Cobra 29 LX/ Cobra 29 LX BT/or Uniden Bear Cat 980 ssb

The 980 gives you sideband which means more play area without modifications.

 

Cbradiomagazine.com has good reviews on all three radios. I have the Bearcat 980 and 29 lx , and have used them both over the last year and a half. Both radios basically have all the same features, except the 980 obviously has Sideband, which I like to use when skip is rolling and Im sitting somewhere. Both radios stock have a carrier of 3.5 watts and the modulation is loud and clear. On the review , cbradiomagazine.com, for the 980 his conclusion was that the modulation was not up to par unless a power mic was used, but I havnt experienced the same dilema, maybe he didnt have the mic gain on full. The receive on the 980 seems to be better than the the 29, though the receive is still very good on the 29, and with the better receive on the 980 it also has a little bit more hiss, and you will find yourself adjusting RF gain level throughout the day. Speaking of adjustments, the 29 is more user friendly, especially when driving, because it has the traditional knobs, where on the 980 you have to hold in a button, key up mic , and turn channel knob to adjust mic gain and RF gain, which can sometimes require the use of both hands. The 980 is a 6 pin mic connector so if you want to use a 4 pin mic, like a Astatic 636 or a Roadking, you have to use the supplied 6pin to 4pin adapter. If you do choose to use the 980 stock mic, which is a good mic even though it feels cheap, I woud suggest opening it up and remove plastic adhesive that they put over mic element. Overall I really like both radios, and as I stated earlier neither radio has been peaked and tuned or modded, and with a good attenna setup on a 2016 Cascadia I have no problem Tx and Dx a solid 8 to 10 miles average with both radios. Hope this helps.

 

Meant to say Tx and Rx not Dx, as everyone knows Dx is shooting skip and one is able to make contacts further than 8 to 10 miles. In addition with the 980 it is not necessary to purchase aftermarket noise cancelling mic because stock mic is a noise cancelling mic, and works really well, however the stock mic on the Cobra 29 is useable but it is not noise cancelling and is unable to produce really good modulation, I would recomend getting a better mic. I also ( when they 1st came out) did own a 29 LXBT and the phone feature did work quite well, and the mic was a noise cancelling mic, howerever it was a 6 pin and there was no adapter included for a 4 pin mic, but as I remember a Ranger 6pin to 4pin would work. One feature the 29 BT had , that the regular 29 LX didnt, was backlit lettering on all the knobs, which was nice at night.