My first QSO using the Xiegu G90 20 watt HF radio, with surprising results!

My unedited out-of-the-box first three QSOs. Starts with VE7SNC answering my short CQ on 20 meters. Sorry for the shaky and sometimes wandering camera! It just occurred to me to grab the camera after our QSO started. My CQ was also answered by two more stations: W9LCM in Indiana and K1IEB mobile on a simple HamStick near Austin, Texas.
When I say "unedited" I really mean it! I started calling CQ on the radio, and didn't think about grabbing my iPhone until VE7SNC answered my call. I was so pleased that ANYBODY heard me that I decided to take a video of the contact. Feel free to make fun of my camera technique--there isn't any! Also, please enjoy the thumb over the lens shots, and one where I just plain ol' forgot to hold the phone up on my subject. Amateur? Yes. Rank Amateur? Definitely.
Recommended Resources:
For those who have bought, or who plan to buy this radio, I strongly suggest that you join the groups.io group for this radio. You'll find them here: xiegug90.groups.io/
The supplied user manual, like most Chinese radio manuals, is entirely inadequate for some things. It can be especially frustrating to attempt to update the firmware on this radio without additional clear instructions, as I found out myself. Members of the group can help you get through this process.
I also strongly recommend downloading the very clear firmware update instructions posted on the www.connectsystems.com/ website. Connect Systems also offers a great 1 year warranty and a very attractive price. I bought my G-90 from them and have been very pleased with their service. They did a very thorough job in describing how to do the updates, and also have a nicely-edited user manual by a native English speaker/writer. By saying this, I don't mean to slam our Chinese friends--they speak and write better English than you and I can do Chinese. Probably. At least that's the case for me. And remember that they also built you a very nice ham transceiver!
You will also find a much improved user manual and good service at www.radioddity.com/
I've been a satisfied customer of theirs as well.
Yet another source on the web is Sinotel LTD, a British distributor that has the latest firmware (v1.77 as of 7/2021) and various other info on the G90. Click on the "Downloads" link on the upper left area of the main page, and then scroll about 2/3 of the way down the page to the Xiegu G90 area: www.sinotel.co.uk/
73,
Dave--K7DAA

[@DaveAndrus]

By the way, I bought the CE-19 expansion dongle from Radioddity in early December 2020, and haven't had the time to hook it up yet. Maybe I'll find some time to shoot another shaky, single-take video showing how to use it if anyone would be interested. My first impression is that it's smaller than I thought (which is good), but I had expected a jack for an external speaker, to make up for the lack of one on the G90 radio (I know--the earphone jack, but...), and there isn't one. The dongle does come with a bunch of cables, including the mini-DIN cable to hook it up to the G90. If you are going to be doing any external interfacing for data, like FT-8, or a linear amp, then this is for you!

[@xjohn1970]

get the 100 watt amp

[@AlvinMcManus]

That would be helpful.

[@gdrzym]

These Xiegu are really suprisingly good transceivers. I’ve learned this myself after buying one and my first QSO 😊 and having the VFO changed to a slightly bigger aluminium one it’s even much more comfortable to operate

[@5stargunsandgear]

Just ordered this been out of HF for 3 years medical issues force sale of about 19k in ham equipment. Too poor know for a 3500 hf so i figured this is a good way to get back in the hobby until i can affoard a better unit.

[@DaveAndrus]

I think you'll be pleased with it. Sorry to hear about your troubles. I had stage 4 colon cancer about 10 years ago, so I feel for you! Make sure and take the time to learn how to find all of the features of the radio, and what buttons to press to get there--you'll be very rewarded by all the fun little surprises this radio has. Also, check out the many videos on KZbin that describe various features. Good luck with the new phase of your ham career! 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@appalachianunderground8474]

I wish you well 👍🏻

[@ammoshortage]

I'm looking into this radio more and more. It's a toss-up between this and the IC-7300. I know the Icom is a way better radio, but I'm looking for a radio for my first dive into HF. I love everything I'm seeing about this radio. The G90 is becoming more and more of a desire. I might get it and get the 7300 later on down the road.

[@DaveAndrus]

@ammoshortage I agree with you! Hopefully you can get a fairly decent antenna up in the air--it will contribute more to your ham fun than an "upgrade" to the IC-7300 will. The G90 has lower transmit power than the 7300, but the antenna can more than make up for it. Buy the G90 now, and use the extra $500 you save as an investment in a decent antenna. 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@bradleyjohnson452]

Sounds and looks like a nice rig to get started on HF. Thanks for the video.

[@josephcoberly6495]

This is an awesome radio. I have no problems getting out there with 20 Watts. I had a QSO with a gentleman in Mexico City from West Virginia. 55 signal and was using the alpha whip antenna. This radio is just the cutting edge of what's to come. Thanks for your videos, Jim (K8BOW)

[@DaveAndrus]

Thanks, Jim! Yeah, I agree. These SDR radios are quickly taking over as the "normal" radio config now. I was also glad that this was not a 5 watt QRP radio. I have plenty of those already, but like you, I have to admit that I was surprised how well 20 watts gets out there.

[@fernandoscrenci4874]

The G90 is the Ultimate in QRP Radio/ technology!! And you just can't beat it!!

[@stevehildreth1934]

Interesting! My G90 just arrived today. I've opened the box and looked at it. I'll get it set up and checked out soon!

[@DaveAndrus]

There was a question buried in the comments about whether I think buying from Radioddity is a good idea, and I can't seem to find it now. My answer is a strong YES. They are solid guys, and have very decent prices. I will be buying other gear from them again. One thing I can't answer, though, is whether they ship to Europe, and what that experience might be for the customer. My best advice would be to check with them and see.

[@nicoschadjidemetriou4373]

Nice QSO Dave, thanks for the video. Now is 3am in Cyprus. Many years ago I had contacts with my FT 101 ,260W PEP SSB with Australia, Zealand, San Paolo ,New York, Africa, Pacific Ocean, etc. Only with a dipole i made on 20 meters. Now technology is advanced! 73s from 5B4ER.

[@DaveAndrus]

Nicos, I appreciate your comments. I'd love to make a QSO with you in Cyprus! Maybe we can do that when the HF propagation gets better. I still enjoy making contacts on SSB and CW more than any of the more advanced modes. Your FT-101 will still work just fine for that. I hope to meet you on the air some time! 73 from Dave, K7DAA

[@o2bnov0307]

Thanks for uploading your video. It's very nice to see the radio in action. I remember when I went to my Elmer's house for guidance on how to work a pileup. He told me about timing and generally accepted protocol. I called and called. Nothing. Then he said, "Wait a minute." I changed some cables, and said, "Try now." I was selected on the first call. I was very excited. He said, "It's amazing what you can do with beam antennas." (Opps. Sorry for the walk down memory lane.). Very kind of you to upload and share. Wishing you a nice weekend. If you happen to be near The Pie Pizzeria wave to it for me. I used to enjoy their stores in SLC and Ogden. 73 de David AE4LH

[@DaveAndrus]

Hey David! Thanks for the nice comments. Sorry it only took me a year to respond to you. Somehow I missed doing that. Yeah...beam antennas...ham radio is just a whole order of magnitude more fun (my poetic license there) when you've got some serious copper or aluminum in the air that you can point at a station or area of interest. It makes such a huge difference, and it doesn't have to be a giant antenna on a huge tower, all costing $$$. Oh hey, I've got some pieces of iPhone video showing my station at last year's QTH where I compared on-air signals using my hex beam on the roof at about 35 feet, an offset-fed dipole at the same height, and my Butternut HF-6V vertical on the ground. Guess which antenna won, hands-down? You've given me an idea for my next video! Now where did I put my video editing software...oh wait, I need to buy something! Standby for more... 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@MrScotchpie]

I have the X6100 and enjoying it. Here in the UK, foundation licence holders may be allowed to use 20w next year (currently 10w) and I'm eyeing this radio up. I like small compact radios and QRP and CW. This looks ideal. Thanks for posting.

[@joeframo3347]

Hey Dave I'm late up here in Atlanta Georgia with coronavirus covid-19 just came across your video that g90 boy what a great video you made really nice radio I don't know how I amateurs radio operators are watching this video but that radio is probably going to be off the shelves so many people going to buy it for that price point they won't be able to keep up making them but thank you man happy New year to you brother

[@DaveAndrus]

Really sorry to hear about your having the virus, Joe. I've got a number of what they call possible co-morbidities, and very concerned about avoiding exposure to it. I sincerely hope you recover fully!

[@cWatts-zv3oo]

Love my g90!

[@niftyfiftycampingadventure795]

Was looking for a compact QRP Rig and came across the G90.. After a lot of research totally sold . Looking forward to receiving my G90 . Thanks for the upload. 73s HS0ZOU

[@Tabbyf]

I like that the screen shows the db# number being received and wattage ## you put out during transmit. A fool and his money soon to part :)

[@sydwatson6842]

This is a great video Dave! Thanks for sharing it with us! I will officially have my licence in about 10 days from now. I've been looking for a really nice HF radio. The Xiegu G1M looked ok until I looked at this G90. After much investigation I'm sold on this little rig. Hopefully we can chat soon. My licence, which is an (Australian) Foundation licence (similar to your Technician Licence) covers 80m, 40m, 15m, 10m, 2m & 70cm bands. I'll look out for you when I am licenced to talk! OK? It's in the system as we speak. Cheers from Syd in Brisbane, Queensland, AU.

[@DaveAndrus]

Syd, thanks for your comments--I appreciate them! Good luck with your first ham radio experiences to come! 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@Don008Ramon]

G90 is a beast in a box

[@DaveAndrus]

Yeah, I'm very impressed with it. I haven't updated my firmware for awhile, and one of my friends told me that it has a setting for digital modes like FT-8 now. He's been using it on FT-8 at about 12-15 watts for the past few weeks, and is very pleased with the performance and DX he's getting. 73, and thanks for the comment! Dave - K7DAA

[@joeframo3347]

Hey Dave that's a beautiful contact that is a super nice radio just looking at the face of it reminded me of my pro 3 with all the colors very nice radio man for taking anywhere and I like it that they put 20 watts you can go down to 5 Watts qrp if you want I like the little extra 15 watts they gave it very nice thank you for sharing I subscribed to your channel

[@DaveAndrus]

Joe, I appreciate your comment AND your subscription!

[@MarkPentler]

20W vs 1kW. Nice. This radio is calling me so badly

[@fernandoscreni7992]

Really Great video !!! 👍

[@destinogaia7168]

Hello. Excelent video demostrating the capabilities of this rig. I´m looking for buy one of these very soon as my first HF transceiver. Thanks for this educational vid. Greetings from Colombia

[@DaveAndrus]

Eugenio, Gracias por visitar mi canal. I appreciate your comments. Please let me know when you get one, and what results you get. Maybe we could even schedule a QSO!

[@destinogaia7168]

@@DaveAndrus Hello. Of course. Greetings!

[@AdamosDad]

Great radio.

[@southjersey10]

I just went to the connect systems website and found that their price for the radio is the lowest that I’ve seen in the past week. Thanks for the review. I’ve been considering this unit as my first venture into SDR. At $425 for a radio with what has been described as a very robust internal tuner it’s hard to beat the price. It would be nice to have a larger screen; however, I have a few magnifying glasses laying around. Mark K3DEX

[@DaveAndrus]

Mark, I agree. Wish I could make the screen bigger, too. I've used the tuner and really like it. After having various radios with and without internal antenna tuners, I'm just about at the point where I won't buy a new radio unless it has one built in. This one is extra-nicely done, too, because it can scan a band and show you the antenna's SWR curve just like a dedicated antenna analyzer does. That's a big bonus on such a small, relatively-inexpensive rig. Sorta makes up for the small display! 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@homeralbufera7068]

Very clear audio of your QSO.

[@DaveAndrus]

Thanks! I was just using the built-in microphones on my iPhone Xs. The speaker on top of the Xiegu G90 is quite small, like the size of the speaker on a handie-talkie, but seems better quality. I have also used an external amplified speaker plugged into the Xiegu's earphone jack with good results. Thanks for your comment!

[@larrytruesdellsr.809]

I have no hf gear so this is good to listen. Please post more QSO videos. Thank you.

[@DaveAndrus]

Larry, I'd be happy to. Are you interested in QSO's with this particular radio, or just any of mine? I may operate QRP (5 watts) for the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes on 11/21-22. They are pretty rapid-fire. Maybe I'll put some of those up, too. Thanks very much for the idea! You may already know about this, but have you checked out the Web SDR receivers, where you can listen 24/7? Go to websdr.org and try my favorite, the Northern Utah receiver group.

[@larrytruesdellsr.809]

@@DaveAndrus any QSO videos would be great. Thank you for the tip, I will check into a sdr rcvr.

[@GG-vx7gi]

Great demo on the G90. I just ordered one from bridgecom systems in Missouri. Short term I'll be using as a reciever and to try out the tech portion of 10m. Should have my general later this year, will look at adding the xiegu amp or moving up to a 100w rig.

[@DaveAndrus]

Thanks for the comment. One of my friends that has a G90 also bought the amp for it, so he can run a bit over 100 watts. By the time he bought the G90 AND the amp, he had spent pretty close to what a 100 watt transceiver would cost. Not sure it's worth it unless someone is just really hooked on the G90. For that money, I might buy an Icom 7300. Very similar display, but huge compared to the G90's little one. Good luck on getting your General ticket!

[@GG-vx7gi]

@@DaveAndrus You're absolutely right on getting too much money invested in the g90 vs any number of 100w choices. I see the G90 as good starter on hf, as like all of ham radio, there are so many options. I think it will give me a chance to see what I might want for the next step.

[@bigdog911paradio3]

Awesome video, I'm getting one in 4 weeks

[@DaveAndrus]

That's great--I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by my channel!

