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Among the brands of GMRS/FRS radios, Cobra is the only one I've found to use Li-ion batteries. Compared to other rechargeable battery technologies, Li-ion will last longer and weigh less. Cobra has three models in their flagship category: 925, 825, 725. I chose the 825 for a few reasons.
Compared to the 925, this model lacks the voice recorder and has lower battery capacity. Without the voice recorder, if you miss something, I think it's a matter of asking people to repeat their message. Although the 925 battery capacity is higher, the voice recorder increases the power draw, so it may offset and result in similar battery life. The main differences between the 725 is the capability to receive NOAA weather broadcasts; I believe the batteries and the outside form factor are the same.
They advertise different communication ranges (35, 30, 27) in miles. I'm skeptical and wish there were more truth in advertising. However, for casual users, you're probably within 5 miles. These types of GMRS/FRS radios do not work well inside cars unless you have an external antenna. If used properly, they work reasonably well. I've been able to communicate within 10 miles. For the purists, the 925 and 825 have three transmit power levels (5, 2, 0.5 watts) while the 725 has only two (5, 0.5 watts).
So far, I can think of only one drawback I wish Cobra makes a car charger. Their website says you may purchase parts and build your own, just call them for wiring info.
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This is a strange walkie-talkie. First rate engineering with a second rate execution. It even looks a little strange with a cheap clear plastic grill on the front. This walkie-talkie is also one of the smallest on the market.
It is a very straight-forward and easy walkie-talkie to program. Much easier than the Midland, if you don't mind the NOAA blaring in the speakers each time you go through it to get the programming steps you need to change.
It had a strange way of fitting in the recharge base. It just plops in one way and easily wobbles, but it makes contact all the time.
Most of the commonly needed buttons are right on the front, not like others that make you dig through or do some button looping to get what you want. There is even a separate backlight on-button on the side.
The backlight does not evenly cover the LCD like many other comunication devices, but rather it is two lighted LED'S on either side of the display. Cheap, but it works.
The rechargeable batteries is put in a square sealed plastic case and difficult to remove from the walkie-talkie, luckily you shouldn't be doing that often.
The VOX works like all the others. Not very sensitive, but it will work if you learn to talk loud and even practically yell on the least sensitive adjustment. It has 5 adjustments.
Have not tried any accessory with it. But it should work in ordinary use if you just like to hold the Cobra in your hand and talk and recieve. It has all the ability built in to exceed the basics too, should your needs go further than that.
To use the high-range mode everyone knows "buy" now you have to get an FCC license, but in FRS free mode of a few miles or blocks depending on obstacles can be obtained.
I also found out it cannot use most Midland accessories due to different pin configurations.
Bottom Line: If you want a straigh-forward minimal-fuss walkie talkie and just want to start talking this will probably be the one you want.
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Best Deals for Cobra Walkie-Talkie microTalk CXR825 22-Channel Two-Way Radio (Pair)
They are great! Fifteen of us went on a very large cruise ship and we used them to keep in touch since there was no cell phone service. The security code feature meant that we only heard each other and no one else even if they were on the same channel. They made the cruise much more enjoyable.
Honest reviews on Cobra Walkie-Talkie microTalk CXR825 22-Channel Two-Way Radio (Pair)
These radios are fantastic! They are certainly better than the walkie-talkies we had when I was younger. 4 and a half stars, but amazon doesn't let me put in a half star.
First off, the bad: Everyone should know by now the distances claimed are an engineers whimsical notion, not related to reality. That goes for any hand held *consumer* radio. (minus 1/2 star for fibbing)
The reality: I bought 4-pair of these radios for a cruise with the extended family. I tested these localy on LOW power in a heavily populated residential area and they have a half mile range for me. It was crystal clear up until 1/2 mile, then nothing. I switched to a channel that it is legal to use high power on and I had about 1.1 miles or so range, but at any point after the 1/2 mile there was static in the reception even on high power. I never used any of the advanced features like turning off the auto squelch or whatever. Maybe you can get more distance.
The good: I was worried about the amount of people on the cruise and all the metal between these radios. I kept them on one of the high power channels in high power mode. There was never a problem! I think the ship was almost a thousand feet long and it didn't matter how many metal walls/floors/etc there were. My father-in-law was at the very front of the ship and I was in the aft dining room and we were talking like we were side-by-side. We used them on the excursion to Atlantis and we did get seperated, even on different busses headed back to the ship and these kept us in contact the entire time with one brief exception.
I love the lock button. It prevents you from changing channels and whatnot, but you can still use the call button. This was great to prevent grandpa from stuffing it in his pocket and accidentally switching to a different channel. So all he had to know was press the button and talk.
The amazing: The Lithium Ion batteries in these radios are un-real! I charged up all 4 sets of radios before the cruise and we never had to charge them the entire trip! The other 3 families left them on all night every night. Our cruise was a 4 day, 3 night cruise and on high power they worked great. The battery power warning icon isn't even lit yet. If it is a longer cruise than what I had, bring the charger, otherwise just charge at home and don't worry about it. And these Li-Ion batteries should last for years, not like the Nickel based rechargeables the other brands use.
The mediocre: They look a little funny and that "Call" button is increadibly annoying when a 10 year old boy has one of these units... He pressed that button and it makes a phone-call sounding ring and that's fine, but when he presses it fifty times in a row... Oy Vey. That call function is great when you want to get the attention of the person holding the radio. I could hear it when it was rather noisy so we did get good use out of the call feature. Just keep the nephews under control... :)
I never had to use one of those privacy codes. We did have to switch channels twice to get channels nobody was on, but that's no big deal. When we were on a channel that other people were using it was still OK. They didn't have 5 watts of power like these so you could tell when it was someone else. They would have static and the 'roger' tone when they let go of the transmit button was different than the 'roger' tone these units have.
I used the clip to hang the radio from the neck of my shirt. They are quite light, but still heavy enough to be annoying when hung from the neck. Perfectly fine for a pocket/purse. We also clipped them on the beach bags and took them with us. Worked perfectly.
What they lacked: The only thing I saw another radio have that would've been nice was a built in LED flashlight. We ended up not needing it anyway. They do have a light for the screen, but not a 'flashlight'. The Li-Ion truly was the deciding factor on these though and that far and away outweighs the benefits of a built in flashlight.
The end result: This was the BEST purchase we made for the cruise (yes, even better than the alcohol!) It kept us coordinated without spending loads of time looking for each other. There is no cell phone service out in the atlantic, so this is a must. It let us enjoy our excursions without wasting any of the prescious little time we had looking for each other.
They truly made my cruise much more enjoyable and safer. My daughter ran off in the crowd once, I didn't realize she was running to grandpa. Without radios we would've freaked out and been searching frantically (the crowd was thick). We did freaked out, but called on the radio and within seconds we knew she was with grandpa and where grandpa was.
I would recommend these to anybody taking a cruise or traveling. Bar none, these are great.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Cobra Walkie-Talkie microTalk CXR825 22-Channel Two-Way Radio (Pair)
We bought these for a cruise to maintain contact with a couple of teenagers. Bottom line? We were able to contact them when needed; they were able to contact us when needed.
We charged them each night and had no battery issues. One warning: Remember to shut them off when charging. They will "tick" all night long if left on.
The vibrate feature is great since the ship is almost always noisy.
They're small and they work. What else could you want? OK, maybe thinner -more like a cell phone. The girls carried one in a small backpack when the radio was too big to fit in a pocket. The radios seem to be the smallest available...
