THINGS THAT WILL KILL HAM RADIO

IT COULD TAKE LESS
    IT COULD TAKE MORE...












What do you think could kill Ham Radio? I suppose there's a shortlist like:

1. The Government
2. Not enough new Hams to compensate for SK's
3. A force of nature that makes anything but UHF transmissions possible
4. A force of man that makes anything electronic possible
5. Hams themselves

While listed as number 5, it should really be number one - with a bullet. I don't know how many time I've heard a new ham announce himself on repeater, be recognized, and bursting with pride announce he just became a Ham, and then the conversation continues, leaving the new Ham out - more or less leaving him/her on the sidelines (although I must admit certain repeater frequencies are more social than others. That said, I can only think of one in the Houston area)

"Why should I press on and get a higher license" the new Ham asks them self.

A quick view of HF:

1. There are the medical, daily aches and pains frequencies
2. There are contest hounds
3. There are "This is our frequency" groups

Any other ideas you can think of?

'Nuff Said,
Woody
EMAIL

KEEP THOSE THINGS CHARGED MEN (AND WOMEN...)

Product Specifications

• Ultra reliable lithium ion battery with 11200mAh capacity at 5v output voltage
• Will easily give you over a week of battery boosts for your device (with normal use)
• 1 amp & 2 amp ports, charge two devices at the same time!
• 50 hours of movie time for iPhone, iPod touch or 17 hours movie time for iPad 2
• Compatible with:
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• Retractable USB cable included

• No iPhone/iPad adapter is included because it works with the one you already have
• Rubberized black finish
• Batteries: Lithium ion (plug in to recharge)
• DC transformer input: 100v-240v
• Weight (main unit): 8.6 oz
• Dimensions (main unit): 3 3/4 x 3 3/16 x 1

This little power pack supplied (up until last month), 9900mAh DC electricity to charge a variety of items). It's price was $69.99. For the same price, they've upped the amount of stored electricity to 11,200mAh. I own the 9900mAh model, and whether it be Zombies, Tornado's, Hurricanes, or whatever else you can thing of to shutdown power, it always helps to have a variety of "Energy Cells" around the house, or underground safe room to keep your devices charged. You can find it HERE, and, if you buy it before the end of the day you'll get 20% off the regular price!

While I've only owned the 9900mAh model for two months it's been very convenient to charge my dying iPad, iPhone, and Ham Radio HT with this device.

'Nuff Said,
Woody

WHEN IT COMES TO HAM RADIO...

IT'S A DIFFERENT WORLD NOW





KB5CEJ & KB5CEM



Back when Doug and I became Hams (almost 30 years ago) the whole system was in flux, testing, manufacturing, Hamfests and tailgate sales, along with the disappearance of the local HAM or Electronics store.

At the time we got licensed (Thank you "CW DAVE"/NA5CW) we could go into downtown Houston and if the service calls weren't there we would hang out at Madisons, which besides looking similar to an Episode of "Hoarders", had a whole aisle with used stuff a new or seasoned Ham could use. There was another store just North of downtown that lasted a few years, but Madisons was the big dog in town.

Having passed the written exam, then the 5 wpm (wpm = words per minute) test we were still "Technicians" yet we could use part of 10 meters to actually talk on a transceiver (it wasn't too much longer when they made us "Technician Plus", and those who only passed the written test with "Technician" status). So having a flock of new hamlings wanting to talk on 10 meters, a lot more 10 meter only radios came to the market with Uniden's HR2510 being the most popular.



Uniden HR2510



If you were lucky enough to pass the 13 wpm exam, then you had quite a bit of Amateur Radio designated to use. So IMHO, the mid-80's gave us the most rigs to choose from. We could buy a new one (still a wee-bit pricey), or a used rig, and in that field we could pick a 60's all tube transceiver, or choose from a slew of Hybrid (part tube, part transceiver, part terminator - just checking to see if you're paying attention, 'Nuff Said), or some of the early all transistor transceivers. A newly ordained "General", on a budget, could easily find a used transceiver for under $500.

Almost no one bought a full featured all-mode HF transceiver from his local store because they would have to pay tax. Most Hams have what has been found in DNA research as the "Cheap Ass Cell" so they bought their rigs from out of state stores to avoid tax and get free shipping to their doorstep.

