Cobra Issues Its 50th Anniversary CB Radio

For those of you who remember the nostalgic 1975 trucker's song "Convoy" performed by C. W. McCall, probably the first thing you would think of is CB Radio.

Back in the pioneering days before personal computers and cell phones, wall-mounted telephones were the "easy way" for people to communicate. But what of the people who lived on the road? When a land-line telephone wasn't readily available, the citizen's band (CB) radio came to the rescue.

While not powerful enough to establish communication over very long distances, a CB radio linked a trucker with his fellow road warriors in a way that was well beyond nothing at all.

Nostalgia

Following the release of "Convoy", a rush of American citizens took up trucking as a way of life, and perhaps every one of them immediately bought a citizen's band (CB) radio to keep in touch with other truckers on the road.

More often than not, these road wranglers' conversations were filled throughout the day with the brusque language for which truckers have become famous the world over. However, the long lonely hours of staring at that asphalt were sometimes punctuated by an occasional cheery conversation with a fellow lonely souls traveling on the same road and in the same direction, bearing the same interests about which two road-bound brothers could speak.

The Die-Hard Model 29 Series

Packed within the distant memories of many a veteran trucker no doubt is a recollection of their first radio. For many a trucker it was a radio made by a relatively die-hard CB radio brand: Cobra.

Among Cobra's many offerings was its Model 29. This model has enjoyed many incarnations throughout the years, up to and including a "rig" that I owned - the Cobra Model 29 WX NW ST "Night Watch". This model featured a balance of rugged simplicity yet sported a few extra features that a geek-minded radio buff such as myself could enjoy.

While not a trucker myself, I had a job that had me on the road both day and night for several years. With my trusty Model 29 Night Watch on the dash, I was able to keep in tune with a few roadsters. Surprising as it was to me, I found that more than just a few truckers broke the rough-edged stigma to which they had been attributed: I met a few that had PhDs, but just liked the road life. Or maybe they just were hard on their luck for a time - before the precursors of the current recession showed.

My Model 29's Demise

I spoke with and listened to my trusty Model 29, until one rainy day my antenna was struck by lightning. While luckily the event did not harm my car's electrical system, I saw smoke curling up from the back end of my Cobra 29. It had taken the brunt of the shock and never recovered. Hardy as it had been for me, it couldn't handle the worst that Mother Nature shoved at it.

Given this elelctric ending, I took up ham radio and have since been talking to people on a different band of frequencies − well away from those used by CB radio. But sometimes I think back fondly on my old 29 and the solid service it had given me...

Happy Anniversary, Cobra!

I was glad to hear of the newest edition of Cobra's model 29 line. In celebration of its 50^th anniversary, Cobra has issued yet another incarnation of its trusty rig.

This one comes with a few bells and whistles:

• Memory Scan
• 10 channel NOAA Weather Alert with Scan
• Programmable 4-color LCD display (red, green, blue and amber
• Radio Check / Diagnostic covering battery status, RF power output, and antenna standing wave ratio (SWR) status

While the jury is still out on exactly what all of the features are and how they compare to Cobra's older rigs, if this one is anything like its predecessors, it's sure to be a great newcomer.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Melendez is a ham radio buff and freelance writer reporting on technology, the environment, sustainability, alternative energies and "green" issues. John Melendez is a writer for hire. To email him, go to http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=19595

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