Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio with Sideband and WeatherBand (980SSB) Review

The last time I ordered myself a new CB Radio was years ago and a Uniden CB radio is, but decided to die on me so it was time to look for a new one. This was at the time the new Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio with Sideband and WeatherBand (980SSB) came on the market and decided if my old Uniden lived such a long life in providing me with what I needed while being on the road then this CB ought to assist me for some years more to come.

My First Impressions

When looking at the images online and the Uniden Bearcat 980 finally arriving at my home, I was quite surprised to see how small sized it was against my older one. And will definitely make the inside of my cab more modern than the one I had used to make it a perfect fit for newer vehicles on the market today.

When comparing it to my old one could see that there is more plastic incorporated into the faceplate, but does not make it feel or look cheap. It came with a standard mounting bracket, hardware required, the power cord, a shiny transformer microphone and the most important a user manual.

While holding the microphone in my hand after fitting the system in my truck as I am a tow truck driver out in the countryside I found it to feel cheap to be honest and suppose to be a noise-cancelling microphone. My voice through the microphone sounds clear, but seemed to be very soft on the air and knew that I am going to replace it with a good power microphone. It also uses a six-pin microphone plug designed to use with a wireless Bluetooth microphone and comes with a four-pin to six-pin adapter to use as preferred.

Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio with Sideband and WeatherBand

Transmit and Output

Once I tested the Uniden 980 while on the road I did find that the output of the radio is not that high and delivers around 10 watts on AM and 15 watts SSB and in my working conditions works perfectly well.

The receiving of the radio is great as finding it sensitive and found no noise hissing disturbance with it that my older CB use to make and as the oldies say you get used to it. I am very pleased with it where background noise and incoming station sounds as they are clear and you can understand what others are saying.

The SSB Stability

Another useful feature that the Uniden Bearcat has that my older one had problems with is the fact of maintaining the stability of SSB frequency and requires no adjustments and spot on frequency from out of the box no matter where you find yourself in operating environments and works every time.

Other Capabilities I like of the CB

Some of the following capabilities of this Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio with Sideband and WeatherBand (980SSB) is firstly the ability to toggle between the weather and CB channels by cycling through seven weather channels and also provides you with weather alerts while on or off. Another great feature I found while using the CB is that it offers you with a day and night mode that works great when I am in need of going out on the road at night. It also offers you with emergency channels and a channel nine to render assistance to motorists.

For those who would like to use it as a public address system you can add an external speaker to utilize this function. Lastly, the memory scans function great as I have stored the channels into the CB memory that I use most often.

Features

• The Uniden Bearcat has SSB USB/LSB
• With the 7-Color Backlighting, you can change the color according to preferences
• The microphone has a noise-canceling functionality
• It comes with variable Talkback
• The CB is Wireless Microphone Compatible
• It has a Large Digital S/RF / SWR Meter
• The CB comes with Frequency Display
• You have NOAA Weather
• With the Memory Scan option, you can save all channels to its memory that you use most often
• Clarifier
• Volume/Squelch Control
• RF Gain Control
• Instant Channel 9/19
• CB / PA Switch
• The CB has a 40 Channel AM Operation
• It is designed with Laser Etched Keys
• Channel Indicator
• Includes 6 Pin to 4 Pin Adapter
• Dimmer Switch Day/Night
• The CB comes with a two-year limited warranty

Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio with Sideband and WeatherBand (980SSB)

Customer Feedback

If you are in need of reading and finding out if, the Uniden 980 is the CB radio for you; there are more than 200 customer reviews on Amazon and has rated it with 4.4 stars. Most customers are pleased with the CB radio especially as it comes with some great new age technology, is sleek to fit in most new model vehicles without taking up much space, and  some have bought it to be used in multiple cars at a time.

Another customers very pleased with the CB and advised that he has installed it in his JK Unlimited 2012 model vehicle and very powerful when used regarding to transmission and receiving and has added a FireStik antenna for clear reception and transmitting while on the move.

Pros and Cons of Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio with Sideband and WeatherBand (980SSB)

Pros

• It comes with a bright large display that works great when the eyes do not want to see that well anymore
• The buttons are easy to use
• The one click weather channels are great
• The transmitting of audio is loud and clear
• The option of using a wireless microphone is great

Cons

The only annoying thing I found while using the CB is the beeping sound when pushing buttons and turning the controls and you cannot turn it off.

Conclusion

The Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio with Sideband and WeatherBand (980SSB) has offered me with some great features and very small taking up little space in my truck. The SSB frequency stability is a plus and with a power microphone works excellent while the overall operation of the radio is fun and easy to use. If you are looking for a CB radio while traveling on holiday or in need of using one where your works concerned, I can highly recommend it as a reliable CB radio.