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

I am a Ham operator and wanted to pick up a cb for SSB work. Most are well over $200.00 US, I found this one and tried it out. I have been using it for months, no issues, no complaints, no worries. Great features, easy to read display and buttons. The mic is better than what I am used to on a cb. I am running it barefoot (no amp), and they tell me I sound fine . I can only get out about 1-2 miles with it, but that is my antenna, not the radio. I can tell you, the first day I picked up skip from about 5 states away, I knew it was money well spent.

For the hard core CBer I assume this would be a prize radio. As for me, I am a ham radio operator; my use for a CB to my surprise came when we bought our Motorhome. The CB is a necessary tool on long trips, cross country journeys to listen to truckers on Channel 19. CB is handy to hear traffic reports, weather and local chatter than one would not normally be privileged to. Ham Radio would not have the arcane yet gruff world of trucking yet I find incredible utility and use when traveling with my CB. That said, the Uniden Bearcat CB Radio, is a smart system of technology. The sleek design with user-choice multiple colored display looks sharp and compliments the dashboard / cockpit of my 2016 year class A motorhome. The ease of tuning the radio without the need for an external meter - was a plus feature that I was not expecting from a radio of this class, yet Uniden always impresses me with their unique equipment options with users in mind. I use Uniden scanners and handheld radios; this CB radio is no exception, its design is first class. I like the weather push button option, quick easy way to check the local weather from NOAA wherever you are. The microphone is high quality with a push button that feels like a team of designers decided to make this one last. Personally I like the look of the mic as it has this sort of space age look to it. The radio performed well on our last 4000 mile journey across the USA. The sound is that CB sound, that cuts through road noise but easy to squelch out if desired, signals boomed in from far away and my signal reports, combined with the Firestik CB antenna, were stellar.

Uniden makes good radios these days. I worked for Radio Shack in the 70s and In the 1970s youd find these at your local McCrorys or FW Woolworths and other retail outlets. Though it was originally sort of a low-end near Kraco and Midland. Uniden (and Midland) has changed its style and operating procedures and moved up a lot. Plusses. Uniden gives you an adapter cable so you can use other brand manufactured microphones with this radio. That puts a touch of humanity in their brand. I like that. Its a well-thought out and diplomatic gesture that endears me now to their brand. It comes with a decent manual that explains all of your features. Kind of important because there are few knobs, more buttons and its a much more complex apparatus than what you found in the 70s - 2000s. Its light, relatively compact for a full bore SSB radio. The radio is strict in its power limits. There is no fudging this radio but a really great mike paired with it will give you some additional performance. I took this on the open road and got some great distance with the same K-30 I tuned using a Cobra HH RoadTrip. It came in handy during a 20 mile long traffic jam, and proved itself to be a skip radio as well. I didnt intend to go hunting for skip on the road but the receiver is incredibly good! I managed to converse with a guy 30 miles away as if he were next door to me. Another guy about 120 miles away was easily reached and heard. For a radio with strict technical limits, this radio reaches out and grabs them. I might add I just used the stock mike that came with it. No screaming, whistling or any drama on my part. Power wise it puts out 4 watts on deadkey. You can maybe peak it out maybe 6 or 7 AM if youre loud. Im not loud so I didnt see that kind of performance. Triple that on sideband about 12 watts output give or take. Its intended to perform as a stock radio so its within strict power limits that are not really going to budge except by use of an amped up mike on AM. Minusses. Its till big. I had to leave it on my car seat. Its made for underdash mounting so the speakers on the bottom (as with most radios), and so an external wouldve been better than reading everything upside down. The digital metering is quirky. Its supposed to measure RF/Signal Strength and SWR but I found that the onboards did not agree with the SWR/Signal Strength and Watt meter I picked up at Ham Radio Outlet. The weather channels stock out of the box are all squelched so unless youre close you may not pick them up. I dont know how to unsquelch them, yet. So there you have it. I have to figure that one out as the manual doesnt explain this phenomena. As a stock bargain priced SSB its worth the money. It performs as good as models that cost twice as much so at the price at about $120 give or take, its a good deal. Performance is mediocre compared to some of the models out there that likely will outperform this unit. However, you get what you pay for! It suits me for the road but just doesnt fit anywhere in my car! So itll end up a base station as soon as I home brew an antenna for it.

