Cobra HH Road Trip Hand Held CB Radio
By: Cobra Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 31
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 On: 2008-06-10
I got stuck on the freeway, for seven hours, one winter. If I had had this CB I would have known to get off and take a side road and not get stuck with all the rest of the traffic. Takes 9 AA batteries. Good price.
 On: 2008-05-12
DOA (Dead on Arrival). Difficult to issue an opinion if the device will not move off channel 1. Its worthless.
 On: 2008-02-08
This is not a good cb the engine noise sucks and I can only hear one side of a conversation and only if that is the next block over. However I did try a better antenna and it worked a little better still only one sided I think its only good for the wifes car if she is following you someplace with no cell service.
On: 2008-01-25
One mile. That is what the Cobra site says is how far you can expect to transmit with this item under optimum conditions, (meaning flat unobstructed terrain). I could probably yell that far. I dont know what these other reviewers are thinking, (or smoking). I am waiting for my return authorization number. Be forewarned.
On: 2008-01-19
I bought this for my 20yr old son and believe me if I had my way Id send it back. Very poor reception and he can hardly use it. I paid $83.00 for nothing.
On: 2008-01-18
I bought this for my 20yr old son and believe me if I had my way Id send it back. Very poor reception and he can hardly use it. I paid $83.00 for nothing.
 On: 2007-12-30
Thank you very much for this item. It served great as the holiday gift this year. Everything was in working order and my brother-in-law loved it. I hope to purchase from you again!
On: 2007-08-30
I cant believe people are giving this thing a good review. They are either technical geniuses, and have modified the unit, or are Cobra employees.
I bought three of these, used the magnet external antenna, and all three produced a 3/10 of mile line of sight transmission range. Motorola "talk-about" radios work better than this, and with no external mount.
The only thing this is good for is monitoring truckers while driving.
The sound tracker is a joke... just a fancy equalization adjustment.
Looking into a permanent under dash unit instead.
On: 2007-08-12
I thought this would be fun for my daughters on our freeway road trips. We couldnt even get one reception with trucks passing us in the next lane. Total waste of $$.
On: 2007-08-07
If you want it for weather, great; but if you want it for transmitting for CB purposes, dont bother. i bought 2 and what a waste! They can only transmit well up to 600 feet, and tops out at 1/2 mile. If you live in town, that may not matter to you, but if youre in the country at all, it wont make it. Find a longer range unit cause this one is NOT it! i used a car model in my home with a antena on our TV tower that worked great for years. But this i repeat is a waste of $ for a CB! Sorry, but i must speak the truth, wish i could get a refund!
On: 2007-07-13
when i recieved this item i was really impressed with the construction. it was not some cheap plastic pice of junk with crappy signal and even crappier transmistion. with the normal antenna i am able to keep in contact with my friends on the road for about 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile (easy), with the added roof antenna we have been able to talk to each other at about a mile apart (have not had a chance to test it further yet) without any signal loss. the extra features of the CB are nice and it is heavy enough to know that it is made to last but not too heavy to put on your belt all day long. also the power adaptor makes it great to conserve battery life on long drives. if you have a car and have difficulty mounting a normal radio or just want a portable version, this is it!!
On: 2007-07-12
when i recieved this item i was really impressed with the construction. it was not some cheap plastic pice of junk with crappy signal and even crappier transmistion. with the normal antenna i am able to keep in contact with my friends on the road for about 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile (easy), with the added roof antenna we have been able to talk to each other at about a mile apart (have not had a chance to test it further yet) without any signal loss. the extra features of the CB are nice and it is heavy enough to know that it is made to last but not too heavy to put on your belt all day long. also the power adaptor makes it great to conserve battery life on long drives. if you have a car and have difficulty mounting a normal radio or just want a portable version, this is it!!
On: 2007-03-14
I used this CB a few weeks ago during an off-road rock crawling run out in the Mojave desert, just outside of Barstow, CA (one of the last known hangouts of the Manson Family). Without the external antenna, the CB worked great. I have not yet tried the external antenna, but I have no reason to believe that it wouldnt work fabulously. For $79, I would say that the CB is a great deal. I was and still am completely satisfied with it.
On: 2007-03-13
I used this CB a few weeks ago during an off-road rock crawling run out in the Mojave desert, just outside of Barstow, CA (one of the last known hangouts of the Manson Family). Without the external antenna, the CB worked great. I have not yet tried the external antenna, but I have no reason to believe that it wouldnt work fabulously. For $79, I would say that the CB is a great deal. I was and still am completely satisfied with it.
