RF Signal Generator - review (Banggood)

This is a review of the chinese RF signal generator with adjustable signal power output in dBm units. It can be useful for any hobbyist or Hamradio homebrewers. I bought this generator cheaply from Banggood China for only 90€ months ago. Now I see that the price dropped even lower 😉 The frequency range is from 500kHz up to 470MHz.
The link for this product is here:
0.5Mhz-470Mhz RF Signal Generator Meter Tester for FM Radio Walkie-Talkie Debug Measurement & Analysis Instruments from Tools on banggood
banggood.app.link/WyP7UatRfdb
This video is not an advertising. It's just a review of the product which I bought for myself.
#RFsignalGenerator #Banggood #mcHFtransceiver

[@MrMesospheric]

Great, no-nonsense demonstration. Thank you!

[@marklowe7431]

Does the job for a basic generator without the $5000 price tag. Many of us just need a basic signal at a freq and db level. Perfect for tracing signal path faults. Nice review, thanks.

[@plhebel1]

Nice video and thank you for opening up the unit. Been looking at the unit for a while and this video helped me I think. I know that there are many home brew kits out there now which I like because more features can be thought up and drawn out and created. Half the fun of my tooling and test equipment is the thinking out and fabrication of said items in my view anyway,, being a hobbyist with lots of time to come up with a finished model .

[@michaelcarey]

Great video! Thank you! I don't like the counter intuitive arrow buttons. I see this on a lot of equipment coming from China. I've always been a left/counterclockwise = down and right/clockwise = up kind of person. Pressing a left button to go up and right button to go down just seems wrong.

[@rockybicc1323]

Thank you for your presentation' now I have some Idea' on how to use it .

[@michaelfuchs1467]

Nice of you to buy all these things and review them for us so we don't buy junk unnecessarily. I'm in the position where I'm soon going to equip a new 'home-lab' - from scratch, after loosing a 'high-end' lab some years ago - where I also lost my house... Not a very fun experience, but it's going to be fun to shop around for second hand gear and cheap Chinese 'junk'. I won't have enough funds to buy any Rhode & Schwartz, HP, Tektronix or Agilent gear this time since I'm now in early retirement due to health reasons. It will be strictly on a consequence-budget so Chinese 'junk' is surely going to end up in my shopping trolley! 🛒☺️

[@rogerlafrance6355]

Looks good so far. It would be interesting to see if the signal leakage is as good at 440MHz for checking receiver and preamp performance. Would be handy to calibrate an RTLSDR for level measurements. Best to disable the transmitter and use attenuators for protection and matching. Also, 20 Db quieting is an easier way to measure sensitivity with a simple AC voltmeter. set the noise a 2 volts and increase the CW signal till it reads 0.2 volts or what ever you like.

[@CT1ELP]

Hello Again ! I just go another one like this (the first was blown up by an accidental transmission). This equipment is cheap, and obviously very fragile, one should be very careful not to destroy it because there are absolutely no protections, but that is the price you pay for such a low price. I have read that some people found that it's performance degrades over time ? I would like to know more about it, plus a comparison with an expensive RF generator to check accuracy and performance over time.

[@mediamonster4936]

Great video review, thank you! I like your transceiver! Have you done a review for it? Ok I see you did, I subscribed to your channel.

[@leomartihart]

Thanks for your video. The PE4302 is a very good attenuator and does almost all the work of this generator. You can see it in detail near the end of the video. I use the generator model with extra attenuator and a 50 ohm load and power meter, with very good results. The only thing it lacks is a good selection of functions and the possibility to modify the modulation deviation, perhaps in the next models... 73 LU3MKH

[@CT1ELP]

Nice video ! You have space inside to insert a small power supply and plug it directly to mains, could be a nice project and idea for a new video.

[@jtyhrg]

I guess you don't want to bring 50hz mains close to this device and dc supply is best, and maybe you can take advantage of leftover space to bring in a small battery and a charge control unit for untethered use, with additional advantage that you won't be risking injecting RF in the mains with this solution. 73

[@sergiubadaluta797]

Great video!

[@overmanonfire]

Mine came without any manuals, your video was saver, Thanks

[@OM0ET]

I am so glad my video helped you 😉👍

[@mihaiganea2100]

​@@OM0ETHi. One question.....this generator , the output signal, possible to see in osciloscope, or freqvencemeter ? I buy one, but no any output signal ! Maybe is very low signal , and is only for input in antena for radio ?

