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Thread: Deciding between two radios

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    Deciding between two radios

    So I'm getting back into cb radio after having none for a while. I've narrowed things down a bit, but haven't bought anything yet. Open to suggestions. Will be installed in a personal vehicle.

    I had good results with Wilson 1000 roof mount antennas 20 years ago and will go back to them unless there is a reason not to.

    Want to get into ssb this time. Which brings me to my dilemma.

    Two radios that stood out for size, price and reviews were the Uniden 980ssb and the Galaxy DX979.

    Please correct any misunderstanding i have about the comparison:
    Uniden does not drift on side band but is lower powered from the factory, while the Galaxy is a "bigger" radio but drifts on side band until it warms up.

    At first glance (I've not handled either) the controls seem intuitive on the Galaxy while I'm not sure how I feel about the menu-based controls on the Uniden.

    I'm looking for real world experience with stock radios. I'm not likely to spend a lot (if any) on mods or tweaks.

    Thank you all in advance for the input.

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    I wasn't too crazy about the 980...And the 979 I had, I never noticed it drifting on SSB either...Both of those radios are single final CB Radios, so neither one is going to be what you would call a "Power House"...You would need to look into the Export radios if your looking for something with a little more "Kick".

    I know you said you weren't too crazy about the "menu" style of the 980, but to tell ya the truth, most all the New radios are going to that, and once you get use to where everythings at, it's no big deal...You just need to get use to "setting it, and forgetting it" instead of constantly fooling around with the settings...

    That said...You may want to look at the New "President" line of radios that's on the market now...President's are made by Uniden and are more of a higher quality vs. the rest of the Uniden line...Kinda-like Chevy vs. Cadillac... both made by GM, just Cadillac is more of a Premium brand...

    Don't let the size of the President radios fool you either. These things have loads of features not found in most radios in the same price range...

    I have the President McKinley, it's not a power-house radio either, but has lots of features like TB, RBeep, weather, different colors for the meter, automatic squelch, scan, favorite channel lock, weather alert, up and down buttons on the mic, and more...I've had mine now going on 2 years, and have no plans on getting rid of it...Plus it fits nicely in the dash!

    I also have a 1x2 amp hooked up behind it, so I don't have any problems getting heard!



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    I'll throw my 2 cents in because I have both the Uniden 980 and the Galaxy 979 and there is good and bad in both of them and just depends on where the CB road takes you. Yes the 980 is very stable and good for DX if you pair it with a small amp. Which you will need if you want to be heard in skip-land. They claim it is harder to peak it if you decide and doesn't tune out as well as the 979. I like you dislike the 980 menu features unless you have a good memory and the face plate scratches rather easy. The 979 talks and receives really well and the controls are pretty straight forward like the older stuff but the knobs are a little close if you have big fingers. You don't have to open up the radio if you want to turn the power down or up. They say the 979 will peak and tune out better than the 980 if the road takes you that way. I really can't say about the Galaxy drifting issue because I haven't had it that long but if you are from Ohio like me from PA you see some cold weather. Like JJD said that President Mckinley radio looks real interesting and I wish I could get up close and personal with one. But it looks like it has the same BS menu as the 980. Like every thing else there is no perfect radio and hopefully others will chime in and you can sort thru it all. Check as many truck stops as you can or CB shops so you can get a up close look Good Luck PS The other nice feature of the 979 is you can just plug a 6 digit frequency counter into the back of it if you decide you want one.
    Last edited by whiteastro; 01-21-2020 at 08:28 AM.

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    Interesting thoughts from you guys about the 980. I do like the scan feature of the 980 and weather so if I am working in my garage [my primary soon to be radio shack] I can work on my old cars and fart around till i hear something that interests me.
    I think Uniden 980 put most of their money into the recieve section which by all accounts from reviews stands out and is very stable on SSB. Since you can very easily put in a amp on the 980 for 60 bucks that will out power a Galaxy for the same total amount of money and the Uniden has at least as good a receiver or better on SSB would you guys agree that maybe the 980 is the way to go if you can get over the ergonomics of the radio>? I prefer the Galaxy looks but it does lack a few features the 980 has. Just some random thoughts. Please correct me if I am missguided in my thoughts.
    Last edited by Turboomni; 01-22-2020 at 12:25 AM.