[@curtisayers8129]

My IC-703 has crapped out so I pulled the trigger yesterday and bought one of these, nice video TNX de Dwayne N4MIO

[@DaveAndrus]

Dwayne, I hope you really enjoy it. I just bought some very inexpensive and well-design extender legs for my G90, so maybe I'll post a quick video review of them. That has been one of my few minor annoyances where the radio just sits flat on a desk, like a book, rather than having the built-in ability to tilt up to face the operator. I have made this same type of mod on my FT-817 and FT-818 also. Thanks so much for your comment! 73 de K7DAA

[@matthewtaylor3301]

I’m close to upgrading to my General, and this will be my first HF radio!

[@schnitznschnatzn]

Good luck on your General ticket! HF is a ton of fun. I'm not sure I'd get one of these G90s as a first HF rig, though. If money is a limiting factor, take a look at the Yaesu FT-891. It's a much better radio, for just a little more money, with excellent noise reduction and and noise blanker as well as giving you a full 100W. If you like the hobby and upgrade to a bigger radio, you can still use the FT-891 as a mobile rig in your vehicle or throw it in a backpack with a battery and antenna of your choice for portable operation with up to 100W when needed. Trust me, it's a lot less frustrating when you not start out QRP ;)

[@DaveAndrus]

@@schnitznschnatzn I agree completely with you about 100W and the FT-891. One of my friends just got one a few months ago, and he really enjoys it. If it had a built-in antenna tuner, it would be a real killer radio (but it would cost another $100-150). I also agree that it would be better to start with a 100W radio unless money is too tight. Having 100W gives you 5 times the transmit power (or 7 dB) of the G-90, and that will be less frustrating when you're trying to make contacts. A good, used transceiver is also a possibility. Another friend just put his Kenwood TS-590S up for sale for $600. That is an excellent 100W radio with a built-in antenna tuner. The G90 has a great little band scope display that is still a definite advantage over these other two radios. If $999-1100 isn't going to break the bank, I'd definitely recommend the very reliable Icom IC-7300, which has 100W, antenna tuner, and a beautiful 4 inch touchscreen display with band scope. It's the number 1 selling ham radio for those reasons.

[@andyw3720]

My FT-891 is well on its way to California for repair after one year’s ownership. Meanwhile, my G-90 continues to impress. It’s my go-to park activation radio.

[@DaveAndrus]

Andy, sorry to hear about your 891. One of my good friends in Morgan Hill, CA, recently had to send his FT-991 (not the "A" model) into Yaesu for a second time. I've been very lucky with about 8 Yaesu radios to never have needed any repairs. Y'know, the more I use this Xiegu, the more impressed I am with it. I originally bought it on a whim because it was a new design being offered at $400, so I figured I couldn't lose for that price. It's worked flawlessly since then. One of the things I've heard from others is that you need to really crank the RF gain down to something between 10 and 20%. When I used it for Field Day recently, I found that it was really quite noisy until I did that. I left it at about 12% the whole time and it was much quieter and better to listen to. Have you had to do this as well? Just curious. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment! 73 -- Dave

[@cobrasvt347]

Not bad. With a good antenna 20 watts is very workable. 👍 73’s

[@hpbear101]

I bought the G90 about 6 months ago and haven't turned any of my other HF rigs on since I bought it.

[@DaveAndrus]

That says a lot--glad you're having fun with it! 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@paulhastings3109]

Tnxs for the KZbin The more I watch and see just might get one

[@DF5WW]

Great little radio. Have mine since a few days and have made a lot of SSB contacts also on 80/40/20 and 17 meters. Also using only the 20 watts into a 50m long random wire which is up 8 - 10 meters above the ground. But this little radio will be the one for /P work in the future. Have a 12 meter Spider Beam GFK pole to build up different portable wire antennas and an 18 AH EREMIT LiFePo4 for activities like this. Still waiting for better waether, HI ...

[@DaveAndrus]

Thanks for the comment, and yes, we're all waiting for better weather! I still haven't put up any permanent antenna at my new house yet, but I'm looking forward to warmer weather so I can get one up in the air. 73

[@lvsluggo007]

Just bought one of these little units, got a package deal, the radio, the digital interface board that allows digital modes and the base bracket with a cooling fan. Got the whole package for $485 from a company called Radiooddity. Haven't been able to get on the air yet, as I don't have an antenna yet. Hopefully a end-fed half-wave wire by Christmas.. k7dgf

[@DaveAndrus]

K7DGF: That's a great deal! I've bought stuff from Radioddity before, and they've always had good prices and service. Hope Santa brings you that EFHW antenna! 73 - Dave, K7DAA

[@petrok1rp254]

I see you have same switching PSU on the left side bench as I have. Do you have some switching noise issue from that power supply on the transceiver?

[@DaveAndrus]

Petr, I'm not using those pc server supplies. I didn't clear off the bench, so they are just sitting there. I used an Alinco switching power supply off to the right side, which can't be seen in this video. With the Alinco, I have no detectable switching noise.

[@oldricky]

Excellent demo on the X90's capabilities! Looking to find my first rig that I can Tx HF on my 25 ft pocket trawler when I'm out past lala land. The antenna though is another problem I'm working on since my marine VHF 156-157MHz rig's reach is only 12 miles. It was interesting to learn the FT817 does HF plus 6m, 2m and 70cm where the X90 is restricted to HF. I was also blown away to learn of HF mobile rigs. Since my hunt started I have only come across dual band UHF/VHF rigs. Learned a lot here. Much appreciated for your efforts. In anyone can offer more insight to my application it would be much appreciated. Thanks again, 73

[@stevewinwood3674]

have you looked as the IC-7000 or IC-7100 i so wanted a IC-7000 when they first came out but i dont think time has been nice review wise to them. the ic7100 was a quick replacement. maybe Icom knew they built a buggy rig. anyways i would try my best to find a cheap mobile rig. the 7000 was all mode mobile rig but i wouldnt pay much for one

[@DaveAndrus]

There are darned few current radio models you can buy that cover HF as well as VHF and UHF in one package. Ema Nymton is correct--the IC7100 is just about the only one left that I can think of that is: (a) 100 watts on HF, (b) is in current production, and (c) has VHF and UHF, usually with about 40-50 watts out on those bands. The 7100 is an unusual rig, where the operator's front panel is separate from the body of the radio. A nice space-saving design. Apart from that, if you need a rig that does both HF and VHF/UHF, yes, the FT-817 (now replaced by the FT-818) can do that, but it's only a 5-watt transmitter. I can suggest you try and find a good, used Yaesu FT-857. Yaesu just discontinued it this year, so it's a fairly fresh design. It's 100 watts on HF, and looks like a grown-up FT-817. I've had lots of experience with the FT-857. It was my HF/VHF/UHF mobile radio for a number of years, and I really enjoyed using it. You might also consider an FT-817/818, then add a $200-300 50 watt HF amplifier. You can find quite a variety of these amps on eBay, made by several Chinese manufacturers. That would only be 3 dB down from a 100 watt radio--barely noticeable. Check out QRZ.com for their ham radio swapmeet section, and you'll likely see a suitable used FT-857 eventually. The Yaesu FT-897 is also a possibility, but it's out of production, like the FT-857. It is electrically identical to the 857, but included an internal battery for portable use, so it's in a bit larger box. If you are not worried about the size of the radio, you should also look for a used Kenwood TS-2000. Excellent radio that does HF plus VHF and UHF. A used Icom IC-9100 is another full-coverage radio, similar in size to the TS-2000. Unless I absolutely could not fit it in my boat, I would get the TS-2000 or the 9100. Very good rigs. Kenwood and Icom has stopped selling both of these fine rigs, so note my comments about looking for a used one. Stay away from Craig's list unless you can look up the callsign of the ham selling it and verify that he/she is legit. QRZ.com is your friend for doing that. I always verify before I buy anything used from another individual. If it were me, I would consider buying an HF-only rig, and a separate VHF/UHF mobile rig. Doing this opens up your world of possibilities quite a lot. Hard to believe, but it could also cost you less as well. You might consider that. The VHF/UHF rigs are about the size of a CB radio, and usually come with a mobile mounting bracket that lets you mount them just about anywhere. The voltage requirements are the same for both types of radios. Almost all ham equipment runs happily on 12-15 volts DC whether they are HF/VHF/UHF combo radios or separates. Regardless of whether you get an all-band radio or not, you'll need a separate VHF/UHF antenna from your HF antenna anyway. Nobody I know of makes a suitable antenna for marine use that covers all of those bands. You'll find quite a few ham VHF/UHF dual-band antennas that will work in a marine environment, even if they aren't specifically purpose-made for it. I believe even Shakespeare makes them. You may already be aware of this, but there is a 20 meter net that runs all day 365 days per year on 14.300 MHz. If you have a ham license, you can check in with them for weather, advisories, messages, etc. They provide a great service to hams on the high seas. Here's a web site with more info: 14300.net/netinfoa.htm Marine HF antennas do exist. Google is your friend for a few brand names and information about them. You'll be looking for a vertical antenna that operates independently of any counterpoise (ground radials). Most HF marine antennas that I've seen are encased in white fiberglass tubing to keep the salt water out. I'm familiar with the Shakespeare 390. Lots of boaters use it. It requires an antenna tuner (built in to some rigs, or an external auto-tuner costs about $150). The Shakespeare 393 is the same antenna, but designed to be broken down into 3 sections for UPS shipping. Just in case you're considering using a ham rig on the marine HF channels, it is against US and WW maritime law to use a ham rig on the official marine HF frequencies. That doesn't mean nobody does that, but it could be a problem if you don't set your rig up properly to use the channelized HF frequencies, using the right modulation and tight frequency accuracy. Good luck with your search. Let me know if I can help you further.

[@DaveAndrus]

Here is a good web page that explains HF antennas for boats in much better detail: www.m0mcx.co.uk/vertical-antennas-for-marine-ssb/

[@spudmurf9323]

When you say you're running 10 over nine, do you see that on the screen?

[@3asyrider75]

Would you recommend this for a beginner HAM? Some recommend a FT891. What I really like of about the g90 is the auto tuner built in. I want to use it portable with light lipo batteries. Many are saying I should start with 100w. But the expense of a Tuner etc really adds up both cost and weight. I need to be able to fit in a backpack. Let me know what you think. I really love the g90 and with a good antenna it should work fine for everything. I am going to avoid the QRP 5w radios until I get experienced

[@DaveAndrus]

@Turtle Thanks for your question! In some past comments, I recommended the FT-891 as a possible first rig over this one, but I think I need to change that position because of some experiences I have had with the Xiegu lately. For your particular needs where you want to using it as a portable radio, I think this would be a very good choice. It definitely will give you more features and power than other 5-watt class radios, especially when you compare the cost of this one over the others. You will have 6 dB more power output at 20 watts than a 5-watt radio, which is a full S-unit on the other end of your contact. This will definitely help you to be heard. The antenna tuner works well, and is a big advantage when operating portable. The only minor advantages another QRP rig like the FT-817 or 818 would have are internal battery and coverage of the VHF+ bands. To that end, if you have a 5-watt walkie-talkie, you won't care about the 817/818's coverage, and the internal battery on that radio will only last you a couple of hours. If you are concerned about backpacking weight, the Xiegu and a 5-8 amp-hour LiFePO4 battery are going to weigh just a little more than the 817, but not a lot more. So yes, I think you will be very happy with the Xiegu G-90 for your portable operations! 73 -- Dave

[@3asyrider75]

I think it might be over modulation. Is there a way to adjust audio? Perhaps in the menu

[@DaveAndrus]

@Turtle I think you are right. At the time I recorded this, Xiegu had not provided a way to adjust the mike gain. Due to many folks asking for this ability, Xiegu provided it in a firmware update, which we all loaded and now use. They have added a number of other nice features via firmware updates as well. I'm very please with the new controls! 73 -- Dave

[@nappingpup105]

I see your 2 server power supplies. They look like separate(d) 12vdc units. What are you powering the G90 with in the video? The G90 is reading +13vdc.

[@DaveAndrus]

Sorry for the 3 week delay in replying! Yep, those are the really cheap $25 eBay server supplies that can do 65 to 80 amps at 12-14 vdc. I saw them on @jehugarcia 's channel being used in series to charge LiFePO4 24v batteries, and thought, "Hey, why not?" But...they were just sitting there randomly when I hooked up the radio. I was using an Alinco DM330MV 32A switching supply for my station. I really like it. It is backed up with a homebuilt 100 amp Lithium battery via a West Mountain Epic PWRgate. The only mod I did before putting the Xiegu on the air was to add a pair of PowerPoles to the dc supply cable running to a West Mountain Rig Runner 4005. When I get some time, I definitely want to hook up one of the server supplies to the radios and see how it performs. Thanks for asking!

