Cobra adds Bluetooth to CB radio, truckers rejoice

Maybe it's just us, but the integration of Bluetooth into a CB radio is long, long overdue. Thankfully, Cobra is stepping up to the plate and introducing the 29 LTD BT, which will go down as its first ever CB radio to include integrated BT technology. Essentially, it allows users to accept and terminate calls with a simple button press on the radio itself, and also enables handsfree conversations -- undoubtedly littered with 10-4s and good buddies -- via the noise canceling microphone and five-watt speaker. Granted, the transmission was a touch fuzzy, but we heard it'll be available at travel centers and dealers this summer for $189.95. Copy?

[Via Blast Magazine]

[Pismodude @ Feb 20th 2008 8:05PM]

NEATO

[Rae @ Feb 20th 2008 8:08PM]

YEEHAW!!!

[mike @ Feb 20th 2008 8:22PM]

CONVOY!

[Postma @ Feb 20th 2008 8:24PM]

10-4 Good Buddy!

[Flalex @ Feb 20th 2008 11:02PM]

Just knew someone would say that

[nxtiak @ Feb 20th 2008 8:29PM]

ROGER!

[phanbouy @ Feb 20th 2008 8:30PM]

WILCO

[Vagrant @ Feb 20th 2008 8:32PM]

CQ CQ CQDX - 1000 Watts of power saying hello and good day. Hang on while I turn the house at ya.

[Shawn Pauley @ Feb 20th 2008 8:33PM]

It still looks like its from the mid-80s.

[phanbouy @ Feb 20th 2008 8:36PM]

radioshack eat your heart out

[Sheepdog @ Feb 20th 2008 8:39PM]

Breaker one, breaker one, might be crazy but I ain't dumb, this is Craaazy Cooter comin atcha!

[billedluh @ Feb 20th 2008 8:41PM]

Not trying to make fun of anyone here, but why exactly do people still use/ they still make CB radios? Certainly by now we have tech that beats that, dont we? I mean sure cell network coverage isn't everywhere, but isn't CB network coverage conditional on proximity to another CB? And even then what are the chances the random person you find on the other end knowing what you want to know? The device in the picture is clearly not a protable; is clearly designed to go someplace in your car. And yet the idea of a CB radio in your car seems pretty useless to me. Is the CB radio a market with a future still or am I missing something?

[PInddup @ Feb 20th 2008 8:48PM]

Truckers don't know the cell number of all truckers but don't cb radios just broadcast to all who are listenning?

[billedluh @ Feb 20th 2008 8:52PM]

that's a real good point I spose. ... yeah that works. Interesting. Still seems like we could do better though. And if it's still an actively used standard and there's a reason why it's not going out of style then why in heavens name has no one made a bluetooth compatible one yet!? That's outrageous!

[skulldriveshaft @ Feb 20th 2008 9:08PM]

Until recently most truckers used their mobile sat internet devices, and put up with spotty data/cellular coverage.

Nobody really needed bluetooth stuck to their CB, it wasn't that common before.

You should try out a CB on a long trip, either you will understand the nature of it, or you won't, it is after all, Citizens Band.

[Kamokazi @ Feb 20th 2008 10:20PM]

It's mainly for truckers but it has many other uses...the other poster kinda nailed it-you don't know cell numbers and just want to talk to people in a local area. It can be very handy on long trips, truckers will warn about traffic, weather, and highway patrol (smokies or smokey bears they call em cuz of the hats). They're also good at picking out chicks in convertibles which I can personally vouch for :-)

Also in rural areas, especially out west, cellular coverage is can still be spotty or nonexistant (my town in Ohio can't even keep a steady GSM signal from one side to the other...Verizon has a monopoly here), and if you are going cross country/offroad it can be good to have one with you.

[NHAnimator @ Feb 21st 2008 8:30AM]

Once you buy the unit, there are NO MONTHLY COSTS. Imagine speaking to people over the air for FREE.

Truckers use CB to communicate not only news about Toby Keith, but to let other drivers know about accidents, detours, and smokies they may be coming up on from the opposite direction.

If you are in an unknown area, locals will also give you info about local restaurants, WalMarts, hospitals, etc.

They're archaic, but like ham radios, valuable in that when-all-else-fails kind of way.

[lanejasper69 @ Feb 20th 2008 8:48PM]

Roger That!
What you're vector Victor?
Come Back, over...

[phanbouy @ Feb 20th 2008 8:51PM]

i was over unger, and unger was over dunn

[Jeff P. @ Feb 21st 2008 1:54AM]

Over Nacho Grande? I'll never get over Nacho Grande!

[lanejasper69 @ Feb 20th 2008 8:55PM]

C'mon you people it's for truckers you fu....s NO just kidding..... it just rhymed!

I dunno why so "late" to bring BT to CB, but what the hey, it's technology!

Keep The Papa Bears off my "6" now ya hear? over...

Faslane Out!

[lanejasper69 @ Feb 20th 2008 8:55PM]

You just CANNOT HAVE A CONVOY WITHOUT A CB!! It's Like a Rule I think!! LOL

Who knows, cool though, I can imagine the static in the "calls" HAS to be horrible, the only truck I've ever been in was like riding on top of a jet! and jiggled like a you know what with fresh batteries. LOLOL

Technology Rules though, why not?

Faslane Out

[Aguiluz @ Feb 20th 2008 9:02PM]

This would be useful to keep cellphone costs down!

