The Cobra 29 LX

[CopperWhopper67]

Hello all!

Is the 29 LX a good CB Radio overall? I have heard both good and bad about it and wanted to see what y'all thought.

Thanks!

 

[KEWB-N1EXA]

AM Mode Only No SSB and I've seen some complaints about the display that its hard to see in the bright sunlight when driving.
Id pretty much stay away from the Uniden 880 and 980 for the same reason plus they are not durable.

I think you would get a better Experience with the President line of CBs or Galaxy.

 

[W9WSS]

President McKinley is an excellent AM/LSB/USB mobile CB radio. Has all the bells & whistles, plus an excellent NB (noise blanker). Previous radio couldn't get all the spark plug hash eliminated, but the McKinley does a great job! Plus for the price at a variety of CB vendors, it's readily available. Anytone 5555 also makes a great AM/FM/USB/LSB CB mobile that many users on this forum highly recommend.

 

[PACNWDude]

My current employer has a fleet of tractor-trailer combinations, and the drivers insist on having a Cobra 29 LTD in their tractors. They are not made anywhere near as well as those twenty years ago. I do not recommend them, and they are always breaking. Backlights for the meter, display, and face plate go out often. The knobs are plastic, most of the radio is plastic, and the components wear out with normal use. We maintain a warehouse that looks like someone ripped off a Love's truck stop in spare parts. We do not issue mics that require a battery, as wend users complain that they do not work, and we find that they never put a battery in the mic. The mic's that come with the radio often break their Push To Talk button, as the plastic breaks at the pivot point.
The best alternative to the 29 LTD/LTD Classic is the LX and LX Max, which work slightly better, for those that must have a Cobra radio. However, the best radios in use, for those were have been able to convince, is the President series. As mentioned above, the President McKinley is a great radio, and fits many truck overhead consoles. However, my own end users prefer the President Taylor as it retains the cobra 29 like SWR meter. Get a President radio and you will not resent spending the money. Buy a cobra, and you will wish you could go back in time and get one with more metal components and higher build quality. Current Cobra models are dead to me in 2021.

 

[slowmover]

Post #3

1). No point to buying less than AM/SSB-capable.

2). Among those, very hard to beat the McKinley.

4). My additions to recommendation:

— is a DSP integrated mobile speaker or inline module to speaker.

— read on use of ferrites for noise-reduction purposes.


The HAM RADIO guys are diligent about controlling and chasing noise. The clean (quiet) radio rig is superior to the rest. Take a page from their book.

.

 

[slowmover]

AM Mode Only No SSB and I've seen some complaints about the display that its hard to see in the bright sunlight when driving.
Id pretty much stay away from the Uniden 880 and 980 for the same reason plus they are not durable.

I think you would get a better Experience with the President line of CBs or Galaxy.

I’ve the

880
885
980

Each with many days of running 10-12 hours mobile in a big truck. So far (knock on wood) no fading of display or other.

The 980 Uniden is the best value AM/SSB radio available (as AM-only can’t be recommended).

I have an even bigger stack of Galaxy radios and prefer them which is neither here nor there. The 980 is the backup radio which travels with me on the road.

So, the “digital alternate” I’d go with would be the Galaxy 979 or 959 (latter preferred but for size).

Cobra hasn’t made anything I’d want in 30-years. It’s a generic choice made by those who’ve never given CB a second thought so long as they can yell thru it across the intersection at cousin Mikey in his dumpie truck.

 

[slowmover]

I’ve the

880
885
980

Each with many days of running 10-12 hours mobile in a big truck. So far (knock on wood) no fading of display or other.

The 980 Uniden is the best value AM/SSB radio available (as AM-only can’t be recommended).

I have an even bigger stack of Galaxy radios and prefer them which is neither here nor there. The 980 is the backup radio which travels with me on the road.

So, the “digital alternate” I’d go with would be the Galaxy 979 or 959 (latter preferred but for size).

Cobra hasn’t made anything I’d want in 30-years. It’s a generic choice made by those who’ve never given CB a second thought so long as they can yell thru it across the intersection at cousin Mikey in his dumpie truck.

OK. Now to be fair: C-29 has a reputation as a decent talker. Cheap radio to get on the air.

In the hands of someone good (no, you won’t find them), it’s capable as transceiver paired to an amplifier.

Do these points negate my earlier ones? No.

Would I own one? I have a 1995-build (Phillipppines) UNIDEN PC-76 and Uniden built the almost identical 29 of the era for Cobra.

I also have a circa 2010 chrome case 29 I took as a partial trade. Had Clay Thompson buff out the rough edges. It’s good enough as a short distance campground radio.

People buy them all the time. I wouldn’t. Not when the U-980 or President McKinley offer more & better.

 

[Wynterspop]

I'm a big fan of the President lineup. I have a McKinley, Lincoln II+, and the handheld Randy. They are great radios. And as stated above, the McKinley has way more options than the Cobra at a comparative price.