Home > Consumer Reviews > Cobra LI-7200-2 WX VP Micotalk GMRS/FRS 22-Channel 27-Mile Range 2-Way Radio with 10-Channel NOAA Weather Radio (Pair)

I had reasonable expectations for two-way radios like the consumer-grade Cobra Li7200 when I bought them. Based on my research, I knew that the whimsical claims on the bubble packs of 10's of miles of range (27 miles in the case of these radios) were pure fantasy. In urban areas, a mile or maybe two of range is the best you get; in more open areas, a little more. I also had a good idea of how the "privacy" codes work (they don't keep other people from hearing your broadcasts - they allow you to tune out other people), the GMRS licensing requirements ($85/five years to the FCC to use the higher power GMRS frequencies, and the basic operation of two-way radios in general (they aren't cell phones - you can't listen and talk at the same time, you have to pause after pressing the transmit key, the voice quality varies with transmitter power, distance, and intervening obstacles/terrain).

Based on my limited experience with these radios, I'm not disappointed. They worked fine on a recent vacation to a remote lake area. We used them to communicate between our rental house and the beach, while hiking on trails in the mountains [big kids and little kids move at different paces], between vehicles while caravanning to/from an off-road park, and to keep in touch while off-roading. While off-roading, one of the other vehicles had Motorola consumer-grade GMRS radios, and the Cobras and the Motorolas interoperated just fine, including both channel numbers (same channel number to frequency assignments) and CTCSS "privacy" codes. We probably never used them more than 1 to 2 miles apart, but we weren't going for any distance records.

The NOAA weather radio capability of the Cobra LI7200s was a key item for me. I wanted to be able to listen to NOAA weather service broadcasts because the area we were in was known for rapidly changing weather, and we needed to plan trips (hikes and beaching) without resorting to television news or non-existent Internet service. About the only weather radio features not found on these units is a weather radio "scan" (so I manually ploughed through the 10 weather frequencies until I found the local station, which wasn't hard because they broadcast continuously), and a "NOAA Weather Alert" (automatically monitors for NOAA WX ALERT signals) - this last feature is appealing but wasn't available on the Cobras.

There seem to be two different approaches to batteries for consumer-grade GMRS radios; some take "AA" size batteries that can be rechargables or non-rechargables, others (such as the Cobra) use proprietary Lithium-Ion rechargables. If you know you can stick the radios in the charging cradle every day or two, the proprietary rechargables seem to be a good option - they hold lots of power but are very lightweight. If you want the ability to go to non-rechargable backups when you are away from civilization, get a radio that takes them instead.

There appear to be three top-brand consumer-grade FRS/GMRS radios - Motorola (actually made by a company called GIANT who license the Motorola name for this product), Midland, and Cobra. All three offer several models, mostly varying in size/output power (bigger size generally more power) and a few other features such as the NOAA weather radio capability. The Cobra LI7200s are the biggest/most powerful Cobras I found; I didn't find the size to be inconvenient nor the weight to be too much, and I wanted the maximum power I could get. If the Midland GXT900 had been shipping back in June 2008, I might very well have gotten those instead, as they have a higher rated power output registered with the FCC and they have the NOAA WX ALERT function, but I'm not unhappy with the Cobras. Some folks like the Motorola, others pan them. I wasn't sure I would like them because despite Motorola's excellent reputation with business radios the consumer-grade GMRS radios aren't really Motorolas.

For anyone thinking of using the Cobra with an external microphone/speaker, I will point out the the manual says "When using an external speaker/microphone accessory on channels 1-7 or 15-22, your microTALK radio will only operate on medium or low power." Since channels 8-14 are FRS channels that operate exclusively on low power, this means that these radios won't operate on high power with an external speaker/microphone accessory. This isn't a concern for me.

I didn't use the VOX (voice-activated transmit) or memory functions. I did use the channel scan functions to find clear channels (not a problem where we were located).

If you get a GMRS radio and you plan to use the GMRS frequencies, please go ahead and get properly licensed, then follow the radio rules about sharing channels. Have fun and save money on your cell phone bill!

For the price, excellent quality. I have gotten about a three mile range through dense forests and housing developments where other similar units couldn't handle it. Recommend.

I bought these specifically to use while skiing in Colorado. I was able to communicate with the other unit from everywhere across two peaks of the ski resort. When I went to a third peak (putting 1 peak between units) I couldn't commnicate with the other unit. 27 mile range it isn't. In the mountains over variable terrain and trees you're looking at more like a mile. However, it was perfectly acceptable performance or the ski resort application. I had no trouble communicating with someone at the base of the mountain when I was getting off of the highest ski lift. Easy to use & figure out. I'd recommend it.

I live in a very hilly area that doesn't lend itself to quality communication (even with cell phones). These radios are capable of 1 mile clear communication in a hilly terrain. I'm not sure of the range in open areas, but I'm sure it's much further.
They appear to be well made. One improvement would be to have a rubber ring surround the perimeter of the radio in case of a fall on a hard surface.
Radios charge and when almost fully charged, the leds get dim and eventually go out (when fully charged).
The li-on rechargeable battery easily comes out of its compartment without removing the belt clips.
Sound quality is excellent! I have a more expensive pair of Motorola radios with very poor quality audio.

The battery power is very strong and hardly needs charging after a whole weekend. The range is good.