Bearcat 980 SSB - want to use as a Base station, what power supply?

[CobraJockey]

I just bought a new Bearcat 980 SSB, we will be moving to a semi-remote area hill-top and I want to use it as a SSB/CB base station for emergencies and skipping, instead of as a truck mobile. I've been out of SSB and HAM for a few decades, so we're looking for some Experienced advice on what to buy. The Specs for the 980 shows it needs a peak 5A 12VDC (13.5V) service. But I'm not sure just how "clean" or regulated a power supply it needs to be??

Can I just use a good rated 5A 12V power "Brick", or should I invest in a nice variable Amp and DC Voltage "Bench Power Supply"?? Is that over-kill for a small SSB radio like this that only puts out 4W on CB and 12W PEP SSB??

I found a couple examples I'm considering on Amazonie -

A Bench Lab level DC Variable / Switching 0-30VDC/-10A (I can use it for other bench repair work)


or - a more simple AC to DC 5A Power Brick with over-current protection?


Or, something in between? Got suggestions you're using? I'd like to stay between $20 to $50

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[mmckenna]

Since ripple on the DC supply can translated into noise on your transmitted signal, you want to use a good regulated power supply that's designed for communications use.
Something like this would be a good option:

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Compact-Bench-Power-Supply/dp/B00069RB1Q/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=12+volt+5+amp+communication+duracomm+power+supply&qid=1630632150&sr=8-17

I tend to use higher tier models, but that puts the price pretty high for most. Samlex and Duracomm make good stuff, but costs quite a bit more and probably not necessary for what you are doing.

If the CB is all you are ever going to run, then the Pyramid I linked to would be fine. If you intend to run more than one radio at any point, consider upsizing to something larger to give you more capacity.

 

[kd1sq]

Switching power supplies (those little cube shaped dinguses) and the cheaper similarly claimed linear supplies are not the best things to use with radio receivers. That type of device is one of the major sources of the noise that blankets the radio waves wherever people live from DC to UHF nowadays.

Suggestion: Astron RS-7A. That'll give you clean, regulated DC. Built like a brick outhouse and repairable by the owner as well.

I own three of them - the oldest one (a RS-20M) has been ticking away now for almost forty years without a problem.

 

[CobraJockey]

Since ripple on the DC supply can translated into noise on your transmitted signal, you want to use a good regulated power supply that's designed for communications use.
Something like this would be a good option:

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Compact-Bench-Power-Supply/dp/B00069RB1Q/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=12+volt+5+amp+communication+duracomm+power+supply&qid=1630632150&sr=8-17

I tend to use higher tier models, but that puts the price pretty high for most. Samlex and Duracomm make good stuff, but costs quite a bit more and probably not necessary for what you are doing.

If the CB is all you are ever going to run, then the Pyramid I linked to would be fine. If you intend to run more than one radio at any point, consider upsizing to something larger to give you more capacity.

If I'm looking for something that has a tight regulation and low noise, and it's in the near $50 buck range, I'd rather go with something like this Benchtop Regulated and Filtered for Low Noise variable power supply that has to be for microcircuit testing and repair, like this YIHUA 305D-IV Regulated Variable DC Lab Power Supply 0-5A 0-30V Low Noise Bench Switch Mode Power Supply at $45.00 That way I get something I can also use for circuit repairs (my other "hobby").

Do you see any problem in using this? Again, I'm mostly going to use the Bearcat in SSB and even their specs show a 5A PEAK in 12W SSB ?

 

[K4EET]

<snip>
Suggestion: Astron RS-7A. That'll give you clean, regulated DC. Built like a brick outhouse and repairable by the owner as well.

I own three of them - the oldest one (a RS-20M) has been ticking away now for almost forty years without a problem.

I'll add a vote for the Astron RS-7A although the delivered price is going to be in the $90 to $100 price range. Even Amazon raises the price to $110 with free shipping. Based on @CobraJockey 's request to try staying below $50, the Astron RS-7A is over-budget by a factor of 2. But like @kd1sq was highlighting, Astron power supplies are indestructible. I have had two Astron RS-50M supplies running continuously for 39 years supplying +13.8 VDC to my shack's equipment. Astron power supplies are where the Energizer Bunny Rabbit comes to recharge his fuel cells!

