Thinking about a cb upgrade...

Sounds like what you have is a great setup.
Unless you want to get into sideband no reason to upgrade.
The Old Cobra 29 is a solid built radio.It may last you another 14 years!

With the 250 watt kicker you could drive it with many different lower cost radios instead of the big price tag on these new high power 10 meter radios.

 

i agree with the idea of taking the cobra in and gone over, if you've been happy. Then it will keep you happy. We all know that the greener grass is just where the septic backs up
i like your sig line.....

 

My General HP40 does a little over 100 watts...and sounds #### clean. And we all know...clean is mean. I would love to have a 4300-300 or the 98...but my problem is how large the heat sink is on the bottom...my rig now , the heat sink isnt to big so I still have mounting options...

 

General HP40w check it out its bad to the bone

 

I would stay away from the Connex 4300-300. They don't hold up well. Probably the best radio that kind of wattage currently is the Galaxy 98VHP. Just like any other radio, they perform well if setup right.

 

Your antenna system is the #1 factor in transmission/receive. Make sure you have the best before you increase your power. I have beat up radio running 100-200 watts (connex-galaxy) with only 30-50 watts. Dont use cheap coax. I repeat. Dont use cheap coax. Make sure you have 50 ohm cable and rg213 or better, it not cheap. If you talk to someone using a 4 watt radio @ 10 mile range, you would need to increase your output power 4 times for one S unit on the receive end. Hope this helps and get you going in the right direction..

 

I disagree with the 213 part. That stuff is way too stiff to run in a mobile setup. 213 is strictly a base coax. Go to a CB Shop and get RG-8. Good coax that'll last and won't fall apart.

 

I agree that RG-213 is pretty still for a mobile. So is RG-8. And both are overkill.
I run RG-8X in my mobile for the 100 watt HF ham rig, and RG-58 for the VHF & UHF mobiles. I've even got a 90-foot run of RG-8X (running through a garden hose, buried) out to the corner of the lot for a vertical 20 meter dipole. The loss is negligible, and certainly low enough at 27 MHz that a typical run (20 ft or so) in a mobile won't lose enough signal to be noticed, either on transmit or receive. If your 4-watt loses 0.2 watts, no one will know the difference. And it's good for several hundred watts at 27 MHz. Did I mention the lower cost, too?

And, as was mentioned, since your 14-yr-old Cobra is still working OK, why mess with success? Most of the high power mobiles are really a compromise. They're made and tuned to work in the 10 meter Amateur Band, even though most of them won't legally transmit the modes needed for the lower part of 10 meters. Put in the jumper and get it onto CB, but now you've got a broadband radio that will typically draw much more current per watt of output than a "real" ham rig.

With the setup you've got now, the Cobra will *never* burn out its final stage unless you hook up the DC line backwards and have a ridiculously large fuse in it. If the amp dies at some point, you can just run the antenna straight to the radio until you get the amp fixed or replaced. The Cobra is already optimized for CB, unlike the export radios. As long as you're happy with the stock 40 CB channels, it's a great rig. I've got a couple here in the shop (for personal use) that were built in the early 90s, and they're still fine.

A cautionary note about RFX add-ons: Most are installed by people who have no more service equipment than a DC voltmeter and an inexpensive wattmeter. Typically the receiver will have to be realigned after putting on an RFX because of the components the signal has to go through to reach the receiver. And if the transmitter is only "tuned for maximum smoke", there's no telling where all those watts are going; if two thirds of the power is actually out of band, or on adjacent channels (common when people tune an RFX for 8 watts dead key and 60 watts "swing") then you're wasting lots of the output.

Same thing with export radios. Unless they're aligned (transmit AND receive) on a bench with decent gear after converting to CB use, you'll end up with a numb receiver and (likely) a spurious transmitter. And tuning solely for maximum watts is a formula for making lotsa enemies on the band, as well as wasting whatever perceived advantage you were hoping for by getting a $500 radio to replace your existing setup.

Just a few not-so-random thoughts from someone who's been licensed to transmit for 50 years, and with a commercial license for repairs for nearly 40.

Hope it helps.
73

 

I bought some RG-8X from a Ham radio supply shop.Soldered Amphenol connectors,heat shrink around the base of the connector,98% braided shield,50 ohm.Made in the USA.
Good coax and was only 22 bucks.
Much better than the made in China crap the truck stop sells.
It may be my imagination but the radio hears well and no engine or RF noise.
I don't need to use the LNB switch at all.

The guy that aligned my new radio said it was about an 8 step process and went by the Galaxy service manual.
They are a Galaxy Warranty center so i feel it was done right.
That was the only reason i bought it from them.They do the channel conversion,tune and Schottkey receive mod and still honor the factory warranty.

 

I'd focus your efforts on the antenna system instead. I'd bet a bone stock FCC legal radio with an optimized antenna system will get out better than a hot rodded radio with the typical antenna set up all day long.

You'll save a bunch of money and headache going this route too.