Xiegu G106 Firmware V1.1 Beta. Better or Worse??

[@spytromics]

Wow. I haven't used XMODEM in like 30 years. It's like time-travelling back to 1992.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Oops I did it again.... Xiegu has a new theme song

[@Randrew]

I haven't heard the tune, but I think I know the lyrics. We design new radios! "we don't test them, test them" We put out new stuff! "let you test them, test them" We got tiny screens! "you can't read them, read them" We sell big screens! "we don't test them, test them" [rapping interlude] We hang in the Chongqing City in mid-south China. Used to be all industree-all 'til Shenzhen couldn't hold it all. Then the chips spilled out into the streets and blew in the wind to our window seats. Now we stick chips together and resist the urge to put them in mopeds - we buildin' radios in-stead. Radios, Fred.

[@temporarilyoffline]

@@Randrew Nice!

[@JT-py9lv]

Peter Waters G3OJV, - Waters & Stanton - Does not seem to like your first review. Which I thought was honest and hilarious...

[@jamescookad9bu]

I see you watched the video too he put out pretty much saying k8mrd didn't know what he was doing 🤔

[@martinsalt1839]

@@jamescookad9bu Waters & Stanton and ML&S both sell this radio, so you would expect favourable reviews from both. I listen to independent reviews (like Mike and Josh etc.) to form an opinion on whether a radio is a good or bad.

[@dannybleachflower8628]

Peter needs to spend more time making original videos about stuff he’s thought of himself rather than being a KZbin cuckoo and stealing other people’s output as his own.

[@martinsalt1839]

@@dannybleachflower8628 I'd like him to make videos without always mentioning the item he is reviewing is available from his store. Is he ever going to be objective in his reviews and give something a poor review if it deserves it ? I think not !

[@stephanhersey1186]

Very good review of the so called upgrade. Would have liked to see the comparison against the G90, or have you done a video of that radio showing the same type of spectrum display. I'm considering a G90. Your videos have convinced me that the G106 would be a waste of money. Thanks, Steve, k7ofg.

[@stevet7522]

G90 was my first radio and for what you pay it is actually a decent radio. I upgraded to a ftdx10 for the shack and kept the g90 for portable use.

[@the_mad_swimbaiter455]

Thanks. They are trying. I credit them for that. If the price point were 250 I'd buy one lol

[@kb9jqu]

Nice to see you take the time to show how to find the COM port. So many people get hung up on that step with computer controlling radios, etc.

[@503Nick]

Audio! Audio! Great update video 73!

[@tallyjbud]

Finally ran into you and got through the pile! G90, 20w, through a mag mounted shark stick, mobile! KO4YGU, Tallahassee, FL..

[@norrinradd8952]

According to the Legend handed down from the Ancients, if you polish that Turd a third time, it will turn to gold. But it will still stink.

[@kd8opi]

Hey Mike, I saw Waters’ video. I thought it was beneath him, and a weirdly unnecessary an uncharacteristic move. I also found it hilarious and completely disingenuous that he said a radio advertised as a 5w putting out 10w is somehow a “plus”. I think it shows garbage quality control, and zero understanding of QRP operating and how important it is to know you’re putting out less than 5 watts. I also thought his audio demo made the 106 sound like garbage. It’s why you can’t trust reviews from salesmen. Give me a ham’s honest experience over a salesman every day. My guess is he bought a few pallets of these piece of crap, CCP-funding, garbage devices and got up off his arse to save his sales. Did I say garbage enough? The truth is that if you look at Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Elecraft, and Flex they don’t make “bad” radios. That’s not to say some don’t have their flaws and that they’re perfect, but you get a consistent level of quality and customer service that is good - great in Elecraft’s case andin my experience- with their products. Also Tx for the POTA QSO today, check out the Flex 1500 if you can get your hands on one. Second-hand, a good one sells for $400-500, and they are tough to find-but man is it worth it to run power SDR on such a capable rig from a name brand at that price.

[@PendejoRyan]

Hey are you the Flex 1500 guy from the POTA yesterday? The signal from that radio was fantastic!!!

[@kd8opi]

@@PendejoRyan Thanks, yes that’s me. If you ever have a chance to pick up a flex 1500 I highly recommend It. On the secondary market they cost as much as the piece of junk radio reviewed here, it’s a real flex product, and it’s probably the cheapest way to enjoy power SDR and Flex!

[@haramanggapuja]

For reasons that would make anyone question my sanity - at seven decades of breathing this happens a lot - I actually considered this radio. Yeah, even after forgetting how many of ‘em I’ve heard on the air with that weird CW signal. Or not remembering the blood pressure raising FW update procedure of my now sold G90 & X5105. But this video reminded me quick. Like I need more radios in my hoarders episode. Thanks for the review & reminder, amigo. (Maybe see you at Dayton?) 73 de W8IJN

[@VK2AAK]

If this was a car the authorities would order it off the roads. It is quite simply unfit for purpose. The whole reason we have exams and testing of competence for amateur radio licences around the world is so there's a fundamental understanding of why this should go in the bin and not on the air. As for the ludicrous process required to upgrade the firmware? ... dodgy doesn't even begin to describe it. It wouldn't even do justice to an in-house prototype,

[@Randrew]

"the ludicrous process required to upgrade the firmware" Meanwhile the one-man team at QRP-Labs lets you plug your palmtop radio into the PC as a USB drive, then drag-n-drop the new firmware file. Done. Kudos to him, but that's not actually that hard to accomplish.... so why's it so hard for Xiegu?

