Bearcat 880 on sale, worth it?

to me, no. for you, maybe if you are going to leave it stock, or have a good tech that knows what he's doing. catch the old standby cobra 29/25 on sale is a better investment. the 880, 980, whatever they call them have surface mount boards in them, much harder to work on, smaller room for error, golden screwdrivers can screw them up easier, etc. just my .02

 

if that's what you are using it for, and you like the look, function of it, then go for it.

 

I bought the 980ssb last week. Haven't took the time to put it in yet. Probably do it next week. It had great reviews.

 

I'd like some reviews on that 980.
Almost bought a 4hp yesterday at petro in Effingham, but sales guy was a (similar word to donkey) and didn't want to put the time to talk me into it since I asked for pretty red colors lights

 

Ill let you know what I think about it once I use it for a week or so

 

I have been using the BC980 for about three weeks, since my President Grant started having issues. I was happy with it at first, but noticed it would lose signals fairly quickly (after maybe 1/12 -2 miles). I run a Wilson T2000 antenna, and with my stand alone meter (do NOT trust the internal SWR meter in the BC) am getting an SWR reading of about 1.3-1. Then I got the chance to swing by a highly respected shop off I-10 and US301 (west of Jacksonville FL) called "High Tech" and had them bench test and peak and tune it. For me, the best $20 I've spent in a long time. I now am able to transmit and receive out to 4-5 miles +. And am just running barefoot with the stock mic. I got it on sale at Loves for like $129, but with driver points only paid like $30 cash. After the tech fixed me up, I am very happy with it.

The only difference between the 880 and the 980 is SSB, which admittedly I haven't used much at all. I would say go for it, but find a GOOD shop/tech to tune it for you if possible. Just my $.02

 

even tuned up they suck. get a 25 or a 29 as a back up.

 

I've been using a 980 for a few months. The stock mic is a bit weak, but other than that, it works great.

Keep it stock; use an outboard amp if you need more smoke. The x80 series is not mod friendly.