Cobra 148 GTL
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Contents
History
Cobra was first owned by Dynascan when the first 148 was produced back in the 70s. Then ownership went o Uniden. After that Cobra separated from Uniden by buying the company outright and Cobra became their own owner. The Dynascan and Uniden produced Cobra radios are generally considered superior in quality. Due to their age, components are at their end-of-life which means that this vintage radio equipment needs to be restored to perform well.
Malaysia and Taiwan (By Uniden), 197x-199x (Discontinued)
Currently back in manufacture mostly Chinese production.
manufacture by country
This general reference require dates to be verified. Conflicting information from difference sources.
- Taiwan R.O.C ( ) white power connector and 5-pin side-mic
- Made in Taiwan (1979 - 1989) made by Uniden, side-mic
- Made in Philippines (1989 - 1993) by Uniden, second run in the Philippines, side-mic
- Made in The Malaysia - by RCI
- Made in Malaysia - (1994 - )by RCI
- Made in China - ( - current ) front-mic
More than one manufacturer has a factory in the Philippines. The Uniden factory had a reputation for the best quality-control in the business when they moved CB production out of Taiwan late 1989
Variations
There were three variations marketed as the 148 GTL DX in the early and mid 1980s. The first or "early" Cobra 148 GTL DX used an MB8719 and was made by Uniden with a PC879 board. Following that the Cobra 148 GTL DX "late" model was also marketed as the Superstar 360 FM. They were also made by Uniden (PC010) with an MC145106 PLL.
The Cobra 148 GTL DX-B is a copy made by Cybernet and is of very poor quality. This model is sometimes referred to as the fake 148 GTL DX. It has a PLL02A on a PCMA001S board.
The Cobra 148F GTL was made by Cobra after they bought their company from Uniden. During this time Cobra made quality cut-backs to save money, however the radio still performed well enough. This model is identical to the CONNEX 4800 DXL.
Cobra 148F GTL
The Cobra 148F GTL is unique because it came stock with a built in frequency counter. It basically is a Cobra 148 with the Frequency Counter and some push buttons instead of the standard switches.
Cobra 148 F GTL DX
Similar to the non-DX except this model was an export radio as it had extra frequencies and FM straight from the factory.
Cobra 148 GTL ST
The ST indicates SoundTracker. These are front-mic models and display SoundTracker on the front face. They are generally considered inferior in quality.
Cobra 148 NW ST
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Cobra Electronics Corporation
Dynascan Inc. was incorporated in 1961 and was the original owner of Cobra. Cobra was founded as Dynascan in 1961 by electronics engineer Carl Korn, who served as president, and Samuel Horberg, who became chief financial officer. The U.S. government delegated radio spectrum for a citizens band in 1958, and in 1963 Dynascan took advantage of the new market by bringing out its first citizens band radio. Dynascan initially manufactured its own CB radios but switched to importing lower-priced models manufactured by two Japanese companies, Toshiba and Uniden, in 1971.
In 1993, to emphasize its successful lines of Cobra products, the firm changed its name to Cobra Electronics Corp. New products included two radios geared toward car travelers needing inexpensive communications for emergencies, as well as new CB radios that automatically alerted drivers to predicted weather emergencies. The CBs signaled users to tune into National Weather Service channels whenever it sent out an alert signal.