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    The 980 is a good radio. Don’t let the bad talk about certain things stop you from getting one. They are much better radios on SSB then the galaxy radios. This is my own experience with the 2 radios. Yes the Galaxy will peak out better then the uniden. A few more watts. Will it get you heard any better. Heck no. On SSB, every galaxy radio I’ve ever heard on SSB drifts a little. Especially in cold weather. The 980 doesn’t have this issue. The 980 that I bought long ago was spot on frequency out of the box. No need for it to be touched. Just add your amp and for SSB use it will be a good radio to start with. With all this said, I do like the look of the President radio that JJD is running. President radios are made by uniden. And if the new McKinley radio is anything like the older president radios, it’s a good radio. At any rate, if it were me, and I was going to use the radio for more SSB then AM, get the 980. If I was in the market for an AM radio that had SSB, the galaxy radios would be top of my list. They do sound good on AM. But for SSB use, get a newer radio that is more stable for SSB use. After you play a bit with the 980 and you start to get serious about SSB and making contacts, you’ll end up like I did, diving head first into the radio game. Like any other hobby it can become expensive. Radios, antennas, coax, and other stuff. I ended up getting an HF radio for my SSB use, an Icom 746, and man I am glad I did. 100w of power and it was on frequency all the time!! But you’ll end up spending some cash for a decent HF radio. If you think you will be getting into this hobby and are looking for a darn good radio, look at the Kenwood ts140s. They make a 100w and also a 200w model of this radio. And to top it all of, they don’t sound bad or perform bad on AM like some other HF radios do. Anyhow. For now, get the 980 and an amp and make some contacts. Also don’t forget that without a good antenna system, you are just pissing in the wind. Don’t skimp out on the antenna!! Spend as much as you can on an antenna setup. It will reward you with many contacts!!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Turboomni View Post
    Interesting thoughts from you guys about the 980. I do like the scan feature of the 980 and weather so if I am working in my garage [my primary soon to be radio shack] I can work on my old cars and fart around till i hear something that interests me.
    I think Uniden 980 put most of their money into the recieve section which by all accounts from reviews stands out and is very stable on SSB. Since you can very easily put in a amp on the 980 for 60 bucks that will out power a Galaxy for the same total amount of money and the Uniden has at least as good a receiver or better on SSB would you guys agree that maybe the 980 is the way to go if you can get over the ergonomics of the radio>? I prefer the Galaxy looks but it does lack a few features the 980 has. Just some random thoughts. Please correct me if I am missguided in my thoughts.

    Sounds like your heart is set on the 980 and that is probably the one you should get because we all have different requirements from our radios and antennas. Like was said don't go cheap on the antenna. The other nice feature of the 980 is the wireless microphone that you can talk and listen to at a respectable range. My 980 is going to take it's rightful spot in my custom built console between the seats of my custom road trip van where the weather channel might be helpful. Good Luck and make sure you get the second version of the 980 so you can silence the beep that annoys a lot of people.

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    One other thought on the 979...there is a 979F too! The difference being the 979F has a built-in frequency counter like the 959s....

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    I forgot about the wireless mic that can be used with it. Pretty neat mic they made for use with it. The 980 that is. I’ve walked around my entire house and even outside a ways from my radio and it works perfectly. I ended up drilling the mic hole a little larger. Did it by hand with a 1/8” drill bit. Been told it has clean, clear audio. If you look around you can find them for around $50 or cheaper. The BC906W. I see that there are some clone ones being made. Stick with the uniden one, JMHO.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JesseJamesDallas View Post
    One other thought on the 979...there is a 979F too! The difference being the 979F has a built-in frequency counter like the 959s....
    Yes JJD I struggled with that decision between the 979 and the 979F before I bought my 2ea. 979s. I remembered what Slim said from the cbforum.com that if your going to do SSB you should have a 6 digit frequency counter and the 979F is only a 5 digit counter. I figured Slim didn't get to be administrator with out knowing more than I did. LOL

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    Quote Originally Posted by 222DBFL View Post
    I forgot about the wireless mic that can be used with it. Pretty neat mic they made for use with it. The 980 that is. I’ve walked around my entire house and even outside a ways from my radio and it works perfectly. I ended up drilling the mic hole a little larger. Did it by hand with a 1/8” drill bit. Been told it has clean, clear audio. If you look around you can find them for around $50 or cheaper. The BC906W. I see that there are some clone ones being made. Stick with the uniden one, JMHO.

    I laughed when I read your post because I forgot about that feature also. LOL I figure if I go remote camping with my van that wireless mic will be good to monitor the radio. And yes by all means buy the uniden original with all the accessories.

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