On: 2007-02-02
The main use for my hand held is to communicate with other cars on long road trips. This hand held was very versatile when it came to communicating in short range. If the distance exceeded more that half a mile I lost communication. All this occurred with both the antennas provided, but was solved when I purchased a long range antenna. After that long and short range communication went smoothly. Overall a good product to own due to that its portable(no need for installation), small, and very versatile. I recommend it.
On: 2007-01-11
I got one to be used every weekend for off road activities. it works fine in outdoor activities when you know a friend is close or you are close to a road or highway in which trucks are common things. The main problem of this unit are the antennas provided. If you want to reach higher distances it is better to get a different radio or at least have in mind you will need to take out from your procket some extra dollars to buy a better antenna. In general terms, it works fine for what I bought it.
On: 2007-01-05
I tested the Cobra hand held CB on California Rt. 99 today. Not so good. Tuned into truckers channel 17 (for North-South traffic) and heard mostly noise. There was very little discernible language so I squelched out the noise and waited...and waited. I called out for a radio check and got a comeback--loud but not clear. The speaker in that hand held CB is awful. Its abrasive to listen to.
It is my opinion that the short 10 inch magnetic roof antenna is ineffective in receiving clear signals and if you do get a clear nearby signal it is unlistenable because of the poor quality of the speaker.
This CB radio needs some work to make it worth using on the road. Perhaps a longer whip antenna in the roof mount along with a better quality extension speaker will make the system less annoying. I was looking for a portable system for temporary use, but the Cobra HH Road Trip CB is pretty poor. Personally, I wouldnt buy it again.
On: 2006-12-10
In no way am I down playing the heroism of James Kim in trying to save his family but! Its ironic, a guy that into cutting edge technology, that poor family stuck in the wilderness resulting in a death; would not have happened with something as simple as the "ANCIENT" technology this radio provides. How? Getting directions from truckers, calling for help. Maybe 4watts in not that much but at night atmospherics do strange things. On a clear night and from a lofty postion its possible to increase your radio range. The 2 sources of power the radio provides will save your bacon champ.
Where there is no cellphone reception or (god forbid) natural disaster this unit and a separate scanner will save your sweet bee-hind!
The supplied magnetic antenna will do for initial use, this radio is rated a FULL 4w, same as a hardwired unit. I purchased a longer magnetic roof mount at Kragen auto parts for $12, the exact same one at Rat Shack sells for $30. Reception improved dramatically. Fer such a small unit it delivers the same features as a full size one.
1) Signal strength bar indicator(a biggie).
2) Illuminated channel display
3) Battery life indicator(they last forever)
4) Channel Scanner feature
5) Weather bands
6) Sound Tracker Technology
7) Power Saver mode
This is a simple to use Radio, the wiring with all the jacks, antenna, 12v power gets clumsey. Channel changing is clumsey too. The key is located directly on top of the channel selectors, accidental keying will occur. This unit works. Living in SF no one uses a CB. That will change come the next "big one". To talk to people I drive to the nearest freeway and talk to truckers.
For the price are you kidding me. Buy it.
On: 2006-12-09
In no way am I down playing the heroism of James Kim in trying to save his family but! Its ironic, a guy that into cutting edge technology, that poor family stuck in the wilderness resulting in a death; would not have happened with something as simple as the "ANCIENT" technology this radio provides. How? Getting directions from truckers, calling for help. Maybe 4watts in not that much but at night atmospherics do strange things. On a clear night and from a lofty postion its possible to increase your radio range. The 2 sources of power the radio provides will save your bacon champ.
Where there is no cellphone reception or (god forbid) natural disaster this unit and a separate scanner will save your sweet bee-hind!
The supplied magnetic antenna will do for initial use, this radio is rated a FULL 4w, same as a hardwired unit. I purchased a longer magnetic roof mount at Kragen auto parts for $12, the exact same one at Rat Shack sells for $30. Reception improved dramatically. Fer such a small unit it delivers the same features as a full size one.
1) Signal strength bar indicator(a biggie).