So naturally, Madisons would get a phone call (remember no readily available Internet back then) asking if they had a particular radio in stock, and if so, how much was it, and did they charge for shipping. If all criteria were met, Madisons would ship it out of state to the buyer. Even if they didn't get the sale, it wasn't like it would kill them because the margin of profit on radio sales was so slim you almost didn't notice it.

Accessories, antennas, microphones, etc. had a healthy profit along with having a good technician to do in-house repairs for your customers. At one time, a Ham could successfully repair his own radio, but with almost every rig using surface mount technology, it would take a very steady hand, good lighting, large magnification and a prayer or "Hail Mary" to do it now.

CLICK ON PICTURE TO GET FULL SIZE AND ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT I'M SAYING

I used to attempt such things but lately it appears as if the components are getting even smaller, discouraging the Ham who was always used to repairing or modifications but now has to take a class just to learn the various menus and what they do.

I attended a couple Hamfests this year and pricing hasn't changed much - and only those with almost throw-away pricing sell rigs. For example, a FT-101 sold new, in 1971 for $499, which was 42 years ago. A used, scratched, but working FT-101 sells in a price range between $300-->$450 today. Was it built with gold plated casings? No. The FT-101 series was a good line that came out with revised versions of the model proceeding it, and if a new ham wants to make that jump from FM to HF, he'd have to check his wallet, the safe in a wall clock, and money in an envelope taped to the bottom of the driver seat, then $450 sounds a lot better to him than $700 and up for a new rig.

The good news for the younger ham, who just got his ticket is that it's much easier to pick up an HT now than it was in the 80's. I remember Doug and I at Madisons looking up at the Kenwood TH-215 2m handheld and seem to recall a price tag of nearly $300 [ed. - keep in mind, this was 2m ONLY]. It was Doug's first HT.

Jumping to the present day, almost 30 years later and single band HT's are in the minority today, replaced by the handheld dualbander HT. If you're not a ham, been asleep under a tree for 30 years, and haven't checked prices if you're reading this blog post I can imagine your thoughts; "If a 2m HT cost almost $300 back then, they'll have to be more expensive now - so what's the use". Don't despair, until recently you could pick up a dual-band HT for about $170, almost half of the price of a single band  HT from the 80's.

I did say "until recently", because there has been a shake up in pricing as of late, along with the well established manufacturers like Yaesu, Kenwood, and Icom facing HT competition from Chinese manufacturers. So what can you expect in pricing?

Yaesu's FT-60r has been around a long time and you'll find it under $150. Baofeng, one of the new Chinese manufacturers has the UV-5RA and UV-5R+, both dual-band handhelds selling for under $50 each via places online like Amazon.

I've owned and used the 5R+ for a little over six months now and it still works great. I paid about $45 for the HT and $10 for the programing software and cable [ed. - Hint, buy the s/w and cable and save yourself the grief]. I wanted to know what would happen if I went even cheaper and bought the 5RA for about $35 recently, and all I can say (having it for such a short time) is: "So far, so good".

Looking at it another way, if you spend $40 for the Baofeng HT, you've spent the price the "Big 3" charge for just the programming software and cable.

THE BAOFENG UV-5R+



BAOFENG UV-5RA, CURRENTLY $35.89 ON AMAZON

I'll be interested and looking forward to their first venture into the world of HF, because if they maintain the quality that these HT's have (at least the ones I own), it could really change the landscape as far as who is the most dependable HF transceiver maker, with the lowest price.

For now, I'm happy with what I have and hope the Government doesn't take away Amateur Radio band space, just for the money, allowing for more cellphone frequencies.

If you are a Ham now, you should be watching this carefully, and I'd recommend joining ARRL to keep informed and add to the ranks of those who are fighting to keep our frequencies.

'Nuff Said,
Woody

Email to: Woody

BELTON HAMFEST - SPRING 2013

A friend of mine reported that he found this Springs Hamfest to have a pretty good turnout with perfect weather from a recent cold front, he said the air was crisp as the money seen exchanging hands! So, what was selling?

For the most part - nothing big and/or expensive. That equipment stayed and left with the person that brought it. Rigs selling in the $150-$300 range had a much better chance, although he said that by mid-morning it was obvious the place was filled with a good amount of "Tire kickers". When he ran across someone that actually had bought something, it was usually a small item like a microphone, some cabling, a tube, connectors, etc.