[@s6a6n6d6m6a6n]

Great video Dave. Have a question - maybe you can help. I have the same radio but with widely contrasting results. Due to the QTH restrictions (HOA and space) I can only install an inconspicuous wire antenna. Chose the Chameleon Emcomm II and deployed a sloper. Good SWR across the bands and everything checks out. I however, am not able to make any half-decent contacts. I can barely make it out of California (not nvis), forget ever the possibility of DX. My longest QSO was from LA to Scottsdale, AZ and that too QSB got the better of my contact. Non-contesters say they can barely hear me. When I try to listen to myself on websdr, all I hear is a very faint

[@DaveAndrus]

I definitely feel your pain! I have 6 antenna patents, but I've still managed to design or set up some very poorly-performing ham antennas in my time. I have a few thoughts: First, for this video, I was using a gain antenna on top of my 2-story house. You can see a picture of it on my QRZ web page. Using a yagi or wire beam or (in this case) a hex beam makes a huge difference in how well your signal will get out. I had a vertical and an offset-fed dipole antenna besides the hex beam, and it was not unusual to be heard S7 to S9 on the beam, and barely heard on the other two antennas. Even though the hex beam had a modest amount of gain, it worked way better than the other two. On paper, the hex beam has about 4 dB of gain over a dipole, it often appeared to be more like 3 S-units (or about 18 dB, which is an impossible amount of gain). It was just that good. Second, we've been going through some very up-and-down geomagnetic noise levels since mid-spring. We are experiencing a lot of solar activity that, overall, is good for long-distance propagation, but these solar flares being hurled at us can totally shut down the HF bands at times. We've all noticed lots of extra noise on the bands for the last 8 months. If you don't do this already, keep a daily eye on the propagation widget that QRZ.com has on the top of its main page. The "K" index will give you a good idea of how noisy the bands are. On a quiet day, it will be between 0 and 2. Noisy days are 3-7 or more. Also note the propagation predictions that give a decent idea (good, fair or poor) of how good a particular band is during the day or night. There are some geomagnetically noisy days when it's better to go golfing! You could have a decent S5 signal at some distant ham's receiver, but on a noisy day, you might barely be heard (or not) because the average noise is S5 as well. By the way, I have given a number of talks about various ham subjects, and there is one you might want to have a look at. I try to simplify HF radio propagation and how to easily interpret the data that the widget on QRZ displays. Follow this link, and then scroll down to my presentation from November 2020: sbcara.org/ham-fun-archive/ I have also given a number of other talks to this group on various subjects, and you can have a look at them via the same link. It's always better to click the link that allows you to view them on KZbin, but it's a private link that I can't post here directly. Third, we are also just coming up out of the lowest point in the 11-year sunspot cycle, and signals just don't carry as far. When we start seeing the SFI (Solar Flux Index) staying consistently above 100-120 or more, your signal will begin to carry further and further. So we've been in the worst part of the cycle for several years, but things are definitely on the upswing. We'll be at the peak of Cycle 25 in the year 2025, so things will steadily improve between now and then. Fourth, I don't know what your exact antenna restrictions are, but try to get as much of your antenna above the ground as you can. The higher overall, the better. A sloper-type antenna often implies that one end goes all the way to your ground level, or close to it, but HF antennas of this type can easily show double the equivalent gain by doubling your overall height above the ground. Height is everything. Even raising the antenna a few feet can give you some improvement, especially when you are transmitting. If you can't get much altitude, you might also want to consider a different antenna if possible, such as a 1/4 wave vertical, which sits on the ground. You can make one yourself for not much money, and verticals are very good DX antennas. The only downside to the vertical is that you'll need at least a few random-length radials at the base that tie to your coax shield. They don't have to be resonant on the frequency you're using. Many smaller radials will be much better than just a few longer ones. Lastly, if you haven't already, try connecting a counterpoise wire to your Chameleon sloper. For an end-fed antenna, a 1/4 wave or even random-length wire on the ground can make a huge difference in your transmitting efficiency. It doesn't have to be elevated at all, and it doesn't have to go in a straight line. I guess you can tell that I think your problem is most likely your antenna, and not the rig. I could be wrong, but that's where I would spend most of my efforts if I were you. So let me know if any of this helps you! You can email me if you'd like at [e-mail] 73 -- Dave -- K7DAA

[@s6a6n6d6m6a6n]

@@DaveAndrus Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I will definitely check out those links. What I gather is that this radio does work, my antenna and feedline is less than optimal. My concern was that if 20w can get you nowhere, then why even bother with this rig and might as well sell it. I might still end up doing that in favor of the icom 7300 in the future. Until then I'll try to make the best of what I have. I'm going to go through a process of elimination, removing one element out of the equation at a time and measuring performance. And hopefully gain some knowledge along the way. To answer your question - Yes, I did have a large (appx 25') counterpoise wire also attached, while they said was optional, still added it. The less the variables the better. In my current setup, the transformer hangs from the second floor, from the eave of the house, which is fed by an RG8X. From there the radiator slops down in about a 60 degree angle to the ground and is tied off to an insulator stake. The coax has been fitted with multiple ferrite beads on one end and a 7-turn toroid core choke on the radio end for CMC reduction. On another forum I was suggested, and people swore by it, the Wolf River Coil Silver Bullet 1000 antenna. My excitement was short lived when I found that it needed at least 3 x 33-ft radials to function. Again while I'm limited by my QTH restrictions, I'm not giving up. I will take the time to read and research through the links you provided and will drop in a line to say Hi to your email. Thanks for helping a fellow ham, 73.

[@G7VFY]

I you running it off an old server power supply? I see the long grey brick to the left.

[@DaveAndrus]

That's a good guess, but no, I was running on an Alinco switching power supply made for ham use off to the right of the video. That said, I did actually buy two of those server supplies for cheap power. It's hard to beat the amount of current these puppies put out for about $25 and a little soldering, right?

[@624radicalham]

Dave since you're responding to comments so long after the video I want to take this chance to say that you'd have been a great KZbinr with your great speaking voice and superb camera and radios. I looked through your channel looking for more QSOs and there are none. It's a wasted opportunity for you not to continue making videos. You may not realize that some of us don't have the chance of having a Hex Beam and different radios so watching these videos with headphones on allows us to savor what a Hex Beam can hear, listen to the band noise (which is remarkably clean at your QTH) and helps us make decisions on which radio to buy and how to set up a shack. Please consider making weekly videos of contacts in progress Dave.

[@DaveAndrus]

@Miami SWL Radio : I really appreciate your comments, and also your challenge to me, asking for more videos. That's quite a complement! My biggest challenge is time. I work full-time as a senior RF engineer for Roku. I design the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hardware that goes into Roku TV's. My wife and I also built a new house, as you can see from the video about the mag loop. I have just not had the time to do more, and I wish I did. I also wish I still had the hex beam up on my roof, but I promised my wife not to put it up on our new house. We have lots of solar panels, and the antenna mount would not coexist happily with them. At least I do now have a permanent vertical antenna that gets great range, except for Europe. We are now surrounded by the Rocky Mountains to our east and north. So my DX opportunities are not quite the same as they were at my old house with the hex beam on the roof, unfortunately. I definitely plan to make more videos as time permits, and I promise that I will take up your challenge to do some videos of me making contacts on the air. I have this wonderful new Elecraft K4 transceiver that is just a dream to use, and it makes QSO's even more fun. I will record some and post them here. I might even do some for the ARRL Field Day on the last Saturday of this month (June 2022). Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and encouragement!! 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@624radicalham]

@@DaveAndrus That's fantastic Dave that would consider that. And congrats on your new home. Solar panels may prove to be a challenge as far as creating noise on HF but it can be overcome with an MFJ-1026 Noise Canceller. They simply work and work well. Fussy, but well. They're made for 100 watts but can be modified for QRO. Some videos on this on KZbin. But it's great that you have your vertical up. Sunspot numbers are insanely high today having topped a record in 2014! Cycle 25 has started with a bang. Europe will be easy even with a vertical. Things have radically changed. We're all pressed for time so it's with great joy that I hear you will try. It's really not just me that looks forward to this. There are thousands that look forward to this and you've got the gift brother. I was in broadcasting in my youth and it's just cool to have a proper demeanor and cadence on HF. And hey, everyone is doing POTA outdoors, fun, but saturated. Get some indoor action like this video also! Thanks again for posting this magnificent vid. Look forward to more!

[@DaveAndrus]

@@624radicalham Funny you should mention solar panel noise. I actually have the MFJ-1026, but I haven't tried it out yet. I bought it about 5 years ago for my old QTH in Northern California, but I haven't really needed it here. When I designed my solar system, I was very concerned about the noise it would generate. I selected a dealer/installer that has a lot of experience with the Enphase system. I spent almost $1,000 on ferrites, and had them installed on both the input and output sides of the Enphase IQ-7+ inverters that go on each of the 33 panels. The result is so quiet that I really can't tell when the sun is up and they're generating power! I'm very happy with my choice. Now, I don't have antennas mounted right next to the panels, so I don't know how much noise pickup I would have in that case. It's something I might try one of these days. We live in a neighborhood where something like a hex beam or a Yagi on the roof just would not fit in with the aesthetics. I'm very fortunate that my neighbors have all told me they don't care if I do that, but still... 73, Dave

[@zanado11]

Dave, thanks for a fantastic video. I just purchased the G90. If possible would you give me any suggestions regarding mic settings as well as any other recommendations for operating the radio. Thanks in advance, Roger W8RLP, 73

[@DaveAndrus]

@nanado11 Roger, thanks for stopping by! In this video I was using the firmware that originally shipped with the radio 2+ years ago. At that time, there was no way to adjust the mike gain. Make sure that your Xiegu firmware is up-to-date. Last time I checked, I think it was v1.77, but I could be wrong about that. With the newer firmware you can now adjust the mike gain. I would suggest using the default setting first, and checking on-air with more than one person as I did here. This has two benefits: First, you are more likely to get an answer to your CQ as I did if you mention that you are looking for an audio report. We hams love to be helpful, so someone who might otherwise pass you by may stop and give you a quick report. Second, you'll find the "sweet spot" easier with some actual over-the-air tests with other hams. Because you are running lower power (20 versus 100 watts), I would leave the compression turned on most of the time. It will make your transmitted signal stand out a bit more. That's how I ran it in the recent Field Day contest, and I had no complaints about audio, and an almost 100% response when I called someone. It's not mike gain, but I would strongly recommend turning your receiver RF gain down to about 10-20% instead of the default 100%. This will make the receiver sound quieter, without so much noise "pumping" up and down when someone is talking on SSB. It's just overall a better sound. And don't worry about not being able to hear the weak ones when you do that. Turn the audio up a little maybe to compensate, but not too much, unless you have a hearing impairment. Modern receivers have lots of gain, and turning the RF gain down will still give you plenty of sensitivity while making it much easier on your ears, especially if you're on 40 or 80 meters with lightning crashes causing crackles over the air. Believe it or not...I still haven't adjusted my mike gain up or down from this first QSO I recorded! It's set at 10. So don't spend a lot of time worrying about one single correct setting. Just enjoy. So mike gain at 10-12, compression ON, receiver RF gain down to 10-20%. Those are my present settings. I hope you have a great experience with this little radio. Please comment back to me on your experiences. I try to answer all questions and comments posted here, and I'm going to try and do more videos in the future. Maybe I should include one that shows how I set up the radio, including mike, antennas, etc. 73 -- Dave, K7DAA

[@zanado11]

@@DaveAndrus Dave, thank you for your recommendations. I’ll definitely follow your suggestion’s. Take care and 73, Roger W8RLP

[@raykiii]

Now that you have has that radio a while, do you still use it and how would you describe your pleasure or displeasure? Would you recommend the G90 for portable use?

[@DaveAndrus]

Ray, I think it's likely to be a nice little radio for portable use, but I'll admit that I haven't taken it outside yet. With building a new house and all the fun things :-( that go along with it, I just have not had time to do much else with it or any of my other radios. I packed up my hamshack for awhile, and, well, you've seen the other videos showing that I've got a long way to go before I am really up and running in the new location. Overall, I'm pleased with the radio, but I might consider some others for not much more $$. It's not that there is anything wrong with it, though. For $400 and change, it's not a bad little piece of gear at all. I hope that properly sums it up!

[@DaveAndrus]

@@daveaf3023 Wow, I hadn't thought about SBE gear in ages! I always liked their style. They definitely did not look like any other radios back then! Regarding the beam--yep, whether it's ham or CB, life is so much better with some type of beam antenna up in the air. Thanks for the comment!

[@luminositystudios979]

Is there a monitor feature so that you can hear your transmit audio on headphones ?

[@DaveAndrus]

Sorry, but no. They could add such a feature if enough people were to ask them. They've been very responsive to requests for bug fixes or new features. For example, initially there was no receive RF gain control, and no mike level control. They added both in firmware updates earlier this summer. That's very unusual for a manufacturer to do that, and I'm really impressed.

[@mattsartori2624]

Hey Neighbor nice video my next rig too amazing signal report 73 from Eagle Mountain!!!

[@DaveAndrus]

@Matt Sartori: Hey Matt, really nice to hear from you! I worked someone from Eagle Mountain in the June VHF contest. Was that you? BTW, sorry I haven't responded until now. I try to answer everyone, but somehow I managed to reply and then not save it due to some distractions. Hope to see you for an eyeball QSO at one our UVARC club meetings. 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@paaao]

Looks like that antenna is helping you more than anything.

[@DaveAndrus]

Yes, you are definitely right. I've become addicted to having this antenna on my roof. I'm not going to be able to use it at the new house I'm building right now, and am already thinking about how much I'm going to miss it. I'm trying to think up a new way to get similar gain that I get from this hex beam antenna, but almost anything else, short of another beam-type antenna, will come up short. It's a whole new world when you can operate ham radio using an antenna that has some gain you can point in various directions. Combine that with a 500 watt amp (the Elecraft KPA500 you can see behind and to the left of the Xiegu radio) and the world is your oyster!

[@techguy9023]

Is that a HP server power supply on the left? You running the Xiegu on that?

[@DaveAndrus]

Yes, there are two of them that I picked up on eBay, but neither of them are powering the Xiegu. They just happen to be sitting nearby, but are not connected to anything. I'm building a high-current battery charger with them. The Xiegu is running on my station power supply, which is an Alinco DM-330MV 30 amp switching supply. Thanks for asking!

[@steadfast666]

did you allready updated to firmware 1.73? there was reduction collecting noise by the microphone - give it a try then 73 de HB9GNK and KB9GNK

[@DaveAndrus]

No, I haven't done any firmware updates yet, so thanks for letting me know about that. I'll update soon. I hear that a few other features, like an RF gain control, have been added also.

