3 month review of the Bearcat 980 SSB CB Radio

Updated review of the Bearcat 980 SSB CB Radio after using it for around 3 months.

[@skipcallaham1517]

I've had mine for a little over a month now, no complaints. The mic mod is all I did also. Clean radio.

[@macmiles278]

I have two of these 980SSB radios tuned and peaked. I love them immensely, I run some heat with them as well at times. I did the mic mod as well, I've used all sorts of powered microphones as well. Beautiful functioning cb radio.😊 P S. Love the talk back!

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I really enjoy this radio, I like the scan feature. Thanks for watching, 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@guns4hire74]

Paired mine also with a rm amp. Been going strong over 5 years. Mother nature has been good these last few years. Texas to Canada lsb .

[@GONAVYCHIEF]

Hi I have the same radio in my Bronco and love it. I'm also in Northern Nevada. I have talked with folks local and skip across the country when propagation supports it. The fine and course tuning on the right really helps to clear comms up.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Glad you like your radio; I have no regrets on my purchase. I get nothing but great reports with this radio. Thanks for commenting, 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@mrrickcrushing]

Greetings, first timer here, enjoyed your review. My son who is now 29 and has been in the workforce for several years has embraced adulthood, lol, and suddenly wants to build up some comms options for SHTF stuff so he has circled back around from our little GMRS hobby to CB again. I think SSB is the only practical choice since we are four miles apart and I do have peeps around in the 10-20 mile radius who are of similar sentiment so I am slowly putting my steps together to have comms that will survive cell collapse and such, currently a brand new 980 Bearcat several years old still inbox, looking for a second, they are rare to find cheaply (75 bucks for this one). We get a lot of ice and wind damage in Central Oklahoma so besides an inverter gen that can keep the house going, cell towers can take hits, too. My next step is a base of some sort, maybe 30 feet tall, I have many trees around my property so am considering the best spot but still be close enough to not go broke buying coax that will retain as much gain as possible. I was struck by your location, northern Nevada! I am friends with a YT fellow who, before Covid hit was an explorer down by Area51, his channel was "Adventures with Christian" and I have made plans for years to head that way for a week and explore around there and up by Tonopah, etc. Are you north of all that? I imagine line of sight you could get some amazing distance. Enough rambling, lol. I hope to get out there possibly this fall, do you have any idea of the GMRS situation around there, repeaters, etc? It looks pretty grim in many places, lol. I was leading up to asking if you have a mobile setup that would give you some options while away from home, maybe another SSB in there? Thanks again, subscribed and notifications on :)

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Hello, I live in the northern part of the state up by Lake Tahoe. I haven't used GMRS, but I'm pretty sure there are no repeaters nearby. I do have my ham license. I have a few of the cheap Baofeng 2-meter handhelds as well as an Any Tone AT-778UV 2-meter radio I use for my base unit. I have been able to hit repeaters close to 50 miles away with the 8-watt handhelds that I paid around $25 for each radio. When we had the big fire in Tahoe and had to evacuate the entire town of South Lake Tahoe the cell towers were so overwhelmed with calls that lots of people couldn't make cell calls, but the 2-meter band was wide open. Some of the local repeaters are linked to other repeaters and you can talk with other users a hundred miles away. Some of the repeaters around here have backup power and also have solar power. They are very reliable. The 11-meter CB band is great for propagation when conditions are right, and you can sometimes talk halfway around the world. This winter I have talked with Australia on several occasions. With my homebuilt dipole antenna, I have been able to talk with 48 of the 50 states the past year. Locally I can talk with other CB users as far away as 15 miles on SSB. I have another old SSB radio, but I don't currently have it hooked up in my car. Thanks for watching and subscribing. 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@mrrickcrushing]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures I apologize, I totally spaced out how much "north" there is when one thinks "north of Vagas or Tonopah" lol. When I brought up the maps of Nevada I was stunned :). I think Ham would probably be the only realistic means of covering all that ground, although if one has a good high ground vantage point I understand 50 watt mobile GMRS can really project a long way if both parties have robust antenna/wattage. Thanks for the response, it looks like one could spend weeks exploring Nevada.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

@@mrrickcrushing It's a large state with lots of open land and great places to explore! 73s.