[@lmantuano6986]

@@mihaiganea2100 ...yes, VERY LOW signal, the max output signal is minus 70 dBm which is equivalent to 70 microVolts. You can't see that on an oscilloscope or frequency meter.

[@antoniocarlos6765]

Thanks for the very cool video

[@tedlawrence1348]

What about the F4 button function?

[@a-klashinkov-4755]

is there an rf antenna for 10 - 100 mhz that i can use for this device?

[@kevincozens6837]

I thought about getting one of these as the front panel indicates quite a nice frequency range. However, when I read the more detailed description I find the frequency range isn't continuous from 0.5MHz to 470MHz. I passed on getting one.

[@sw6188]

The more I read in the comments here, the less impressed I am - not that I was overly hopeful to start with! When you see what's inside this unit and compare it to what's inside a professional grade RF generator you can see why this unit is just more chinese junk.

[@biebiestie]

Hello, I have a question and I hope you (are someone) can help me further. There are lots of RF divices that are used for health and body care. Of course, these are also very expensive. I'm now wondering if I could use a simple RF signal generator to perform selftests on my skin. The parameter related to the intervention frequencies is between 0.6-27 MHz. that was used in various studies. They also have a sort of probes (hope this is the good word? I'm Belgian 😊) that touch the skin and send the waves into the body. To make it short, can I build my own body care RF device? If yes, how can I do that, what do I need to buy and where can I buy the stuff I need for this? Thank you very much for your answer. Machteld

[@Janom66]

This is a good device at a low price. There is no alternative. There is no amplitude modulation, but there is enough carrier frequency to evaluate reception. The restructuring band is much wider than stated. Thanks for the review!!!🖐

[@RonS387]

Are you aware of any low cost similar devices with AM modulation, for aligning old tube-type radios?

[@Janom66]

@@RonS387 Generator with AM, low price, I don't know.. I have a generator UNI-T UTG932E. Of course, the price is much higher. However, it is still acceptable for home use. AM and FM modulations. Covers audio frequencies and radio frequencies up to 30 MHz. Sweep generator, acceptable signal quality, switchable attenuator. A lot has been said about him. This is not a professional instrument, but the quality for a home lab is good. I can't suggest a cheaper generator. As a rule, everything that is very good asks to pay more🙂

[@Janom66]

@@RonS387 There is a used model RF Signal Generator GRG-450B. However, it is difficult to tune the exact frequency, low stability, few service functions. Outdated model. There is no point in priboretat in the secondary market.

[@roberttaylor5764]

The one I have works very well with one major problem that the rf output is 30db higher than what is indicated on the display ie with -120dbm dialed up the output is -100dbm. I have tried to contact the manufacturer to see if this can be recalibrated, so far they have not tried to communicate with me. I just use a 30db pad in line with the receiver that I am testing and the attenuators appears linear over its range. Another thing I have found that the synthesizer actually locks all the way up to 700mhz which is quite incredible. The output is quite clean when checked on my spectrum analyzer. I converted the one I have to battery operation by adding a 12 volt nicad battery pack which makes it very handy for quick checks on radios installed in vehicles. I have not used it for receiver alignment but there is no reason that it couldn’t be used for this purpose. For the $90 Canadian that it cost it is a bargain. I also use a Tiny SA as a signal source as well for quick checks on receivers. Now if they would come up with a small deviation meter to compliment this unit it would fantastic.

[@sw6188]

700 millihertz?

[@roberttaylor5764]

@@sw6188 700 megahertz

[@sw6188]

@@roberttaylor5764 In your post you have mhz which is millihertz. Actually it's not even that because that would be mHz. Megahertz is MHz. It's important to be specific otherwise it changes the whole context.

[@roberttaylor5764]

To each his own!

[@jtyhrg]

@@sw6188 STFU ! stop showing off, we all got that!

[@jimwhisman5673]

I bought one of these, but it did not come with instructions. Where can I down load a set of instructions?

[@jbx907]

I have this since 2019, its very useful to check rx sensitivity, tuning front ends on VHF and UHF radios.

[@N64player1996]

Can you use this to tune on an AM CB receive? Say 27.185 or 27.205?

[@OM0ET]

Yes, you can

[@N64player1996]

@@OM0ET I thought the tone I put was only good for FM. It generates on AM as well?

[@OM0ET]

Modulation FM only

[@N64player1996]

@@OM0ET so then it wouldn't work for AM radios for input signal? Why did you say yes earlier?

[@ParideFioretti]

Very interesting! thanks

[@raffaelesquillace1202]

Hallo, very interesting video. I have the same equipment, but I don't have user manual, can you tell me were I can found it? I am interesting to the function of push buttons F1 F2 F3 F4.