[@simeonfranc]

Now there Is the firmware 1.74 for Xiegu G90

[@simeonfranc]

I like this radio, I will go to buy one in 3 months, Siméon from Port-au-Prince, Haïti. Best 73

[@steadfast666]

@@simeonfranc I allways wait some time before to update ;-)

[@chase1535]

Nice looking radio, looking for a Xeigo g90 for $400 also for my first HF radio. Gr8 demo,tnx N7BFT....just getting back into HAM Radio, after being inactive for many years. Any Help gr8ly appreciated. Also, where can i see one of those loop antennas, as i live in the city and now really room for a Beam.

[@DaveAndrus]

Chas, you're very welcome! I appreciate your comments. Regarding these magnetic loop antennas, I have built a couple of my own from scratch, and really got the mag loop "bug". I'm assuming that you also saw my other video that shows my MFJ loop, correct? The main advantage to the MFJ is that it is one of the very few that can be remotely tuned. If you have it mounted outside or in your attic, this will be super important to you. All mag loops are very, very high Q, so once you tune them to a particular frequency, you can't move more than about 15-30 kHz until your SWR will shoot up above 2:1 or more. So you have to keep re-peaking the tuning of the loop as you move around the band. If this sounds fiddly and complicated, don't worry. You'll get used to it pretty quickly. An advantage for hams with limited horizontal or vertical room, such as folks in HOA-restricted housing, is that mag loops don't really need to be hoisted up in the air. The only reason to elevate them is just to avoid things such as buildings that could block the signal I made my first home brew mag loop with about 10 feet of 5/8 inch copper tube from Home Depot that I bent into a 3 foot diameter loop. I had a second-hand butterfly capacitor that I found on eBay for $12. For my first on-air test on 17 meters, I hooked up my Elecraft K2 transceiver running 15 watts, and mounted the loop with tie wraps to a short wooden stick that I pushed into the grass. It looked like the skeleton of a 4-foot tall lollypop. My first contact on SSB from Northern California (I'm now in Utah BTW) was with Hawaii. The guy gave me a 5-7 report. Without moving the loop, my second QSO was with a ham in Maryland. He gave me 5-9 and was truly shocked when I told him I was running 15 watts, and the bottom of my antenna was about 12 inches off the ground! Mag loops are not miracle antennas, but I was feeling pretty good about my $30 antenna that day! Another thing I should mention is that, except for the MFJ loop, the ones I'm going to list here are not capable of running above 25 watts. This should not be an issue for you if your are using the G90, since it is a 20 watt radio. If you ever decide to build your own, the capacitor is the key to how much power the loop can tolerate. A tuning capacitor with widely-space plates is necessary, and that's what the MFJ has inside. The only other downside to these commercial loops is that they are all $500 and up, post COVID. Here are a few places on the web I can suggest. I own an earlier Chameleon CHA-F Loop 2.0 mag loop. Here is their new version 3.0: chameleonantenna.com/shop-here/ols/products/cha-f-loop-30 The MFJ mag loop: They sell either a 30-10 meter, or 40-15 meter model. I have the one that goes down to 40 meters, but its efficiency on that band is lower. Most all mag loops generally, and not just MFJ's, are going to give best performance on 20 through 10 meters where the loop size is closer to 1/10 of a wavelength: mfjenterprises.com/collections/antenna/type_loop-antenna+company_mfj#collection For truly portable operation, I have a PY1AHD Alex Walkham loop. It is a light-duty handheld type, not suitable for permanent mounting, but people do put them on light-duty tripods. I love mine. Alex is a cool Brazilian dude that has designed lots of loop antennas. You can buy these at DX Engineering, an excellent ham shop: alexloop.com/ Also, don't forget to check the eHam.net product reviews for these and other antennas: www.eham.net/reviews/view-category?id=13 Finally, there are lots of KZbin videos of either commercial or home-brew loop antennas. Just search for "mag loop" or "loop antenna" and you'll see lots of suggestions. I also highly recommend Dave Casler's ham channel, and here is a link to his explanation of how mag loops work: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5CZpYiFprymnrc Well, maybe I should do a video for my channel where I line up my mag loops and show how they compare. Hmmm... 73 and welcome back to the hobby, and to HF, which I firmly believe is where all the fun happens! Please don't hesitate to ask more questions. I try to answer all of them. Dave - K7DAA

[@ufodad4158]

Dave I’m in Heber, new HAM. I have HOA restrictions. I am looking at the Mag Loop from MFJ 1788. I wanted to get some feedback from someone in my neck of the woods that is using one. I sit for the General at the end of this month, so I will be getting my HF setup soon. My interest is voice comms, no interest in digital anything except for logging. I am on the internet 10 to 12 hours a day running my ecommerce business, so mixing HAM with anything internet is not my objective. How is the Mag Loop working out for you? I am doing an attic install since this loop has the remote tuner. Do you find the loop to be more omnidirectional or directional?

[@DaveAndrus]

Gosh, I wrote a nice, very complete response to your question, and then managed to lose it when I accidentally closed the wrong tab! Sorry about that. In the meantime, have a look at the pinned comment I posted under my video on the "Temporary Mag Loop..." video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKu1c4ycmLp9icU After you read that long, and hopefully informative post, please come back here (or there, doesn't really matter) and post a reply with any other specific questions I can help you with. Please also feel free to use my personal email address that you'll find on QRZ.com if you'd like to correspond more in realtime-ish. Cheers and 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@AudiophileTubes]

Is the tuning knob solid and have some heft or weight to it, or is it a light, cheap plastic?

[@DaveAndrus]

It's small, light and made of plastic. It also has detents rather than turning smoothly. I don't find that to be a problem though. This is quite a small radio, and they've put as many buttons and knobs on the front panel as possible, so the main tuning knob really couldn't grow much beyond its present size. If you want some heft, you'll need to look more in the range of a full-sized transceiver. Even my Yaesu FT-817 and 818 radios have small main tuning knobs, since they are also small and portable rigs. As I've mentioned in other comments, given the price and size of this radio, I think it's pretty decent. The size of the tuning knob on this radio is about the same as a volume control on a full-sized rig. It's about 3/4 inch or 2 cm in diameter. Thanks for watching, and for your question! Let me know if I can help you with any other details. Dave - K7DAA

[@AudiophileTubes]

@@DaveAndrus Thanks for the response. I don't know.... maybe i'm 'old school', but I have to have a nice, precise, weighted tuning knob, even on a small rig. One of my rigs, and Yaesu FT-450 had come with a plastic, but slightly weighted knob - then they came out with a heftier, nicer one for the FT-450D, so I purchased it and installed it. The rig feels a lot more precise, and more satisfying to use now! Perhaps there are some aftermarket nicer tuning knobs for the Xiegu. I'll check and see. 73!

[@paulplack490]

Dave, Greetings from West Valley City. I haven't seen anything about getting on 10M FM with this radio, except a note in the manual: "The FM mode can only be turned on when the GSOC controller is used with the G-90." What is this controller? I'll seek out the forum, but thought you might know. - 73 - AE4KR/7

[@DaveAndrus]

Hi Paul, nice to hear from a local! Yeah, I wasn't aware of this when I bought the radio, but it's not a deal-breaker for me. The GSOC is not a released product yet. If you Google it, you can see a picture or two that look like it's a panadapter accessory. I'll guess and say it's probably going to be $150-200 or so, but I could be way off. It's not an add-in pc board, but a complete standalone accessory with its own case.

[@MarkPentler]

Dave Andrus interesting, is there some sort of socket for it for when it comes out?

[@AlvinMcManus]

Nice "first" video. I like the real experience feel. Why is this called an SDR radio? The QRP I get, but I still learning so what is sdr? 73's Dave KN6ZVI clear.

[@DaveAndrus]

Hi Alvin! It was good to chat with you on our repeater last week! Welcome to a really fun hobby. SDR stands for "Software-Defined Radio". Rather than use a bunch of transistors and discrete (analog) parts, an SDR radio uses a chip called a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). A DSP is a combination of a microprocessor and a bunch of fast internal digital logic to do all the jobs of demodulating the RF signal (SSB, AM, CW, etc) and turning it into audio we can hear, plus it also runs the display, and processes your input from turning knobs and pushing buttons. It also takes the audio from your microphone and converts it into an SSB voice signal directly. So features and improvements can be added by software updates instead of changing out parts inside the radio. So, most of the functions, or personality, of the radio are software-defined rather than defined by parts that are soldered in. The personality of the radio can be changed by changing the software that runs the DSP. Almost all of the cheap Chinese handie-talkie radios have some form of DSP chip in them, making them cheaper to build. There are also "full" DSP and "hybrid" DSP radios. There is almost always a need for some analog (transistors, capacitors, inductors, etc) to interface the DSP to and from the antenna, so just about all ham radios are hybrids. For example, to boost the SSB signal from your mike up to 20 watts of RF, there are beefy amplifier transistors there to do that. On the receiving end of some radios, analog parts are used to filter and convert the incoming RF signals to an IF (Intermediate Frequency) that is compatible with the DSP's processing speeds. DSP has given us the capability of filtering and processing the incoming and outgoing signals from your antenna with much more precision than we can usually get from old-school full analog radios. So you get better bandpass filtering, CW decoding, a nice antenna tuner and many other features that are controlled by the software in the DSP chip. DSP is now extremely common in ham radios, even though some don't actually advertise that DSP is inside. If your radio can do software updates, it's likely got at least some DSP inside. Another side-bonus of DSP is that there are fewer parts that have to go into the radio, so they can be built more cheaply, with software making up for the analog parts that aren't used. I hope this helps a bit. Feel free to experiment and ask questions--that's how we all get started. I'm a professional RF (radio) Wi-Fi engineer, but I got started by fooling around with a crystal radio, then CB, then ham radio when I was a kid. I still remember how disappointed I was when my first little kit project let out a bunch of smoke when I turned it on for the first time! But it was a learning experience... 73, Dave

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@DaveAndrus thank you for that complete, yet concise explanation. It makes a lot sense to use a DSP and good software. No wonder the radios are smaller than in the 60's.

[@liontomh]

Thanks, for the video. Looking for something smaller so I don't have to take my IC-7300 out into the field with my WRC. 20W is nice for QRP

[@DaveAndrus]

Tom, thanks for subscribing! I agree with your assessment. It definitely is a good radio for portable operation. It compares favorably with the Yaesu FT-817/818. The Yaesu does 2m and 70cm, and has internal batteries, which don't last very long. Other than those minor things, the Xiegu easily beats it for the internal antenna tuner and the waterfall display. Both very useful for operating portable.

[@liontomh]

@@DaveAndrus I like that it has a CW detector. learned in another video sometime you need to adjust the receiving speed to get good decoding.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@liontomh I'm glad you found that info. I totally forgot that it had decoding capability! I use CW a lot, but honestly I haven't tried it (yet) with this radio. Yeah, most CW decoders work better if you give them a rough estimate of the expected receiving speed. Otherwise, many of them will falsely start decoding dits at high speed when it's just noise. I hope you have fun with yours. Let me know how it goes 👍

[@fineoutrick9789]

If you can, how would you rate the Xiegu to the Yaesu 817 or Elecraft KX2/3?

[@Mr_Meowingtons]

all i know is i am ordering one for camping..

[@DaveAndrus]

I have purchased a number of different Chinese radios, and many of them seemed like a good deal with nice features until I actually opened the box and started playing with them. I remember one mini $100 dual-band "mobile" radio that looked good on paper, but had an ear-splitting beep tone that barked at you every time you pushed a button, and of course there was no way to turn it down or off. The smooth user interface is something you get from the mainstream radio guys that we are all familiar with, and to a great degree, we judge all other radios by the standards that Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu have set. The Chinese radios have attractive pricing, but often feel rough when you use them. The worst ones, like the barking radio I just mentioned, are frankly junk. Not so with this radio, which is a pleasant surprise. It feels very solid, even heavy, and looks like it could stand up to a lot of handling. If it weren't for the unadjustable mike gain, and the need to re-shape the bassy mike audio, it would be almost perfect as a small, QRP+ radio. The SWR scanning feature is brilliant, and something I wish more radios did. Xiegu deserves an A+++ for this feature! It has an antenna tuner built in, the Yaesu does not. For portable operation, that's a big plus. The Yaesu covers VHF and UHF, and the Xiegu does not. I tend to use my FT-817 as an HF radio more often than not, and I sometimes even forget that I have the equivalent of a 5 watt VHF/UHF handie-talkie as a built-in bonus. That's nice, for sure, but it's impractical to carry around instead of an HT. The 817 has a built-in battery pack, and the Xiegu doesn't, but the 817 battery pack is not a great deal. The NiMH battery self-discharges quite a bit, so you find that you're always "topping it off" before you use it. The timed charge instead of just a "stop charging when full" function is kind of wonky, but it works. Frankly, I use an external battery with the 817 most of the time, so for me, having an internal battery the way Yaesu designed it is kind of a "meh, OK I guess" feature. Lastly, the Xiegu is 20 watts. Even though 10 watts PEP when using SSB voice is still considered "offically QRP", the Yaesu can only do about 5-7 watts in SSB mode. Not terrible, but if you're not trying to qualify for any official QRP awards, running 20 watts feels much closer to what one of the "big" rigs can do, and that's nice, as I demonstrated here. I also own 2 Yaesu FT-857's (my favorite HF mobile rig), and I often think of my 817 as a "baby 857" since they have similar menus and extended frequency range. It's also done very good duty on my workbench as a makeshift signal generator and test receiver. Being battery-powered, it's very convenient to just grab it and turn it on if I need to check something. With all that said, I'll probably never get rid of my Yaesu 817, though. I'm glad I have an understanding wife who really doesn't care how many radios I own, as long as I'm happy! Frankly, I can definitely see a world where the FT-817 and the X90 both coexist and fill various needs. I'm happy with both of them. The Yaesu has that really well-finished feel that I expect, and the X90 is coming close to that, with some cool extras that make it totally worth owning. The color display is well thought-out, with the spectrum display (in earlier times, we used to call this feature a panadapter, BTW) is really useful, and fun to play with. Maybe I'll do a video showing the two side-by-side, and also the external batteries I'm most happy with...maybe!

