What's the most watts you can get from a cobra 29?

[outlawmobile]

Im only antipep claims when people try to sell you something based on pep watts. I'm not trying to sell anything just telling you what you can get one to do. I don't recommend it for everyone but thats what this radio is doing

for the meter right now i'm using a bird 43 with a pdc-1 pep kit instead of the dual needle because some people don't think it will read about the same and when I'm done the pictures will be with the bird

again I don't like pep readings but this is just something I'm doing to see what I can get out of the radio if you don't like it then that is ok but it's my project and thats what I'm doing right now

i'm also using a 100 watt dry dummy load because you don't like the way I was talking about doing it and right now I'm showing 51 watts but again I need to change a few things up

We're on the same side of this one ChillDog. I too, have seen 50+ watts out of a 29 with a mosfet.
Now, with that said, they are not all "on frequency" watts. If I run it through a bencher filter before
the meter, I see a little over 40 watts. I'm not claiming the bencher removes all the out of band emissions,
but for comparison, a Gen. Lee that does 50 watts will make even less power than the 29 with the filter
in line. I say go for it...prove the naysayers wrong
preacherman

Wait a minute,dont the newer General Lees and Galaxy 33 hps have dual mosfets in them?And arent they only getting about 50 watts with 2? Are there some super mosfets out there doing 50 watts or something?I still dont believe it,I mean I would think if 29s were capable of doing 50 watts most of us would have one in our **Censored** just because.Now myself I do have one in my **Censored** and no it doesnt do anywhere near 50 watts.Thats just the way it is and I am fine with that.I have owned several 29s over the years and they usually run at about 17 to 20 watts comfortably.Bottom line is if you actually find a way to squeeze 50 watts out of one it is going to sound like a big old pile of you know what.Shawn

[ChillDog]

no on a scope it will be dirty but so will a general lee or whatever

it will sound as good as a modded 10 meter

i need to rewire the power relay where I bypassed the power switch ( well added a relay because it's not working quite right for now) and I need to use a bigger wire where I beefed up on of the traces on the solder side

[burbman]

chilli lets see some pictures and explanations so we can believe you because 50watts out of a single final cobra 29 seems way far fetched and out in la la land

[preacherman]

I just saw it this afternoon It's fairly easy to get 40 or more
out of a 29 with a mosfet. Still, every radio varies and I would never
promise 50 watts just because I got it out of one of my own. With that
said...a couple of comments:
1. Part of the key to high numbers is "usually" high voltages. Mosfets love voltage and the difference between 13.8v and 15v on the
bench is significant. (As in over 10w pep increase)
2. "if" I found the key to consistently produce 50w pep on almost every 29 I work on, I personally, would NOT
post how I did it because then I'm giving away the results of days and weeks of experimentation just to
satisfy nay-sayers. I'd have people send me radios and have them pay to have the work done.
3. 50w Cobra's do not sound like ka-ka. They are loud, and ferocious. You don't have clip them to get the numbers. If you stick to 100% modulation,
whether on a Cobra 29 or a General Lee or other 10m radio, you will not see 50 "clean" watts. They will also both bleed somewhat
on adjacent channels. Not much of an issue mobile, but more so if you are on a base or using an amplifier.
4. History is full of people who did things that others said could not be done and quoted the laws of science, physics or nature to
validate their thinking that it could not be done.
preacherman

[GreenGhost]

Now that was well said if I do say so myself!!

[GreenGhost]

I can also say that as my Cobra is now (specs in "Radio Equipment" signature) 7w to 27 w swing, I get at least 2 or 3 "big radio" comments on it on the road everyday. And thats with my current SWR at 2.0 with a 4 ft Francis on the truck mirror bracket, (I know, SWR's have to come down). So the old standby Cobra 29 single final is not dead, even in the big duel final radio world out there today.........

[ChillDog]

I just saw it this afternoon It's fairly easy to get 40 or more
out of a 29 with a mosfet. Still, every radio varies and I would never
promise 50 watts just because I got it out of one of my own. With that
said...a couple of comments:
1. Part of the key to high numbers is "usually" high voltages. Mosfets love voltage and the difference between 13.8v and 15v on the
bench is significant. (As in over 10w pep increase)
2. "if" I found the key to consistently produce 50w pep on almost every 29 I work on, I personally, would NOT
post how I did it because then I'm giving away the results of days and weeks of experimentation just to
satisfy nay-sayers. I'd have people send me radios and have them pay to have the work done.
3. 50w Cobra's do not sound like ka-ka. They are loud, and ferocious. You don't have clip them to get the numbers. If you stick to 100% modulation,
whether on a Cobra 29 or a General Lee or other 10m radio, you will not see 50 "clean" watts. They will also both bleed somewhat
on adjacent channels. Not much of an issue mobile, but more so if you are on a base or using an amplifier.
4. History is full of people who did things that others said could not be done and quoted the laws of science, physics or nature to
validate their thinking that it could not be done.
preacherman

nice job on the mod!