[@germanjohn5626]

Spraying the inside of the case with conductive paint will go a long way towards reducing emissions

[@577buttfan]

Some aluminum or copper tape would be great too.

[@marinho12111983]

Congratulations for the video! Is it possible to use it at 455KHz to calibrate AM radios? Thanks!

[@RC-Heli835]

Looks like 500 khz is the lowest it goes

[@antoniorico7387]

excellent explanation !

[@antonioaguiadourada9642]

Qual a tensão de trabalho dele

[@MsChalkie]

I did not get any user manual with mine, where did you get the user manual from, I have searched internet with no look. Tony

[@PY5KT]

Hello. I'm trying to find out what a component of this generator is, it's a sot23-6 with the brand 9A1k3, do you know what it is?

[@subsix]

if you find the ref, i'm interested as well

[@celsojunqueira]

Good morning friend, I could not get the generator operation manual, could you inform me where I can purchase this manual, thank you for your attention. Celso - PY2CEL Bom dia amigo, não consegui o manual de operação do gerador, poderia me informar onde posso adquirir esse manual, agradeço atenção. Celso - PY2CEL

[@hikvision1019]

UNI-T has full range generators. Reasonable prices.

[@manueladao8653]

Good. However, I got the idea that this device is just an RF generator for FM (Frequency Modulation) and not AM (Amplitude Modulation). Will it be ?

[@577buttfan]

I think Im going to get this for a back up my HP has been acting up!!!! So this will not work on AM radios? Thanks for the video bro!!! 577

[@radiotvrepair1059]

Thanks for this vedio.is it good frequency generator i want to buy one.

[@AE5X]

Thanks for the review, Paul. I'm curious why you switched to FM mode to measure rx sensitivity of your mcHF on 20m? Tnx/73

[@OM0ET]

It was just for presentation. FM = more hiss and noise. Better recognize in mic ;)

[@rondeldebbio9219]

Well done! I assume this can be used to align AM and short wave radios?

[@OM0ET]

Yes 👍

[@rondeldebbio9219]

@@OM0ET Is the modulation for AM or FM only?

[@OM0ET]

@@rondeldebbio9219 AM, digital

[@kevins4736]

Its just a plain signal generator until it is modulated

[@berndb.5097]

Hello Paul, can you tell me is ist actually AM or FM modulated?

[@OM0ET]

It's FM modulation

[@rfmonkey4942]

nice !

[@mje3055]

very nice

[@TheGmr140]

looks great, i'll have to get one. any idea of phase noise?

[@OM0ET]

Great! No, i am sorry I don't have such an equipment to measure this 😃

[@knoxieman]

Don't buy one, see my advice above

[@juvytraya8826]

How much price the product?

[@dangeredition4171]

wow! you scared me! putting a direct connection to your receiver first up. If that thing was wacky (considering the purchasing source) you could have blown your front end out. You might consider building a stepped attenuation board when you do stuff like this and start off at highest attenuation until you know the signal source is solid. Good vid though!

[@mbak7801]

It got me worried as well. Some of the mains powered kit uses capacitive droppers pushing 230v onto the output BNC. OK this is 12V powered so a bit safer but still a worry as the output may be only a single cap away from 12v.

[@eugenepohjola258]

Howdy. Too bad it won't deliver the 455kHz AM IF frequency. Regards.

[@germanjohn5626]

use a simple 1 mhz oscillator and a mixer and generate it your self using this as the adjustable source.

[@eugenepohjola258]

@@germanjohn5626 Howdy. Donner und Blitzen ! What is wrong with me ??? The solution stared me in the eye all the time. I needed You to make it visible. Thanks for putting my thinking straight. Regards.

[@rpcomms1]

how do you set fm deviation for 1khz/ and fm deviation for CTCSS\DCS?

[@OM0ET]

There is no such an option in this tool :)

[@rpcomms1]

@@OM0ET Kinda strange for a fm signal generator ! but thanks for replying

[@skylabby]

Can this sig gen do sweep?

[@OM0ET]

No it can't

[@danhorton6182]

Could this be used to align FM radios?

[@kevins4736]

yes

[@laurindo233]

hello this generator is for FM only or I can use it in ssb receivers? I dont understand thank you ct1drx

[@OM0ET]

Hi, it generates carrier signal, which can be modulated in FM with tones or with Digital tones.

[@OM0ET]

Pure carrier signal can be used with SSB or AM receiver too for some purposes.

