Cobra microTALK PR3550WX Owner's Manual

Nothing comes close to a Cobra

®

English

The Cobra line of quality products includes:

CB Radios • microTALK®Radios • Radar/Laser Detectors •
Safety Alert®Traffic Warning Systems • Handheld GPS Receivers •
Mobile GPS Navigation Systems • HighGear

®

Accessories •

CobraMarine™ VHF Radios • Power Inverters • Accessories

For more information or to

order any of our products,

please visit our website:

www.cobra.com

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English

Making Life Easier and Safer

Owner’s Manual

Nothing comes close to a Cobra

®

English

TWO-WAY RADIO MODEL

PR 3550 WX

Printed in Philippines

Part No. 480-166-P

Version B

Introduction

Staying in touch with your family and friends is
convenient and easy when using your microTALK

®

radio. Some of the many uses you will discover include:

Communicating with others while hiking, biking, and working;
keeping track of family and friends at a crowded public event;
checking with travel companions in another car; talking with
neighbors; arranging meeting spots with others while
shopping at the mall.

Secure your microTALK

®

radio while on the go.

Carr

ying your microTALK

®

radio with

you is easy when using the belt clip.
The belt clip easily attaches to your belt,

purse or backpack. Simply squeeze the
clip and place it where you prefer.

For Assistance in the U.S.A.

In this user’s manual, you should find all the information you need
to operate your microTALK

®

radio. If you require further assistance
after reading this manual, Cobra Electronics offers the following
customer assistance services:

Automated Help Desk

English only. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 773-889-3087 (phone).

Customer Assistance Operators

English and Spanish. 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. CT,
Monday through Friday (except holidays) 773-889-3087 (phone).

Questions

English and Spanish. Faxes can be received at 773-622-2269 (fax).

Technical Assistance

English only.

www.cobra.com (on-line: Frequently Asked Questions).

English and Spanish. productinfo

@cobra.com (e-mail).

For Assistance Outside the U.S.A.

Contact Your Local Dealer

Belt Clip

Customer Assistance

©2005 Cobra®Electronics Corporation

6500

W

est Cortland Street

Chicago, Illinois 60707 U.S.A.

www.cobra.com

Battery

Compartment

Battery Door

Latch

Belt Clip

Wrist Strap

Connector

A3

English

Product Features

A2

English

Product Features

Introduction

Backlit LCD
Display

Speaker/
Microphone

Mode/Lock

Button

On/Off
Volume

Knob

Antenna

Call

Button

Enter/
Hi•Low Power

Button

Channel Up

Button

Channel Down

Button

External Speaker/
Microphone/Charge Jack

Light/

Max Range

Button

Talk

Button

Introduction

Backlit LCD Display

Assistance

Warranty

Important FCC Licensing Information

This radio operates on General Mobile Radio
Service (GMRS) frequencies which require a
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
license. See page 22 for licensing and other
related inf

ormation.

Assistance

Warranty

Maximum range may vary and is based on
unobstructed line-of-sight communication under
ideal conditions.

Features

• Two-Way Radio

With up to an 10 mile
(16 km) range

•

22 Channels

Seven shared
with FRS/GMRS,
seven FRS
only, eight
GMRS only

•

38 Privacy Codes

• 10 Channel NOAA
All Hazards Radio

• Hands-Free
Operation (VOX)

• VibrAlert

®

Silent Paging

• 10 Channel Memory

• Signal

Strength Meter

• Scan
Channel, privacy
code, memory

•

Selectable
Hi•Low Power

In GMRS

•

Backlit
LCD Display

• Button Lock

• Call Alert
10 selectable
tones

•

Speaker/
Microphone/
Charge Jack

• Roger Beep
Selectable on/off

•

Battery/
Power Saver

• Keystroke Tones
Selectable on/off

•

Auto Squelch

• Maximum Range
Extender

• Belt Clip

Receive/

Transmit Icon

Hi•Low

Power Icon

Lock Icon

Keystroke Tones Icon

Call Alert and

VibrAlert®Icon

Roger Beep Icon

Vox Icon

Scan Icon

NOAA All
Hazards
Radio Icon

Signal Strength

Meter Icon

Battery Level

Indicator

Channel Numbers

Power Saver Icon

CTCSS Privacy
Code Numbers

Memory
Icon

Memory
Location
Number

Operation Customer Assistance Warranty

1

Nothing comes close to a Cobra

®

Introduction

Caring for Your microTALK®Radio

•

Your microTALK®radio will give you years of trouble-free service
if cared for properly. Handle the radio gently. Keep the radio away
from dust. Never put the radio in water or in a damp place.
Avoid exposure to extreme temperatures.

Batteries

•

To install or replace batteries:

1. Remove belt clip by releasing belt clip

latch and sliding clip up.

2. Pull up on the battery door latch to

remove the battery compartment cover.

3. Insert four AAA batteries. (Always use high

quality alkaline batteries.) Position batteries
according to polarity markings.

4. Replace battery compartment cover

and belt clip.

Contact your local Cobra dealer or Cobra
directly for optional battery pack and wall
charger accessories.

Insert Batteries

Pull Up Latch

Remove Belt Clip

Assistance

Warranty

The Basics to Get You Started

Your microTALK®radio is easy to use.
To get started, simply:

1. Rotate the On/Off Volume knob to turn
on your radio.

2. Press the Channel Up or Channel Down

button to select a channel.