I recall being at many Belton events where you could hardly make your way through an aisle there were just too many people there - but he said this was not like the old days, a mere shadow of it's past. At one point there was a loud talking guy on the PA system shouting "Can we have silence please, SILENCE, SILENCE" apparently they wanted a moment of silence for an SK, but before that came (as reported by my friend) a long rambling speech about the SK by a obviously broken hearted friend which took about 10 minutes or so and then the loud gentleman got back on the PA shouting for silence, a moment of silence. My friend, and others in the group he came with found this rather out of place, and perhaps could have been done better by a different approach.

Nonetheless, he said he had fun.

'Nuff Said,
Woody

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that he saw a lot of Hams using those new Baofeng dual-band HT's. He stopped a few and asked them how they liked it and universally got a two-thumbs UP reply and advice: BUY THE SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION DISK AND CABLE.

SUNSPOTS GROWING

Here's a great photo from a great website (spaceweather.com) of the Sun, and 2 growing sunspots -

PHOTO - SPACE WEATHER WEBSITE

SHORT UPDATES OF RECENT REVIEW

We've had a variety of weather in Houston in the last month - upper 30's (cold for us), near 90, heavy winds, rain, and dime to quarter sized hail [with more of that coming in a few hours]. I figured it would be a good time to do a few updates on recent reviews.

THE UNIDEN/BEARCAT 980 AM/SSB MOBILE

Well, you know what was said in my review and I think I remember what I wrote in that review, but for now the 980SSB is back on the shelf. Each day I was constantly annoyed by bleedover (I was on 38 lsb, bleedover on ch.19), so I ended up putting my beat up 138 XLR back in the truck to confirm it wasn't just in my mind - and it wasn't. I've picked up a couple backup 138's recently, should this one bite the dust. The other reason was (mentioned in review) due to limited mounting space, during certain hours in the afternoon it was difficult reading the display, depending on what direction I was going in.

SIRIO MOBILE ANTENNA WITH PL MOUNT

I am still very happy with this antenna (with non-Sirio magnetic mount). It's held up fine under a variety of conditions and cross winds. Because it's wide banded I've used it on 10 meters as well with my 10 meter rig where I've made several contacts. Just like I did with the "Big Bubba", I'll buy at least one other as a backup.

BAOFENG UV-5R+ DUAL BAND HT

I'll be doing occasional updates on this little guy because I (and probably you too) are a little trepidacious about buying something for $50 that would sell for up to 3 times more under a well known brand name. So far it's holding up just fine; I'll grab it on the way out the door and toss it on the passenger seat, or stick it in my computer bag, and yes, I'm still impressed with how solid it feels every time I pick it up.

I was down around the Galveston area to look at my friend Leo's (W5QUE) computer call he placed and I guess we were of the same mind because just as he was about to ask me if I could bring it down with me on the next call, I was taking it out of my computer bag. Just as I was, Leo was impressed with the feel of it in his hand. He had thought it would be cheap plastic that would crack or have pieces fall off, but this changed his mind - along with one other thing: When I turned the HT "ON" it was set to a Houston repeater and while scratchy it was picking it up some 30 miles away.

We were in his motor home and I found a spot where the repeater came in very clear - something he has not been able to do since moving down there from Sugar Land (hit a Houston repeater). Of course, remember I had changed the factory rubber duck with a Diamond dual band antenna, and I'm sure it had something to do with it, but, I'll keep you posted from time-to-time on how it's doing.

This wraps up the "Reviews Update", and you can expect to see these turn up on the Blog now and then just in case you're sitting on the fence and would like to see how the product continues to do.

'Nuff Said,

Woody



ARE YOU A FAN OF AMC'S

"THE WALKING DEAD?"

Then you'll find this ebay ad kinda funny

'Nuff Said,

Woody

SURVIVING - PART II

As I think I mentioned in PART ONE, I'm not preaching "Doomsday", rather preparedness. You should be prepared for a natural or non-natural disasters aftermath, hopefully coping better than those who haven't (prepared). Hurricanes, Tornadoes come to mind when I think "disaster"; telephone lines down, no electricity, cellphone towers damaged, etc. All of this, after a period of time, will be repaired. It would help to have some devices that let you know what is going on, and if possible to communicate with, along with staple items like food, water, batteries, generators, etc. But what about non-natural disasters, like an EMP?

You may have heard this term talked about before, or maybe not, so assuming "not" - "What is an EMP?" Well, first of all it's and abbreviation for Electromagnetic pulse, in other words a "Blast" or "Burst" of electromagnetic radiation. Check it out on wikipedia, books in your public library, or just GOOGLE it.

