Is a stock cobra cb radio mic really poor quality?

Question

Ive got a couple questions:

1. is a stock cobra cb mic poor quality?

2. when i talk into my cb radio, my bars light up to indicate im talking but dont go away when i try to stop talking and let go of the mic....whats the problem?

Answer 1

Yeah, the mic is pretty cheap. Many truckers will upgrade to a noise canceling mic for a better sound. A power mic is fine for base station operation, but picks up too much road noise for mobile use.

The signal indicator bars serve two functions. They indicate transmit power when broadcasting, and signal strength in receive. When you let go of the mic, the number of bars lit up should decrease, but not all will go out.

Answer 2

The Cobra stock mic's are okay mic's. The reason they are less than quality is because if Cobra invested real $$ into their mic's, the whole CB price would go up. You can buy better mic's, but I like the Cobra stock mic myself. I have run the Astatic's, and the RK56's, but you know what, people will be able to understand you no matter what you talking into.

The bars on your radio: Possible heavy noise.... Some times AM transmissions will pick up power line or engine noise... some tricks can be done to correct these problems. For a real solution to noise, ground the radio, to your car's chassie. Your noise will be less, and you'll hear more people, than most guys can.

Answer 3

1. The stock Cobra mics do fine. I have one on one of my radios and it does just fine.  Any stock mic will be good for general use, unless you just want to customize your rig.

2. Either you've got some interference or if it is still showing TX then you may have a short.