Great info everyone. Thank you all very much. I have one last question. I just read up on the 980 and even watched an overview video. I noticed that it comes with an adaptor for a 4 pin mic. What mic works best for this radio? I know the 636L is a good mic and the RK56 is also if you can find a real one. I've also been told that different radios perform better with different mics. I've also heard great things about the D104 but I'm not sure I want to have to constantly carry 9v batteries in order to use it.
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Which legal radio?
- Thread starter Krazymonkeys
- Start date
Mic wise, the stock mic or the wireless mic that uniden sells works well as well as the RF Limited 2018 extreme mic. The 636 might be a bit too quiet as far as audio goes with this radio. Another good mic is the older uniden mic that came with the older PC68. It is model #BMK0637001 if memory serves me correct. These mics work pretty good with the 980 as well as the other mics I mentioned. Maybe a D104MB or a Road Devil mic might sound good as well. Try the stock mic first and see what kind of reports you get. Some say they work well, mine was not right for me. But the wireless uniden mic model #BC906W works well with the radio as well. They aren't expensive and are actually a nice mic. Only mod I did was to open the mic hole up with a 5/16" then 3/8" drill bit. Didn't go all the way through with the 3/8", so there is a bit of concave, but the audio is clean and clear out of it. Price for one of these is about the same as a 636 or a bit more or less, depends on where you get it from. Check out Amazon and eBay as well.
Also about the mic adapter. It allows you to use most any cobra style wired 4 pin mic. Like I said, all the ones I listed work well. Again. I am not sure about the 636, and the new RK56 mics are supposedly junk. Just what I have heard from a bunch of people. If you have an old one, from before they were bought out, it should work well. The astatic 575 would be another mic if you can get your bands on one for a reasonable price as well as the RF Limited CR577. But for GP, I have found the mic I first listed. The uniden bearcat mic, silver face with a red bear claw. One of these. They work pretty good with every radio I have ever tried it on. Including my Icom 746. Here is a pic. Look around and you can find them for about $15. Good luck with whatever mic you choose and just have fun. That is what it's all about.
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Again, no worries. Keep us updated as to what you end up doing as far as antenna and such. Anything else you need help with if I can answer I will, if not there are plenty of others here that are way above my level of knowledge. I just know what works for me from my own experiences. I am no expert and will never ever claim to be. Just try to help best I can when I can. Have fun with the radio and keep studying. Your tech ticket isn't that hard to get these days. I haven't gotten mine yet either, lack of motivation I suppose. One day. At any rate. Be safe and have a great afternoon.
I would hold off on throwing crazy money away on radios.
The Uniden 980 is great for CB use and they are rock solid on SSB and do well on AM.
The reason I say don't toss out a lot of money on CB gear is because Ham Radio Equipment is expensive even used gear cost a lot. My first vhf radio cost me $850.00 but that came with a 1200 watt linear. They are just expensive. 222dbfl bought a Icom746 and paid some serious cash for it but I'm sure he did well.
you can talk up to 155 miles, any farther "intentionally" is illegal. and don't forget the one minute break you're legally required to take every 5 minutes of conversation with the same operator.
HUH? don't confuse him with incorrect information.
that's not exactly what 95.416 (CB rule #16
) actually states
From what I've seen on the Uniden 980 is that they do have a few quality control issues with the radio.
Like
some on the IC's are not properly touching the heatsink, some might even lack or have the improper amount of thermal compound on them.
People say that the final bias is set too high usually around 5v-5.4v from the factory, seen many videos of people turning the bias down to 3.8v so that the final will have a long and happy life. it has the same final that the Cobra 200 uses (I guess the Cobra 200 is known for its final issues, could this be why it does)
Some of them the SWR meter doesn't even work (will show a flat 1.0 on all 40 channels even if you know you have a high SWR, a known good external SWR meter will bypass this issue.
There's probably a few more issues that I'm overlooking.
Some people see it as a fault some people dont, it beeps rather loudly pressing any of the face buttons, or turning the channel knob and cant be disabled unless you get into the radio and remove a small SMT resistor.
Once you get all that fixed with it it will probably last you a while.
Heck its only $114 USD, I guess you get what you pay for.
Like
some on the IC's are not properly touching the heatsink, some might even lack or have the improper amount of thermal compound on them.
People say that the final bias is set too high usually around 5v-5.4v from the factory, seen many videos of people turning the bias down to 3.8v so that the final will have a long and happy life. it has the same final that the Cobra 200 uses (I guess the Cobra 200 is known for its final issues, could this be why it does)
Some of them the SWR meter doesn't even work (will show a flat 1.0 on all 40 channels even if you know you have a high SWR, a known good external SWR meter will bypass this issue.
There's probably a few more issues that I'm overlooking.
Some people see it as a fault some people dont, it beeps rather loudly pressing any of the face buttons, or turning the channel knob and cant be disabled unless you get into the radio and remove a small SMT resistor.
Once you get all that fixed with it it will probably last you a while.
Heck its only $114 USD, I guess you get what you pay for.
There is no more "FCC Radar" for all practical purposes and 99.99% of operators running under 1500 watts never get a warning visit. You sir, just stir up unwanted and unnecessary strife with future radio operators. In fact, many can benefit from purchasing an HF/VHF/UHF Radio just to listen in on the other bands before acquiring their ticket, just as I did many years ago to expand my horizons
I would pick either a Uniden 980 or a Galaxy 979 or 959. You can tweak the Galaxy's a bit more than the Uniden, but the Uniden is more stable on SSB. I have both the 979 and the 980 but use the 980SSB because I can take the optional BC906W Speaker mic way out in the yard if desired.
Amazon product ASIN B00B3QBRQQ
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Quit draggin' ur feet and go get it already…
So far I'm using a 4' Francis whip with 9' of RG8 copper braid. I'd like to get one of the large coil antennas because I hear they play nicely with 10m when retuned for that purpose. That and they are supposedly some of the most efficient whips under 9'. The only real issue I'm having at the moment out of my current setup is a lot of rfi when my refrigerator compressor kicks on. Well, that and my old Cobra 26 is a 23 channel radio using crystals. A few customers I pick up at use higher channels so I need a newer radio anyway. I figured I'd buy something new and keep the 26 as a backup. I think I'll try a ferrite choke on the fridge. I have a couple old speaker magnets that should do the trick if it cam be solved like that. If not, I'm not sure what to do.
Not trying to stir up strife or anything other than the proper use of licensed privileges. I can guarantee if you get in to the wrong areas the FCC will be tapping on your door. If you get into Law Enforcement frequencies you will be visited. I know of one instance in which someone with a Chinese made Handy Talkie got in to the police bands and caused some major problems.