[@fineoutrick9789]

@@DaveAndrus Tnx for the great info and input! I appreciate the time you took to do this.

[@billwaller4094]

@@DaveAndrus by the way dave i'm sure you found this since it's a a years but you can adjust the tone and the base on a transmit and i believe receive also in the menu.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@billwaller4094 Bill, sorry I somehow missed your reply from 5 months ago! Allow me to rant for a moment: The KZbin notifications I receive are a bit hard to use as a content creator. When I click on my notifications and reply to someone in that window, the other notifications get jumbled up or just disappear. Occasionally I have to just sweep manually through the comments to see who asked a question or gave a reply. It's much harder to find them when they are buried in a thread. KZbin needs to work on that, or maybe I need some additional lessons in how to use it. I have no idea how the content creators with millions of subscribers do it! My guess is that, like a popular movie star might do with fan mail, they either can't reply or hire someone to do it for them. I know of at least one guy that has "interns" (unpaid folk) doing that work for them. I try to answer everyone for now, at least until I get my first million subscribers (yeah, right!). Anyway, yes, thanks for your comment about those adjustments. I've done the latest firmware upgrades a few months ago and have found the mike tone and volume improvements. As I mentioned in the comments and the video, I literally just took the G90 out of the box, quickly crimped the PowerPole connectors on it, and plugged it into power and the hex beam antenna. All the adjustments except the volume and frequency controls were left in their factory positions. I'm glad they made the firmware improvements. That inspires even more faith in this manufacturer that they would go to the effort of trying to satisfy their after-sale customers. Good for them...and for me! 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@niftyfiftycampingadventure795]

Thx for the upload Dave. Just received mine today .G90... Encountered the same audio reports. Did you find a a sweet spot with ,Mic Gain and compression ?? Thanks in advance Shaun HS0ZOU . 73s..

[@DaveAndrus]

I'm embarrased to admit that I haven't done anything more with it yet. Blame it on the fact that I had to pack up my station and move to a new home we built. I'm just now getting a decent station set up again. I'm told that there is both a simple hardware mod as well as a firmware update that will take care of the problem. I need to do that. If you get to it on your radio first, please post again here and let me know how it went for you!

[@DaveAndrus]

I did just finally update to the latest firmware. I strongly suggest that you join the groups.io group for this radio. You'll find them here: xiegug90.groups.io/ Without some additional info, the factory instructions on firmware updates are entirely inadequate. I had to try several times until I got it right. The most important thing left out of the instructions is that you have to hit the spacebar on your computer VERY quickly after you see the message from the radio that says "hit a key to abort booting...". This was not clear at all in the normal instructions. I strongly suggest going to www.connectsystems.com and look for their "Much Better Firmware Loading Documentation" paper under the photos and info for the G90. It's well worth doing this. BTW, I really like the service and prices at Connect Systems as well, and appreciate them taking the time to improve on the documentation. Raidioddity has also put out an improved user manual, but it lacks a couple of key items that are found in the Connect Systems info. Bottom line is that Xiegu has been trying to respond to users in the groups.io group with requests for things such as mic gain adjustments, adding an RF gain control, and many other items. Go to the group and look in the files section for a listing of all of the changes the various firmware updates have made. I don't know of anywhere else where one could find this info.

[@okhamradio]

I like it and going to buy. R3KDW 73

[@stevemumbling7720]

Looks like a nice little rig. Shame the audio output has to be flat-out though.

[@DaveAndrus]

Steve, good news on that issue: Xiegu responded to their customers with a series of firmware updates that have added things like microphone gain control, and even an RF gain control for receive. That's something I can't live without, so I'm very pleased that the radio is even better now than when I bought it. Head over to the groups.io list to see what us G90 users have to say. I've done several firmware updates now, and each time it's a little like opening presents on Christmas--you get these neat little surprises that Xiegu has given us in response to customer requests for new features and fixes. I'm really impressed with them!

[@1OFGODSOWN]

Can you turn Off the Waterfall? I find them Useless but I Love the Band Scope.Also you gave your call sign and stated,for id purposes? For what other reason do we give our call sign?

[@DaveAndrus]

That's a very good question, and I agree with you, since I'm also not into waterfall displays unless I'm looking at digital modes sometimes. I don't know the answer, but watch here for a reply soon once I catch up with the firmware updates and play with it a bit. And yes, band scopes are very, very addictive. It's just so much easier to look at a glance and see where the signals are, instead of constantly twirling the tuning knob up and down the band!

[@DaveAndrus]

Apparently you can't turn off the waterfall. The new GSOC controller might have such a capability, but its firmware is still lacking a whole bunch of things. We'll see if that's something they add.

[@dasy2k1]

Press and hold the Key button turns off the waterfall in favour of the CW decoder (which is pretty rubbish) but does just leave the bandscope behind

[@DaveAndrus]

@@dasy2k1 Hey Daniel, thanks for that! I learned something new.

[@W-733_KWX]

There's a mod on the G90's forum since their mic is bassy. If you want i'll share the few parts to swap in the mike.

[@DaveAndrus]

Christophe, yes please do! I haven't joined that forum yet, but I usually do join whatever email group or forum is tracking a new product. Could you also share a link to join the forum? Thank you for your helpful comment as well --Dave

[@W-733_KWX]

@@DaveAndrus Hi Dave, here you are : 2 capacitor changes to the board in the microphone. C15 change to 2.2N C14 change to 10N In the group you will find pictures too. Link to group : groups.io/g/G90 See you on the air, best 73 de ha7wx Chris

[@DaveAndrus]

Christophe, I really appreciate the info. I joined the forum, and plan to make the mike mod.

[@digitaldreamer5481]

Dave, seems like we have similar stories, lol. I just bought this same rig some days ago and its suppose to arrive here in Honolulu next Friday. BTW, its pronounced, “ZI Goo”. In Chinese, X can sound like an S or Z. I was so impressed with your video and a couple of others that I finally pulled the trigger on this rig. Mainly because the radical state of politics in this country and I wanted something to use if the SHTF after Trump wins another term, that being a given, lol. But seriously, I think this could be a good backpack rig if I had too. Maybe with a G5RV and recently purchased a couple of different folding solar panel kits to use in the jungle if it ever comes to that with the state of Venezuela in mind. I would love to have a Hex Beam or a Cobweb Antenna I could put up but not in this high rise condo, lol. I’m going to check out your antenna set up on QRZ. Thanks for the awesome video! Please do a follow up video, especially about how you fixed the mic gain issue. Mahalo!

[@DaveAndrus]

Mahalo Todd, for your comments. BTW, I was in Kona on the Big Island a few years back, sitting in a Taco Bell, and noticed "MAHALO" printed on the doors of their trash receptacles. Really enjoyed the localization work they did. I must confess that I STILL have not updated my firmware on the radio. We have been building a new house, and have finally moved in to it. We had been using the Provo house as one of our rentals in the area, but decided to sell it and trade up for a 4-plex or small apartment block. So...the hex beam had to come down, I'm sorry to say. At my new, much larger QTH in Pleasant Grove, UT (about 15 minutes away), I haven't had time to put up an HF antenna yet, although I built in some conduits and utility boxes on the back of the house for lots of coax going into the back yard. I finally pulled a 50 ft length of RG-58 up from my basement shack through one of the conduits and ran it to an MFJ Magloop antenna ( mfjenterprises.com/collections/antenna/products/mfj-1788 ) I keep around for "just gotta get something on the air!" emergencies. It's better than a wet noodle. I definitely miss my old antenna setup. Oh well, so maybe I should shoot a short video of this system, just to give an idea of what I'm dealing with. Maybe I'll call it, "Antenna Progress--or Lack Thereof".

[@digitaldreamer5481]

Dave Andrus Well, my G90 arrived yesterday and I’ve yet to set it up yet. When I bought it, I also bought the stand, the carry bad, the Anderson power pole connector, and the Aluminum tuning knob, which I installed yesterday and going to keep the plastic one for back up. I was going to buy the CE19 for it but there is a better set up for field use called an External Audio Interface ZLP MiniPro SC, which I’m having a hard time finding right now. Good luck with your move and setting up a new antenna farm, lol.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@digitaldreamer5481 Hmm, those sound like some interesting add-ons. I'll have to take a look around and see what's available. I basically just got the radio in its box, and that was it. The new tuning knob sounds interesting, as well as the audio interface. I usually plug an Elecraft speaker into the radios, but couldn't do that with this one since they don't have a 3.5mm jack on the rear for it. Hope you're having fun with the new rig! Let me know how it goes.

[@digitaldreamer5481]

Dave, I LOVE MY G90! Have you tried to make any contacts on 1 watt yet?

[@DaveAndrus]

Hi Todd! I have made contacts on 1 watt CW before, but not on the G90. I was using a small QRP radio I soldered together for 40 meters, and used my rain gutter for a temporary antenna. The QSO was about 1000 miles. I was, and still am, often amazed at how little power it can take to make a contact. It's a bit more challenging of course, but the thrill is greater when you make a contact--any contact--using really low power!

[@digitaldreamer5481]

@@DaveAndrus Thanks Dave, a few years ago, I was the net control for Ham Nation for three years or until I ended up at Straub Hospital for three months almost didn’t make it. I scratched my ankle on some rocks at the beach while walking my service dog at the beach, this lead to getting four Steph infections at the same time. At that time, Bob Heil K9IED had his Pine Board Project going using something like a 300 volt power supply to transmit 5 watts on CW I believe. Doing 1000 miles on one watt is quite an accomplishment. Having a Hex Beam antenna, which is an awesome antenna and doing one watt on voice could maybe be a record for the books. I would need to do a deep dive research to see what the record would be. To be honest, I tried to google that and found nothing available. I’m a third generation ham, my grandpa (SK)and uncle (SK) were both hams and I remember telling me that he built his first ham radio right after getting out of the US Army Air Corps but never got to talk in details as to his set up and antenna. I believe the Xeigu G90 would be the ideal rig for making contacts on one watt of power, lol!

[@DaveAndrus]

@@digitaldreamer5481 Thanks for sharing that info, Todd! I agree that the G90 has some real potential there. The company has been doing a good job of listening to feedback from users, and has continued to update the radio's firmware with bug fixes and new features. That's pretty unusual these days--especially from a Chinese manufacturer. They seem to be more aware now of the need to engage with their ham customers. 73 and thanks for stopping by!

[@tsant6591]

I like it for many reasons. But above all, if the company keeps with this trend line, one day they'll have the equivalent of the big 3 flagship rigs for half the price.

[@DaveAndrus]

I agree! They still have a lot of catching up to do to compete with them, but they show promise. I like that they are constantly updating the firmware, fixing bugs that users report, AND also adding new features.

[@EdinGacic]

I am considering this radio as my first HF radio - would you say this is a good buy for me or maybe now there are better options?

[@DaveAndrus]

Edin, it depends on your budget. It's one of the least expensive new radios you can buy, and it works well. The only downside is that it puts out 20 watts, while most hams start with a "standard" 100 watts. As a new ham, it can be a bit frustrating to make contacts unless you hook this to a very good antenna such as the hex beam I used in the video. If you have a bit more to spend, I would recommend the Yaesu FT-891, which is about US$640. It doesn't have the band scope, but it covers all of the HF bands plus 6 meters, and has 100 watts output. Search KZbin for a number of videos that feature this radio to get a sense of what you'd be buying. Other than the lower transmit power, though, this is a very good little radio. Thanks for visiting my channel!