[@davem6492]

@@OM0ET So i could use it on a AM shortwave receiver ?

[@sergiubadaluta797]

1:39 is standing on power conector

[@OM0ET]

Actually yes 😆 I didn't had any other smaller one.

[@mindmybusynassm1645]

The BangGood sent to me from Hong Kong to Canada internally damaged piano. Do you know why they do it? I would buy the same from any mainland seller without any damage or signs of abuse.

[@pulponair]

Nice. What for are you using it exactly?

[@OM0ET]

testing filters atc

[@pulponair]

@@OM0ET ah i see. Looking forward for a "realworld" Testvideo

[@blacksmock445]

This unit would be far more useful if it had AM modulation, but it does appear to be able to deliver fairly accurate frequencies at low-levels. There's another KZbin video showing testing of UK FM CB radio at 27MHz which might explain more. Another video warns about exceeding 12 volts for the supply. It might be wise to operate at a slightly lower voltage.

[@devth125]

room for a lithium battery and charger

[@jayakumarnatarajan2179]

Sir..your.video.i.like.but.u.show.145.to.165.mhz.radio..better.thanks.

[@realcomsolucoes7403]

Sensitivity you need a sinnader for 12 db typical mesurement must be both the generator and the sinnader 119 Dbm plus 12 Dbm sinnader .25 uv @ 12Dbm Sinnader

[@OM0ET]

Thanks, but this it was just a quick review of this tool for noobs like me. Proffesionals have much more advandced machines for much more dollars ;)

[@realcomsolucoes7403]

@@OM0ET but you much more expensive I have a sinnader and I do calibration with both this chinese gen and the sinnader from a old company called Helper Sinnader 3

[@realcomsolucoes7403]

@@OM0ET I used before a stabilok and lot others rf test set expensive more than us dollar 30 k get it 😀

[@rtybn2012]

I have a OPT 323, MILITARY version HP-8640B. It will run circles around this generator. Save your money and buy American. E-bay has a lot of MADE IN AMERICA test equipment.

[@blacksmock445]

You aren't comparing like for like. You could buy 10 of these for the cost of a second-hand HP generator. The US e-bay has far more choice of test equipment than the UK one and shipping from the US makes purchases from ebay.com a non-starter.

[@TonyLing]

Chinese test gear from Rigol and Siglent is just fine. Not sore about this unit in the video sitting on its power jack,

[@knoxieman]

DONT BUY ONE OF THESE!! They are total garbage, I had one and used it just a few times to align CB radios, take it apart you will find there is no protection or filtering with this unit, it will work but you will find the twin rf driver stages will get weaker and weaker after a bit of use and then it will stop working, you simply cannot rely on its output particularly with regard to its calculated power displays, its way way off, the display will work but the RF output will stop, I was very careful with mine using attenuators etc, you cannot rely on these for alignment, save your money and buy a proper RF signal generator second hand. If you do use it only use on radios you arent particularly worried about like old cb radios, dont hook this up to anything of any value. Inside its held together with hot glue, I have seen many many reports about this unit failing, I bought mine after watching a youtube review praising it, after it stopped working I contacted the youtuber and he said he noticed it was getting weaker so he sold it on, if its not too late I would get a refund for it because it will stop working.

[@88njtrigg88]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[@el_hispano]

Hi, I`m totally agree, i buy two already, first one ok, stop working when i'm working with a CB radio, less than a second of TX, after this start to fail and finally, stop works. I buy other, because i think it was my fault, and start to use, very carefully to don't do TX, i always work without mic, and after a few uses, stop works. I have another friend that also works with radios and have the same problem with two of them. The only good thing that stop works the second is that i find in ebay a Marconi 2955 a very good price and now is in my home.

[@matthiasmartin1975]

I think the DDS AD9910 Arduino Shield 600MHz 1.5GSPS RF Signal Generator by "GRA & AFCH" is the way to go. Anyone used one of those?

[@SteveHacker]

Suggestion for a budget alternative?

[@panosradio]

looks like cheap construction

[@claybonypenna1151]

I speack PORTUGUÊS! Over?

[@michaelfuchs1467]

Thanks for the information. Over and out.

[@y_x2]

Too cheap, modulation signal not clean.

[@claybonypenna1151]

I do not speack inglesh!

[@owenpotts3443]

People keep your money people they are RUBBISH

[@gretalaube91]

FM only, Fixed deviation, wierd "blee-blee-blee" software loop artifact, but for less than $100, I might bite. ....but already too many sig gens!