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

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.

I started out getting a cheap CB with no extras to see if I liked it. After playing around for a few days I decided I wanted the extra goodies. This radio is fantastic; I chose it over the comparable cobra. The Bearcat 980 is the same thing, except with SSB. Ive read that most people dont use SSB, but if you are planning on using this with an exclusive group this option may suit your needs. I put this on my 2000 Chevy Astro and am using it with a 4 Firestik. Here are a few notes: 1) Forget the cigarette lighter plug, buy some 14 gauge wire from the auto store and run it directly to your battery. This will GREATLY reduce the electrical interference from your engine. I first used the cig lighter and the interference was terrible. 2) This unit has a built in SWR meter, antenna checker, ANL AND NB (further reduces interference from outside sources), weather alert, all channel scan, and RF gain control. I use all these features regularly. These are the major goodies youre paying the extra money for and they make it 100x more enjoyable. 3) Make sure to tune your antennas SWR to prevent damage to the radio. 4) The aesthetics and build quality are great - being able to change the colors is way cool.

The display is a black background with illuminated lettering. Most displays are background lit and black lettering. Very easy to read in full sunlight and great in night time use. It wont blind you at night! Weather alert works and SSB and AM are clear and sharp. I like that you can simply push a button for the PA. I did not that while in PA mode, if there wasnt anything being received over the CB, it acted like a PA. But, if you received a broadcast while in PA mode, it would go out the PA speaker also. Mic feels good in the hand and feels like it is well made. The radio seemed to meet the FCC specs properly. A very nice mobile CB/SSB!

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

UPDATED REVIEW: I picked mine in September 2014. My initial review gave 5 stars, but my Bearcat 980 stopped transmitting after 6 1/2 months. Ive used CB radios for close to 40 years, so Im pretty familiar with whats out there. I take good care of mine. My closet has a small warehouse of about 30 different CB radios accumulated over time and put to use in various applications - mostly camping and boating. An additional CB radio was not needed, but I got too good a deal to pass this one up...or so I thought. The Uniden Bearcat 980 SSB mobile has an amazing number of features. The built in SWR meter and mic gain alone will save you $100.00 in additional components that you otherwise would have to buy. The best part is that they really work! I tweaked the mic gain adjustment and regularly got compliments on the audio quality of my transmission using just the stock microphone. Theres no need for an amplified mic. Other features include talk back, SWR warning, PA, RF gain, scan, weather channels, bright/dim control, color selection for your read outs, noise limiter/noise blanker, diagnostics (voltage in and RF out), etc. It has so many features, Im was reluctant to use it in the car. Id be so busy playing with all of the features that I could easily take my eyes off the road. Its short life span was spent exclusively as a base. On the down side, the radio only put out 3 watts instead of the legal limit of 4 watts on AM. Similarly, it put out about 10.6 watts instead of the allowable 12 in SSB mode. The below-specs output seems to be a common problem with new radios. On the other hand, the tolerances on this unit were great. It was consistently right on frequency. Other high profile manufacturers have problems with their radios drifting off frequency. Not Uniden. In the big picture, I was willing to live with the 3 watt output and enjoy everything else this unit did right. Unfortunately, my Bearcat 980 died an early death. It stopped transmitting after 6 1/2 months. Uniden requires that warranty repair be initiated by the seller. My seller ignored my requests and simply did not respond. Amazon stepped up to the plate and refunded me my money with no non-sense. Amazon is now selling these for $105.00. That would be a steal for a single side band radio, but I have seen too many reports on various radio websites about Uniden Bearcat 980 failures. Considering the reliability issues that are coming to light, Im going to pass on replacing this one - even at the bargain price Amazon is now offering them at. I now using a 23 year old Cobra 148GTL in the spot where I previously had the Uniden Bearcat 980. The 148 GTL sits next to a 34 year old Realistic Navaho TRC 490 SSB base. My Uniden Bearcat 980 experience confirms for me that they dont make CB radios like they used to.

Love this CB it easy to use. Has noise cancelation. Your voice is very clear when talking. Love the weather chanels it picks up in every state im in and the areas around me so I know ahead. Nice display on the front and one touch to change channels

This product is guilty of false advertising. It DOES NOT come with the removable mic and doesnt say anywhere in the advertisement its sold separately. I bought this for my husband and was very disappointed when it didnt come with that mic. Buyer beware.

Pros: 1) Good solid state typical well designed Uniden radio/unit! Cons: 1) There is no real time clock, so the dim profile display lighting settings do not revert automatically during the morning hours. As such, during the daytime, manual setting to the daytime brighter display setting is required with a display not easily viewed due to being too dimly lit. (Luckily the display brightness/contrast profile setting is the first menu item!) 2) Can be not bright enough or not enough contrast during daytime, and/or not dark enough during night time. My Uniden BCD996T had an inverted display, and the inverted display is more easily dimmed during nighttime use and/or easily bright enough during daytime?? 3) Corded microphone is a little on the weak side? 4) Does not seem to scan the frequencies as fast as some of Unidens other units. 5) No mic key signal, albeit most CB mic key sound effects (AKA roger beeps) are horrid sounding versus the more professional FM/VHF radios which typically use something called wait tones and are usually extremely brief. TIP: Make sure you buy a good CB antenna, and tune the antenna by adjusting the antenna length and the 980SSB menu antenna tuning option!

This radio is simply the best radio Ive ever owned. I previously had a small, basic radio from Uniden, and this one blows it out of the water. This radio has every feature I could dream of. The weather stations are an awesome bonus, and had a clean, strong recieve. The built in SWR meter is accurate, the RF gain gets me out there farther than I can even recieve! The AM stations have a clean reception and the speaker quality is great. The SSB is a home-run addition. On top of all of this, the customization options on the radio are amazing. I love the choice of different colors, contrasts and brightness. The diagnostic features are great too. The only place that this radio lacks is with the microphone, its very quiet until you really get up into it. This is partially fixed by the mic gain on the radio, which helps enough to make it work. Definitely plan on upgrading to a power microphone. Other than that, this radio blows me away. Definitely recommend over any other radio on the market!

Awesome looking radio. Easy to adjust vr pots for best performance. Great on side band, no drift. You will not find a new radio with the features of the Uniden Bearcat 980. Now the 4 star comes from the SMT board this radio uses. There are NO MODS out for the radio because the radio is run by a cpu. The radio beeps EVERYTIME you push a button or change the channel. The beep can be turned off by removing a very small resistor on the smt board, hard to see but easy enough to do. There is no mod for extra channels. But for a first time ssb radio or a great sounding stable ssb radio this can not be beat. Get a power mic and your good to go. Size is about the same as a cobra 29 ltd but not as deep. If you want a LOUD radio to freeband with this is not for you. I love mine and will live without extra channels