[@TheHologr4m]

I use mine in the field in two different rigs for Timbercruising and it’s been great. Out performed my coworkers and the night mode is a nice touch.

[@peterbaugh51]

Uniden Bearcat 980 is really hard to beat for the price. I added an Astatic D104 hand mike to boost audio a bit. I use Wilson Little Wils on both vehicles. Best value antenna I have used. It equals my old K40 but is much shorter, able to go in parking garages. I can hear the comments now, but a 36" Wilson talking to Bahamas, Fla, Canada, Tx, Maine, on SSB is no joke. Also has lower SWR than my K40. Like the 980, the low price is not a factor to me. It is the performance. You can pay much more and get more, but the Wilson and Uniden combo is a winner. Astatic 636L mike is a must for the 980. The mike has real noise canceling by proximity. Clear and loud. Just get close to the mike for good audio. The stock 980 mike is junk. Low output. High noise. Thanks for the video.

[@HenryCalderonJr]

Cool I think that is very good information helps Ku buying decisions

[@indianachrisUDX1313]

Nice Review.

[@MrCofresipirate]

Excellent video just bought one for my Freightliner truck…73s

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I hope you enjoy it! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@devildogcody]

One thing you DO want to do inside the radio, is have it tuned, if you are going to run an amp. The amp will be fine running a stock 4 watt carrier/deadkey, but once you pump in the watts, any deviation off of channel (ALL radios have this out of box) will cause you to bleed over on other channels, and sometimes into upper and lower sidebands with enough watts. Not having your radio tuned makes you become a nuisance to others

[@jamescrabb8766]

I've talked to, perhaps a dozen, contacts with the 980 and they sound good and the owners all said they liked the radio. All were using them as base stations so perhaps the screen problems are now fixed or not a problem?? The only person who gets to decide if the radio is what you want is you. My rig is the TRS-449 and I like it. Others might not, ok, no problem. Enjoy the radio, looks good to me.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I agree with your statement, there are lots of radios out there and it boils down to personal choice and what makes you happy. It would be pretty boring if we all used the same equipment. 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@user-su5sq5ib3i]

you know you can mount 2 momentary push buttons on that mic to add channel up channel down, there are pins on the mic jack to control that feature, I am not sure why they didnt add them to the mic, maybe to keep the cost down...

[@bobbyt3451]

are you getting better results with your homade pvc dipole or the antron ?

[@daveblaedow8419]

What did you have to do to your radio to put the boots on?

[@student6045]

I have the Bearcat 885 in my truck with a quater wave antenna. Love the scanner as it has a zipcode updater. Also have the 980 SSB for my RV with a 1/2 wave antenna for when im parked. Just retired and live in Reno NV getting ready to travel across the united states. what time you on and what is your call sign? would love to pick you up on one of my scanners.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Hi, that's a nice radio from everything I've read. Congratulations on your retirement! I live in Minden Nevada and go by 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada. I'm usually on in the late afternoon and on and off during the day on weekends. I can sometimes chat with Reno when conditions are right. For some reason Dayton comes in pretty strong. Looking forward to hearing you on the airwaves. 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@hamradiobone5966]

I sold mine, it would not get out far at all. Got into GMRS and Ham Radio

[@billhastings1006]

Hello again, I wanted to ask how long are your jumpers between radio and amp ,and meter, also what size, rg 58, rg 8u? Thing been doing fine, just seeing what others have luck with. 73s, kx 420 northern indiana!

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Hi Bill, between my CB, amp and lowpass filter, I'm using five 3-foot coax jumpers. 4 of the coax jumpers are RG58, and one is RG58AU. Have a great weekend!