yes they can sound good but you are right like I said before it will not be clean on a scope but will sound good

I bought a 78 today and I'm going to try the exact same mods on it and see what happens. Silly things that you do to get one more watt are things like the power relay and running the heavier wire over the trace. Is it worth it? NO! but it sounds cool

[outlawmobile]

I just saw it this afternoon It's fairly easy to get 40 or more
out of a 29 with a mosfet. Still, every radio varies and I would never
promise 50 watts just because I got it out of one of my own. With that
said...a couple of comments:
1. Part of the key to high numbers is "usually" high voltages. Mosfets love voltage and the difference between 13.8v and 15v on the
bench is significant. (As in over 10w pep increase)
2. "if" I found the key to consistently produce 50w pep on almost every 29 I work on, I personally, would NOT
post how I did it because then I'm giving away the results of days and weeks of experimentation just to
satisfy nay-sayers. I'd have people send me radios and have them pay to have the work done.
3. 50w Cobra's do not sound like ka-ka. They are loud, and ferocious. You don't have clip them to get the numbers. If you stick to 100% modulation,
whether on a Cobra 29 or a General Lee or other 10m radio, you will not see 50 "clean" watts. They will also both bleed somewhat
on adjacent channels. Not much of an issue mobile, but more so if you are on a base or using an amplifier.
4. History is full of people who did things that others said could not be done and quoted the laws of science, physics or nature to
validate their thinking that it could not be done.
preacherman

I don't believe in playing voltage games with radios.First off you are going to shorten life expectancy of many components by doing this in my opinion and I have heard volted up Connexs and the like and thought they sounded horrible.I say more power to ya but I just don't buy it.Not to mention do you really think someone out there in radioland is going to be able to tell the difference between yours doing 50 watts and mine doing 20?I doubt it.Heck I have already swapped out my old trusty 29 in place or my General Lee for weeks and not one single local noticed a difference.As a matter of fact they were very surprised when I told them.IDK maybe you can do it but it begs the question....WHY? Shawn

[ChillDog]

I'm not playing with the voltage but that can work too. I'm at 13.8 on my power supply and just put a volt meter on it to make sure it's where its supposed to be

as for why well why not? I'm not doing anything else interesting right now and its better than watching the food network with my wife

[outlawmobile]

I'm not playing with the voltage but that can work too. I'm at 13.8 on my power supply and just put a volt meter on it to make sure it's where its supposed to be

as for why well why not? I'm not doing anything else interesting right now and its better than watching the food network with my wife

Well I guess I gotta respect your reasoning.Best of luck with it.Shawn

[runner406]

it has a 13 watt final in it - so 13 bird watts

[LS1 TA]

The day I see a Cobra do a TRUE 50 watts is the day that pigs fly. That chassis was just not meant to handle it nor was it even designed for it. Sure, that meter is saying 50, but like the Preacher said, it ain't all on frequency. That begs the question, WHY!?!?!?! Why waste the power and cause interference on another channel? It makes NO sense to crank a Cobra 29 up. They are what they are, a small type accepted radio that will eeek out 20 watts in stock trim and 25-28 with a MOSFET. If you want power, put an amp behind the radio.

[preacherman]

The day I see a Cobra do a TRUE 50 watts is the day that pigs fly. That chassis was just not meant to handle it nor was it even designed for it. Sure, that meter is saying 50, but like the Preacher said, it ain't all on frequency. That begs the question, WHY!?!?!?! Why waste the power and cause interference on another channel? It makes NO sense to crank a Cobra 29 up. They are what they are, a small type accepted radio that will eeek out 20 watts in stock trim and 25-28 with a MOSFET. If you want power, put an amp behind the radio.

You look like a gear head by your screen name...so let me ask you this: Why would a Trans Am owner with the LS1 that already has
more power than they could ever reasonably/legally use...put on headers, a throttle body, an air kit and different ratio roller rockers??
Because they can So why do all this stuff with radios?

It's a hobby...and it's fun...and frankly it's a lot cheaper than drag cars and harleys (and I've done both).
Still...a modded 29 with a mosfet...even at 13.8v and seeing 35 watts will talk right with a dual final radio
that has just been turned up...and if you run them through a good low pass filter, the 29 will be putting out
more "on frequency" power (ask me how I know ) Regarding the question why? Well, I answered it in
my first paragraph...but in keeping with the race car illustration: Because it's like outrunning a big block with
a small block. What's that get you? Personal satisfaction. For some, that doesn't float their boat...no big deal,
they don't have to play.
my .02,
preacherman

[LS1 TA]

It came with an LS1, but it sure is not a 347 anymore. It is still LS based, but has an extra 2 or 3 horsepower.

