Customer Reviews

Cobra MR HH125 Compact Waterproof Marine Handheld VHF Radio with 1 or 3 Watts, All Weather Channels, and Weather Alert (Black)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a short-term review, as it has only been in use for less than a month. I also have a Uniden MHS350 radio, which is a much heavier duty VHF radio that this Cobra model.

Comparison between the two:

The Cobra is about 1/2 the cost

Cobra is about 1/2 the weight, and smaller in size - much easier to clip to your PFD or jacket/belt while on the water.

Cobra is "splash resistant" while Uniden is "water proof - submersible" which means that you probably should carry the Uniden unit in a plastic baggie if you are using it on a kayak (where things tend to get wet frequently).

battery life is moderate - using AAA batteries, it lasts for a full day or so before needing fresh batteries. The MHS350 on the other hand, will last a week or more of all-day use with its NMh battery pack, and it includes a back-up battery and dual-slot charger.

Feature-wise the Cobra does a good job of covering the basics - a full channel selection for all VHF channels, plus NOAA weather. The squelch is not infinitely adjustable, but has a couple of "steps" controlled by a single button. There is no scan feature (unlike the Uniden, which will scan as many channels as you choose in memory on a continuous basis).

Bottom line, if you want to add the safety of having a VHF radio with you while you kayak, I recommend the Cobra unit based on its price and its small size and weight. I would not recommend it for heavier usage (like daily on a boat) because it is definitely made from cheaper materials, and will also not go very long on a charge/set of batteries.

Update 9/29/09:
I just got another one of these for a friend, and after the second outing, it started acting up (it would operate fine for about 10 minutes, then "lock up" and would not respond to any commands or inputs from the buttons. The unit has been sent back to Cobra, and based on past experience, I am hopeful that they will replace the unit without any fuss. I'll update the review when I hear back from them.

I got this for my PWC (jet ski) as I'm on the great lakes and off-shore. For the price I found this radio to be perfect for basic communications with my other boating friends as well as piece of mind for emergency use.

Worked well talking with other boats, NOAH weather radio comes in fine, clear sound. I like the fact that you can scan multiple channels. For example channel 16 is the general hail and emergency channel, whereas in my area channel 68 is the general `chat' channel. With a single push of a button I listen to my normal chat channel and also scan the emergency bands.

Using the radio it seems to be generally waterproof. Mine did get dunked a bit, and constantly gets splashed. No issues so far (two years of use). Don't put this in the water 3 feet under for 30 min to see if it still works, but with some common sense you should not have any issues. Although it is rated to be underwater like that, I don't suggest doing that. If this is only for emergency use, then keep it and the 12V charger in a plastic zip lock.

The batts are standard AAA, the radio comes with a 12V plug you can use to charge the batts, or I sometimes take the batts out and put them in my nomral battery charger.

I did a ton of research on the different models and brands - and in the end wanted a best value/point handheld marine radio - mostly for emergency , but also for light use - I did not need high end. I have a 25watt marine radio that cost me a ton for that. This cobra is what I found and after two years of use am happy with it.

On the negative side I wish it could transmit at 5 watts, this is 3 watts and that's good for a few miles, but 5 watts would be better. It's now two years later and I don't jet ski anymore, (into just boating) I did just buy the Midland nautica 3 for a gift as it is 5 watts. My cobra still works fine but going with the midland as the 5 watts does matter.

I have been a captain for 15 years and this is a great handheld. Easy to use and for the money it is a steal. I would recommend for a great back up in emergency and I use it onthe kayak, small and stays running a long time.

I like it. I really like being able to have a few "favorite" channels to scan between. Have not transmitted on it yet, but I'm sure it will be fine. It's a bit small, but the description does say "compact".

We've used this radio numerous times in the short time that we've had it and it works perfectly. The reception is good and the audio is clear. We like that it's compact and waterproof. The only thing we would have liked different is a regular AC wall charger along with or instead of the DC car charger. Our boat doesn't have a cigarette lighter for charging the radio and the drive from our house to the marina (or anywhere for that matter) just isn't enough to charge it properly. I've bought a separate charger, but it would have been nice to have the AC with it. I admit it's my fault for not realizing there was no AC charger. Otherwise, this is a great little radio and well worth the price.

The very first time I needed to use this radio it failed.

The radio was easy to set-up and use, but does not appear to be ruggedly built and is NOT "waterproof" as advertised. It is merely "splash"-proof. Those are two very different classifications.

The first time I used this on the boat I set it up for memory scan and it worked fine for about an hour. Then I noticed it appeared to be quiet for an abnormally long time. When I checked the radio I found it to be locked on channel 72. No matter what I did I was unable to change the channel nor transmit so the radio was basically useless. Turning off the radio and removing the batteries did nothing to reset the radio. The next day I turned on the radio and it worked okay. Tonight it again stopped working.

At a price of less than $50 I was not expecting a world-class radio, but I did expect it to last for at least one summer.

I am sending this back to Amazon. I am interested to see if they will take it back since I cut and discarded the plastic clamshell packaging.

Bought it and I've been using it since .

Its really good and and I would recommend it to buyers

We tried to use this radio on a boating trip and it was effectively useless. Although it would turn on and transmit and receive immediately after being turned on, it soon went dead after being on for a few minutes.
I phoned Cobra tech support and they were no help, except to suggest returning it.

well after reading many other reviews on this i was skeptical about buying it. so i received my radio installed the batteries turned it on and WOW i am impressed with it i was able to talk with my friend that lives 4 1/2 miles from me through hills and trees signal was strong, sound was clear and crisp. used it for 8 hours and batteries held up great. all i can say for those that did not like it and claimed it didn't work well. OPERATOR ERROR read the manual next time.

Overall it's a decent Handheld. Decent range and sound. The problem however is that it comes only with a 12V car charger. In other words you can't charge it @ home. New cars don't charge if they are not on and the initial charge is 10 to 12 hours.. I don't know how they expect us to charge it??? Leave it on the boat or in the car???? I bought a four battery Ray-O-Vac charger but this device comes with Five batteries and chargers usually charge in pair.. So you are left with one uncharged battery. One needs to buy a 110-6V adapter & it seems and Cobra Does not sell one ( I checked their website). So major glitch and thus I do not recommend to buy this unit except if you have a better idea or if you keep it on the boat "plugged"..

Kept on Scan fully charged batteries would last 8 hours no more...

I would like to update my review after a year of usage and say: AVOID IT at all costs and purchase an expensive radio. Battery life is becoming really short. The range is terrible and i am realizing that I can't even communicate decently with my buddies that are 1nm away. I shuts off randomly and last time it took few calls to realize that it was NOT even broadcasting and hence no one was replying to my calls in the Boston Harbor. I am about to boat the Uniden or ICOM for 175$ or so, I feel it is well worth the investment, this unit is really bad and Cheap.