well that really suxs. i was thinking of replacing my old grant with the 980 .guess ill keep
my 20 plus year old grant in my mobile. guessing the cre in the mobile on ssb isnt great
either?????
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Got the Uniden 980 today!
- Thread starter ExitThirteen
- Start date
well that really suxs. i was thinking of replacing my old grant with the 980 .guess ill keep
my 20 plus year old grant in my mobile. guessing the cre in the mobile on ssb isnt great
either?????
If your Grant is still operating good, I wouldn't dare switch it out with a 980 or CRE.
I've owned both and I wouldn't swap either for a Grant. That's just how I'd roll.
I've owned both and I wouldn't swap either for a Grant. That's just how I'd roll.
Ok, so here is my update. Rather than try to hook up a linear to the 980 I opted to throw a 102" whip on the Jeep for highway use and keep a 3' fiberglass that I pre-tuned for trail use. I love the whip, but tacky and redneck suit me just fine 'cause that's just me and it does work great. I also decided to open up the alc a touch as it was factory set at 8, the dead key was just below 4, and the modulation was about 7-8. Alc was simple. I had no problem getting 12-15 from it. Modulation and dead key was a different matter for this one. Modulation-No matter how little, how much, 10 was the best. Dead key-It either scittered across the meter, was zero, or with patience 7w was acquired. As soon as the dead key was turned from its factory preset it wanted to do all sorts of crazy sh*t! Not sure WTF happened here but its either a 7w dead key or nothing on this radio:headbang, so no hopes of ever running an amp with this one. In reality tho, not a HUGE deal breaker, still "ok" for a factory rig, just seems the pots are overly sensitive on this particular radio. My long term plans are to transfer this radio to my pick-up. That's what I use for every day use and hunting. I like to sit in the truck and listen to the weather report while I finish my coffee before I grab my bow & head for my tree stand and this will work perfect for that. I'm thinking a galaxy dx979 will be a little better suited for the rugged use the Jeep gets, yet still be able to fit within the space I have available. Don't get me wrong, despite the adjustment issues I still like the 980 and its features, especially after disabling the damn beep. I just think that after the sensitivity issues of the internals to adjustment, it may be better suited to my other vehicle that doesn't get driven over large rocks, across river beds, and subjected to severe environmental conditions. Between these 2 radio choices I think I should be able to fulfill my requirements of radio usage in regards to weather updates, trail communications, and a base station/trail rig type communication in regards to the pickup with the Uniden 980 at base and my Jeep with the Galaxy Dx979. These are my opinions and findings. So, if you have your own I would be interested to hear what you have found out in your own radios.
I still think if someone can design and build supplement boards to get extra freqs and audio preamp and output stages then it would make the 980 a nice radio if that's possible. At the very least,put a good board in to handle all these chores and interface it to the front end display/control
Update:
I had a chance to mess around with the radio a bit.
You guys are gonna love this. Change out the 10.2417 crystal to a 10.6917 crystal and you have 27.415 - 27.855. I'm going to get a crystal custom cut for my 980 (since I stole the 10.6917 crystal out of another radio), and just toggle between the two crystals at first, and see how stable it is, if it's too unstable, I'll build a crystal oscillator to amplify the frequency of the crystals.
It doesn't show the change of frequencies on the front of the radio, because the microprocessor would need to be re-programmed with a new frequency set to properly match the actual frequency. At this point that would be a lot more trouble than what it's worth. I'm going to get a crystal ordered, and do more work, but this is promising. More details when I have more time to work on the radio.
~Cheers~
I had a chance to mess around with the radio a bit.
You guys are gonna love this. Change out the 10.2417 crystal to a 10.6917 crystal and you have 27.415 - 27.855. I'm going to get a crystal custom cut for my 980 (since I stole the 10.6917 crystal out of another radio), and just toggle between the two crystals at first, and see how stable it is, if it's too unstable, I'll build a crystal oscillator to amplify the frequency of the crystals.
It doesn't show the change of frequencies on the front of the radio, because the microprocessor would need to be re-programmed with a new frequency set to properly match the actual frequency. At this point that would be a lot more trouble than what it's worth. I'm going to get a crystal ordered, and do more work, but this is promising. More details when I have more time to work on the radio.