2) Illuminated channel display
3) Battery life indicator(they last forever)
4) Channel Scanner feature
5) Weather bands
6) Sound Tracker Technology
7) Power Saver mode
This is a simple to use Radio, the wiring with all the jacks, antenna, 12v power gets clumsey. Channel changing is clumsey too. The key is located directly on top of the channel selectors, accidental keying will occur. This unit works. Living in SF no one uses a CB. That will change come the next "big one". To talk to people I drive to the nearest freeway and talk to truckers.
For the price are you kidding me. Buy it.
 On: 2006-11-13
I purchased two of these units for our emergency "go" kits and regularly carry one in the truck.
I like the size and features where you have both CB and weather channels, the hot swap between services is handy as is the CB channel 9/19 hot key. The noise filter does work and gives better reception under some conditions.
Some limits Ive found: The antenna designed for use with the unit in CB hand held mode limits communications to under a quarter mile line of sight in my case and the magnetic vehicle antenna will go about half a mile. Im looking for a better mast antenna for the vehicle.
The weather channel reception is comparable with my scanner.
One thing that I didnt realize when I purchased the radios, and this would have made a difference to me, the A/C charging adapter is NOT part of the package and must be bought separately so if you want to stay off of the battery charger merry-go-round I recommend buying the charger when you buy the radio. Be aware also that the power cord provided for use in a vehicle does NOT charge the radios batterys.
What I really dont like and almost caused me to return the radios: These units use 9 - "AA" batteries, I purchased 18 rechargable batteries - about 5 bucks each, I hadnt purchased the chargers with the radios and ended up buying the biggest stand-alone battery charger I could find locally, all of the chargers I found work in paired sets and mine handles 8 at a time, so 9 is a real pain.
Tom
On: 2006-11-12
I purchased two of these units for our emergency "go" kits and regularly carry one in the truck.
I like the size and features where you have both CB and weather channels, the hot swap between services is handy as is the CB channel 9/19 hot key. The noise filter does work and gives better reception under some conditions.
Some limits Ive found: The antenna designed for use with the unit in CB hand held mode limits communications to under a quarter mile line of sight in my case and the magnetic vehicle antenna will go about half a mile. Im looking for a better mast antenna for the vehicle.
The weather channel reception is comparable with my scanner.
One thing that I didnt realize when I purchased the radios, and this would have made a difference to me, the A/C charging adapter is NOT part of the package and must be bought separately so if you want to stay off of the battery charger merry-go-round I recommend buying the charger when you buy the radio. Be aware also that the power cord provided for use in a vehicle does NOT charge the radios batterys.
What I really dont like and almost caused me to return the radios: These units use 9 - "AA" batteries, I purchased 18 rechargable batteries - about 5 bucks each, I hadnt purchased the chargers with the radios and ended up buying the biggest stand-alone battery charger I could find locally, all of the chargers I found work in paired sets and mine handles 8 at a time, so 9 is a real pain.
Tom
On: 2006-09-01
I bought 2. One of them gets used everyday for work and has been most helpful and is working fine. The other was purchased for trips and boating. It also works fine and was useful for the purpose in which it was purchased. Of course though, the distance in which it is advertised to reach and the actual distance are two diffenent numbers; the latter being less; though adequate for out uses.
On: 2006-08-31
This handheld CB works great on all channels, but only for short range. The external antenna helps a lot when traveling by car. All in all a good buy for the money.
On: 2006-08-03
cobra cb radios are the best radios i think. amazon again beat all others on price@easy deals. ill be back to buy more stuff,you can bet on that.
On: 2006-06-04
JUNE 04,2006
I PURCHASED THIS RADIO FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES, HOWEVER IT SEEMS TO BE VERY WEEK. I AM A DOUBLE AMPUTEE AND AM CONFINED TO A WHEEL CHAIR. I DEPEND ON MY RADIO TO RAISE HELP. BUT, I AM AFRAID THIS ONE WILL NOT BE DEPENDABLE. I AM NOT ASKING FOR THEM TO BE RETURNED OR FOR A REFUND JUST LETTING YOU AND YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW OF A VERY WEAK PRODUCT AND I COULD NOT RECCOMEND THIS PRODUCT TO ANYONE. COBRA WAS THE TOPS IN RADIOS BUT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO THE QUALITY.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING;
WILLIAM HEMBREE
WmHembree@aol.com
On: 2006-05-28
I bought a pair of these and am very happy with my purchase. Your voice comes through loud and clear, and they are very easy to use for the novice. The only thing that could be improved is the antenna. The reception is great for communicating to nearby cbers but if you are out of line of sight they lose their clarity, and things get garbled. Also, you cant hear truckers any real distance away. This is an easy fix. I simply bought a 3 foot 1500 watt antenna to screw into the magnetic base for 10 bucks, and now I can hear cbers for miles and miles, and the airwaves are no longer silent!