[@authenticearthoz]

The screen is designed to be like this so most clarity you get is if the rig is on your right hand side, cause you guys have left hand drive cars

[@Luna-zq8bs118]

new to channel and cb. have not got a radio yet looking at this one maybe

[@Inthesdadowofgrey]

I have heard you in North East KY 967.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Give me a shot out next time you hear me, I'm usually on weekends and late afternoons after work. Kentucky has been popping up a lot on my radio the past few months. Thanks for watching! 73s 595 Northern Nevada.

[@Inthesdadowofgrey]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures 73s and sure will try , we are in a valley but at about 800 ft. elevation and the valley is east and west so we get some good shots, we will try for sure next time but 60 watts is all we have .

[@adyt225]

Hi I’m considering buying this and wandered what would be the best power supply unit to buy for this to be used at home ? Thanks

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Hi, I have my Uniden radio hooked up to the Pyramid PS14KX 12 Amp 270-watt power Linear regulated power supply. It's a little over 2 years old and has run trouble free for a little over two years. I'm sure there are better more expensive power supplies out there, but this one has served me well. I also have a Pyle 30 amp regulated power supply the same age as the Pyramid and it has also been a reliable power supply. Regulated power supplies radiate electromagnetic interference (EMI), but I have not experienced any interference this using this around the Uniden 980. I think newer radios such as the Uniden are probably better shielded than the old radios. At least that has been my experience. I have my Uniden radio hooked up to the Pyramid, and my ham radio and amp hooked up to the Pyle. No noticeable interference as far as I can tell. The Uniden980 has been a great base radio. Thanks for watching and 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@adyt225]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures thanks for your reply , i was halfway through watching when I wrote this question then it came up on your video , I looked up the pyramid and realised you was in USA under different power and plug haha , I’m in uk and don’t think it will work in a 3 pin plug on 240 volts lol ! It is late at night and I’ve had a long day , forgive my lack of focus! I appreciate your reply and enjoyed your review ! Take care and goodnight from London 👍🇬🇧

[@devildogcody]

turning down the mic gain to use a power mic doesn't defeat the purpose of a power mic.....doing so will give you better modulation swing than running your stock mic with gain at max.

[@philliphudnall7576]

don't waste your money on it I had two of them and I gave both away. as long as you use it in the house it is fair but if you use it outside the display is very hard to see it

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I've read the same thing in some reviews, and others said they had no issues. As I mentioned in my review, when I look at the screen at an angle from the right side of the radio, the display is harder to see verses looking at it from a left side angle. I use my 980 for a base station and have been very pleased with the performance so far. Indoors the screen display is clear and very easy to read. As for looking at the display in direct sunlight, I can't offer an opinion but like to hear what others have to say. Thanks for sharing your experience with the radio. 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@sergiocamargo4698]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures display faded, as the radio gets warm, the display fades. Power transistor is out. there is no power transistor replacement in the market. There is no service manual, Unless you know well what you are doing , buy something else.

[@Brantastic07]

Are you aware that Uniden makes a wireless mic that works for that radio?

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I've thought about getting one, but I don't know if I would like the sound coming out of the microphone speaker. Reviews are very good for the microphone on Amazon. I might keep an eye out to see if one pops up on Amazon warehouse to give it a try. Thanks for watching, 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I just ordered the wireless mic today. Amazon had a good price on it. I’ll do a review on it after I’ve had a chance to play with it.

[@Brantastic07]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures Awesome

[@spaceflight1019]

