think my Cobra 148 GTL DX has been modded

[oldpink]

so my Aerial and mike came and I hooked up the cobra and I've noticed two things the Ch9 switch does not switch to Ch9 and the Low / Mid / High seem to have
another step below and above, with the Ch9 in the off position I have no Tx but if I switch Ch9 on the Tx works on both the upper and lower setting
I don't have a frequency counter so can't tell but I suspect it may be nodded with 40 ch below and above the normal I seem to remember this was a common mod
just wondering if anyone has seen something similar before

[cb4ever104]

Hi .

If you take a few pictures of the inside of the radio (solder and component sides) , then we'll probably be able to help you more . Sounds as if your band switch has been modded to a 5 way to add the lo-lo and hi-hi bands . It's quite an easy mod to do . Can't help with the CH9 , as I'd need to see it in more detail .

Sammy

[astradyne]

That CH9 mod sounds very odd indeed. It's usually converted to switch the bleep on and off or for a +10Khz stepper. There's no mod that I can think of that would require the TX power being switched off.

These are old (very old) radio's and many have been through the mill. As Sammy said, some good clear images of both sides of the PCB and the back of the switches would help us out greatly. But it does sound like it may need a trip down to Nick's.

[oldpink]

Ok here are some Pic's
the Ch9 switch has a white wire coming off it onto the board with a resistor
also looks like the NB / ANL has been modified and there is an orange wire going nowhere

[oldpink]

Few more

[oldpink]

last few

[astradyne]

Jeez that's a mess. Some of that soldering is the worst I've seen. That alone could cause issues.

Ok, so the radio is epromed. My guess is lo lo to hi hi on the band selector and possibly UK 1-40 on the NB/ANL switch. The trimmer pot you've highlighted will be to automatically tune the radio to the UK offset, so there's no need to adjust the coarse tune. The CH9 switch could be a +10Khz stepper, but why the TX power drops out is a mystery. The loose wires, terrible soldering, PVC tape everywhere and overall appearance shows a radio that's in need of a good service and tidy up.

My advice is contact Nick (Black Spirit) and arrange to have him take a look at it. It will return a new radio.

[oldpink]

yep the soldering is pretty messy
think I'll take your advice and have it sorted & tuned
I have my Alan that covers all the bands to play with while the Cobra gets some TLC

[cb4ever104]

It doesn't look good . Does it . To be honest I'd probably rip all that out and start again .

Anyway . The white wire going to the CH9 looks to be the +10khz from pin 9 of IC6 . The other end of the switch should be going to +8V . If it not working then it'll need looking at .

Sammy

[MrWeetabix]

Get in touch with Nick (Black Spirit) on here, he is one of the best and most-respected radio techs in the UK (IMHO).

I am sure he could tidy that wiring up for you.

[oldpink]

will do

[Mudslinger]

Unfortunately Cobra 148's which haven't been modded at all in their lives are as rare as retired kamikaze pilots.

As the others have said, Nick will get it working properly and either mod it to your taste or put it back to standard.

[astradyne]

Unfortunately Cobra 148's which haven't been modded at all in their lives are as rare as retired kamikaze pilots.

I've got a lovely NOS one here.

[oldpink]

been in touch with nick and hopefully he can get it back to good working order with a few mods done right
its more for nostalgia it was the best rig I ever had as a teen and I had a few Ham's, midlands and even a few Stag's
for now the Alan has all bases covered from 26 - 30.19 so good to go