By F.J. (Rovercon) on Sunday, October 07, 2001 - 12:54 pm: Edit

I would like to buy this CB radio but I haven't been able to find any around the local stores. The only information I have on them is what I've been able to read from the different web sites. I was wondering about the followinf things:

does the unit comes with its own cigarette lighter adapter or do I need to buy one?

from the picture, this seems to be like a one piece unit with the speaker and microphone built into it. Do I need to buy an extra external microphone once the unti is tucked away?

how did you run the cable from the CB unit back to the antenna?

By Mike Rupp (Mike_Rupp) on Sunday, October 07, 2001 - 03:27 pm: Edit

does the unit comes with its own cigarette lighter adapter or do I need to buy one?

No, it is meant to be hardwired in. I tapped in to the fuse box.

from the picture, this seems to be like a one piece unit with the speaker and microphone built into it. Do I need to buy an extra external microphone once the unti is tucked away?

You can hook up an external speaker, but you probably wont need it.

how did you run the cable from the CB unit back to the antenna?

You have to undo the rear trim piece that holds the carpeting down by the rear door. Then I used a fish tape to get to under the driver seat. Then I went under/through the passenger side plastic corner unit, then into the rear door and out. It's a royal PITA, but you end up with a clean installation.

By John Lee on Sunday, October 07, 2001 - 05:08 pm: Edit

Rovercon,

"does the unit comes with its own cigarette lighter adapter or do I need to buy one?"

There is no lighter adapter. The power lead is just a wire that you are supposed to use to tap into a power source.

A good place for the Cobra CB's "box" is under the driver's seat. From that location, you can route the coiled microphone wire between the plastic cover over the driver's seat's base and the carpet cover the central tunnel. There is a substantial gap there and no drilling/cutting is required. You can also tap into the power wires for the power seats.

"from the picture, this seems to be like a one piece unit with the speaker and microphone built into it. Do I need to buy an extra external microphone once the unti is tucked away?"

You probably won't need an external speaker.

"how did you run the cable from the CB unit back to the antenna?"

The answer to that depends on where you plan to mount your antenna. This is my favorite place to mount an antenna on the Disco: http://www.expeditionexchange.com/cbantennanew.htm

If you choose to mount your CB's box below the driver's seat and your antenna on the spare wheel carrier, then routing the co-ax to the antenna is simple. Just run the co-ax under the carpeting back to where your cargo door's hinges are. You can easily route your co-ax so that it's tucked out of the way and passengers will not step on it or cargo will sit on top of it.

The Cobra 75 WX ST is a great radio, but the squelch and volume controls on it are too loose. The dials move almost every time you handle the microphone. Here's one way to solve that problem: http://www.expeditionexchange.com/cobranew.htm

By F.J. (Rovercon) on Monday, October 08, 2001 - 05:48 pm: Edit

excellent info.... thanks a lot Mike & John

By Greg P on Tuesday, October 09, 2001 - 11:00 pm: Edit

Rovercon,
I just installed a Cobra 75 WXST last saturday. Bought it from a CB mail order place called Everybody's Electronics. Great service - got it the day after I placed the order- $99.
It has a small box (about 1" x 3")that you have to hide somewhere. I put mine under the rear bottom section of the console. Remove the two screws on each side of the black cover that's under the console storage box (this is the plastic piece that holds the ash tray). Slide it off and you will see a little cubby-hole section of sheet metal that fits the the Cobra's box so well it will actually snap in place. I like this location because the handset cord will lay between the seat and the center console. Also there is a nice ground wire connection under there that you can tap into. Then run the hot wire to the fuse box.
I mounted the antenna on the spare tire carrier.
You must have at least a 4' long antenna at this location or your SWRs will be very high.
(been there, tried that) If you dont believe it I will gladly sell you a 3' Firestik, as my 4.5' Cobra should be arriving tommorrow.
Run a ground wire from the antenna mount to the spare tire carrier rack mounting bolts. Scrape some paint off the inside of the door where the washers contact to improve the ground connection. Run the coax under the carpet pad.
Oh and yes, the mic, speaker, and all controls are in the handset. You don't have to access the "box" once it's installed. One more thing, put a spring on that antenna and stay out of the Mcdonald's drive-thru.

By Javier Velador (Jvelador) on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 02:42 am: Edit

Greg,

You got a great price on it. I saw it at Fry's Electronics for $149. Please tell me Everybody's Electronics has a website 'cause I have not seen or heard of it here in SoCal.

Javier

By MTB on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 03:47 am: Edit

www.everybodyselectronics.com

By David on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 03:39 am: Edit

I got mine for $75 off of Ebay, a factory refurbished unit. Installed the control box underneath the glovebox, near all of the wiring looms by the passenger footwell heater. Ran the antenna cable up through the headliner, where the headwliner meets the door frames(crevice), then through the rear cargo door, out through the grommet for the washer fluid and onto the spare tire carrier for the antenna.

By Mike Rupp (Mike_Rupp) on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 03:43 am: Edit

http://www.valcoelectronics.com/cb/c75wxst.htm. This was the lowest price I could find: $89.50.

Be sure to read http://www.firestik.com. They have some good info on mounting, swr testing, etc.

By Ali on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 01:56 pm: Edit

Hey guys,

Does the Cobra lose its channel memory once you cut the power?

By Robbie on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 05:21 pm: Edit

Ali,

It loses it's channel memory if it is left w/o power for an extended period of time, such as two or three days. I believe it has an internal battery that saves the channel for a little bit, and just needs to be recharged. So if you use it daily, each day you come out, the radio will have saved your channel. If you use it only once a week, probably won't keep it. Someone correct me if this sounds wrong.

-Robbie

By John Lee on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 06:31 pm: Edit

Robbie,

My Cobra 75 WXST doesn't lose its channel setting no matter how long it's left off.

By Joshua Weinstein (Untrakd) on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 06:36 pm: Edit

I have found the best place to mount the 75WXST Thanks to an aussie friend of mine who on rare occasion has a good idea, I placed my cb unit in between the tansmission well and the plastic trim piece on the passenger side. The space between the air vent and the plastic cover provides the perfect spot to put you CB unit.

By Mike D1 on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 04:40 pm: Edit

Mike Rupp,

Thanks for the price info! I just got one from Valco for 89.00 plus a Wilson 1000 for 45.00. I was about to buy a cobra 75 for 130.00 and 80.00 for the Wilson. Bay Area prices are high!

Thanks!

By Mike Rupp (Mike_Rupp) on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 11:11 pm: Edit

No problem. Glad to help.

By F.J. (Rovercon) on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 11:49 pm: Edit

Thank you everyone for the responses. I haven't had a chance to read the SWR information on the Firestick web site because I am at work. However, I was wondering if is absolutely necessary to have a meter to fine tune the antenna? I could buy one for around $14-24 and I am almost tempted to buy it since it is so cheap. My only concern is that I am assuming I would only use it once -- or do the antennas get miscalibrated over time?

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 12:13 am: Edit

the tuning was not crucial for my usage.
but it's good idea to tune it.
you'll most likely tune once and never need the SWR meter.

i have one that you can borrow.... that is, if you are anywhere near LA caounty...

By F.J. (Rovercon) on Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 09:16 pm: Edit

How does Alameda County (near San Francisco) sound to you?

By Mike Rupp (Mike_Rupp) on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 03:26 pm: Edit

It really is a good idea to check the SWR after the installation. The SWR meter can tell you if your installation is properly set up. If you tune the antenna and the SWR is high, you could have a bad ground. If the SWR is high and you didn't know it, you could burn up the CB itself.

It's wise to spend the $12.