Uniden BEARCAT 980 40- Channel SSB CB Radio with Sideband NOAA WeatherBand,7- Color Digital Display PA/CB Switch and Noise Cancelling Mic, Wireless Mic Compatible

Uniden pulled out of the am/ssb market a long time ago leaving a large vacant hole. Evidently they have decided to return to the market with the Uniden Bearcat 980SSB mobile. Initial impressions (just looking at the pictures) are that it looks like the typical cheap looking chinese stuff Ive seen pushed on us for decades. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer a analog s/rf meter vs. the digital ones. Like many CBs sold today, you can play around with color schemes to find one that suits you. It doesnt have any great mods and reminds me of Radio Shack CBs which were pretty darn hard to modify, if at all, keeping their nose clean with the Feds. It does come with weather bands (Ooooooh). Personally, Id rather have a smaller meter and a frequency readout rather than channel numbers, but thats just me. From reading about half the reviews and doing some digging around I came to three conclusions: 1. The BEEP is annoying, but apparently there is a fix for that out on the internet 2. Most of these seems to arrive dead-on frequency which youd really (REALLY) want if you couldnt mod the clarifier for SSB transmissions, otherwise youd get a bunch of sidebanders kinda angry at ya. 3. Unless someone comes up with anything else, the Beep mod is it. Okay, Review Part 1 is over. Expect updates to occur from time-to-time as I find things I like or dont care for, not to mention performance. Ill also keep updates fresh on my Blog. Nuff Said, Woody UPDATE: 031813 Were on PART II of this review, and I expect it to have many parts [ed. - many = more than 3]. In my haste to get Part 1 off, I should have proof read it AND used my reading glasses because I never saw the tiny frequency readout under the large channel number, so I sit corrected. Ive yet to dive into any reading material, so I may have to correct myself another time - well have to see about that, or what time I will have to read. The radio has a channel 9/19 push button switch, which has been around forever (or maybe it just seems that way), and except for traffic from Mexico or further South, Ive never heard anything useful on channel 9 for decades. Some radios Ive run across let you set another channel for channel 9, like the local hangout channel, and I do like being able to jump to 19 for a quick update on traffic from time-to-time. With this rig, being computer controlled, it would have been nice if you were (for example) on ch.38 LSB and switched to channel 19 that it would be smart enough/or programmed to change the mode from sideband to AM for you automatically and then back again when you return to 38 LSB. Much like a Blogger, or anyone who writes regularly, they should have proof-read the box the radio comes in. For instance it has three modes: AM, USB, and LNB. I know Ive been away from buying new rigs for awhile so maybe there is an LNB mode, but I doubt it. As far as the color schemes go, to be specific, you have 7 options, and I like the fact that it has a 9 cord on the hand microphone. While were on things I like, I may as well mention the adjustable Backlit control. As for the physical outlay it is just okay. Depending on how and where you mount it depends on whether or not it is more-or-less okay with you. The ON/OFF, squelch/volume control is located on the top left side of the front panel with the microphone jack being just below which is convenient but I would have arranged the placement of the push buttons differently. Along the bottom of the panel you have push buttons for: S/RF/SWR Calibration CB/PA Mem/Scan 9/19/Normal ANL/NB, and AM/USB/LSB Above the AM/USB/LSB button youll find buttons for: Weather Mic Gain RF Gain, and Talkback These are farthest away from your reach, in a typical under the dash mount so I would have preferred the bottom row to be (in this order): AM/USB/LSB ANL/NB Mic Gain RF Gain, and 9/19/Normal With the remaining buttons along the right side, farthest from your reach, but not necessarily often used, and Im torn between leaving the on-off/squelch/volume to being on-off/clarifier/volume, and yeah, Im being a bit picky now. On the box it mentions that the radio is wireless microphone compatible and directs you to learn more about it on their website. I learned that theres no picture of it, that its not available yet, and costs $99.99. A very nice surprise is the warranty - 2 years. Its not very often youll see that, so I suspect they dont expect to get many sent back within that period, and I was also surprised to see that they furnished you with a 6-pin to 4-pin microphone adapter as well. There is some slight confusion regarding the clarifier. On the box it states that its 1.0khz clarifier (+/-), but in the manual it says its 1.5khz (+/-). As far as the scan feature goes (usually not any farther than I could throw it), you do get the option to select certain channels for it to scan, thus making the feature worthwhile. Adjacent channel rejection as stated in the manual is 60dB which is better than many CBs made in the last 20 years or so. And that my friends, ends Part 2 of the review. Ill have to make some room in the truck and figure out where to mount this before proceeding. UPDATE: 032413 [Part 3 & 4] One of the first things you notice when taking the radio out of the box is its size (smaller than a Grant), in fact, it reminded me of another radio Ive owned and reviewed in the past - Midlands 79-290 AM/SSB mobile rig. I didnt have the actual size of the Midland to compare with, but I think these two are fairly close in their respective footprint. While the 980 does not have a removable front panel, the layout is strikingly close as well. Both radios have the Volume/Squelch control at the top-left of the front panel and the microphone plug below it. A set of horizontal buttons run across the bottom where, in the bottom right corner, youll find the coarse/fine clarifier control and above it the channel selector knob. I guess if youve never held the Midland the similarities in physical size and control layout wouldnt be so obvious. Im not inferring that these are the same radios on the inside - The 