiums in most devices are charged at about 5V, 12V from battery seems EXCESSIVE especially since there is nothing in the "tip" that reduces the voltage.
Sound is much better than the Midland a fuller deeper sound from its speaker loader and clearer on my Packtalk Bold. It also comes with what Cobra calls SoundTracker. This appears to be an active noise limiter, but does not change that Squelch must be used, unless you like that type of sound - LOL
Additionally the voice from the sender was clearer and louder.
As to performance overall I'll give the edge to Cobra as the what I am receiving is clearer and from what the receivers are telling me, also clearer and stronger.
Those I spoke to, responded I could be heard clearly and stronger (in comparison to the Midland) in all cases.
Most range were close as it was a group ride, and therefore varied from 0.2 - 0.3 miles. The furthest 0.5 miles as the rear of the group got caught by a light.
Since this is the Las Vegas area, almost everything is flat. In those instances when it is not one is along mountain roads. On a trip from Las Vegas to Oatman via Kingman, we were never more than 1/4 mile between the first and last bike (those with CBs). Communication was never lost but truly not the best test. However, with over 50 years in the rear view mirror I would expect range on curves, mountains to be no different than typical CB units but I am expecting further distance on flats from the higher feed power to unit.
The Cobra works with the Sena SR 10 and is perfectly matched as was the Midland. However, do to a side positioning of the Mic/Spk connections on the Cobra, the "straight" or "angled" connector from Sena will allow perfect connection between the SR10 and the Radio. Additionally with time, the straight is becoming harder to find and most 3rd party providers have the angled ready available.
So much the initial reaction/review
Remember terrain, weather, placement of antenna, power, and microphone may help or hinder the apparent performance of any CB.
Results to me were "typical" of my overall expectations with the only exception being results from using External Power.
For more information about the Cobra HH TR 50 including manuals
https://www.cobra.com/products/hhrt50
BE Safe Out There!
I'd been using a Midland 75-822 for almost 7 years with the Sena SR10. Have always used the rubber duck that comes with the unit, the 8 pack with 2800 mha NIMH batteries.
Just received within the last week, the Cobra HH RT 50 - "Road Trip" directly from Cobra since being a VET, it was a few $$ less than Amazon and could receive it quicker.
The unit comes with standard rubber duck, external antenna, base, and a car type charge (Lighter Plug) with 2 tips. One tip is for power, the other which is inserted over the original for charging.
The unit holds 9 batteries. Be careful when inserting as it is not the typical insertion of Positive "in".
The unit has some nice features, quick access to Channels 9 and 19, scan, and weather.
I am using mine with 1.5V 3400 mha rechargeable Lithiums made specifically for high-power consumption devices.
Reason for using lithium? 9 batteries = 13.5Vdc or the equivalent to your car thereby obtaining max power (wattage) out of the unit.
Will the Lithium stand up - too soon to tell.
But here is the real upside of the Cobra.
While the Midland "power pack" is virtually unusable on a bike due to the large interference on the receive side, and a terrible transmission on send side, the power cable and plug on the Cobra has ZERO interference in my test so far.
Additionally, when plugged in to the power unit, the batteries are bypassed.
As to the "charging," the unit "shows" the batteries are being charged, However given I am using Lithiums which require a "special charger" at this time I do not want to experiment to find out whether this truly works, or damage or catastrophic event occurs.
Note: Given that Lithiums in most devices are charged at about 5V, 12V from battery seems EXCESSIVE especially since there is nothing in the "tip" that reduces the voltage.
Sound is much better than the Midland a fuller deeper sound from its speaker loader and clearer on my Packtalk Bold. It also comes with what Cobra calls SoundTracker. This appears to be an active noise limiter, but does not change that Squelch must be used, unless you like that type of sound - LOL
Additionally the voice from the sender was clearer and louder.
As to performance overall I'll give the edge to Cobra as the what I am receiving is clearer and from what the receivers are telling me, also clearer and stronger.
Those I spoke to, responded I could be heard clearly and stronger (in comparison to the Midland) in all cases.
Most range were close as it was a group ride, and therefore varied from 0.2 - 0.3 miles. The furthest 0.5 miles as the rear of the group got caught by a light.
Since this is the Las Vegas area, almost everything is flat. In those instances when it is not one is along mountain roads. On a trip from Las Vegas to Oatman via Kingman, we were never more than 1/4 mile between the first and last bike (those with CBs). Communication was never lost but truly not the best test. However, with over 50 years in the rear view mirror I would expect range on curves, mountains to be no different than typical CB units but I am expecting further distance on flats from the higher feed power to unit.
The Cobra works with the Sena SR 10 and is perfectly matched as was the Midland. However, do to a side positioning of the Mic/Spk connections on the Cobra, the "straight" or "angled" connector from Sena will allow perfect connection between the SR10 and the Radio. Additionally with time, the straight is becoming harder to find and most 3rd party providers have the angled ready available.
So much the initial reaction/review
Remember terrain, weather, placement of antenna, power, and microphone may help or hinder the apparent performance of any CB.
Results to me were "typical" of my overall expectations with the only exception being results from using External Power.
For more information about the Cobra HH TR 50 including manuals
https://www.cobra.com/products/hhrt50
BE Safe Out There!