[@EdinGacic]

@@DaveAndrus I wish it had antenna tuner for that price. So hard to decide :)

[@DaveAndrus]

@@EdinGacic If you don't mind, allow me to write a long essay here on my opinions of the G-90 vs other transceivers: Yes, you're absolutely correct--it is definitely a trade-off. The FT-981 is pretty basic, and does not include such nice things as a built-in antenna tuner and a panadapter (or also called waterfall or spectrum display). Its small size is similar to the G-90, and that makes it easier to use portable or mobile, though, so keep that in mind if you ever consider those modes of operation. Again, it very much depends on your budget, and also on your list of priorities. For example, an antenna tuner may not be as important to you if you plan to only use antennas that are resonant on the bands you want to use. You could also tell yourself that you could add an external antenna tuner a bit later when finances allow--sort of a pay-as-you-go installment plan. Based on my own observations as a ham for more than 50 years, I see very few hams that only have one transceiver, one power supply, and one antenna. There are certainly hams that do just that, but most of us collect various pieces of gear as time goes on. We buy and sell, collect, trade with each other, share various things, and some lucky hams get gifts of used radios and other gear from ham friends or elmers. I have done all of those things. You might decide that it's most important to you to buy a first transceiver and then add various accessories as time progresses. Or you might decide that you want it all now, and buy a top-of-the-line model with everything but a coffee maker built in. It's up to you. Personally, I like the idea of buying lower-cost gear and then adding to it over time. I think this is probably what you are planning to do, and I think that is a great way to start! Here are my opinions on new radios currently being sold that you might consider: Xiegu G90: If you buy one now for about $450, you'll have a nice radio that has an antenna tuner and a panadapter built in. Regardless of which radio you buy, you will also need a power supply that can put out at least 20-25 amps. This will "future proof" your power supply choice for the future. Next, before too long, you'll probably also want to buy an external speaker, since the Xiegu speaker is very small. After that, maybe a desktop microphone. Next, you'll very likely wish you had more power output, so you spend more money to buy a power amplifier that will boost you to 100 watts. Remember that the G-90 antenna tuner will not be useful if you add an amplifier. The amp will need its own antenna tuner rated for 100 watts, or whatever power level you purchase. If you add the cost of the Xiegu and an amplifier together (plus a possible antenna tuner), you will end up spending as much as you would for a transceiver that has all of the Xiegu's features, plus the higher output power. But...you did this over time that allowed you to save money to buy those things. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Yaesu FT-891: I mentioned its lack of antenna tuner, as you also noted. It also lacks the panadapter. It does have the advantage of being designed and supported by a mainstream manufacturer, so you are getting a quality user interface and good factory and repain support if it is ever needed. This same observation applies to all Yaesu, Kenwood and Icom radios. Yaesu FT991A: Excellent radio that has HF, VHF and UHF coverage. It is a competitor to the IC-7300 I mention below, with the addition of the bands above 54 MHz as a bonus. The IC-7300 has a much bigger display, but they are otherwise close in features. It is about $100 less than the IC-7300. Elecraft: is also a great brand, but they do not have lower-priced radios. I own an Elecraft K3 and love it, and I just got my new Elecraft K4 last week. What a wonderful radio, but it's about US$5,000! I also have Elecraft K2, KX1, and the other transceivers they have sold in the past. Some were kits, and some, like the K3 and K4, we factory-built. I guess you could say I'm an Elecraft collector. Icom 7100: If you have the money, and you want 100 watts and an antenna tuner, consider the Icom IC-7100. It's an older design without a panadapter, but is has the bonus of VHF and UHF operation built in, since it can do 144 and 432 MHz. I have one, and it's a very good radio. No color screen, and it's a radio with a separate main body and control head, so you can have a very neat, minimal footprint on your desk. It costs about US$1,000 now, but before COVID, it sold for as low as $750 new, so maybe it's not a very good bargain at the moment. Icom IC-7300: Excellent radio, with all of the features we have discussed. It is the number 1 selling ham transceiver for a good reason. It has been about US$999 on sale, but is presently $1200. Still a very good radio with everything you would want. It has an excellent 4 inch color display that everyone loves. For about the same money, I would easily recommend it over any other radio. While others have been impacted by COVID, this one has not had much of a price increase as of January 2022. Kenwood: The TS-590S or SG is an excellent radio, and I have one as a remote base that I operate over the Internet. It lacks a panadapter, and that's about the only downside. Unfortunately, COVID has boosted its price to about US$1500. It used to be priced as a competitor to the Icom and Yaesu radios in the same price class. Many people love the "Kenwood sound" in both transmit and receive audio. Me too. Radios I do not recommend for a new ham: Yaesu FT-450, Icom IC-718 and IC-705 (and any QRP power level radio having 5-10 watts output). These entry level radios are the ones that new hams buy, and then sell when they gain more experience. Their price on the used market does not hold up well, and they lack some features, such as variable mike gain, that will often be annoying. They are very good, entry-level radios otherwise, but you will not be happy with the limited features after a few months or years of operation. Other than that, there is nothing inherently wrong with them. I don't recommend low-power radios for any new hams, because they will get frustrated shouting at people that can't hear them, get frustrated, and leave the hobby. The Xiegu is a bit higher power compared to the usual QRP radio, but it's 20 watts will still be frustrating with an entry-level antenna, such as a simple dipole mounted close to the ground, or a vertical antenna (vertical is often much better though). You'll make contacts, and some will surprise you, especially as the sunspot numbers increase over the next 3-4 years. But you will also struggle a bit more, so keep that in mind. Once you decide to upgrade to a 100W amplifier, you've paid as much as a better radio would cost. One last comment about low-power radios in general: They are fun for a ham that is interested in more of a challenge. Some hams get really crazy and operate radios that transmit less than 1 watt. They are also fun for portable operation, where you want a minimalist radio setup you can carry in a backpack or even in just one hand. Low power is definitely a challenge and can be quite fun, but it is also definitely not a good point of entry for a new ham. I operate QRP radios routinely, and enjoy them. There. I didn't quite write a book here. Maybe a pamphlet or a short story. 😀

[@EdinGacic]

@@DaveAndrus thank you for your input. Well I am new to the ham radio but this is what I understood too and you confirmed it to me. What I think as of now is that probably will just go and get the FTDX10 I can get it now for €1,242.86 because of Yaesu 200 EUR cash back and I can get it VAT excluded as a business purchase. I also really like the Yaesu FT-891 and get can it for €587.39 but lack of the tuner is a really hard hard tradeoff for me, because I want to be portable too - so after i add a tuner to it its bulky and adds costs and I guess Yaesu FTDX10 can be considered portable too - if i make a nice case for it i can take it on summits and work it remote - I really don't care about the waterfall and actually think by eliminating it one can concentrate more on listening and talking using the radio then looking at it :) So I am sure it will be one of those two radios. I wish also that they build a radio that is modular in a firmware sense that has all that FTDX10 has and also possibility to use low power for expedition work for digital modes to extend the power draw when off grid. I am new to the ham radio just two months but learned a lot from watching videos like yours and now I have AnyTone 878 II and use it on analog and DMR but think that I will love HF DX stuff. If you are on DMR give me a call KO4VDC is my callsign :) Cheers and love your videos and input. Thanks a lot 73

[@DaveAndrus]

@@EdinGacic The FTDX10 is an excellent radio with great features. I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. I didn't include it in my list of radios because I got the impression that you were looking at the lower prices. Thanks for your kind words! I hope to meet you on the air sometime. 73, Dave K7DAA

[@marcreynolds7948]

I just got a G90 (amazing how much smaller it is compared to its perceived size in videos) but no license yet. My Tech license expired 15 years ago so I'm not connecting the microphone for now. Going for the General (no, not the car insurance) but thanks to COVID no in person test sites are open in my area (San Jose, CA) and the online testing proctoring logistics look exponentially worse than navigating a home mortgage...no....probably worse than for a 100 million dollar commercial property---- in a foreign county. You make several contacts at 20W: I wonder how many are possible at 1W :-)

[@DaveAndrus]

Marc, my personal experience using 1W on CW is that contacts are pretty easy, especially if you call CQ on the QRP "watering hole" frequencies, like 14.060 MHz on 20 meters, 7.040 or 7.030 on 40 meters, etc. It's a little harder using 1W on SSB though. BTW, if you get set up for FT8 digital mode, you can easily make contacts on low power because it is such a sensitive mode. Your computer and radio will even be able to hear and decode FT8 signals that you can't hear through the speaker! FT8 is perfect for low power operation, and lots of people use 20 watts or much less. I have a suggestion for you about getting tested online. It's what everyone has to do these days due to the pandemic. Since I used to live in Morgan Hill, I have lots of ham friends in the area. Go here: www.sbcara.org and click on the "Test/Train" link at the top right of center. They hold extra seats open for locals, and you certainly qualify. You can also just email [e-mail] if you want to ask a question. Tell them that Dave, K7DAA sent you, and you'll get first-class treatment. They have an excellent "pass" rate, and you'll be on the air before you know it! And by the way, if you have a radio capable of 440 MHz operation, or a scanner, try tuning into our net every Wednesday night at 9:00 PM on my repeater near Henry Coe Park, east of Morgan Hill. It's on 442.975 MHz. I use www.remotehams.com software to control a radio at a friend's house, which allows me to be net control from Utah. The net is just about having fun talking about diverse ham radio subjects, with no requirement to join a club or live in a particular area. The repeater coverage is good all the way up into San Francisco, with spotty coverage in the East Bay due to mountain blockage. And of course, after you get your license, please do check in with us and join the fun!

[@marcreynolds7948]

@@DaveAndrus Thanks...I'll contact the resources you listed. In addition to the G90 I just got, I still have several old 2m/.7m base/HT rigs and even a landline phone patch box that allowed me to run a "one cell" mobile phone setup as KE6ITP that had reliable coverage all throughout the valley. I never worked HF and honestly I can't remember if a tech license back then allowed 10m operation anyway. My HAM buddies used my phone patch too including KD6PBM, and others. I once even raised my phone patch from the summit of White Mountain using a 300mW HT...about 250 miles? Note I had unknowingly dropped the HT somewhere back on the trail only to discover my Labrador had dutifully picked it up and carried it up to the summit in perfect condition save for a bit of slobber on the keypad :-) That's interesting about FT8 being more capable than a human brain for interpreting weak signals. I thought digital lacked in that area.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@marcreynolds7948 Love those faithful dogs! We have an English Cream Golden Retriever (some people have called them the Oprah dogs), and just added a mini Australian Shepherd last year. They are a hoot, but the Golden is a hair generating machine, and the Aussie has more energy than two other dogs. So we have to have several sessions of fetch with her favorite ball each day, or she's all over us! Interesting info about your previous operating. Have you gotten your license back yet? Heatherly and Tim are my buddies, and as I said, they're super-helpful folks. Heatherly's background is teaching, and I think she does a great job at it. The SBCARA group has helped hundreds of hams get their first license or get upgraded to a higher class. You'll love HF, in my humble opinion. When I got started as a novice in the 60's, HF CW was pretty much all we had, so that's what I cut my ham teeth on, so to speak. I find CW to be lots of fun, but of course, it's not everyone's cup of tea. It seems to have gained in popularity even after the FCC removed CW testing from the licensing requirements. When I said HF CW was all we had in the 60's, I'm serious. You had a small chunk of 2 meters, as I recall. I had a simple 2-watt AM transceiver for 2M, but only ever talked to the guy down the street. Not very much fun, but routine FM operation via repeaters for hams had not been invented yet. Gee, that makes me feel older than dirt! I was only 10 yrs old then, so maybe a bit younger than dirt. FT8 mode has really taken the ham community by storm. I was just reading that something like 80% of all ham QSO's happening on the HF bands are using FT8. That's just wild! It's ideally suited to low-power operation with less-than-ideal antennas, too. Download the free WSJT-X software here and give it a try: physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html The inventor of FT8, and a number of other cool digital ham modes, is Joe Taylor, K1JT. By the way, Joe received a Nobel prize, so he's a pretty smart guy who just basically donates these wonderful communications modes and the software needed to use them to the ham community. Even without a license, you can listen in on FT8 to get a feel for it. The software will ask you some questions like your callsign and location, but you can fake those for now. You don't need to do much more than download and install it on your computer, then just hook the AUX input of your computer's sound card to the earphone jack output of the G90 or any other radio. You will start to see activity after you follow the simple instructions to set the proper sound level, and then make sure your computer's internal clock is set accurately. You'll notice when you listen on 7.074 MHz USB (best in the evening) or 14.074 MHz USB (best in the daylight hours) that all those FT8 carriers pause every 13 seconds for 2 beats, then another group of carriers starts up. It goes back and forth for 15 seconds total in those two time slots. If you look up some of the callsigns on QRZ.com as they scroll upwards on the WSJT-X display, you'll be amazed at how far away many of them are. From California, you can easily work all over the south Pacific and Japan on 20 watts or so in the evenings on 40 meters, which is not normally a super-long distance band (unless you have a serious antenna system, that is). So many fun things to do with ham radio, so little time! 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@user-cu9gd8nz3c]

Dave what’s your power supply on g90 in this video?

[@DaveAndrus]

Hi there! I was my station power supply, which is a 30 amp Alinco DM-33MV. It's a fairly small switching supply I bought 10 years ago. I've really enjoyed it. It has some nice convenience features, and I also really like having a meter as well. I just happened to have 2 12-volt server power supplies sitting to the left of the G-90, but they were not hooked up. This was a super-impromptu video, so I didn't really arrange anything for the video. I just sat the G-90 on top of a couple of plastic parts boxes, plugged it in and thought I'd just try it out. It was literally an afterthought to even grab my iPhone and shoot this video! On another video, you can probably see me using a portable battery supply that I hand-built. It's an 8 amp-hour LiFePO4 type, made from cylindrical electric bike cells and a small BMS (battery management system) to control charging and to act as an electronic fuse. 73 - Dave, K7DAA

[@user-cu9gd8nz3c]

@@DaveAndrus thank you Dave , 73s

[@vinnyboomba9948]

Do you still have the rig? If so how is it now still holding up?

[@DaveAndrus]

Yes I do, and it's still working just fine. If you search for my callsign (K7DAA) on QRZ.com, you can see a photo of my ham station with the Xiegu rig on the first shelf. It's a nice little rig for the price. Thanks for checking out my channel--more to come now that the snows have melted! Dave

[@timothymorris1499]

Thanks to you both for this question. I was wondering how it was holding up. I’m looking for something a little more portable than my 7300. I was leaning toward a 891 but with the G90 you get so much more.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@timothymorris1499 If they were the same price, I'd say the 7300 is all you would want, but it's more than twice the cost of the G90. As you know, the 7300 has a very nice, large display, and a few more knobs. With the G90, you have to find things in more combinations of button presses, but it's not bad. I don't have any problems remembering how to turn some option on or off as long as I use the radio once in a while. So really, the main difference is 100W vs 20W, but at more than 2X the price. The 7300 can drive a linear amp right out of the box, if that's at all important to you (it shouldn't be). The G90 requires an external dongle, that brings out the PTT for an amp. I've driven my Elecraft KAT-500 to full output on 20 meters with it! The first thing most of us want to do with the G90 is to get an external speaker, and it can't drive a speaker directly. There are workarounds, though. You can buy an amplified speaker, or do a fairly simple mod inside the G90 if you have good eyes and soldering skills. That's not to say that the G90's internal speaker is terrible, but I want one that has wider frequency response most of the time. Your mileage may vary, as they say. Comparing the G90 with the Yaesu FT-891, I'd lean more towards the G90. The 891 is more of a no-frills radio. Again it's 100W vs 20W but that's not such as big deal if you want to use it as a grab-n-go radio. BTW, I plan to use the G90 and a battery again for this year's Field Day next month. Maybe I'll shoot a few more videos for KZbin like last year. Let me know if there is anything in particular you'd like to see. 73 and thanks! Dave

[@gtretroworld]

Literally just recommended this video,thanks for sharing.