If the OP's budget is fixed or tight, the $40 Pyramid PS7KX power supply that @mmckenna suggested from Amazon is probably the best bang for the buck. Not the best choice out there but it complies with the preferred $20 to $50 price points. Perhaps as time goes on and the OP's hobby continues to grow, they will remember the Astron brand of linear power supplies and end up adding one or more Astrons to their equipment complement. I know that I started out with not-the-best-of-the-best power supplies but as time went on and I got more expensive +13.8 VDC equipment that needed a reliable power source with over-voltage protection, etc. so as to not damage my expensive equipment if a malfunction should occur, I started buying only Astron power supplies.

Lastly but definitely not least, I want to welcome the OP, @CobraJockey, to Radio Reference. Feel free to ask any question as there are no stupid questions! You have a very large audience here with a vast amount of knowledge on anything "Radio Reference" and willing to help you in your hobby. We all have probably asked the same questions you have at one point or another in our lives. Enjoy your time here at Radio Reference where there are "gazillions" of virtual pages of interesting discussions, useful data and a whole lot more.

Cheers! Dave

 

[prcguy]

How far are you from Los Angeles? I probably have one I could give you. Otherwise Astron is a great brand with the best warranty in the business. You can get a used 20 amp linear version for about $50 used or a newer lighter weight switching version for about $75. I think something larger than a 7A rated supply will serve you better into the future.

 

[slowmover]

What is sold by larger radio gear retailers also ought to figure into comparisons. This is that, they don’t want returns.

eHam, for reviews.

 

[KB4MSZ]

Feel free to ask any question as there are no stupid questions!

For CB operation, should the power supply leads be cut to 18' lengths?

 

[mmckenna]

For CB operation, should the power supply leads be cut to 18' lengths?

Careful, that's going to catch on and be the new "rule" for CB...

 

[prcguy]

Yes and since that's a half wavelength of power cord at 27MHz use 16ga wire (27/468 = 17.33 X .95 dielectric constant = 16.44ga wire).

For CB operation, should the power supply leads be cut to 18' lengths?

 

[slowmover]

For CB operation, should the power supply leads be cut to 18' lengths?

A length sufficient to get 5-6 wraps of POS/NEG thru a Mix 31 1/2” i.d. Snap On Ferrite.

.

 

[cralt]

That way I get something I can also use for circuit repairs (my other "hobby").

Why not just built a power supply? A 13.8 voltage regulator is under a buck. A salvaged transformer, some caps and 4 diodes or a bridge rectifier. Put it all in a box and your good to go for almost no money.

The problem with cheap switchers is you can get them clean on the power leads but the device it self emits all sort of RFI out the case. Your homebrew "analog" linier power supply will be totally RF quiet.

 

[prcguy]

Most switching supplies marketed for radio use like Astron, Powerwerx, Samlex, etc, do not emit anything to worry about. If the OP wants a lab supply to double for CB use and he was local to me for pickup I would consider giving him a 0-18V 5A lab supply with current limiting and metering. I recently helped a friend dispose of about 50 of them cheap and they are this model. Mastech GPS-1850D Regulated Variable DC Power Supply - 18V, 5A | eBay

Why not just built a power supply? A 13.8 voltage regulator is under a buck. A salvaged transformer, some caps and 4 diodes or a bridge rectifier. Put it all in a box and your good to go for almost no money.

The problem with cheap switchers is you can get them clean on the power leads but the device it self emits all sort of RFI out the case. Your homebrew "analog" linier power supply will be totally RF quiet.

 

[K6EEN]

Here's a screen shot of the specifications from the BC-980SSB manual for current draw: 2.2 amps in AM transmit, 4 amps in SSB transmit. An Astron RS-5A (or RS-5L with cigarette lighter socket on front) has a 4 amp continuous current rating, 5 amp peak rating. In single-sideband mode, the peak current from the BC-980SSB will be 4 amps, but average current much less. I'd go with the RS-5A or RS-5L and save some money over the RS-7A.

I have an Astron RS-4L I use to power a BC-880 AM-only CB, but the radio only draws slightly over 2 amps on AM transmit, and the RS-4L is rated at 3 amps continuous, 4 amps peak. So it does the job.

 

[stomp_442]

Don't get a Uniden 980SSB. The display has issues. The first gen radios were ok and even some of the early second gen radios, but the ones they sell now have a problem with the display. If you use the radio in a mobile environment and it gets hot, like in a locked car in the summer when the interior temps get nice an toasty, the display will fail. Once that happens it's like that forever. So if you do buy a Uniden 980, never put it in your vehicle. I love my 980, but now it sits in a box on the shelf because the display has failed.

