Cobra MicroTalk2 FRS 250

[jgorman21]

I have used several of these radios over the years for short range comms and they are great! Recently one of them has developed very low audio. Almost non-existent! I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this and could suggest a solution? Is there a factory reset that might work?

Thanks.

 

[K4EET]

I have used several of these radios over the years for short range comms and they are great! Recently one of them has developed very low audio. Almost non-existent! I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this and could suggest a solution? Is there a factory reset that might work?

Thanks.

When you say "very low audio", what audio are you talking about? Transmit audio or receive audio?

 

[jgorman21]

When you say "very low audio", what audio are you talking about? Transmit audio or receive audio?

Thank you for your reply. On transmit. It had been working fine.

 

[chief21]

On transmit. It had been working fine.

Check for a blockage in the little microphone hole.

 

[K4EET]

Check for a blockage in the little microphone hole.

That is what I would suspect too...

 

[jgorman21]

Ok. Thank you for your responses. I will look into this. Illlet you know.

 

[jgorman21]

Nope! Checked the mic receptacle. Nothing in there. Afraid I’m going to have to open it up!

 

[Agent_K]

Nope! Checked the mic receptacle. Nothing in there. Afraid I’m going to have to open it up!

I had the same issue with one of mine. When you open it up, there is a deviation adjustment under the front cover. All I had to do was turn it slightly and the transmit audio was back to normal.

 

[jgorman21]

I had the same issue with one of mine. When you open it up, there is a deviation adjustment under the front cover. All I had to do was turn it slightly and the transmit audio was back to normal.

Thank you. I’ll check this out!

 

[jgorman21]

Nothing in the mic receptacle. Tried turning the deviation up and down...nothing. Might be time to "retire" this one?

Thanks for all the suggestions though!

 

[n1das]

Nothing in the mic receptacle. Tried turning the deviation up and down...nothing. Might be time to "retire" this one?

Thanks for all the suggestions though!

It might time to retire it and move on.

I stumbled across some FRS radios while surfing Retevis' site and found some based on a commercial design and have super long operating time and are USB-C chargeable. $40 for a pair on Amazon. I ordered some and now have 4 of them (2 pairs) to play with. They are built rugged, sound EXCELLENT, and go a LONG time on a charge with the 4400mAh battery.

https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-4400mAh-Battery-Rechargeable-Shipping/dp/B084ZH7YT2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=retevis+rb17&qid=1600633633&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTDBSOVRBQ1k2TFJBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDY5NjE4S1Q3QVUwR0gwRVBBJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MjcyOTAxNDUzMFlQUlkyV0dUJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

This might be a good way to go if you want a rugged and simple no-frills FRS radio based on a commercial design instead of something designed to be another consumer grade FRS bubble pack. They appear to be a 2W 16 channel UHF commercial radio that was FRS'd.

RB17 thread in the Budget and Entry Level Transceivers forum:

Retevis RB17 FRS radio

https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-4400mAh-Battery-Rechargeable-Shipping/dp/B084ZH7YT2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=retevis+rb17&qid=1600633633&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTDBSOVRBQ1k2TFJBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDY5NjE4S1Q3QVUwR0gwRVBBJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MjcyOTAxNDUzMFlQ...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[jgorman21]

It might time to retire it and move on.

I stumbled across some FRS radios while surfing Retevis' site and found some based on a commercial design and have super long operating time and are USB-C chargeable. $40 for a pair on Amazon. I ordered some and now have 4 of them (2 pairs) to play with. They are built rugged, sound EXCELLENT, and go a LONG time on a charge with the 4400mAh battery.

https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-4400mAh-Battery-Rechargeable-Shipping/dp/B084ZH7YT2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=retevis+rb17&qid=1600633633&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTDBSOVRBQ1k2TFJBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDY5NjE4S1Q3QVUwR0gwRVBBJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MjcyOTAxNDUzMFlQUlkyV0dUJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

This might be a good way to go if you want a rugged and simple no-frills FRS radio based on a commercial design instead of something designed to be another consumer grade FRS bubble pack. They appear to be a 2W 16 channel UHF commercial radio that was FRS'd.

RB17 thread in the Budget and Entry Level Transceivers forum:

Retevis RB17 FRS radio

https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-4400mAh-Battery-Rechargeable-Shipping/dp/B084ZH7YT2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=retevis+rb17&qid=1600633633&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTDBSOVRBQ1k2TFJBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDY5NjE4S1Q3QVUwR0gwRVBBJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MjcyOTAxNDUzMFlQ...

forums.radioreference.com

Thank you. I am currently running several different kinds. The voice scrambling option on these 250’s is nice to have. I’ve scooped a few from EBay “on the cheap!

 

[n1das]

The Retevis RB17 does have audio inversion scrambling. It is an unadvertised feature and can be enabled or disabled per channel in the CPS. I wonder how they got that one by the FCC, LOL. Maybe don't ask, don't tell. I have used the inversion scrambling feature with the RB17 just enough to verify that it works.

The RB17 also has audio companding which can be enabled or disabled per channel, to be compatible with the Motorola Talkabouts, or not. The compander is OFF by default on all channels.

 

[jgorman21]

The Retevis RB17 does have audio inversion scrambling. It is an unadvertised feature and can be enabled or disabled per channel in the CPS. I wonder how they got that one by the FCC, LOL. Maybe don't ask, don't tell. I have used the inversion scrambling feature with the RB17 just enough to verify that it works.

The RB17 also has audio companding which can be enabled or disabled per channel, to be compatible with the Motorola Talkabouts, or not. The compander is OFF by default on all channels.

Great info! Thanks for sharing.

 

[SuperG900]

The Retevis RB17 does have audio inversion scrambling. It is an unadvertised feature and can be enabled or disabled per channel in the CPS. I wonder how they got that one by the FCC, LOL. Maybe don't ask, don't tell. I have used the inversion scrambling feature with the RB17 just enough to verify that it works.

The RB17 also has audio companding which can be enabled or disabled per channel, to be compatible with the Motorola Talkabouts, or not. The compander is OFF by default on all channels.

It appears what's going on is that the FCC considers a radio for type acceptance for a particular radio service on as "as delivered" basis, as opposed to "capable of" with certain restrictions.

This means that the radio is preconfigured for usage on the service for which it is being certified (i.e GMRS) and that none of the radio's operational controls allow it to operate outside that service. From a practical standpoint this means a manufacturer (not you) can take a commercial radio and repurpose it for GMRS - even if all it needs to do is lock down the firmware. That's basically the situation here. Of course - the manufacturer must apply for and get acceptance from the FCC for it to be truly legal.

The summary observation is that the FCC isn't concerned that the radio can be repurposed using an external means such as CPS software.