Though CB radios may seem like a relic of the past akin to eight tracks and leisure suits, 800,000 of them are still sold each year in the United States. While Smokey passed away and the Bandit is too old to run shine, many truckers still rely on CB radios as a means of communication and entertainment. And, after remaining more or less the same for decades, Cobra recently equipped CB radios with a piece of new technology.
The new Cobra 29 LTD BT is the first-ever CB radio to incorporate Bluetooth® wireless technology, providing another way to make communication safer for professional truck drivers.With Bluetooth technology, the 29 LTD BT allows drivers to talk on their phones through CB radio. A noise canceling microphone assures drivers can be heard loud and clear - even over the roar of a truck’s engine - and incoming audio is routed through the radio’s 5-Watt CB speaker making it easy for the driver to hear the caller too. The Bluetooth feature also gives drivers the ability to answer and terminate calls by pushing one button on the CB microphone, eliminating the need for them to take their eyes off the road to fiddle with a phone. Additionally, a redial feature allows for one-touch dialing of the last phone number called.
On top of the very twenty-first-century BlueTooth capabilities, the new unit also offers 4 Watts AM RF power output (the maximum allowed by law) and includes a number of other convenient features. For example, tactile controls allow the driver to feel where the dial is in its rotation without looking, and the radio provides instant access to emergency channel 9. Other features incorporated in the Cobra are Talk Back controls to adjust the desired amount of modulation talk back that is present at the speaker; a channel indicator displaying channel selections in blue illumination; Delta Tune to clarify incoming signals; and adjustable Dynamike® boost, which increases the microphone’s sensitivity for increased voice clarity.
Roughly as old as the technology itself, Cobra Electronics Corporation has been making CB radios since the 1960s. In that time, the company has produced a number of CB innovations with cool names – among them, Night Watch™, an electroluminescent technology that allows for easy night viewing, and SoundTracker® noise reduction, which cuts static up to 90 percent. These useful innovations, along with the incorporation of BlueTooth, may signal a comeback on the horizon for the CB radio. At peak popularity in the mid- to late-seventies, CB radios were finding a place not only in the cabins of trucks but also in basements and garages across the country. The MySpace of yesteryear, CB radios connected people under the guises of cool handles like “Bald Eagle” and “Eight Ball”. With online communities becoming mind-numbing and overcrowded, maybe it’s time for CB radio to rise again. Someone radio the bandit.
The Cobra 29 LTD BT is available at CB dealers nationwide with a suggested retail price of $189.95.