Worked great for three days then broke... Swr was 1.0 with a 108 whip, for whatever reason I was talking to a local on 19 am and out of nowhere the reception seemed to vanish, and the on radio broadcast indicator didnt go past the second line. Did the self diagnostics and it failed. Requested a replacement, hopefully mine was just a fluke, Ill update if the second is better. Update, so I got the new one PROMPTLY from amazon, took one day! So kudos for getting me back on the air so quickly, the new radio seems to run cooler, indicated the same swr as the first (1.0-1.1). New one seems to receive better with less interference and static, and I get good reports of the audio, as well as an increase in range. I believe the first one was just a dud, time will tell with this one! I would still recommend this radio, its nice, modern, and the comparatively lower (legal!) output is PERFECT for driving an amp if thats your thing. With my 102 whip drill mounted to my roof it throws out roughly 10 miles! Plenty far.

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.

I use this as my primary CB in my F-150. Has great reception around my area, and the reports have been good from other drivers using the included mic. Weather channels come in a bit quite, but no big deal. I havent used the SSB yet, so I cant comment on its performance. The included SWR meter is nice for setting the antenna up. I paired this with a firestik mounted on the truck bed and average a 1.2:1 ratio. Many people comment on the beeps, but they honestly dont bother me as I typically have it set on only channel 19. One issue with it is that I had to send back the first one that came in because of a faulty on off switch, the unit wouldnt turn off. Amazon was quick to send a replacement and its been great. I highly recommend for a radio that works well right out of the box.

I purchased a president McKinley. Then i thought i would try this one also. Honestly compared to the McKinley, thos is a cheapie. Receive is choppy, and more static. Mic is cheap. And definitely not 4 watts of power. If you want a cheap radio and dont care about range its ok. If you want clearer receive and transmit. Get the mckinley. Its a solid radio. And the automatic squelch on the mckinley is also great

Let me start by saying I am not a CB expert. I dont crack radios open and adjust and tweak. I use then as they come from the factory. With that being said, this is one of the best out-of-the-box CB radios Ive ever used. It has a ton of features. The audio is good, the range is excellent, the output power is a perfect 4w. Sideband works well what little Ive used it, not slot of sidebanders around where I live. I love the scan and memory-scan feature. Probably my favorite feature about the radio. The mic is not bad. Ive had no one complain about not being able to hear me. Ive since switched to the wireless mic, which is also excellent. All in all, I would highly recommend this radio. It is priced right for all the features packed into it.

Read the fine print, radio does not come with wireless mic/sold separately, its only compatable for it..for the price, it should be included...just BS...Wireless mic cost approx. $100 more. The whole pint for this radio is to have the wifi mic

Unidens mid-size Bearcat 980 SSB sets a gold standard for modern consumer-grade CB radios. The array of features, such as scan functionality, CB/PA/NOAA Wx, customizable screen colors, on-board diagnostics and single-sideband, are -- in my area, at least -- usually found in much more expensive radios. The 980s most direct consumer-grade competitor might be Cobras 29. The Cobra has many of these features for a similar price, but lacks the sideband that affords the 980 effectively 80 additional channels. Signals, even at the edge of reception, are incredibly crisp and clear. The sound quality is impressive, if slightly soft in my soft-top Jeep. In my first attempt at raising someone on the radio, I made a contact from my driveway that measured less than a tenth of a mile shy of five miles. The other party reported my signal was strong, loud and clear. (That’s a barefoot radio and the stock mic, pushing out on a four-foot Wilson Silver Load fiberglass antenna.) Its not the fault of the radio per se, but I do have to keep the squelch up a little higher than I’d like to drown out RF interference picked up via the antenna while Im in town. Id prefer to keep the squelch almost all the way down and use the RF gain control to dial in signal reception. But, since the 980s RF gain consists of five steps (push-button) rather than a dial, its a bit more difficult. As a result, the squelch stays up higher, and the RF gain a bit lower (setting 3 out of 5) than Id like. Out of the box, before any adjustment, my SWRs ranged from 1.0 (Channel 1) to 1.5:1 (Channel 40). Ive only two complaints with the 980: First, switching from night to day mode is slightly cumbersome. The CB-only Bearcat 880 employs a simple button to toggle back and forth. With the 980s single-sideband functionality, this is moved into the menu to make room for a clarifier knob. It’s not complicated, but it’s more than I’d like to do when the vehicle is potentially in motion. Second, the plastic used for the volume and fine clarifier knob feel of lesser quality than Id expect in a radio of this size or price range. Theyre holding up just fine, but its a shame that at least one of the controls youre most likely to use should feel inferior. Overall, this radio is a bargain!