[lanejasper69 @ Feb 20th 2008 9:06PM]

I think we all have to be happy for Sprint causing the influx of cheap unlimited plans though!! AT&T is now offering a flat rate on Fri. KEEP THE PRICES DROPPING!!!! about time!!!

Faslane

[thebigDallas @ Feb 20th 2008 9:37PM]

i think you commented on the wrong post, this a cb radio

[lanejasper69 @ Feb 20th 2008 9:48PM]

I know, but I was replying to a post saying that the CB could keep cell phone costs down now, so I replied that thanks to sprint there are now affordable unlimited plans available meaning that now cell phone bills will become lower due to the unlimited plans available for much less than they used to be.

:-)

[Ian @ Feb 20th 2008 9:18PM]

And no one else uses CB but truckers. It's exclusivity by obsolecence. And it's FREE!!!

[JerryB @ Feb 20th 2008 10:06PM]

A lot of motorcycle groups still use CB for bike to bike communication. My wife and I, however, opted to use GMRS radios instead. Both formats could benefit from the availability of a wireless Bluetooth connection between the helmet headset and bike mounted radio unit.

[Thunderbuck @ Feb 20th 2008 9:53PM]

Would you believe, I'm an ex-trucker?

This is actually a fantastic idea, and I, too, wonder why it hasn't been applied already. CB is still very much in use; truckers use it to relay road conditions, keep each other company, and generally insult each other and every other driver on the road.

Trying to shift an 18-speed while holding a mike is kind of a challenge. I started using BT headsets while driving truck, so I wouldn't have to use a handheld.

Now if ICOM could make a VHF unit that did the same thing, I'd be thrilled...

[granny down east @ Feb 20th 2008 10:19PM]

ICOM. A22. Are you a pilot now?

[Thunderbuck @ Feb 20th 2008 11:25PM]

Hee hee hee... I wish!

I live in the Yukon Territory (just east of Alaska), and CB isn't widely used here. Few trucks on the road at any given time, and a driver might want to talk to someone else many miles away

We use VHF in trucks here, because of the better range.

[Richard @ Feb 21st 2008 11:03AM]

Doesn't Vertex/Yaesu make a ham mobile that's BT compatible now?
I would imagine it could be modded (not legally, of course, but tough cookies) to open up the TX on VHF quite a bit.

Ah hah! Here it is!
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/fm_txvrs/0813.html

[atomicthumbs @ Feb 20th 2008 10:02PM]

Now if only they'd make a ham radio with Bluetooth. From what I've seen, CB is an unregulated, anarchistic mess.

[WXsniper @ Feb 20th 2008 11:48PM]

Yaesu has the FTM-10R, a mobile ham radio with BT, I saw one at a hamfest last month.

[RogueLeader @ Feb 20th 2008 10:05PM]

As a former long haul trucker and current log truck driver I can tell you that the cb radio is a necessity at least for the foreseeable future. We use them to get law enforcement updates from drivers going the other way, warnings about traffic, accidents and weather, and help keep us awake by talking to other drivers. Like PInddup said, "Truckers don't know the cell number of all truckers", plus there are no laws governing whether you can talk on them while driving.

By the way, "Goodbuddy" is now a term for a homosexual, so don't go blarin it through the sqauwk box, 10? Use "Hand" or "10/10" instead.

Keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down y'all.

[Allen @ Feb 20th 2008 10:07PM]

The rednecks will just break this new fangled technology, then say it was better in the old days.

Christ, why give technology to people too dumb to use it? Why? It just makes them bellyache louder.

[Alexander Pink @ Feb 21st 2008 7:40AM]

You idiot not all truck drivers are dumb rednecks. I am a medical student and my dad is a long haul truck driver, and he certainly isn't a redneck or dumb. Just remember that literally every single product you will ever see or use had to be delivered by truck at some point and you will see the value of truck drivers in society. For those who comment on the uselessness of CB radio, it is absolutely essential to drivers as has been commented. I'll have to call my dad later and see if he wants one of these!

[Eric @ Feb 20th 2008 10:40PM]

But does it echo?

http://www.westcoastmall.net/ec2018xtremea-noise-canceling-echo-mic-p-2637.html

[RED_404 @ Feb 20th 2008 10:41PM]

I have a CB in my car nothing like talking a trucker threw a Windows reinstall while driving down the road.
Don’t underestimate a CB, it got me around several traffic jams.
Hell one time I got stuck in a jam for 11hr the truckers setup a food channel. I walked to 3 trucks and got stake fries and a bottle of jack and made a $160 working on their laptops all in all I love my CB.

Granted if the FCC ever censored CH.19 all you wold ever hear is BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPing slug in a ditch 4wheeler!!

[Sauerkraut @ Feb 20th 2008 10:59PM]

aw man i wish i was a trucker now ;(

[The_Steven @ Feb 21st 2008 9:54AM]

Back in the stone age, just after my dad invented the wheel....
I had a "President Jackson" with a 50W bootwarmer... You really had to stay away from that antenna.

While adjusting the SWR on a new antenna, my friend keyed the mic while I was holding the mast, I will tell you that was a sensation I will never forget!

One thing we used to do was to attach a neon bulb to the tip of the mast with shrink-wrap, when you keyed up, it would glow.

[OneLove @ Feb 21st 2008 12:48PM]

don't get it. If it has BT why not cut the cord? nostalgia?

[anyo @ Feb 21st 2008 4:51PM]

did I hear a niner in there?

[rushnrockt @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:08AM]

Lots of off-roading clubs use CB as well, try using a cell phone to notify 20 people of hazards on a trail in wilderness and you will understand why.