79-290 came out in the early/mid 1990s, had dual finals, and a removable faceplate; features completely different than the 980, as well as being fairly easy to modify for expanded frequencies, FM, and a open clarifier. Nonetheless its something to wonder about.....Did the company that won the bid to make the 79-290 also win the bid to make the Uniden Bearcat 980? As others have commented before, this is a good looking radio - right out of the box, but doesnt have that rugged feel to it. Give it six months in your vehicle and it wont look like the girl you took to the dance, the black plastic will show dust, dirt, and scratches easily. Used at home with a power supply, unless you own a cat that always finds an itch to scratch, it should maintain the newness factor longer than if it were in your car or truck. Ive read about low SSB output straight out of the box on some models, and how to adjust it internally, as well as that infernal beep - which Im pretty certain is fixable now. I dont mind that its a straight 40 channel rig because I usually run a 40ch AM/SSB mobile in the truck along with my HAM gear - I just hope its on frequency when I get it powered up [perhaps Sunday Ill have a chance to clear off some bench space and do some initial testing]. As far as microphones go, I may use the factory mike and call it a day, or use one of my dependable, yet older, microphones - but Ill have to test the factory mike first. Back in the 90s I owned a Uniden PC-122 am-ssb mobile. It was a little tiny thing compared to anything else available, and I did a audio test with a friend of mind using an Astatic D-104m, a Turner +3 hand mike, and of course the stock microphone which came with the PC-122. The winner? The stock microphone on the PC-122. My friend said he had never heard me sound so natural on sideband in all of our years to communications and that Id better not replace the stock mike. I took his advice and during the period I owned it, I received many questions like What kinda mike are you using cause its one of the best sounding microphones Ive ever heard, and other similar comments. No one believed me when I told them it was just a stock mike on a Uniden PC-122, so heres to crossing my fingers that Ill get the same results with this one. [....And now - finally to the end] In our last exciting episode I believe I was comparing this to Midlands 79-290, somewhat feature-wise, but mostly the footprint (the space that it takes up in your vehicle) and comparing it to my daily companion: a Cobra 138 GTL 40ch. mobile. First, the weight difference. Neither radio had mounting brackets or microphone attached, so I was weighing the radio only. The 980 was (to my surprise) 2lbs. 6oz while the 138GTL came in at 5lbs. 8oz. I can only speculate that the added plastic and SMDs in the 980 was the reason it was so light weight. Once again, its weight was similar to the Midland. I spent a week with the 980 in the truck and came up with these non-scientific results using Wilsons lil Wil mag mount on the roof of my SUV: Either the receiver was too Hot, or the Adjacent Channel rejection NOT, but I experienced/noticed an unusual amount of bleed over from channel 19 as compared to the 35 year old Cobra. YES - that damn beep was driving me freaking crazy. Why they couldnt have put an on/off control, and/or volume setting to the beep is beyond me. For instance, with Cobras re-designed 29 mobile you can easily disable the beep via the menu system in the radio. I never found a perfect visual setting for being able to see everything on the front panel, during mid-afternoon driving time (I have the same problem with my GPS). Receive audio was done with Icoms SP10 external speaker, which Ive always used when mobile so it was the only fair choice I had to compare it with the Cobras, as it too used the SP10. Except for the extra bleed over, I couldnt really tell a difference, although I missed the receive tone control on the front panel of the Cobra. Transmitting audio seemed about the same. Those that replied to my A/B test were split down the middle - about 50% preferring the Cobra, and 50% the 980, both using a non-amplified noise-blanking hand microphone. Noise Blanking. When it came to this category Id have to call it even (which is good, because many transceivers have lousy noise blankers in them). The weather function worked very well, in fact, much better than any other CB Ive had with a weather reception feature. The purchase price was very reasonable compared to some online price gouging Ive seen. And.....Thats about it. The only really BIG question is: How long will this last? My Cobra is about 35 years old and still working fine. I dont expect the 980 to do the same, but it would be nice to buy a new rig and have it last longer than a year or two before its junked. When it really warms up (down in Texas you dont have to wait too long), Ill put the 980 back in the truck and see how it holds up under the heat. [I once owned a rig that was truck celing mount and I had to park in an outside parking lot. When I got out of work, Id start the truck up, crank up the A/C and turn the rig on. Reception was a garbled mess, as was the front panel - I couldnt read anything, until the cab temp. cooled down. Once it dropped about 5 degrees Id turn the rig back on and it acted normal again. So Im curious on how well the Uniden handles the Texas heat. Look for an update then.] SUMMARY - In some respects the Uniden Bearcat 980 surprised me, because if youre a regular reader of this Blog, or my Amazon reviews, you know that Im not a big fan of anything made in China. The fact that its not as deep as a full-sized rig may help those with limited mounting positions/space, but theyll have to take the daylight driving vs. seeing the screen into consideration as well when choosing a mounting location. Perusing the Internet via Google I found a mod to kill the beep, but no one replied that they tried it too and it worked, so Im still dubious about that one, and really, thats about the only Mod I found for this transceiver. If I were in the market for a new AM/SSB rig I would definitely consider this one (and probably buy it), but Im not, so the 138 is back in its usual spot in the truck. Nuff Said, Woody