Both radios must be tuned to
the same channel/privacy code
to communicate.

3. Press and hold the Talk button while
speaking into the microphone.

4. When finished talking, release the Talk
button and listen for a response.

Assistance

Warranty

Assistance

Warranty

Customer Assistance WarrantyIntroduction

3

Nothing comes close to a Cobra

®

Operation

2

English

Using Your Radio

Assistance

Warranty

Turning on Your microTALK®Radio

•

To turn on your radio:

1. Rotate the On/Off Volume knob clockwise

to turn

on your radio and adjust the volume.

A series of tones will indicate the radio is

on.

Your microTALK

®

radio is now in Standby

mode, ready to receive transmissions. The radio
is always in

Standby mode, except when the

Talk, Call or Mode/Lock buttons are pressed.

Battery Low

•

Your microTALK®radio has a battery level meter
that shows when battery power is decreasing.
The greater the number of bars visible, the
stronger the battery level. When the battery
level is low, the last bar and “bALo” will flash
indicating your batteries should be replaced or,
if using rechargeable batteries, recharged.

Auto Battery Save

•

Your microTALK®radio has a unique circuit
designed to extend battery life. If there are
no transmissions for 10 seconds, the radio will
automatically switch to

Battery Save mode and

the

Power Saver icon will flash in the display.

This will not affect the radio’s ability to receive
incoming transmissions.

Communicating with Another Person

•

To talk to another person:

1. Press and hold the Talk button.

2. With the microphone about two inches

(five cm) from your mouth, speak in a
normal voice.

3. Release the Talk button when you are

finished talking and listen for a response.

You cannot receive incoming calls while
pressing the

Talk button.

Both radios must be tuned to
the same channel/privacy code
to communicate.

Channels

•

To select a channel:

1. With the radio on, select any of the

22 channels by pressing the

Channel Up

or Channel Down button.

Both radios must be tuned to the
same channel to communicate.

Channels 1 through 7 are shared by FRS and
GMRS. Channels 8 through 14 are FRS only.
Channels 15 through 22 are GMRS only.

See page 21 for FRS/GMRS frequency
allocations and compatibility charts.

Listening for a Response

•

When you are finished talking:

1. Release the Talk button to receive incoming

transmissions. Your microTALK

®

radio is

always in

Standby mode while the Talk or

Call buttons are not pressed.

On/Off Power

Battery Low

Battery Save Mode

Talk Button

Channel Buttons

Channel Number

Operation

Two Inches (five
cm) from Mouth

Listening

Assistance

Warranty

N

otice

C

aution Warning

Installation

C

ustomer

A

ssistance

Assistance

Warranty

Assistance

Warranty

Customer Assistance WarrantyIntroduction

5

Nothing comes close to a Cobra

®

Operation

4

English

Using Your Radio

Volume

•

To adjust the volume:

1. Rotate the On/Off Volume knob.

Call Button

•

To alert another person that you are calling:

1. Press and release the Call button.

The other person will hear a two second
call tone. This tone is used only to establish
voice communications.

See page 19 on how to select from
10 available call tone settings.

Selectable High•Low Power Output

•

When in close proximity to another party or
during favorable conditions, you can switch
from

High to Low Power to extend battery life.

This feature applies to GMRS Channels
1 through 7 and 15 through 22 only.
Channels 8 through 14 operate
exclusively on low power.

To toggle between high and low power:

1. Press and hold the Enter/Hi•Low button for

two seconds.

When using Channels 1 through 7 and
15 through 22 on high power, the

Hi icon

will be visible on the display

.

When using those channels on low power
and on Channels 8 through 14, the

Low icon

will be visible on the display.

Display Illumination

•

To illuminate your display:

1. Press and release the Light/Max Range

button to illuminate the display for
10 seconds.

Low Power Icon

Hi Power Icon

Operation

Enter/Hi•Low Button

Auto Squelch/Maximum Range

•

Your microTALK®radio is equipped with Auto Squelch, which
automatically shuts

off weak transmissions and unwanted noise

due to terrain and conditions. This slightly reduces the

Maximum

Range

at which signals can be heard.

You can turn off auto squelch to allow all signals to be
received and extend the maximum range of your radio.

To briefly turn off auto squelch:

1. Press the Light/Max Range button

for less than five seconds.

If you hear two beeps, you have turned
the maximum range extender

on (see below).

To turn maximum range extender on:

1. Press and hold the Light/Max Range button

for at least five seconds until you hear
two beeps which indicates the maximum
range extender is

on.

To turn maximum range extender off:

1. Press and release the Light/Max Range

button or change channels.

Lock Feature

•

The Lock feature locks the Channel, Mode/Lock and Enter/Hi•Low
Power

buttons to prevent accidental operation.

To turn the lock feature on or off:

1. Press and hold the Mode/Lock button for

two seconds.

A double beep sound is used to confirm your
lock

on or off request. When in Lock mode,

the

Lock icon will be displayed.

Light/Max Rang

e

Light/Max Range

Mode/Lock Button

Lock Mode

Volume Knob

Call Button

Assistance

Warranty

C

aution Warning

C

ustomer

Assistance