On: 2006-05-27
I bought a pair of these and am very happy with my purchase. Your voice comes through loud and clear, and they are very easy to use for the novice. The only thing that could be improved is the antenna. The reception is great for communicating to nearby cbers but if you are out of line of sight they lose their clarity, and things get garbled. Also, you cant hear truckers any real distance away. This is an easy fix. I simply bought a 3 foot 1500 watt antenna to screw into the magnetic base for 10 bucks, and now I can hear cbers for miles and miles, and the airwaves are no longer silent!
On: 2006-05-11
I "sort of love" this Cobra Roadtrip CB gadget, but only when Im home and when I can use my both hands on it. Its a bit cumbersome to use while driving and its too heavy to handle, especially if you have batteries installed in it, so for that purpose I recommend buying the external microphone. I bought a BNC to standard VHF antenna adapter so I can attach my "real" home and car CB antennas to it.
The major flaw of this radio when I compare it to my low end Midland CB is the way its squelch feature works (or does not). I dont know whether its just my particular radio or whether this is a flaw of the entire series, but you have to set your squelch level unreasonably high, which makes you miss a lot of conversations further away from you. When you set your squelch level a bit lower, or whenever someone is right on the edge of squelch threshold, you will hear a lot of unusual noise coming from the radio, almost as it is undecided and it keeps oscilating back and forth from passing and blocking the signal. This sounds like a driver next to you is pressing and releasing the PTT button 4-5 times a second and it is much louder than the rest of the sounds you can hear on this radio, so it can be very disturbing, especially when you are driving and your loved one is asleep next to you.
NiMh batteries last forever and I dont ever connect it to my cars 12 V lighter output any more. However, another downside is that it requires two different external sources, one for charging the batteries and the other for just using the car power. The provided cable is good only for using the car power and it doesnt charge the batteries. Why not use the same connection for both?
The manufacturer claims that Soundtracker "...dramatically improves the sound quality of the transmission and reception of CB radio signals." I cant see a big difference.
All in all, its pretty cool to have a hand held CB, but thats all what it is. I dont recommend it for drivers.
On: 2006-05-10
I "sort of love" this Cobra Roadtrip CB gadget, but only when Im home and when I can use my both hands on it. Its a bit cumbersome to use while driving and its too heavy to handle, especially if you have batteries installed in it, so for that purpose I recommend buying the external microphone. I bought a BNC to standard VHF antenna adapter so I can attach my "real" home and car CB antennas to it.
Most important thing to remember is to use the external antenna - its practically useless without it when youre in a car, unless you have a buddy in a car next to yours. Antenna, preferably external, is the key part of every CB station. I have a 102" whip antenna and I sometimes take it up to the roof of our 15 floor building and talk to people who cant believe how far I am. Moreover, they cant believe that Im talking from a hand-held, battery operated CB radio. In order to persuade them, I just unscrew that antenna and use the smaller telescopic one and if they can hear me they will confirm I sound like it should. One guy about 5 miles away was saying that his signal meter was close to the max while I was using the big antenna and he could barely hear me with the telescopic one.
The major flaw of this radio when I compare it to my low end Midland CB is the way its squelch feature works (or does not). I dont know whether its just my particular radio or whether this is a flaw of the entire series, but you have to set your squelch level unreasonably high, which makes you miss a lot of conversations further away from you. When you set your squelch level a bit lower, or whenever someone is right on the edge of squelch threshold, you will hear a lot of unusual noise coming from the radio, almost as if it is undecided and it keeps oscillating back and forth from passing and blocking the signal. This sounds like a driver next to you is pressing and releasing the PTT button 4-5 times a second and it is much louder than the rest of the sounds you can hear on this radio, so it can be very disturbing, especially when you are driving and your loved one is asleep next to you.
NiMh batteries last forever and I dont ever connect it to my cars 12 V lighter output any more. However, another downside is that it requires two different external sources, one for charging the batteries and the other for just using the car power. The provided cable is good only for using the car power and it doesnt charge the batteries. Why not use the same connection for both?