Absolutely awesome CB in concept, but poor in execution. Its like they took a list of everything a CBer would want and handed it to engineers who know nothing about CBs. The good: * Solid SSB. No drifting due to temperature changes. * Great audio. Everyone says I sound perfect. * WX works well. * Numerous colors for display. * Built in SWR meter. * PA feature (non-amplified) The bad (and there is a lot of it): * The annoying beeps everyone talks about. What were they thinking? * You will have to buy an external speaker. Stock speaker is absolutely useless in even moderate wind/road noise. Pathetic 2.5 and 16 ohms. Even for an indoor base station this barely adequate at best. * Display is just as bad as the speaker. Even at night it is too dim and disappears when looked at from the slightest angle. Daytime viewing is absolutely unacceptable. Why this was allowed to be built this way is beyond me unless Uniden just didnt give a damn whatsoever. * QC is just as bad as the speaker and display. Out of the three units Ive owned, one had the display stop lighting after six months of extremely light use (as pictured). Then the AM/WX decided to stop working after six more months of sitting in storage. The annoying beeps still work just fine, though. * The second unit I had would not transmit beyond 1/4 mile from a rooftop base station antenna. Many buyers report the unit not putting out full power, even TXing as low as 2 watts. * Noise filtering is hit and miss on each unit. My two units that broke had good noise filtering. The one I have that still works picks up alternator whine which can only be drowned out with the squelch knob. These were all tested on the same vehicle. * Hardware is locked tight and can not be expanded for extra channels. * Unidens warranty is only one year and they make the customer pay return shipping for their lousy products that should have never left the factory in the first place. * (On a side note, this model disappeared from Amazons listings for about a year. I strongly suspect it was due to the large amount of returns they got.) If you have the extra money, look elsewhere. This model had great potential but its drawbacks are just not worth the headaches.

Its good

I am impressed with my radio out of the box. There are a couple things I am not fond of however. The color and display brightness is almost a deal breaker. Mine is mounted in a semi w/sleeper and damn near dark all day and still barely visible. If I had this in a sedan or day cab/pick up I would have to return it. Major fail on uniden part. But I have made it work in my situation. The RF gain being a digital 1-5 seems to lack fine tuning. And the squelch is almost turned 3/4 up to hit clear. I have used it both ways RF on 5 squelch turned up and squelch turned off and RF to 2 or 3 and she works fine out of the box. But neither adjustment seems to have a sweet spot. Could be my experience. Now both are small potatoes to how good the radio really is. It is a shame about the dim panel display cause this radio gets out and and hears great. I do plan on removing the rubber device in the mic(or replacing it) then tuning the radio but otherwise I will leave her stock. I had an old old hand me down cobra 29 that would have a gremlin here and there (for what it was though I loved it) and a brand new galaxy 949 that spent its life being returned, repaired, repaired.... Not a fan. So I tried a old friend from my youth and I am happy I did.