[@dangermandave67]

How do you think the G90 would do for SOTA activations? A little heavy? Just wondering whether it would be feasible to lug a suitable power supply for it up a mountain.

[@dasy2k1]

Yes, it is quite tolerant to lower voltages so will run absolutely fine from a 3s lipo! (or a 4s LiFePo4) Sure it's not the lightest rig in the world, but considering it has a built-in tuner that can tune wet string that's one less thing to carry!

[@DaveAndrus]

@@dasy2k1 I agree that you want a rig that is OK with a wide voltage tolerance that will give you various options, depending on how much you are willing to carry. I also have a 4s LiFePo4 pack I made myself out of 38120 cylindrical cells that is about 2.4 pounds lighter than a 7AH lead acid gel cell--a common battery for non-hiking QRP'ers. Either of these batteries would be a good match for the G90, but we're still talking a fair amount of weight together. If you are familiar with the Yaesu FT-817 or 818, the G90 is around that same size and weight neighborhood. Comparing the two radios, especially with the new firmware updates that Xiegu has been putting out for the G90, I think I would prefer it over the Yaesu. Actually, if you are hiking a long way up to a SOTA peak, you'll really hate this much weight, though, in my humble opinion. Most SOTA guys I see are carrying pretty small gear and batteries about the size and weight of an 8 AA-size battery pack. If it were me, I would look for something smaller and lighter for SOTA hiking. Take a look at K6ARK's KZbin channel to see some of the tiny radios and super-light antenna he carries. He is definitely a minimalist, sometimes only running 200 milliwatts--but he gets results! Being on top of a mountain always helps, plus calling CQ SOTA as well. My favorite rig, if I were hiking up very far to SOTA peaks (and disclaimer here--I haven't done any SOTA, but I used to hike quite a bit in my past), would be my Elecraft KX1. It's CW only, covers 80, 40, 30, and 20 meters, has an internal antenna tuner and built-in batteries, but only gives about 2-3 watts output. I love it. It's literally a grab-and-go radio. It's discontinued now, but the KX2 is a huge improvement on it, and includes SSB and data modes as well.

[@kkristopher7413]

The guy said his audio sounded raspy and sounded like rf in the signal, laughed, then said it worked great.

[@DaveAndrus]

Yep, that's why it's always a good idea to collect several different signal or audio reports before deciding what to do next. That said, Xiegu did do a firmware update to give customers a mike gain control after this video was made, so I wasn't the only one having issues with the transmit audio. I appreciate your comments!

[@paulhastings3109]

Do you have link where you got it

[@niftyfiftycampingadventure795]

Radiodity.com

[@DaveAndrus]

Yeah, Radioddity.com is a very good dealer. I have bought a number of things through them and really like their support. If you buy a G90, you should especially check out the nice re-write they did on the G90 manual. Compared to the original manual from Xiegu, it is a thing of beauty. I happened to buy mine from connectsystems.com (they call themselves CSI) when they emailed me, advertising a limited-time sale. I just looked at their website today (November 19, 2020), and they have a special on the G90 again for US$425, which is a great price for this model. I've seen pricing from about $400 to $499 from various US dealers. If you don't see it on connectsystems web page, it's hiding on the pulldown menu labelled "Radios" at the top of the second page after you click on the orange "View Amateur Radios" button.

[@JReed305]

The more I see folks post videos on this RT the more I want one. Better get off my butt and get my General. DE KN6FWT 73's

[@DaveAndrus]

Having your General opens up a whole new world--quite literally!

[@DaveAndrus]

BTW, here is a very detailed review of the G90 by a ham that is also a shortwave listener: swling.com/blog/2020/09/a-review-of-the-xiegu-g90-general-coverage-transceiver/

[@cbradioskipmacintosh219]

Hi how’s the g 90 doing?

[@DaveAndrus]

It's still working just like you see in this video that I took right out of the box. No problems or issues, no complaints. Thanks for stopping by! 73, Dave

[@justinruth9729]

On SSB mode run the gain at 7-10 it has wonderful amp u don't need a lot of gain

[@DaveAndrus]

I've heard a number of similar comments, and I did just what you suggested during my field day operating with this rig. I think I cranked the RF gain down even further, and signals just popped out of the noise. My elmer during my Novice days taught me to pretty much leave the AF volume knob alone, and adjust the RF gain control instead. I've pretty much done then ever since. Thanks for the comment!

[@richardkell4888]

My SWR hardly ever moves feeding into my 20m inv vee fed (with RG59U ohm coax) fabulous auto ATU on the G90. For newbies ... I also use the ALC indicator to guide me to correct vocal delivery. 73 M0VRK

[@DaveAndrus]

Richard, that's the way to do it! By the way, the classic HF dipole (like your inverted Vee) has a feedpoint impedance of 73 ohms over perfect ground--which none of us have, of course, but 72-ohm RG-59 or RG-6 is often a great choice, and at a much lower price than 50 ohm coax.

[@WW5RM]

We don't need no stinking manuals were Hams! =]

[@DaveAndrus]

You got that right! And thank goodness for that, since many of the Chinese manuals are unreadable anyway!

[@1OFGODSOWN]

My Mother told me once that I was a Ham a long time before I became a Ham Operator.She would have known better than most God Rest her Soul.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@1OFGODSOWN That reminds me of the old Dilbert TV show from the 90's, where Dilbert's mom takes him to the doctor to find out what's wrong with him. She says that he's always taking things apart, like their TV, a clock radio, and the stereo, to which the doctor replies that it's normal for kids to do that. Dilbert's mom then says, "The part that worries me is that he used the components to build a ham radio set!" The doctor says, "Oh dear!", then gives her the bad news: Dilbert has...The Knack! He tells her that it's incurable, and It's characterized by extreme intuition with mechanical and electrical devices, along with social ineptitude. He tells her that her son will grow up to be an engineer. Dilbert's mom is devastated by the news! Meanwhile, little Dilbert fixes the doctor's EEG machine. That is my life in a nutshell, except that I have a beautiful blonde wife that really appreciates my talents ;-) I managed to dodge the social awkwardness part, thank heavens. Here's the KZbin video with the whole episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6Cqpo1un8adnKc

[@sirhaugen1025]

Strange, your G90 is showing + - 20watts all the time when you talk, not doing that for me..

[@DaveAndrus]

@B R Good observation! You are correct.

[@pedersteenberg2010]

NEW STARTER NEW BEGINNER , CAN I FIND A SORT / SMALL ANTENNA TO XIEGU090?

[@DaveAndrus]

Hello Peder, and thanks for your question! I think your question is a good one, and is something that many new hams ask. It is difficult (but not impossible) to find a small antenna for the HF bands that will work as well as a full-size antenna. The reason is that the wavelengths of the HF radio signals are quite large (160 through 10 meters), and an efficient antenna normally needs to be at least 1/4 of a wavelength in size. There are basically two types of antennas: a horizontal, such as a dipole, and a vertical. A third type you may want to consider is known as a magnetic loop. A mag loop can be quite small, and is very efficient, but needs to be re-tuned constantly as you change frequencies within a band. If the loop is mounted vertically, it can be used very close to the ground with good results. A dipole is generally mounted horizontally, and is normally designed with two 1/4 wavelength legs, for a total of 1/2 wavelength long. So, for the 40 meter ham band, it would be approximately 20 meters (about 66 feet) long. It can be made shorter with loading coils, which I will mention below, since the same technique can be used to shorten a vertical antenna. If you don't have space for a traditional dipole antenna that is fed in the middle with coax, you might also find that an end-fed dipole antenna, which can be supported on just one end, such as a tall tree, might be useful to you. It is still 20 meters in length, but might be easier to mount at just one end. A bonus advantage is that the matching coil (in a plastic box where your coax connects to antenna) helps the antenna to work on multiple bands. So an end-fed 40 meter antenna will also cover the 30-10 meter bands as well without making any adjustments. Just search on KZbin or Google "end fed dipole". A vertical antenna might be a good choice for you, since it can be mounted directly on the ground. You do need to spread out some radial wires on the ground, though. At least 8 wires of a random length (I would suggest 5 meters) are necessary at minimum for any 1/4-wave vertical antenna. These radial wires are not special. They can be bare or insulated wire, and can be very thin. A vertical antenna can be made smaller than 1/4 wavelength by adding a loading coil, which is basically just a coil of wire that adds to the electrical length of the antenna while keeping it smaller. Maybe you have seen HF mobile antennas that do this. One such very cheap antenna you can buy is known as a "Hamstick" type. Hamstick is a brand name for a shortened mobile antenna that is capable of working on a single HF band while keeping the antenna short. Most are are about 5-7 feet tall (about 150 to 210 cm). A Hamstick-type antenna is a fiberglass rod with wire coiled around it to make it electrically the same length as a full-size 1/4-wave antenna. So, for the 40 meter amateur band, instead of being 33 feet (10 meters) long, the antenna is much shorter. This would be wonderful, except that there is a price to pay for this shortened length: lower efficiency. A short antenna will not radiate a signal as well a full-size one. So there is a trade-off, but that does not mean a shortened antenna is a bad idea. For some of us that do not have space for a full-size antenna, this can be a very acceptable design. You might also find another type of short vertical antenna interesting. It is designed for mobile use also, but it has the advantage of being able to cover several ham bands by moving the loading coil up and down inside the antenna remotely. Such an antenna is usually called a "screwdriver antenna" because the first designs years ago used the motor from an electric screwdriver to move the coil up and down. I have used screwdriver antennas while mobile, as well as mounted in my back yard or garden. They are expensive (US$400-600 typical), but work very well if you want to cover multiple ham bands without changing coils. I suggest Tarheel antennas, since I have been very successful with their "Little Tarheel" model. They are located here: www.tarheelantennas.com/ The same coiled-wire trick can be used to make horizontal dipole antennas shorter. A horizontal dipole, unlike a vertical antenna, needs to be up in the air as much as possible to avoid the effects of the ground that lowers its efficiency. A magnetic loop is a very interesting antenna. It is small--typically 1 meter in diameter--and made from copper or aluminum tubing about 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) outside diameter. It needs a variable capacitor to tune it to the desired frequency. It can be quite efficient, being close to a full-size dipole. As I mentioned before, though, it needs to be re-tuned if you change frequency more than 10-30 kHz. I have experimented with mag loop antennas quite a bit, and you can see a commercial version I bought from MFJ in one of my other videos here. In conclusion, there are small antennas for HF, but they are less efficient than full-size. If you accept that, then you may be happy. You can also use the same "Hamstick" idea to build a dipole as well. Just buy two, and mount them horizontally (or even vertically, if you have the available tree or other structure to hang it up. The coax should run horizontally away from the antenna feedpoint for some distance, though. Here are some commercial examples of smaller antennas you might find interesting. In all cases, please also try searching for these antennas on KZbin, using keywords such as "short vertical", "short dipole" or "portable antenna", or "magnetic loop". Short verticals: www.wolfrivercoils.com/ mfjenterprises.com/collections/antenna/products/mfj-1640t www.qrpkits.com/pac12.html Short dipoles (some can be vertical as well): www.buddipole.com/ www.qrpkits.com/dualbanddipole.html Magnetic Loops: chameleonantenna.com/ mfjenterprises.com/collections/mfj/products/mfj-1782?_pos=9&_sid=5e95307eb&_ss=r (This is the antenna in another of my videos--it can be remotely controlled) By the way, I suggest either the 40 or 20 meter ham bands as the best bands to start with as a new ham. 40 meters is open both day and night, and contacts can be made for 400 to 2000 miles (650 to 3200 km). The longest distances are made in the early evening hours. The 20 meters band covers longer distances world-wide, but it is mostly a daytime-only band. As the sunspots increase, it will stay open longer into the night. It also has the advantage that antennas are 1/2 the size of 40 meter antennas. Good luck finding the right antenna for your needs. Please feel free to ask me any further questions you might have!

[@DaveAndrus]

Peder, if you are interested in trying to build your own HF antenna that fits in a small space, here is a very good KZbin video that shows how one guy designed a homebrew version of the famous BuddiPole antenna: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGekhYtoj56YrdU 73, Dave

[@pekkanikolaus]

@@DaveAndrus Thank you for this treasure trove of information!

[@DaveAndrus]

@@pekkanikolaus You are very welcome! Please feel free to ask questions anytime. Hopefully I can help you get your ham station set up if you have not done so already. I started when I was very young, so I have had quite a few successes (and failures) in my ham radio life!

[@rickmckee6698]

It would be very nice if your camera was stationary so when you change settings we can see what you are doing instead of moving the camera away from the radio when you do it. Kind of hard to concentrate on a video when the camera is bouncing all over the place!

[@DaveAndrus]

Hi Rick! Yeah, you're totally right about that! If you read my comment on the video at the top, you'll see that I mentioned just pulling my iPhone out after the QSO started. I never intended to make a video before I got started, so that's why it's so amateurish! I can only get better from here, right? 73, Dave - K7DAA

[@guardianobserver6593]

What have you done half of your life? I was screaming CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ.

[@DaveAndrus]

Yeah, isn't that the truth. And doing it using QRP power levels should get you special entry into Heaven for having such faith!

