Question for the Cobra Wizards out there

Start with ...

RF gain max
Delta tune center ( arrow on knob pointing up )
Dynamike at 2o'clock





http://www.cobra.com/Manuals/29LTDCLASSIC_MANL.pdf

 

The RF gain adjusts how sensitive your radio receives signals. Run it wide open. (fully clockwise)

Mic gain adjusts how loud you will sound over the radio. I usually keep it at 3 o clock. Anymore than that and you might sound like you're eating the mic.

Not even sure why there's a delta tune on the radio, other than so you can hire a CB shop to remove the switch to install something in it's place, such as an echo control.

 

Most ppl are misinformed when it comes to the Squelch and the RF Gain. In most cases people will keep the RF gain at max levels and adjust the squ until there is very little background noise. And this is exactly what any owners manual will tell you to do to adjust your radio. What they dont tell you is, this is the correct way to set up....in the city!!! If you're running down the hwy and you have your squelch turned up a little and the RF at its max, YOU WILL MISS INCOMING SIGNALS...FACT! The squelch is simply used to increase the filtration of noise...in very noisy areas. ie truck stops, cities, traffic jams, etc.
In short, you want to have the squelch turn all the way down at all times, except in situations mentioned above, and turn your RF gain back just a little. Some people can deal with lots of "static" and wait for that really far off signals to come in, therefore keeping the RF turned to the max position. Some like only a very faint "static" sound, keeping their RF turned down just a little. They to will pick up signals at extreme distances but obviously not as much as if your RF was at its max...give or take .5 miles, which by any standard isn't much! Give it a try both ways...I PROMISE you will find what I am telling you to by very accurate and very true!
As for the Delta Tune, that is supposed to by for "fine tuning" the frequency. But...it's junk! You can play with it all day and your not going to get a noticable difference. What most ppl do is add an echo in place of the deltatune. As for the mic gain, anything more then the 2 O'clock does nothing for modulation, well, I take that back...anything more then the 2 O'clock on the mic gain only increase the mics sensitivity. Therefore, 3-5 O'clock will make you sound like your trying to swallow the mic!
I'm actually pretty well versed in the 29, as are a lot of my buddies. The 29 is what they use in 99.9% of the "DX competitions". Using exactly the settings I have discribed as being the best above! Nothing like talking from the VA coast to the CA coast on an ole 29! Obviously peaked, tuned and SET PROPERLY!
Hope that help ya!
BTW - The 50th Ann Cobra 29 is an EXCELLENT radio!!!!!!

 

UNLESS you are a few hunderd feet from the other guy the RF gain should be at MAX all the time. If the band is wide open to the point that the squelch can't handle it THEN turn the rf gain down.

SQUELCH does nothing to filter noise it just sets a level that it must reach to open the audio up and allow you to hear it. MOST non CB systems are FM and use a TONE to open the squelch but CB being AM and llike the old party line TONE SQUELCH would not work.

DELTA TUNE Is a left over from the days of the crystal controled radios before PLL and the new FCC requirements for 40 ch radios. It has little use in todays world since the FCC allows about +/- 1.5 KHZ from center ch and the band pass for AM is about 3 KHZ .... in short if a station is legal you should never have to use it.

In the photo you will see BOTH the main receiver ( SSB ) and backup ( FM )
The gain is at max many radios to get at RF gain you have to go into a MENU. On this radio the audio and squelch controls ( bottom right ) are used to control what you can hear. CB radios are no diffrent.

 

If the radio is setup properly you shouldnt sound as if you are eating the mic with mic gain
set at max....just saying

 

So you're saying if I talk a bone stock radio that's not had some golden CB screwdriver tech in there tweaking on all the pots and I run the mic gain wide open that I'm not going to sound distorted? Ok. I'll give it a try.

Last driver that told me this I shoulda just told him to throw his junk speaker out the window.

 

STD tunes all my radios....they talk great with no distortion.....your not going to be able
to detect distortion with an $89.99 cb radio anyway....just saying

On occasion you'll get 1 you have to cut the mic back a touch for the reason people buy
cheap external speakers and they say its too loud....

 

I have several properly tuned radio's that will not squeal(distort)
with the gain turned wfo while keying the mic directly touching the external speaker.