Cobra PR 1100 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio

by Cobra

Product Details

Product Manual [4.16mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000069DOU
• Item model number: FRS 1100-2 WX
• Batteries: 4 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Cobra PR 1100 is a versatile 2-way radio that gives you twenty-two total channels, including seven FRS/GMRS channels, seven FRS channels and eight GMRS channels. There is a switchable power output offering 500 Mw for FRS transmission and two watts for GMRS transmissions. In GMRS mode, you can maintain communications within a five mile range. Remember that with this power, you'll need a FCC license to operate this radio. The radio also has ten weather channels to keep you up to date on changing environmental conditions. Other features include: thirty-eight privacy codes, key lock, ten channel memory, digital compass, clock/stopwatch, hands-free capability, vibration call alert, water resistant covering and battery saver circuitry.

What's in the Box
One PR 1100 GMRS radio, a user's manual, and a two year limited warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could've been better., November 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Cobra PR 1100 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Electronics)

I've had 2 Cobra FRS-250 radios for several years, and I loved them. Being impressed with their quality, functionality and performance on ski slopes, I decided to stick with the brand and purchased a pair of PR-1100 when I needed 2 more radios. After some time of use, here are my impressions:

Pros:

- Very good effective range. The signal was strong enough to punch through 22 stories of a concrete building! I can also communicate between 2 buildings about 2 miles away from each other, through multiple walls on each end.

- Full coverage of FRS band for full compatibility with FRS radios.

- Traditional Cobra signal strength meter.

- Pretty good sound quality.

- Switchable transmitter output between 500 mW and full 2 W on GMRS channels

- Long battery life.

- Useful features like 10 NOAA weather channels.

Cons:

-The functions are hard to get to. For example, it takes 7 presses of the Mode button to get to the scan function that I use fairly often, 10 presses to disable the roger beep, 12 presses to get to the stopwatch.

- Useless gadgets like compass, clock, and stopwatch that serve no practical purpose but overcomplicate the menu, making it harder to get to useful features like scaner and channel memory.

- For some stupid reason, Cobra decided not to use their traditional cradle charging system in this model. Even though the radio can use the same FA-BP NiMH battery pack as most other Cobra radios, it cannot be charged in a standard Cobra charger such as FA-CR because it lacks metal contacts on the back of the battery compartment. The included wall charger must be used instead.

- The charger is not a rapid charger, and it takes up to 18 hours to fully charge the battery. Other Cobra radios that use the FA-CR cradle can be rapid charged in 2 hours!

- To make matters worse, the radio turns off when the charger is plugged in, which renders it unuseable while the battery is being charged - for 18 hours!!! It is impossible to have it on a continuous stand-by, unless you are willing to take your new radio apart and disable the autoturnoff feature by soldering together 2 contacts in the charger jack, like I did.

- When you take the radio apart, you discover that there is no way in hell it can be waterproof. Splashproof? Maybe. Waterproof? Nah. There's a rubber gasket around the battery compartment, but this is only there to impress the user. There are no gaskets between the two plastic halves of the case, and the seams will inevitably leak. Submerge it in water for 5 seconds and see what happens, I dare you!

- Transmission volume is not very loud. You need to hold the unit close to your face and speak up. The mic gain is insufficient and non-adjustable.

- No removeable antenna.

- No privacy (voice scramble) feature that old Cobra FRS radios used to have. Looks like Cobra is not offering it in any of the new models. A shame.

The verdict:

A poorly engineered, cheaply made, hard to use but fairly functional FRS/GMRS radio.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent All Round sports Radio, November 16, 2002

By 

"frequencymodulation" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cobra PR 1100 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Electronics)

I wanted a sleek sports radio ..which is was atleast water proof
Cobra 1100 is an excellent choice...

the good -

Good GMRS range
good looks .. sleek ..
selection of power between 0.5 to 2 watts..which is important as in to conserve battery juice when u require it the most...
standard aaa nimh batteries used... which you could buy elsewhere .. batteries can be charged within the unit itself..
its got a digital compass .. another good feature u could use in the outdoors.. not much of use though ..especially since i would carry a GPS where i really need navigation... not bad for "just in case" situation..
the price is also pretty justified .. i would say if not a steal .. its a good buy..

other radios i looked at had some basic problems... either they were limited to 1 watt power .. or did not have recharging facility in the unit itself.. considering all the other options i looked at this seemed to be the best buy ... money to performance ratio .. :)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of bang for your buck, November 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Cobra PR 1100 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Electronics)

Loaded with all the bells and whistles. Very rugged. Lots of range and water resistant. I've used lots of radios and I have to say these are my favorite.