[@SammYLightfooD]

And did someone answer? No, I was practicing with a dummy load.

[@n6pud]

I am thinking of getting one of these for my first HF radio. Kn6MQX

[@DaveAndrus]

Timothy, keep in mind that I was using a beam antenna with some extra gain. That makes the 20W radio look closer to 100W radiated power. You will likely be heard less well unless you put up a similar antenna. My suggestion is that, unless your budget is tight, or you want to do a lot of portable operation, I would look for a "normal" 100W transceiver as a first radio. There are some very good 100 watt radios available for a few hundred dollars more. Using a lower power radio with a simple antenna can sometimes be a potential frustration for a new ham, especially with signal propagation being lower in our sunspot cycle as it is now. If I were you, I would take a look at an Icom 7100 (about $780--I have one--covers HF, VHF and UHF), or the Yaesu FT-891 (about $640, covers HF and 6 meters--very compact). If you can spring for $999, the Icom 7300 has lots of great features, and is very popular.. Some reputable ham dealers also have good used radios--I see an Icom 7100 at Gigaparts for $650 today. Note that these prices are what I can find at gigaparts.com on March 16, 2021. Your mileage may vary!

[@michaelargenta3856]

Now all you gottah do is find someone thats a few hrs ahead to get the lotter numbers --- right >>????

[@DaveAndrus]

So I'm not the only one that fantasizes about such things 😄

[@fredshead7114]

Do you really have to have the volume turned right up to hear it...that's a no for me Fred g4vvq

[@ChadForquer]

Has an external speaker jack.

[@DaveAndrus]

Fred, I'll have to double-check that. I turned it up enough so that it could be picked up by the iPhone's mics, but it was pretty loud. The speaker is a tiny little thing, like you would find on a typical handheld radio, but it sounds quite good for its size. I think I also had some rotation left on the volume knob, so it actually could have gone even louder. It's not going to blast your ears off, but it's plenty loud and not tinny-sounding.

[@AdamosDad]

I plan on buying one and with my hearing I plan on using head phones. KD9OAM

[@ToddRichmond]

Watch other videos - it is an encoder and the actual volume level is shown in the display rather than knob position. In this video he’s at about half volume.

[@joeframo3347]

Hey David looks like on the meter you're. Mike. Gain up pretty high you might want to back your mike gain down I was just looking at the meter while you're talking

[@DaveAndrus]

Yeah, there wasn't a mike gain control in the out-of-the-box firmware at the time the video was shot, but they've since added one in a series of firmware updates they did last summer.

[@ronangsr]

Very good, check out my latest video, I just did a 2000km qso with only 3 watts and an indoor mag loop with my G90, incredable

[@DaveAndrus]

I can totally believe that! I've built or bought several mag loops, and I love 'em! My first homebrew one was 5/8" copper pipe bent into a 1 meter diameter circle. I tie-wrapped it to a piece of 1 x 2 wood and stuck it into the grass temporarily. With 10 watts from my Elecraft K-2 on 17 meters, I worked Hawaii on the first call, then 10 minutes later I worked a guy in Maryland (while I was in Northern California). Both of my contacts said they couldn't believe how I could have managed to do that. Fun stuff.

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@DaveAndrus you have the plans for that? I'm enough of a maker to try it.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@AlvinMcManus Well...search KZbin and you'll find a bunch of them. Mine is basically a 10-foot piece of 5/8" copper tubing. I bought a roll of it at the Morgan Hill Home Depot several years ago when you didn't need to max out your credti card to buy one. Carefully bend the outermost part of the coil out until you have a circle of about 3 feet in diameter. Get lucky and buy a new old stock Hammarlund variable butterfly capacitor on eBay for $12 (sorry, but it's true). Smash the 2 open ends of the tubing flat for about 3/4 inch, then drill a hole in each end. Get a 5 foot piece of 1x2 wood. Run a wood screw through each of the two holes to attach the copper to the wood. Looks like a big sucker pop when you're done. Solder the capacitor to the two flattened ends of the copper pipe. This will have your capacitor at the top of the loop. You will tune it with the capacitor using a plastic (NOT metal) knob. This combo of the copper pipe and series capacitor will tune from about 10 to 26 MHz. If you want a lower or higher frequency than mine, make the copper loop longer (lower freq) or shorter (higher freq). Take a 14 inch piece of solid bare copper wire (I used 10 gauge), and two hose clamps. Bend the bare wire so that it roughly follows the diameter of the big loop, but on the inside of it, with about 2" spacing. Temporarily clamp one end of the wire exactly opposite from the capacitor (at the bottom of the loop), and then clamp the other end of the wire to the loop at roughly the 7 to 8 o'clock position. By "clamp", I mean just bend a small "L" in the end of the wire and slip that under the hose clamp. Now, your coax from the radio should be stripped back 1 to 2 inches. Attach the braid (ground) of the coax to the same place where the hose clamp at the bottom of the loop is by squeezing it and the copper pipe together. Before you do that, pull the bare wire out so it is just dangling at that end. The only place the bare wire is held to the loop is now at the 8'oclock position. The center conductor of the coax is then soldered to the end of the bare wire that was previously held temporarily on the bottom. So the only connection to this end of the bare wire is just the coax center conductor. This is not a super-secure joint, but I've left it in place when I was experimenting and it has never failed, so there it stays. This joint should be taped or use some of that liquid electrical tape stuff you can buy at home improvement stores. This will keep water out of the exposed end of the coax, too. If anyone cares to ask, this feed method would be called "sort of a gamma match". There are other ways to do the coax feed, including the more traditional insulated wire loop of about 1/5 the diameter of the big loop. You then attach the smaller loop to the bottom of the big loop with a zip tie. I built my first one and found that the 1/5 feed loop didn't give me the best SWR on all the bands I wanted, so I ended up experimenting with the copper wire that is electrically bonded to the big loop as I described above. Your choice, but I've kept mine for about 9 years now in that configuration, and have never had to fiddle with it again. The tuning capacitor is the biggest challenge to find. It should be variable from about 15 to 100 pF or so. For anything more than a couple of watts (literally under 5 watts!), the capacitor plates should be spaced quite far apart (1/4 inch or more for 100W) to avoid RF arcing. These loops develop thousands of volts at resonance, depending on how many watts you put out! With just 5 watts at 14 MHz, it's got 1,000 volts on it, so don't touch while transmitting! RF burns just keep hurting for days afterwards--I know! Another caveat about the capacitor--don't use the most common ones that use a small slip ring to connect one of the terminals to the rotor (the moving part). A butterfly capacitor uses two sections of the fixed plates, and the rotor just moves through them without any electrical attachment to it. You can sometimes use one of these common capacitors if they have multiple sections that share the same rotor plates. Just Google "butterfly capacitor" to see example pictures (worth 1K words). You can also buy butterfly kits from people on eBay and make your own with thread stock from a home improvement store. I did one of those for another loop, and they worked really well. MFJ also sells two different butterfly capacitors that they use for their two mag loops. I'm not sure of today's cost, but when I bought one to experiment with, it was about $75 several years ago. Note that these are pretty large units compared with what most of us think of when we envision a tunable capacitor, but they are rated for at least 100 watts. The loop and capacitor need to be firmly mounted so that they don't move around. The mag loop is an extremely high-Q circuit, and is therefore very narrow-banded. I'm talking about maybe 15 kHz on 20 meters. You'll have to re-tune if it you move very far in frequency--and that's one of the biggest gotchas about mag loops. They're not a "set it and forget it" antenna, unless you only want to do FT-8 or a single daily net on one frequency. Otherwise, you'll need to constantly re-tune the capacitor as you move around in frequency. That's why a lot of mag loops are motorized, with a remote tuning capability. This is something you can also try adding on to your mag loop once you get the basic design done. When you attach the capacitor electrically to the loop, think about these attachments as needing to carry many amps of current. Don't use thin wires, or just a tack soldering job. Use thick, wire or multiple pieces of wire, or attach the capacitor directly to the loop with screws or bolts (brass, not steel). You don't need to mount the loop up in the air. One loop diameter above the height of your lawn (or dirt) is plenty. I've even used mine as close as 1 foot above the ground to make several contacts, and it worked very well. I'll send you a picture of this one I just described on Discord, since we belong to the same group. If anyone else would like some photos of it. Let me know here and give me an email or some other contact info. Believe it or not, these are simple, low-cost antennas. Including the eBay special, I built my first one for about $60. All my words here make it sound complicated because I'm an engineer, but they're fun and relatively easy to work with. Definitely watch some KZbin DIY videos to see how others have made theirs. Also Google "mag loop calculator". There are many of them that will help get in into the ballpark for exact loop size and tubing diameter (I always recommend copper over aluminum, but aluminum works too), and the amount of capacitance you'll need. Lacking a tunable capacitor, some people have also started out by using a length of open-ended coax, like RG-8, as a fixed capacitor. Very cheap, and only good for maybe 20 kHz bandwidth on your favorite band, but you can't beat the price. Just nip off the open end of the coax to tune the loop where you want it. Remember that nipping off the end will always raise the frequency, so start with a longer length that you think you'll need. RG-8 has about 30 pF of capacitance per foot, BTW. You can use RG-58 or even 75 ohm coax like RG-59 or RG-6. The capacitance per foot will be different, of course, but you can Google for help to calculate the exact amount of capacitance you'll need. You can also curl the coax up in the center or just attach it with tie wraps to the wood support pole you're using. Rough tune the antenna by connecting a receiver to your loop and turn the capacitor knob until you hear a dramatic increase in background noise. I don't even need an SWR meter for mine, since they are so narrow-banded. When the noise is at its peak, you're pretty much there. Note that there will also be some interaction with your hands and body near the loop. I DON'T recommend using an antenna analyzer on your loop at first, unless you just can't find any place where it is resonant. The reason is that the Q of the loop is so high that you will likely tune right through the resonance point with the analyzer. Trust me, I've done this. The receiver noise method is much quicker and easier. After all these words, I realize that a short YT video might be a better idea to show how this is done. When I get time, I'll try to make one and post it here. Good luck and have fun! Dave--K7DAA

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@DaveAndrus ask and Ye shall receive...😊

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@DaveAndrus PS just picked up the TS440s from the Hollister club for a song. It's a good thing I can sing.

[@hillbilly4christ638]

You are pegging the meter on the radio.

[@Jimmyzb36]

Overdrive

[@DaveAndrus]

The meter was set to show power output, not ALC. It is 20 watts full-scale, so it just shows that I was putting out 20 watts PEP, as advertised.

[@sirhaugen1025]

@@DaveAndrus How do you set the meter to show output and not ALC?

[@DonHavjuan]

Title says X90. This is a G90.

[@DaveAndrus]

Hey, I totally missed that! You're the first one to point it out! Thanks, I might never have noticed my goof.

[@AlvinMcManus]

I just caught a great sale on Radioddity and got the G90, the (non cooling) stand, and the CE-19 for $440 and change free shipping and it is on its way. I test for General in August, but I can get on 10 meters with my Tech ticket. What would you recommend for a budget PSU for this or in general and could I get going with a dipole or a stick? I am not in a position (just yet) for a beam and rotor so I will make do with non-directional. Sorry I missed last night's net but I was exhausted from a visit to my MIL. She's not exhausting, but a 3 plus hour car ride takes it out of me these days. I'll make the next NET and maybe we can chat about this G90 or let me know if I can catch you on the repeater. 73 dude. KN6ZVI listening...

[@DaveAndrus]

I think you'll really enjoy the rig--and that is a great deal you got. Since a simple dipole is only about 8 feet 4 inches on each leg for 10 meters, it's much easier to find a spot to put it up, For a dipole, just think of a capital "T". The top horizontal line of the T is about 16' 8", cut in the middle, with the vertical line of the T being the coax that feeds it. The center conductor of the coax connects to one size, and the coax braid to the other side. You can then string it up between trees or whatever you have available. You can also turn it 90 degrees and use it as a vertical dipole, with the coax going away horizontally for maybe 15 feet. Do a search on KZbin for "simple 10 meter antenna" and have a look at lots of possibilities. Try to get it at least 15 or more feet in the air for best results. Alternatively, you could also make a simple vertical antenna that can sit at ground level. You can use any type of metal for the 1/4-wave vertical element (again 8'4" to start with). I've seen painter's poles used, as well as just a wire tiewrapped to a 8-9 foot piece of bamboo. Then lay several radials on the ground--length is not important. Connect the coax braid to the radials, and the center conductor to the vertical pipe or wire. You want to insulate the vertical part from the ground. You could start with just a piece of wood or plastic. Try to keep the vertical, as well as any antenna, away from things that could block the signal, like your house, etc.

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@DaveAndrus I got the Alinco DM 330 MTV. What gauge wire would be a minimum size for powering the G90? I'm thinking 14 gauge would be okay.

[@DaveAndrus]

@@AlvinMcManus Yes, 14 Ga will be fine as long as the wire length is under 6-10 feet or so. The G90 puts out 20 watts RF, so draws about 5-6 amps or less on voice peaks. You'll also notice the short, thin power wires that come with the radio, and the included 10 amp fuse. The idea here is to minimize the voltage drop caused by any extra resistance in longer, thinner wires during the highest current peaks. By doing this, the radio's transmit linearity during peak power demands is best. Depending on the radio design, that can result in better sounding transmit audio, too.

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@DaveAndrus okay I have the power pole connectors, wire (12gauge) crimper, all the tools. I'm a tool junkie I confess. I just scored a used MFJ-812B SWR/Wattmeter for 10 bucks. Once the bench is built I can start the setup. Antennas are pending.

[@idpagroup6525]

Sounds great ✔️✔️📡📡📡 157-2IS157-WWS0157-WR1570 Staten Island NY 73's