~Cheers~
Was there any loss of TX power in the upper freq range?
Or any adjustment necessary for the VCO or tripler to get it locked?
There is a little loss of output above 27.705, but with a TX chain alignment, that comes around. However, I haven't experimented much with how wide-banded the TX was simply because I ran out of time. As it is, I'm WAAAAAY past my bedtime! LOL
It didn't require any tuning of the VCO to get the upper 40 channels in. From the way it looks, the frequency is not tripled, but is directly mixed from what I can tell. Again, I need to do more research when I get some time on this. It appears that there are seperate VCO's for the TX AND RX according to what I have briefly mapped out, so it makes installing a reference divider impossible. I'll be doing more mapping of course here soon, but for now, here's what I have.
I have 26.965 - 27.405 (10.2417 crystal)
I have 27.415 - 27.855 (10.6917 crystal)
Power output drops a little after about 27.705 or so, but I was able to retune it up to 27.855 with no problems. However, I will have to experiment with how "wide-banded" the TX section is at a later time, and will report my findings then.
As soon as I get more time, I'll do more work and post my findings immediately. Please be patient with me is all I'd ask, as I have been swamped at work, and that limits my radio time. LOL
~Cheers~
It didn't require any tuning of the VCO to get the upper 40 channels in. From the way it looks, the frequency is not tripled, but is directly mixed from what I can tell. Again, I need to do more research when I get some time on this. It appears that there are seperate VCO's for the TX AND RX according to what I have briefly mapped out, so it makes installing a reference divider impossible. I'll be doing more mapping of course here soon, but for now, here's what I have.
I have 26.965 - 27.405 (10.2417 crystal)
I have 27.415 - 27.855 (10.6917 crystal)
Power output drops a little after about 27.705 or so, but I was able to retune it up to 27.855 with no problems. However, I will have to experiment with how "wide-banded" the TX section is at a later time, and will report my findings then.
As soon as I get more time, I'll do more work and post my findings immediately. Please be patient with me is all I'd ask, as I have been swamped at work, and that limits my radio time. LOL
~Cheers~
Today I couldn't hold back, and placed my order!
Placed thru that rain forest sounding internet store, and free shipping on both items. I ordered the 980 and a D104 handheld mic, i have been trying to sell a 29lX to make room on the bench. But may just keep it for a spare. Now to beep or not to beep, That is the question. Will have to see how it works with the D104 and maby a modulation tweak.
Placed thru that rain forest sounding internet store, and free shipping on both items. I ordered the 980 and a D104 handheld mic, i have been trying to sell a 29lX to make room on the bench. But may just keep it for a spare. Now to beep or not to beep, That is the question. Will have to see how it works with the D104 and maby a modulation tweak.
Got my new 980ssb today , and so far with the D104 M6c mic it's working good so far. and the Mic and radio seem to work pretty go together on AM and SSB.. Takes some getting use to but the receive on this radio (as a base unit ) is pretty dam good and sounds pleasnt on the ears.. to early to tell but I like what I see.....
If it's freq stable like my CRE-8900, it's a good deal and a pleasure to talk on SSB. I haven't taken the plunge yet for a 980. Pics? Enjoy!
I put a 980 in my wife's car last weekend and I have to agree... it has one hell of a receive.
Radio is working good with the D104 mic, Audio is good on both SSB and AM with great reports from down the street am and ssb both and some great skip barefoot and 110 wts. of help.. Can't use my external speaker with talkback but the internal is a good match and sounds great I will give it a 4+ stars
I will give it a 4+ stars
Today was the final test of the 980, I waited until the local ham/SSB local guys were on 38lsb and checked in to see how the stock radio was working with the D104m6b mic and I must be dead on freq or I would have been told I was off. I can give this radio the offical thumbs up and 5 star rating....Case closed
I don't spin the dial enough to worry about the beep. It does sound louder in the AM with coffee while everybody else is sleeping.I say buy one if you need a 40 chanel radio with SSB ordered stock. buy a mic and your good to go!!!!!!
I don't spin the dial enough to worry about the beep. It does sound louder in the AM with coffee while everybody else is sleeping.I say buy one if you need a 40 chanel radio with SSB ordered stock. buy a mic and your good to go!!!!!!