An EMP is born by an atomic bomb set off at a high altitude. The radiation emitted will wipe out every electronic device, rendering everything we know pretty much useless. We won't see it coming, but we'll see the results. To give you just a small look at the results I've compiled a short list, which should get the point across -

• No electricity
• Electronic devices not even plugged into the wall at the time are useless
• No water. Water requires electrical pumps.
• No running automobiles. The computer in your car or truck is toast. You could walk to the closest dealer to buy a replacement, but everything on the shelf is toast as well.
• No radio
• No TV
• No Satellite
• No cell phones
• No regular phones
• No Internet [but for the sake of an argument, say the Internet was alive! Well, all of you computers would be dead - and not coming back]
• No Electric heat
• No Air Conditioning
• And I'll stop here and let you figure out all of the other "No's".

So now that it has sunk in, you realize this is not one of those things where life returns to normal very easily. With no transportation there will be food shortages, people fighting other people for water or other necessary items - in other words: the worst of mankind. We saw it happen in New Orleans, imagine it country wide...




CARS WOULD BE USELESS WITH ALL OF THE ELECTRONICS FRIED


I recall a manager of mine who built an underground storage/living facility on his property back in the 90's, and occasionally read about survivalist groups across the country that pop up in news stories, but don't grab that shovel just yet. There are a few things that can protect your electronics from an EMP, for instance a simple Faraday cage would work, and it's something you can make yourself. There are simple pouches that will act as a Faraday cage, and come in various sizes. I bought a 2-pack recently and plan to get a few of the larger ones as they aren't terribly expensive.

Your microwave oven is a Faraday cage, but if you had one, what would you put into it? Your cell phone? Nope, no cell towers or electricity to power them even if they worked, so a cell phone would not be a good choice. You'll require communications of some sort, so a all-in-one radio would be a good idea. Something like this:



ETON FR160R



• AM (520-1710 KHz) and FM (87-108MHz)
• NOAA weatherband ? all 7 channels (you'll read more about that later).
• Built-in 3 white LED light source
• Powered by solar or dynamo both of which charge internal Ni-MH battery
• USB cell phone charger, or charger for any other 5v USB device. 



HAND CRANK TO CHARGE INTERNAL BATTERY



SOLAR PANEL TO CHARGE INTERNAL BATTERY

DON'T LET THE PICTURE SIZE FOOL YOU - IT'S VERY SMALL, AND IF POSSIBLE FIND A LOCAL SOURCE TO CHECK OUT VARIOUS MODELS FROM DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS. THIS ONE WORKED WELL WITH EVERYTHING EXCEPT NOAA WEATHER RECEPTION AND WAS SENT BACK. IT'S USED JUST AS AN EXAMPLE.

I'LL CONTINUE LATER IN PART 3, BUT FOR NOW -

'Nuff Said,

Woody

AN UNLIKELY SUBJECT:

"ARE YOU A SURVIVALIST?"

[PART ONE]




PICTURE BORROWED FROM THIS SITE

  We hear about them, we read about them, but have you ever asked yourself if you were a survivalist?

The answer, of course, is that all of us are survivalists in our own way. Today, we work at jobs to make money which provides us with goods required to survive.

By definition via the Merriam-Webster dictionary we get:

sur·viv·al·ist [noun]
a person who advocates or practices survivalism; especially : one who has prepared to survive in the anarchy of an anticipated breakdown of society

— survivalist adjective

"an anticipated breakdown of society.." - This falls into a wide scope, from providing for your family, to underground bunkers stocked with food and other items. Every year many portions of America becomes survivalists whether it be flooding, tornado's, hurricanes, heavy snow fall, or a failure in the power grid. The question is: "How many of you are prepared?"

Some of us may store some extra water, batteries, flashlights and perhaps a am/fm radio; but there is so much more you could do - just in case.

Even in the most usual type of disaster (Tornado, Hurricane, etc.) one thing becomes clear - your cellphones and Internet-linked computers are virtually useless. Telephone poles are usually down, so you can't count on that, and in many cases you won't have electricity either. How do you plan to survive? Do you even have a plan to survive that every family member knows of? How long will your rechargeable devices, fresh water, food, and other supplies last? Tough questions.

Sometimes humans pool together to help one another, while other times it gets nasty and the dark side of human nature pits one against the other.

Much like a "Will", which covers things cleanly after you depart this world, you should have a well thought out plan for life, because when it becomes "everyone for themselves", you'd wish you had one in hand.

