I resently bought a New CB for my Kick but noticed that it lacked something rather important.  I went to their web site and found the answer to my question.



Quote from the FAQ section:



"Category: CB Radios - 3. Operational Questions

Question: B) My CB always powers up on channel 9. What's wrong?



Answer: Models 18 WX ST, 19 DX, 19 DX II, 19 DX III



These models do not retain the channel number when power is lost. When power is applied they will come up on channel 9. To retain the channel number, it will be necessary to connect the red power lead to a constant +12 volt source. The fuse for the brake lights is usually a good choice. When leaving your vehicle be sure to turn the CB off."

_____________________________________________________________________

(so I wrote a nice little product eval to their customer support)



    I have the 19dxII.  That LACK OF FEATURE makes this the most disappointing product I have ever purchased.  $50 for something that a digital alarm clock can't even do??  I assumed that Cobera made a supperior product, by now I'm wishing I never upgraded from my 15 year old GE CB radio.  Would it have really killed you guys to install a little memory chip or a watch battery so the unit would retain ch19?  Any real CB user would perfer a knob if it meant that they could forgo the hastle of using the digital tuner to bring it back to the proper channel every time they turned off their truck.  Could you imagine having to do that with a car sterio??  I don't think very many would be sold once word got out about a lack of such a critical feature.  The "instant channel 9 switch" would be a great feature if I didn't get an instant channel 9 everytime I shut my truck off at the gas station.



   And yes I undersand the positive wire solution... which brings us to yet another hastle of rembering to turn off the 'ol cb everytime I turn off my truck. (Another feature that wouldn't be tolorated from a car sterio) But since I've spent the past few years not having to worry about it, I'm likely to wake up to a lot of dead batteries after a long night.



I suggest you research models like the GE #3-5808A when designing a product that people actually want.



I am requesting you give me to option to trade my current unit for a unit that actually has these capabilities at the same price.  The 19dxII is otherwise a great radio and I bought it because it was compact.

I would be pissed too!! Damn them!!  
And just think for $50 bucks you coulda got four of them there nakid lady mudflaps.......errrrr momaseta!!

my grandpa had the same thing when he owned my car..his CB stayed on 24-7 365 the batt never died..aslong as u drive once every other day that thing will not drain the battery..unless the batt is already weak

the CB really doesnt take much juice at all

 Cobra also went to cheaper componets, 1/6 watt resistors for one thing instead of 1/4 watt.And that Sound Tracker stuff that they push as a big sell point only works good when the other person you are talking to has it also.Yeah Cobra used to be one of the top radios in CB(can still be modified to work right if you want to do the changes)but now they let the $$$$ get in the way of there customers expectation.   Later M.Z.

I went all out when purchasing my CB it's a Galaxy DL50 backed up with a 1500 watt Texas Star Linear. When I key up I can light up your interior dome light from fifty feet away. My only problem is that after 5 to 6 months it tends to boil the antenna's coolant oil out and melt the tip of my Solar-Con antenna. I also have been known to burn other peoples radio's when they key-up the same time I do.  With my radio I can talk as far as the Phillipines on the lower side band of channel 27.186 and it will reach out and touch someone from Maryland to California on foggy day's with skip and no power coming from the linear.  

The customer service responded to my email.  Looks like it'll cost me another $35 + tax & shipping for this ultra-advanced feature I so desire.  And it'll mean having unit that's twice the size of what I want.  Here's what he wrote:

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 10:15am, Brian Burke wrote:
>Sorry to hear you are unhappy with the radio.  To upgrade to a different
>model there will be an upgrade charge as follows:
>
>Upgrade to the 18 WX ST II:  $35 plus shipping
>Upgrade to the 25 LTD:  $45 plus shipping
>
>Depending on where you live there may also be sales tax.  If you would
>like to upgrade, please call me at 773-804-3474.
>
>Please let me know when you purchased your radio, and where you bought
>it.
>
>Sincerely,
>Brian Burke


And here's my reply:

   All of those models are too big and I'm hardly going to pay $35 so I can get a feature that should have come standard with the radio.  I should also point out that this lack of feature is not mentioned on the box.  So I feel misled by your compact radio model.  An instant ch9 switch would lead one to assume that the last channel was retained- otherwise, what's the use?  Why not just turn off the car and turn it back on??  That would also get you instant channel 9.  

This product is already being discussed on one of the offroad enthusiast forums of which I'm a member- it's been viewed 79 times since I last checked.  

http://www.zukiworld.com/cgi/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=suzuki_talk;action=display;num=1092179980

So I got a better idea.  How about you mail me a modified 19dxII (radio only) that powers on with ch19 (instead of 9). don't charge me for shipping, and include a return prepaid shipping label so I can give back my old disfunctional unit.

Oh- and to answer your question, I bought my 19dxII at the I75 exit 36 Pilot station, Franklin, Ohio for about $50.

I'ts too bad your having such a bad experence with cobra.  I've had really good luck with them.  When a power surge fried my charger for my gmrs radios they sent me a new one no questions asked and I didnt even have to return the old one.  BTW ever think about changing to a newer techknowlogy than a CB all the guys I wheel with have gmrs or fms radios.

I do have 4 motorla talkabouts that I use for my my friends and I when camping.  My CB is mostly used for commuting.  The truckers always know what lane to be in during a traffic jam.  I also perfer cb's for their longer range- high speed looks, and unlimited power supply.

This is funny, I have the exact same model and noticed that it comes up on ch 9 after being powered off.  I was too lazy to find out why...but I figured for $39.95 (my price at local custom shop) ya get what ya pay for. Besides, it gives the co-pilot something to fiddle with  

I was going to buy a cobra 25ltd when I got my radio a few years ago, but the tech guy at the shop (Local Trucker / CB shop) told me not to. He said that Cobra quality has gone to the dogs, and my money should be best spent elsewhere! So I bought a lower priced Uniden (PC66xl) and have had no problems or complaints. A friend did get the 25 ltd though, he's very unhappy, but since he rarely needs to get more than .25 mile range, it will work.

I was going to go with the same compact Cb. Thanks for the info and I'll steer clear.

steveo