Cobra 150 GTL DX 4-Band 10-Meter Amateur Radio

by Cobra

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2 x 9 x 8 inches ; 7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009EJ9LS
• Item model number: 150 GTL DX
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Join the vibrant world of amateur radio or upgrade your existing equipment with the Cobra 150 GTL DX four-band, 10-meter model. Though it looks and works similarly to a CB radio, the 150 GTL DX is technically a ham radio, and operates from 28 to 29.7 MHz (as compared to traditional 26.965 to 27.405 MHz CB frequencies). The advantage of the 10-meter design is simple: more power. The device offers a robust 15 watts of transmit power, which produces a longer range for transmission and reception. As a result, operators can make hundreds of friends around town or around the world, or they can use the radio for emergency purposes, serving as a conduit between citizens and police/emergency services during hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

The affordable, feature-packed 150 GTL DX uses a Mosfet 20-watt dual final transistor design to ensure maximum output power. Among its more valuable functions are 320 channels (with 80 channels per switch setting); 32.8-foot AM/FM operation; a dual power mode that offers a choice between full power (with a larger range) and low power (which conserves output); SWR antenna calibration that helps users receive the best signal (especially in tandem with the antenna warning indicator); and a 10 kHz control switch. Fortunately for operators, the radio also includes a number of extras to improve transmission and reception, including a talk-back control for monitoring the sound feedback effects, tone and echo controls that manage the echo effect and intervals, and a mic gain that dynamically boosts the microphone for increased voice clarity.

Added benefits include a large analog meter, a 4-pin front mic connector, and a frequency counter jack that connects to a separately sold six-digit frequency counter. The radio, which measures 7.87 by 2.36 by 9.25 inches (W x H x D), is backed by a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

Note:
An amateur radio license is required to operate a 10-meter ham radio.

What's in the Box
150 GTL DX radio, microphone, user's manual.

Product Description

10-05-2007 - Brand New Item. Description - COBRA 150 GTL DX 4-Band Amateur Radio

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is what it is., December 5, 2006

By 

D. Hentze (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cobra 150 GTL DX 4-Band 10-Meter Amateur Radio (Electronics)

If you're looking at buying this radio, more than likely you know what it really is. It's an "Export" radio disguised as a 10M radio. You can find this radio for around $100 if you shop around. You won't find a cheaper "Export" radio. It performs pretty well too, if you don't hack it to death. Mine does 30 watts right out of the box. Too many people play around with VR12 and then wonder why their audio keeps cutting in and out. Hooked up with a decent power mic, I've gotten excellent audio reports without clipping or tweaking anything. I give the radio 4 stars at its $100 price tag.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is a pretender! It is not satifactory for HAM use!, August 28, 2006

By 

David E. Caruthers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cobra 150 GTL DX 4-Band 10-Meter Amateur Radio (Electronics)

This radio like almost any channelized radio used in the HAM bands that do not have FM allocations or do not have special restrictions to channelized operations only is not sufficiently frequency agile for normal use.

The fancy effects included with this radio are NOT APPRECIATED in the Amateur Radio Service and will garner a large measure of disapproval and many cases of I can't hear you.

Further the FEE for unlicensed usage is a modest $7500 dollars a day and a very large likelyhood that obtaining a license in the future will be blocked.

If you want to be a Ham; find an Amateur Radio Club and/or an Amateur that will help you; get your license and start with any of the good used or new non-channelized HF equipment that is available.

NOTE: The one star is given grudginly. THIS IS A DO NOT USE ITEM!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a radio for hams, January 6, 2011

By 

Carl A. Maniscalco "Gyrogeerloose" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cobra 150 GTL DX 4-Band 10-Meter Amateur Radio (Electronics)

This radio is not for hams. If you are a licensed amateur radio operator, you will find this transceiver unsatisfactory due to it's inability to tune to an exact frequency (it's limited to 10KHz resolution) and it's lack of important features such as a SSB mode. It possesses neither the ability to do frequency splits nor the CTSS tone codes needed to gain access to repeaters. In fact, this radio was never designed for use by hams. It's intended uses are either unlicensed operation on the 10 meter ham band, largely by truckers*, or to be modified to transmit at excessive power levels on the 11 meter Citizens Band, both of which are illegal in the United States.

Amazon should not even be offering this unit for sale in the United States--FCC regulations prohibit the sale of channelized radios for use within the amateur radio spectrum. Use of it here by an unlicensed operator could lead to some pretty hefty fines ($7,500 or more) and it is of limited utility to an amateur radio operator.


*Note: No disparagement of truck drivers is intended here--I hold a Class A CDL myself. However, I'm also a licensed amateur radio operator.