 

[cralt]

Ya the 980 is starting to look like that in my jeep. The one my brother got about the same time is set up in his garage and still looks 100% ok. I think your right about car temps being the killer of the display, it started failing in July. Its a real shame because I like the radio.

With FM on the way I will wait for President to start selling the AM/FM/SSB McKinley here in the states and replace it with that.

 

[K6EEN]

I've had a 980SSB in the vehicle for 9 months or so, throughout summer in the desert southwest. Got the unit on sale for $129 at a truck stop over the holidays. Seems to still be working OK for now. Don't expect to get more than a year or two out of a $100-$150 price point radio in the mobile anyway. My MFJ mobile tuner (around $150) I use for matching the 102 inch whip bit the dust sooner than the 980SSB, variable capacitor shaft came loose from its insulated grommets, and is contacting the chassis case and grounding out. Sustained mobile use is going to be hard on any cheap radio gear.

Agree the President AM/FM/SSB with PL/CTCSS tone encoding/decoding is the one to wait for. But no issues with the 980SSB in the meantime.

 

[iMONITOR]

Don't get a Uniden 980SSB. The display has issues. The first gen radios were ok and even some of the early second gen radios, but the ones they sell now have a problem with the display. If you use the radio in a mobile environment and it gets hot, like in a locked car in the summer when the interior temps get nice an toasty, the display will fail. Once that happens it's like that forever. So if you do buy a Uniden 980, never put it in your vehicle. I love my 980, but now it sits in a box on the shelf because the display has failed.

I've been reading about problems with that CB for sometime now. Before they thought it was due to vibrations not heat. Maybe both? Uniden has been having nothing but problems with just about everything they make in the last couple of years. Scanner radios, radar detectors, and CB's. Sad.

 

[CobraJockey]

I ended up finding a Pyramid PS9KX for $43 / free shipping from a dealer on EBay. But I'm still looking for a cheap regulated and filtered Bench 1-30VDC /10A max supply so I can do repair "projects" for friends.

The Uniden 980SSB I have will never see the road, strictly a base station with an external muffin fan blowing some extra cool air on it to give it the "chills" for long health.

PS, I have an old Uniden CB (only 23 ch) from the mid 70's I bought new when the USAF stationed me at Travis AFB after 2yrs in Nam, to teach flying while going to UCB down Hwy 80 for my MSc. Worked 100% then and still works now like new, though I don't use it any more except to laughingly fire it up for old memories once every 10 years, "good buddy, 10-4".

 

[CobraJockey]

Re. the Uniden 980SSB LCD Display failure....
Freaked me out when a couple of you referenced an issue with the LCD failing, especially since I just bought one, first new radio since the 1980's! I bought it because it has been around for quite a while and a lot of respected owners and reviews on YouTube who bought theirs, not gotten free ones from Uniden, raved about this radio - which I will hardily agree with now that I've had mine for nearly two weeks of playing with it. The hundreds of owner reviews on Amazon (where I bought it) are like 99% insanely positive, with no mention of the Display Fail. Otherwise I would have hesitated to buy.

I have to say I couldn't find much of anything on the Net after Googling the problem, just a couple threads on a CB forum board and nothing on the Uniden owners forum.

As I wrote in the OP, mine will be strictly a Base-station, I'll put my newish Radioddity DB20-G GMRS that's in my old 4x4 P-Up into a 4x4 new Bronco when we move to the boonies of N Alabama. But, I'm thinking when this issue with the LCD failing on the Uniden's is strickly a vibration caused issue, not heat. For a multi-segment LCD (or the old LED) display to partially fail is symptomatic of sections to physically fail. I used to fly a Robinson R44 Clipper II that was the first with the newer LCD displays for gauges. Some segments began to fail after 100+ hours, it was vibration the panel manufacture wasn't expecting from the Robinson's; if you've ever flown in a Robinson, they vibrate a LOT. Our Charter Service also had a couple MD-500 and a 600N, and a real old Bell 400 I loved flying. These all felt like a Mercedes compared to the Robinson.

Everyone knows Jeep's (not so much Housewife Cherokee's) ride is rough, even on a smooth road. Those of you with 980SSB that have had LCD fails, were these a complete display fail or partial? And, could you be thrashing the radio in a rough 4x4 OR experience? Just curious.

This is literally the only forum thread I could find that talked a bit about a display fail - Uniden Bearcat 980 SSB Display failing