There are the usual things you can do:

• Store batteries with the different sizes you require, just remember to use them as needed so you can replace them with fresh batteries. Same goes for food and water (water jugs are okay as long as they aren't stacked on concrete - above concrete is okay).
• If you or someone in your family requires medication, make sure you have a box "ready-to-go". Use it up, and as it's refilled put the newer meds in the box. You may as well throw in bandages, gauze, and other supplies as well.
• Look into portable generators that run off gasoline. Some of these are a lot quieter than you would think.
• Do some research and buy a combo radio, like the Kaito Voyager KA500 pictured below.

What makes it special?



• When the Unexpected happens You Better be ready - 11 Bands + NOAA Weather Alerts + Shortwave.

• 11 bands - AM/FM, Shortwave SW1 & SW2 plus 7 weather bands Durable Construction: Manufactured to be water resistant & has a rubberized body
• It's 4 Way Power source is very important: You can recharge this via Solar, or the hand crank, 3 "AA" batteries (not incld), AC Adapter (not included) AND, it has a USB port for charging things that charge via USB
• 5 LED Reading lamp for Camping & Emergency, Includes power Tips for most Cell Phones

Not bad for under $50.

• Buy some old CB radios, mobile (car) and portable (handheld). Picking them up used is fairly inexpensive and assures you that you and your family can communicate between each other until Cell towers and electricity is online again.
• Study and get your HAM license. It's not hard; there's no code requirement any longer, and many young people are getting licensed now. I'd still do the first option with CB radios, but HAM radios will give you greater opportunities. For instance, you can buy VHF/UHF handheld radios or HF (High Frequency) transceivers that will allow you to talk around the world - or to your local emergency coordinators.
• Once you get a HAM license, join the emergency groups - you'll get a lot of good info.
• If you don't have one, it would be a good time to buy a weapon or two and ammunition. You don't have to go crazy but, it's not going to kill ya to go to the range now and then and practice, or even take a Saturday and get your concealed handgun license. I'm not proposing you go out and purchase assault weapons, however a shotgun or two and several hand guns wouldn't be out of line when it comes to protecting you, your family, and your property.

Yes, this is an unlikely topic for this Blog, however I named it what I did so I could write about any subject I chose to. There more to write about this subject which I'll include in Part 2.

'Nuff Said,

Woody

BTW: if you ever have a problem viewing one of my blogs, try an alternate view, like TIMELINE or another web browser like Fire Fox or Chrome.

REVIEW:

BAOFENG UV-5R+

[PART ONE]

A crop of unknown brand/Chinese 2-way electronics have been popping up with more frequency. This particular model, the Baofeng UV-5R+ was made specifically for 3 online vendors (Ebay, Amazon, and-i-forgot-the-last-one). I encountered this model on Amazon.com, and it seems to vary in price; either $49, or $54.99. Compare either price to any low end Yaesu, Icom, or Kenwood and you'll find a vast difference in price.

A Fairly complete list of features would be:

Frequency Range: 136-174 / 400-520 MHz


Dual-Band Display, Dual Freq. Display, Dual-Standby

Output Power: 4w/1w

128 Channels

50 CTCSS and 104 DCS

Built-in VOX Function

1750Hz Burst Tone

FM Radio (65.0MHz-108.0MHz)

LED Flashlight

Large LCD Display

High /Low RF Power Switchable

25KHz/12.5KHz Switchable

Channel Step: 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/20/25/50 KHz

Dual band, dual display, dual standby

A/B band independent operation

128 groups channels storage

The manual is lacking quite a bit, but I've found some of our more established vendors coming out with a new product and a crappy manual. I read what I could find on the web about it, including my favorite "Go-to" review site - EHAM.NET REVIEWS as well and figured it would be much easier configuring this thing with the software and cable (an extra $10 at the time).

As usual, it arrived packed in an Amazon box in two days, and when I opened up the Baofeng box I found a dualband HT that looked less toy and more Ham-like. It was partiall charged but I popped it into the stand up charger anyways.

FITS INTO MY HAND JUST FINE

Once charged, I compared (receive only) with my VX-6R and found that they were both close, however the UV-5R+ did seem to pick up the local repeater I used in some places I could never get the Yaesu to do.

The software and cable are kinda weird. The software being very basic, and try sticking to the same USB port each time, or you'll have to set aside another one as a COM port. If you've heard that the cable doesn't fit quite right, you're correct. To make a good solid connection while programming the HT it's best to keep one hand firming putting pressure on the cable where it connects to the radio. I hope the external speaker/microphone isn't that bad.