The manufacturer claims that Soundtracker "...dramatically improves the sound quality of the transmission and reception of CB radio signals." I cant see a big difference.
All in all, its pretty cool to have a hand held CB, but thats all what it is. I dont recommend it for drivers.
On: 2006-04-29
this is my first CB radio, so i havent had much experience, but it is really easy to use and seems to function well. the only thing i figure out is how to tune it so that you cant hear the car through it - even though it is a very faint noise. the good thing i thought about this deal was that you get the CB and the antenna in one package, and if you buy a CB and then an antenna it can work out to be the same price anyway. i can use the CB in the house aswell with a 12V adapter, something you can do that others cant.
On: 2006-03-11
Before I got this radio, I had a similar model from Radio Shack. That was an expensive piece of junk --- it wouldnt receive even when I was right next to a transmission. I wrote to Radio Shack with a complaint, and they never replied. This Cobra is one fine unit. Even with the inside antenna it performed very well and even better with the magnetic mount external. I was recently on a long road trip and I was able to avoid a lengthy traffic jam due to hearing about it in plenty of time. The only negative is the nine-battery configuration --- thats an odd number to buy. A good investment for any road traveler.
On: 2006-01-22
This is a Great Radio, You can find it cheaper on the net, *But you have to pay the shipping! So that makes this a better deal! Radio works Great, has a wonderful range! and can be set up to be totally set up for work use, in any car or truck! The added antenna helps this along very well! As a hand held, It holds its own! One should always have a radio around in case of and emergency! And this is a great Radio, Made by a great Co. Cobra !
On: 2005-10-09
When a natural disaster strikes, cell phones and land lines can not do what this can. With the easy portability, this cb radio can get you in contact with emergency services and loved ones who also have one and are within range. Even if the person you are trying to contact is out of range, someone on one of the 40+ channels would probably be able to relay information. It also has a signal booster and the sound comes in loud and clear. I bought one for me and one for my wife. If the event of an earthquake, we each will turn our radios on to a specified channel and instantly contact each other.
And, as previously mentioned, even if we are out of range of each other, we will be able to contact emergency services. Possible real life-saver!
On: 2005-08-26
Been getting caught in alot of traffic jams....Havent had CB in 25 years..I just wanted simple CB just for trips and this works just fine...Yes! a longer antenna would be great.But!!I really dont want to go nuts....I like the Battery feature as well...You never know when you loose electric power even at home...Think about that.......Breaker Breaker 1-9 can I get a Radio check..P.S Watch out for Smokey at exit 16...Hope I helped!!!!
On: 2005-08-25
Been getting caught in alot of traffic jams....Havent had CB in 25 years..I just wanted simple CB just for trips and this works just fine...Yes! a longer antenna would be great.But!!I really dont want to go nuts....I like the Battery feature as well...You never know when you loose electric power even at home...Think about that.......Breaker Breaker 1-9 can I get a Radio check..P.S Watch out for Smokey at exit 16...Hope I helped!!!!
On: 2004-04-28
The radio is great for what it is. I bought it because I wanted a cb that I can use in more than one truck. The only draw-back I found is when the power cable and the cable for the magnet-mount antenna are both attached it can be hard to handle. I like the fact that the radio has all the additional stuff like the 10 NOAA channels and the high/low power switch and that the display is digital. This is a good buy but if you are going to use this in only one car or truck I would go with a hard mount cb because you dont have to hold the whole thing. But over all a good buy for the money.
On: 2004-02-22
This is a great unit. I had no trouble understanding a guy that lives in Boonville (30 miles) from me. The NOAA weather info is very helpful for vactions and long travel.When using the magnet mount antenna the reception was very clean.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-02-21
Im glad my dad bought this product because we take two cars on trips and we have two cb radios, i could hear each other very good and we could get a good listen of the weather too. we got A great deal even used. it was worth the money!!!!!!!
On: 2003-09-16
This product comes nicely equipped with options. The external antenna gives excellent reception, transmissions are clear. I would highly recommend this hand held. I could not find the item in stores locally.
Thanks a lot!
Also, it was delivered very quickly!
On: 2003-09-15
This product comes nicely equipped with options. The external antenna gives excellent reception, transmissions are clear. I would highly recommend this hand held. I could not find the item in stores locally.
Thanks a lot!
Also, it was delivered very quickly!
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