Uniden Bearcat ssb/am

[donny dobbs]

I opened my Bearcat and raised the modulation level using a modulation meter. Put it at around 80-90 percent according to the meter. Raised the AM level from around 2.5 watts to 4 watts. Checked SSB output and it was around 8 watts pep. Raised it to 10-12 watts pep. Connected it to my diy Moxon horizontal beam and made some good contacts from Idaho to S. California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Alaska. Contacts were barefoot. Also used a diy vertical 1/4 wave antenna and made several good contacts with it also. Skip contacts were SSB. I have a Turner +3 mic on the Bearcat. Reports say I am loud when the conditions are good.

Allen I’m getting ready to put up my Moxon. Any hints ? Height , rotor,tripod it will be roof mount. Any trouble pointing it .

 

[711]

The mic and transistors prior to the preamp suck. A power mic is really what these newer. Bearcat radio’s need. After that the final section , although mosfet are severely held back and no amount of retuning does any good. The usual RM Italy stinger that seem to be the go to does the right job. Dude on YouTube has done a fair amount of work on his replacement front panel that adds channels and a few other stuff

 

[Alan Blackmon]

Allen I’m getting ready to put up my Moxon. Any hints ? Height , rotor,tripod it will be roof mount. Any trouble pointing it .

I'd say go with what you have on hand. I have repeatedly tried to upload a photo of what I did. Not working out today. Anyway I used a satellite dish mount that is called a non-penetrating mount or a sled mount. I put it up on my patio awning and the put some brick on it to weigh it down. The pole where the dish slid on I put some metal mast tubing over that and then installed the antenna. Patio is 9 feet high. mast assembly is about 12 feet high. So my Moxon is 21 feet high.

The mast material rotates freely on the dish mount. I can climb a ladder and rotate as I need to. I have not bought a rotor as yet.

Rest of the story. My nieghbor and wife did not like the Moxon. So for now it is down. When the skip rolls back in I am ready to put the Moxon back up and enjoy myself. Should take only about half hour to get it up.

 

[Alan Blackmon]

The mic and transistors prior to the preamp suck. A power mic is really what these newer. Bearcat radio’s need. After that the final section , although mosfet are severely held back and no amount of retuning does any good. The usual RM Italy stinger that seem to be the go to does the right job. Dude on YouTube has done a fair amount of work on his replacement front panel that adds channels and a few other stuff

I used a Turner Plus3 with my 980.

 

[BammBamm]

Put a rm Italy kl203p on that radio and it becomes a serious skip contender.

 

[Alan Blackmon]

Have a Cobra XL250 ac powered unit on the base station. I put the KL200 in the mobile.

 

[Alan Blackmon]

The 980 in my mobile with a firstik II 5 footer with no KL200 did make a quick contact from central OR to FL while I was on a road trip. Conditions were good for all of 90 seconds. We heard and spoke with one other and then everything just faded out.

 

[711]

My Moxon before I raised it up

 

[Alan Blackmon]

Very nice

 

[Alan Blackmon]

I found a photo of mine that works for upload. I am pretty proud of the antenna. I like yours too. Very good construction from what I see.

 

[Alan Blackmon]

Oh the other black pipes you see is a DIY solar system for my pool

 

[9C1Driver]

The mic and transistors prior to the preamp suck. A power mic is really what these newer. Bearcat radio’s need. After that the final section , although mosfet are severely held back and no amount of retuning does any good. The usual RM Italy stinger that seem to be the go to does the right job. Dude on YouTube has done a fair amount of work on his replacement front panel that adds channels and a few other stuff

To date there is no marketable or realistic channel mod for the masses on the 980. If that was to ever become a simple 45 dollar mod I would have one for sure.

 

[711]

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Any idea what the cost is?

 

[TheRealPorkchop]