?moto t9500 or cobra li7000?

FRS / GMRS Radios
1

i have only tested the t9500’s and they seem pretty powerful. HAs anyone actually compared a cobra li7000 with a moto t9500 or at least tried out a cobra li7000?

2

I’m curious too about this. Moto’s site only says 1.5 watts for their 9500 to cobra’s supposed 5 watt for the li7000. Is this comparative or is it (like most things) not measured the same? I’d like to purchase one of these sets within the next week for my wife and I and would like opinions on these two also.

Basically I want the longest range possible first, and audio quality second - unless the lacking audio performer is grossly worse on the longer range unit versus the shorter range unit. Also, can anyone tell me which one has a longer antenna?

rangerxtrn: How long have you used the T9500 for? Did you get adequet range for your needs and was the range what you expected, better, or worse? How was the audio quality?

Thanks in advance for any input you or anyone else can provide.

Ive (a newbie)

3

The Cobras do not have a 5 watt output… it is somewhere around 1.6 watts tops. The motos have about a watt out.

Honestly, though, on UHF, power is only one small factor in range. Obstructions, height above ground, and other factors come into play.

I reviewed the Motorolas, and the performance wasn’t surprising. They got over a mile in a suburban environment… a lot of trees and such, that can be a bit rough for UHF. They are very good radios, with good features and very easy operation.

4

jwilkers, thank you very much for your informative reply - I greatly appreciate it. I am getting the fact now that UHF will never travel as far as VHF, but I’m limited to purchasing a FRS/GMRS radio set because other friends and extended family members already have such radios and would need something we can all work together with. I also understand terrain and other obstacles between line-of-site would impact greatly the range of any transceiver.

I didn’t think the Cobra LI7000 would put out 5 watts at first (isn’t that above FCC regs for GMRS?), but I got that information from this own’s site advertisement of it (http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/cobra/cobra-li-7000-2wxvp.aspx) where it says:

“The Cobra LI7000-2 WX VP two way radio delivers 5 watts of power and a range of up to 25 miles in optimal conditions (typically less than 2 miles in urban conditions).”

I suppose this is just a copy of Cobra’s website perhaps to simplify and facilitate showing the features of the LI7000, correct? Given everything I’ve found so far I’m leaning towards the T9500.

Thanks very much again.

5

This link has the official FCC grant:

https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/oetcf/tcb/reports/Tcb731GrantForm.cfm?mode=COPY&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=979330&fcc_id=BBOLI7000

Also… 5 Watts is NOT the legal limit… 50 watts is. (5 watts is the legal limit on some GMRS frequencies, but not all)

It looks like they are measuring Input power to the transmitter, which is 6.25 watts, or the power output of the transmitter, before antenna loss. That data isn’t included in the test reports I’m looking at.

6

Hi all; I’m new to the forum. Based on the info in this link: http://www.twowayradioforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=236&highlight=cobra#post236 it appears that even the Cobra Li6550 has similar GMRS, and slightly more FRS power than the Motorola 9500XLR:

Make: Cobra Model: LI6550WX GMRS Power: 1 FRS Power: 0.5
Make: motorola Model: T9500 GMRS Power: 1.03 FRS Power: 0.11

Is that right? I live in Canada, so I believe I can use all channels without a license. I bought both at Canadian Tire to test out, and I get slightly clearer reception with the Cobras, and the earbuds/microphones that came with the Motorolas are garbage (rather, that’s all my buddy and I could hear… garbage).

As far as range, power consumption, features, durability, etc. go, which set should I keep?

7

The feedback that I’ve gotten has been better for the Motorola’s. You will probably see less range on the Cobra, even though the wattage is the same, because the Cobra has a smaller antenna.

However, if the Cobra is getting adequate range for your needs and you prefer its clarity then I would suggest you keep it. It is a smaller, more lightweight radio than the T9500 and the other features are very similar between the two models.

Danny