I bought one of these new in 2012, I think. I paid $130 for it. In 2019 I found one at a hamfest for $10. A screaming deal! I bought the new one to compare it to the TRC-459. Functionally, the 980 is easier to listen to for long periods of time. The receiver is up to par for sensitivity and adjacent channel rejection. The noise blanker is marginally better; it doesn't seem to be affected by strong signals on other channels. For the money, it's not a bad radio, if its known limits aren't an issue. What makes it a valuable mobile radio is its ability to automatically scan and lock onto the nearest weather station. If the weather station broadcasts an alert you will hear it. The only knock against it is the built-in SWR meter. It will read 1:1 on anything other than a shorted or open antenna. Bottom line is that you can do a lot worse for the money. Some people don't like it because you can't mod it but if you're looking for a good, quality mobile, this is the way to go.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Wow! $10 is practically giving it away. I had to look up the TRC-459. I thought I knew all the old Realistic radios, but I've never seen that one before. Very cool looking vintage radio. I have the compact TRC-465 but have never liked the receive on it, even when using an external speaker. I loved the receive on my old Sears RoadTalker, but I'm done putting time and money into it for the time being. I'm ok with not being able to mod the 980, as I like to keep my radios stock. I also like the scan feature. I just ordered the wireless microphone for the radio so that I can use it in the house on cold mornings when I don't want to turn the heater on in the outside office where my radios are. Thanks for the comment and 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@spaceflight1019]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures I forgot to compare the scan features of both radios. The 980 scans faster than the 459 and has a fixed scan delay feature. The 459 scans slower and has no delay, meaning that you'll probably miss the reply to a received signal. However, with the 459 you can set it to scan for a busy channel, great when the band is quiet, or scan for a clear channel, great when the band is open. Both radios have a "memory channel" feature, where you can store a few channels, but with only 40 channels the feature seems meaningless to me. The 459 featured direct channel entry via a keyboard, the 980 doesn't have a keyboard. The only mod to the 980s is the neutering of the beep sound. One might think that Uniden would have made its volume a menu item but no, you have to remove the resistor lest you wake up sleeping passengers when you change the channel. Like you, I prefer my radios to be as close to OEM as possible. I have two Kenwood TS-430Ss that have the MARS/CAP mod so there's no reason to mod anything else. All of the radios in my videos are unmodified.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

@@spaceflight1019 The new 980s have a feature now where you can turn off the beep. I guess enough people complained. I just bought the wireless microphone that Uniden makes for the radio and so far, I'm very pleased with it. It's nice to be able to go into the house and talk on the CB while the outside office warms up after turning on the space heater. Thanks for watching and commenting. 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@bangzoom8180]

What is your base antenna setup here?

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I use my homebuilt dipole mounted horizontally. It’s only about 10 feet above the ground but does a good job. Thanks for watching. 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@bangzoom8180]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures Thank you!

[@spaceflight1019]

In keeping with the vintage CB radio theme, my antenna is a first-year 1964 Antenna Specialist Super Magnum. The first year featured one-piece 108" radials and a "waterproof" gray coil cover that was so good at keeping water in that A/S redesigned it a year later. The closest you can get to a true vintage CB antenna today are the Hustler G-2537 and the Hy-Gain Penetrator. The Hustler was introduced in the 1960s, the Penetrator in 1972. There are a lot of old CB radio magazines on the World Radio History site. If you like to build antennas I highly recommend checking it out as the magazines featured some highly unusual designs as well as providing information on the genesis of popular antennas like the Super Magnum and the Penetrator.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

@@spaceflight1019 Thanks for the information, I will check it out. I love the vintage stuff and the old radios were built well using real crystal filters and sounded great. 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@spaceflight1019]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures Surprising, the most expensive radios like the Browning Mark 3 and the Tram Titan 3 and 4 didn't use a crystal filter for the receiver; they used a much cheaper beat frequency oscillator to decipher the SSB signal. The popular Japanese radios used the crystal lattice filter for transmit and receive.

[@survitankistedu67gael64]

Bonjour, combien de canaux ?

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

UHF{Rx(400 - 490 MHz) Tx(400 - 490 MHz)} VHF{Rx(136 - 174 MHz) Tx(136 - 174 MHz)} Merci de regarder !

[@michelst-jacques9555]

Loved the radio but it didnt like Canadian winters.Screen faded in cold start to finally break down after 1 winter.Dont recommend this product for mobile use.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I've read that many owners have lost their screen to heat, sounds like they don't like extreme cold either. I wanted this radio as a base unit, so I wasn't too worried about the reviews on screen problems. I would go with another radio if I were to use this radio in my car. Thanks for sharing! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.