BEARCAT 880

I've been a Uniden fan for a long time. I have never had a bad Uniden radio. It was time to upgrade my old badly abused Uniden for my new vehicle and am happy to report that these new Unidens are even better! I was able to match the display colors to my existing displays in my vehicle, lots and lots of color choices. The performance has been great, and the speaker on the unit should be loud enough for most enclosed vehicles. Sound quality is very good compared to most CB radios. Very easy to use controls, and the scanning feature is handy.This radio is very close to a standard DIN size, but just a bit larger in all dimensions. I really wish Uniden had made this a DIN sized case with DIN mounts for easy dash mounting. I was able to mount mine into a modified DIN space. I'll try to upload a photo. I just opened up the front DIN face a bit in all 4 dimensions, and it hangs out a bit further than ideal, but is fine. The bottom firing speaker is plenty loud even installed in the center counsel. Very nice to have a built in SWR meter and various gain controls.Very happy with this radio and recommend it to friends.

Awesome unit! Make sure you get a good antenna and tune it.Below is my review(part of it) from a midland handheld about CB wavelength. Figured I would post it here for some tips.-- From midland handheld reviewA few people commented on the poor transmission/reception. CB band does not transfer well into handhelds in general. FCC used to allow 5 watts then lowered it to 4 watts.4 Watts is not a lot power especially on the 27MHz AM bands. (12 watts for SSB is allowed).Radio performance is pretty simple: Power and the antenna. The technology has not changed in decades and its all the same radio principal so performance from one handheld to another should have little to do with the unit itself but rather the antenna. The 27 MHz band is pretty low and generates a fairly large wavelength. Full antenna required would be on the size on 36 feet long, ½ wave 17 feet and ¼ 8 feet. On autos with the large ground plane there is a compromise and a 36"-48" whip works well. For a handheld CB to pack all that in a small antenna does not work well at all. Back in the day the old CB handhelds had 6' retractable antennas.This is a great unit and works great for CB knowing the inherit limitations of the 27 MHz band. If you are looking for a handheld to talk to another handheld look in the FRS/GMRS band radios which start at 462 MHz. The wavelengths are much shorter and a full antenna is 2 feet, 1/s wave 1 foot and ¼ 5 Inches. So you have pack a true ¼ wave antenna on the unit.Cellphones could never work without being in the UHF and above bands so they can generate the smaller wave with a small antenna.I think this is a lot of value for the money with all the options, etc. Feels solid in your hand and I like it a lot!

I bought this radio to put into my 80's Toyota, under my stock-sized 1-DIN deck.With MINOR trimming to the bezel with a dremel and some very light fabrication, it fit PERFECTLY into the lower radio spot.Originally, I bought this radio for this reason, and only required the WX-band feature and knew nothing about Uniden radios (I've always bought and been satisfied with Cobra's 29 series)This unit has changed my perspective 100%, however. Price point, quality, and features put it squarely in the quality range of the 29-LX series radios with far easier to use features and benefits, while being cheaper as of Q2 / 2023. Notable is the 4-pin to 5-pin handset adapter included, and the built in SWR/CAL features.Without being peaked/tuned, I'm getting about 5mi of range off a 3" Firestik/Firering combo with a SWR of 1:3. All with an install that looks near-factory optioned.If you're considering it, buy one.

5 Year Update! - So you're looking for a long term use update, I got it for you.Radio has worked this entire time, the stock microphone cord finally dry rotted (baking in sun no doubt), so I got an Astatic 636l which I am told sounds absolutely amazing compared to the stocker.What has broke: The only thing that has "broke" and I say that loosely is at the channel side of the lcd screen I can definitely tell that it's faded out on the last few mm (yes millimeters) very little but I can definitely tell it has faded out. Other than that, the radio seems to work now just like it did all those years ago when it was new. I would most likely buy one of these again unless something that looks cooler comes along and works OK. I would advise buying a new mic though if you care about that at all, otherwise the stock mic is still fine.This is the end of the 5 year update, original update is below.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is my first CB radio so take my comments with a bit of inexperience.The knobs feel sturdy, the buttons feel sturdy,The good:LooksSturdyChanges colorComes with mount bracket, and mic holderCons/otherThe SWR meter that is built in, I don't know how close to being right it is... when I first tested without trimming the antenna it was high, over two on some channels. I pulled it out around 1/4 inch, and now its basically perfect 1:1 on every channel, with a very small variation sometimes like 1.1.I needed a radio that looked modern and would assist me in interstate travels, this has already proven itself.UPDATE: 10 months of useI have been using the BC daily for the last 10 months, first with a little wilson antenna which did a nice job, but I moved up to a Wilson 1000 which does a better job.The radio still works great, everything still works and I have not had an issue with it, no do I have any complaints (this is a big deal).I did send my Bearcat in to be "peaked and tuned" and is now swinging 30 watts on the bird meter with a 6 watt dead key. It has continued to work fantastic with daily use and has not failed me. I wish I could nit pick and find something that annoys me in daily use but I can't think of any.Unimportant consLCD viewing angle is not friendly if mounted on the side of the center console.... but again there is little to no reason to ever look at it, you can see it fine at night also.The beep when you turn the knob, again this only happens if you turn a knob or hit a button (the volume knob and squelch DO NOT beep). I rarely change channels, and the only time I hear the beep is if I change from day to night. It's really not annoying.Random prosThe mic sounds good for stock, have had no complaints.