Back on topic, I understand the concept, like you said, but STILL???

[preacherman]

The defense rests
preacherman

[ChillDog]

and now she is watching home and garden tv!

that's why

[bigman803]

chilli lets see some pictures and explanations so we can believe you because 50watts out of a single final cobra 29 seems way far fetched and out in la la land

how can i get mine to do 50 watts? :D

[4600 Turbo]

Chilidog don't give up.

The nay-sayers said that My 600 watt Galaxy was not possible.

Now that they know how I did it they all want to do too!


The Biggest Galaxy radio in the world just got off the KEY!

[COPENHAGEN]

Ok CB'S the 29/GTL/LTD and 25/GTL/LTD UNIDEN PC76/ PC/66 you can get 45 to 50 Change stock final to a 2SC1969, Change stock driver to a 2SC1957,{some model use a 2SC2028 rf driver} and a 33uf 16volt polarized electrolytic capacitor and adjusting L17,L20,L121,L16,L14 For a higher dead key a 100pf disc cap and it will dead key 8-10 watts and swing 40-50PEP. and can dead key 1-4 watts and swing 30-40PEP. ON A PEP RF POWER WATT METER-----------

[footbutcher]

so basically take off the cover and build a new radio inside of it

[linx]

so basically take off the cover and build a new radio inside of it

bwahahaha....now that is funny.

[drdx]

If any one person who is trying to get 50 watts from their cobra 29 ever thought about it, they could take all that time, money, and resources they spend on trying to maximize that thing by doing all of the parts buying, blogging, driving to get the parts, etc, to end up with a 50 watt radio and just buy an entry level amplifier. Even after you get the 50 watts out of it, how much of that is on frequency, does it run cool, how long will it last like that? Could you take that 50 watt cobra, key the mic and play music or run a tone through it for 15 minutes with no ill effect? A bare bones 29 with a cheap $100 amp would squash that 50 watt unit with ease, and you'd have a radio that was bulletproof, and be ready to drive something bigger. This is like trying to soup up an old 6 cylinder car, when you can have an 8.

But, for those who like to tinker, the experience is priceless, and you can't put a value on that. You can put a value on getting squashed on your 50 watt cobra by a guy who never took the lid off his $10 Kraco with a $50 used amp on his grandpa's radio shack mag mount.... Priceless, for him. -drdx

[dud muck]

want a stealth cobra 29?

Just buy a connex 4300HP-300. And buy a cobra 29.
remove both front control panels, desolder all the wires, put the cobra front onto the connex body, then you'll have a 300 watt cobra 29!

Cost effective, no.... silly, yes!

[outlawmobile]

want a stealth cobra 29?

Just buy a connex 4300HP-300. And buy a cobra 29.
remove both front control panels, desolder all the wires, put the cobra front onto the connex body, then you'll have a 300 watt cobra 29!

Cost effective, no.... silly, yes!

Other than the fitment problems[Connex is an inch or 2 wider] that's one heck of an idea rite there Kinda like putting a big block in a Geo metro I just love this thread,its been very entertaining so far.I am still waiting for his post of the finished product.I must admit it has peaked my interest,I mean I should be able to get 100 watts easy out of my General Lee if this is true Shawn

[highdrive]

As usual, another interesting thread turns into a cartoon strip! Instead of yelling(with words) at this dude, people should explain why this "50 watt" stock radio doesn't and will never exist. We all have tinkered with our radios before...so if he wants to, let him
do so. Those of us with electronic theory education know the real deal. And yes, you can play 'voltage games' with the radio by installing and changing parts. You also said you were achieving the watts via watt meters. If you are really serious about finding a different way of tuning...you better purchase an oscilloscope, signal generater, freq counters ect,ect! My friend, the 29 has been out for a very very long time...and if there was a better way of tuning, I can almost promise that someone already made their money off of it. About the newest mod I know for more swing is the mosfet final replacement. I used to think like you too...crank the radio to da max to blow smoke. It's the total reverse, remember the radio is the first device in your system to get amplified. If you got alot of harmonics and false watts, your gonna sound like doo doo when (or if ) you choose to run an amp. My last cobra 29 keyed 2 watts and would only swing 15 watts...but when I turn on da 3pill driver I see a CLEAN and REAL 400 pep. But if that's how you wanna sound, more power to ya. Just don't let me catch you in dx land sounding like trash be cause I'll
drop that clean and vicious sparkiefied audio on ya!