Okay, a taste for now - more later....END PART ONE

'Nuff Said,

Woody

RADIO INTERFERENCE












I was reading an interesting article about one fellows radio interference (electrical hash) and it was the electronic version I get on my iPad, so any references he made with links I was able to click-and-go-to. Many times this type of stuff is the electric companies fault, but in this case it wasn't.

Watch the interesting video by Sam Rashleigh below to see what I mean -

THE MORNING NEWS

• Traffic sucks, wherever you are
• Microsoft blocked 20,000 ARRL member emails
• Male pattern baldness is now starting in high school
• In a note of interest about last nights TV episode of "Person of Interest", they were stuck on an Island off New York and while they didn't come out and say it, we were to assume it was "Sandy". The person of interest's police contact called the Island police station on the emergency police frequency and while it was only a quick shot, the deputy picked up an E.F. Johnson Turner-style microphone and in the background you could make out what appeared to be an E.F. Johnson 223 CB.

FROM THE "I GOT SLAMMED DEPT."

The ARRL reported a Florida Ham was issued a $25,000 fine for operating on frequencies not licensed for. Apparently he was jamming and otherwise being a nuisance on a frequency used by, in this case, the Florida prison system.

 

NEW REVIEW COMING: BAOFENG UV-5R+ Dual-band HT

And, that's the news....

'Nuff Said,
Woody

REVIEW:

UNIDEN BEARCAT 980 AM/SSB

[THE END]

Yep, I finally got around with finishing this review, then spent a couple days looking for my review notes - but now I'm ready to spill the beans....

In our last exciting episode I believe I was comparing this to Midland's 79-290, somewhat feature-wise, but mostly the footprint (the space that it takes up in your vehicle) and comparing it to my daily companion: a Cobra 138 GTL 40ch. mobile.

First, the weight difference. Neither radio had mounting brackets or microphone attached, so I was weighing the radio only.  The 980 was (to my surprise) 2lbs. 6oz while the 138GTL came in at 5lbs. 8oz.

I can only speculate that the added plastic and SMD's in the 980 was the reason it was so light weight. Once again, it's weight was similar to the Midland. I spent a week with the 980 in the truck and came up with these non-scientific results using Wilson's "lil Wil" mag mount on the roof of my SUV:

• Either the receiver was too "Hot", or the Adjacent Channel rejection NOT, but I experienced/noticed an unusual amount of bleed over from channel 19.
• YES - that damn beep was driving me freaking crazy. Why they couldn't have put an on/off control, and/or volume setting to the beep is beyond me.
• I never found a perfect visual setting for being able to see everything on the front panel, during mid-afternoon driving time (I have the same problem with my GPS).
• Receive audio was done with Icom's SP10 external speaker, which I've always used when mobile so it was the only fair choice I had to compare it with the Cobra's, as it too used the SP10. Except for the extra bleed over, I couldn't really tell a difference, although I missed the tone control on the front panel of the Cobra.
• Transmitting audio seemed about the same. Those that replied to my A/B test were split down the middle - about 50% preferring the Cobra, and 50% the 980.
• Noise Blanking. When it came to this category I'd have to call it even (which is good, because many transceivers have lousy noise blankers in them).
• The weather function worked very well, in fact, much better than any other CB I've had with a weather reception feature.
• The purchase price was very reasonable.
• That's about it. The only really BIG question is: "How long will this last?" My Cobra is about 35 years old and still working fine. I don't expect the 980 to do the same, but it would be nice to buy a new rig and have it last longer than a year or two before it's junked.

SUMMARY -

In some respects the Uniden Bearcat 980 surprised me, because if you're a regular reader of this Blog you know that I'm not a big fan of anything made in China. The fact that it's not as deep as a full-sized rig may help those with limited mounting positions/space, but they'll have to take the daylight driving vs. seeing the screen into consideration as well when choosing a mounting location. Perusing the Internet via Google I found a mod to kill the beep, but no one replied that they tried it too and it worked, so I'm still dubious about that one, and really, that's about the only Mod I found for this transceiver. If I were in the market for a new AM/SSB rig I would definitely consider this one (and probably buy it), but I'm not, so the 138 is back in it's usual spot in the truck.

'Nuff Said,

Woody

Note: Updated May 2026 with verified historical link corrections