The site recently posted an article discussing the nuts and bolts of selecting a CB radio, antenna and mount for your off-road vehicle.  Written for all 4×4 vehicles, not just FJs, the CB radio 4×4 selection post is a great overview on what you should consider when assembling a CB installation for the trail.  If you’re assembling a new CB setup for your 4×4, it’s definitely worth a read.

Antenna tuning, especially for standard 4 watt CB radios, is a crucially important to ensure that your CB  is working correctly and at its best.  The upside is a great functioning antenna that allows your to talk and receive at your maximum range.  The downside?  Poor radio performance and potentially permanent damage to your beloved CB gear.

The CB Radios Channel recently visited this topic in full detail, a post which I recommend reading.  For a more complete summary on antenna tuning and its benefits, check out their post on CB radio antenna tuning.

Apart from the display, the CB radio also includes USB and SD slots for data input, as the radio also serves as an MP3 player.  Pictures can also be uploaded and viewed on the TFT screen, as well as being used as customized wallpaper backgrounds.

While the addition of the TFT screen and MP3/picture capabilities are really just tech candy, they’re still  interesting.  Similar to the Cobra 29 Bluetooth model, I think we’ll continue to see manufacturers add tech bells and whistles to their radios in an effort to set them apart.

Net sales for the CB radio giant were $34.3 million, down from $39.9 million of the same quarter the year before.  This figure includes sales accross all division:  navigation, two-way radios, CBs, etc.  What surprised me the most was the individual segment performances.  The following is taken from Cobra’s 2nd Quarter press release:

“Mobile navigation sales in the Cobra segment accounted for approximately $4.0 million of this decline, reflecting the company’s strategy to discontinue development of mass marketed mobile navigation products for the North American market and focus its efforts on niche opportunities. Additionally, sales of two-way radios and radar detectors declined, due to weak store traffic and competitive pressures, while Citizens Band radio sales improved, reflecting the launch of the 29 LTD BT — the only Citizens Band radio with Bluetooth® wireless technology.”

- From Cobra’s Q2 08 earnings press release

Did you catch that?  Declining sales were primarily a result of weakness in Navigation and GPS products while CB radio sales, albeit it spurred by the newly release Cobra 29 Bluetooth model, rose from last year!  In a time where GPS units are all the rage and CBs are considered by many a dying technology, I find this development somewhat ironic.  In all fairness, the release mentions that Cobra is moving away from mobile navigation units, which is likely a large factor in their declining sales.  However, it also states that they’re planning on focusing efforts more on “niche opportunities” (cough - CBs - cough) going forward.  This is probably due to the fact that the GPS market is insanely competitive, and that Cobra has the mainstream CB market locked-up.  Why spend millions trying to break into a brutal mainstream electronics market when you already dominate a niche electronics market?  Makes sense to me.

If the popularity of the Cobra 29 BT is any indication, we may just happen to see Cobra continue to release new models that blend old-school CB goodness with sexy new technologies.  I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed…….