Good cb, I installed it in less than 5 minutes to my semi. I have it paired with a Wilson 2000 antenna, I don’t have the charger and antenna tuned in all the way yet but I can still reach 1.5-2 miles without a problem, the noise block and anolog noice block don’t work the best but not bad for a off the shelf cb

Giant quality and features in a small package. This is the 1st radio that I have ever purchased and installed from the box to the vehicle without any tune ups, etc.except for tuning the SWR. Its been a fantastic radio so far. I am using an Astatic 302-636LB 1 noise cancelling mic & a Wilson 1000 roof mounted antenna. I live in a very rural area so I can usually pick up 1 weather channel in each of the local counties I travel. Ive had very good response from others on the channels as far as good quality of sound as well as decent distance. Im sure that if I peaked & tuned it, it may be even better however, for out of the box, you cant beat it. One of the best features is the size. It allows for many options when mounting since it is so small. So far... very happy.

Muy bueno

For the price, the radio is a good buy, but be warned, that the LED screen during daylight conditions, can be difficult to see.

This is a nice looking radio with a lot of options. First Ill explain a problem that I had because I didnt understand very well about single sideband transmission. When I installed my radio I ran it through the Diagnostic feature that is built into the radio (nice feature!). This feature allows you to test the Antenna load mismatch, RF power level and battery voltage. When I checked the RF Power output on the amplitude modulation function (normal CB mode) of the radio it showed a PASS in the diagnostic mode. However, when I switched to either the Upper or Lower Sideband function, the RF Power showed a Failure. I called Tech Support at Uniden and they said the radio must be bad and that I should return it. So I did. But, the second radio did the same thing. So I went to Amazon and asked a Community Question about what I was experiencing. Several knowledgeable people responded and educated me about SSB. Bottom line is that when the radio is in SSB mode, there is no RF Power produced until you speak into the mike. Consequently, the diagnostic will show a FAIL when testing SSB transmissions. The other thing that has been mentioned in many of the reviews is the brightness (or lack of brightness) of the digital display. And, this is a very real problem. While it is nice to have seven color display options, only one option (white) even comes close to providing enough illumination to be used in daylight, and it is still not quite enough. And that is after turning LCD Brightness and Contrast to the maximum levels. The fact is that on a sunny day, it is hard to read the display. Doable, but difficult. Another complaint in many of the reviews is the beep that occurs every time that you change something on the radio. But, that beep can be shut off!!!! (if your radio was manufactured after 2015). However, I have not found the beep to be annoying. In fact, since it is hard to see the display in bright light, it is convenient to hear the beep to know that you made what ever change on the radio that youre trying to make. And here is a comment about the Single Sideband function. I decided to get the 980 ssb because it was only about twenty three dollars more than the Bearcat 880 . And I figured that I might find the ssb function useful at some point. And while that may someday prove true, right now Im discovering that there is not much benefit in having the ssb function. If what you really want is just the CB and the 880 already puts you at the extreme of what you want to pay for a radio, but you are struggling because you think you might benefit from having the 980ssb, rest assured, at least from my point-of-view, you will not miss the ssb function. This 980ssb seems like a really good radio overall and I do not hesitate to recommend it or its non ssb counterpart the Bearcat 880 (which is exactly the same radio less the ssb function.)

THIS IS THE SECOND 980 SSB I BOUGHT FROM AMAZON....IT WAS RECENTLY ON SALE FOR $122.00........I JUST COULDNT PASS IT UP........THE FIRST ONE I BOUGHT IN 2013...........I NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS AFTER INSTALLING IT IN MY PICK-UP TRUCK ALONG WITH A K30 ANTENNA.....THE NEW ONE WILL BE INSTALLED IN MY AUTO....ALONG WITH A WILSON LITTLE WIL ANTENNA.........GREAT SSB CB RADIO......THE ONLY BAD THING IS THAT UNIDEN MADE IT SO YOU CANT MODIFY IT.......DAM IT!!!!