[@davidwilcox9110]

But, WHY do we have to put up with all this upgrading stuff to make a radio work like it should when NEW? In all my 60+ years of ham radio every IcomYaesuElecraft radios worked correctly out of the box. It just doesn’t seem right. The Chinese may beat the others in price but why this? Are we just stupid enough to to accept this?

[@kd8opi]

Right-on brother. I’ll accept a well-working radio may need firmware upgrades over time for new features or fine tuning, but this piece of junk shipped WITHOUT A MIC GAIN. That’s like a car shipping without a speedometer.

[@twohandsandaradio]

Are we just stupid enough to to accept this? Yep. That's where the worn out phrase "it's not bad for what you pay" came from. Soon this is all the choices we'll have.

[@RoelandJansen]

yes we do. ths price you pay for .

[@Transmissions]

dear god. haven’t used xmodem since the early 90s. this thing is like the baofeng of hf rigs!

[@walteredwards544]

I still believe in time they'll get it right. Just keep holding their feet to the fire.

[@techguy9023]

It may go obsolete before they ever get it right. Firmware updates until there is a new model maybe? I think a FT 817/818 is in my future instead

[@walteredwards544]

@@techguy9023 I'm still holding out hope that Yeasu will introduce a more modern version of the 818 but keeping the same form factor.

[@StuartM0TTQAmateurRadio]

I saw a review on another channel showing fairly low harmonic output with that being explained as "the rig is clean". That only tells you so much. What you are showing there looking at the opposite sideband rejection on TX and general crappiness of the transmitter is that it is still about as much good as a brick.

[@Randrew]

I'm a software, embedded hardware and automation guy and my experience says no amount of tweaking the firmware is going to fix hardware.

[@markusberg2770]

Good man, Figaro.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

Great test. Is the G90 better than the G106?

[@Randrew]

Now that I got stronger reading glasses for the G90's tiny screen... Yes!

[@8thspirit]

Fingers crossed.

[@ianliston-smith7921]

Thanks for showing us. But I think I'd prefer something that doesn't need all that software messing about and works out of the box, but that's what you get for that price I suppose! I doubt there are blow-by-blow instructions of which menus to use, which boxes to tick or what to do if your computer screen doesn't show what it's supposed to! OK if you're a computer guy I guess...

[@don_n5skt]

Satan sighting!!! Thanks for the update Mike.

[@n7jrr]

Love your videos but please please please adjust your brightness settings or pull the shade down. Your chrome dome is burning a spot in my monitor.

[@hamradiotube]

I wish I could. Trust me. I have to look at it a lot more than you. It’s the camera I’m using and there’s nothing I can do about it short of buying another camera. Just not in the budget right now.

[@AndrewMorkunas]

@@hamradiotube We love ya Mike keep up the great work.

[@glenmartin2437]

I liked your review. Thanks for the honesty and videos of the splatter this radio transmits. Nicht viel gut!! That guitar woke me up this morning. Thank you. As my old boss put it, "Take this one out to the target range." N0QFT

[@jwilly5336]

Looks like they still have some work to do

[@austinhallett9497]

Does this radio even have FCC Certification? I feel like it breaks all the FCC standards. At least up here in Canada

[@paulbyrne3328]

I have always liked your reviews of equipment. I am not a fan if you give a negative review of the product and the provider does not like your review, they send you another radio and state that your review was based on a preproduction model. This tells me that the retailer did not to its homework. If the retailer doesn't like this review will they keep sending product until they get the review they like? I Hope not. Maybe all the UTubers should hold their opinion on this manufacture on new products for a year until they work out the problems with their products. It seems they want to test their product on the consumer not in the QA Department. In todays world I know its great to first to review a product. This however makes me second guess reviews.

[@pquimby]

Generally speaking the best policy I've seen here is "no preproduction units". This is a huge problem in the 3d printer space, and while it takes some grit from the reviewer, just saying no until they have the purchasable unit in hand will avoid a lot of possible problems. There isn't a reason why preproduction reviews are not useful in a different context, but it's important (to me) that reviewers don't trick users into thinking they're getting something they're not.

[@pquimby]

I will add that the problem with preproduction units is *not* the reviewer. Reviewers simply have no way of knowing how honest a manufacturer is being. It could be they intend to deliver the exact product, or they could be sugar coating it. Or they could be unaware of their own QC problems. There is no way to safely know this before the review becomes public. Then... well... if reality doesn't match review it's really awkward despite the reviewer having done their best to be honest. It also avoids temptation to review a product based on future functionality instead of delivered functionality, but that's a separate problem.

[@VK2AAK]

The G106 is not something potentially ready for release to the market. This thing isn't "pre-production", it's still a thousand miles from even reaching early prototype status. This radio shouldn't be on the market, it should be back on the drawing board.

[@kd8opi]

Hi Paul Byr e, I think you have some good thoughts here. However, what I would like to contribute is that it’s not the reviewer‘s fault a product is released half-done. If a company is going to sell an inferior, half done product, and use its customers as beta testers, the public should know. I would most certainly not like to live in a world where reviewers wait a year to review Bad gear to give the manufacturer time to fix it. That’s on the manufacturer, and they’re not waiting a year to cash the check you give them.

[@JT-py9lv]

Maybe a better microphone might help. Something from Kenwood or Heil ? Just a thought

[@laszlokovacs8827]

So bottom line....It still sucks.

[@df3dzdieterbeatrixdortmund457]

Hi Mike, thanks for the video. Where can I get the V1.1 Beta? Would like to test first. 73 de DF3DZ, Dieter, Dortmund

[@dxscotland5901]

Hey Mike try a low pass filter in-line an see if it cleans it up 🤷‍♂️

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

I wonder if the G106 CW spurs are sensitive to the mic gain. Did you try the CW test with mic gain at 0. I.e.; maybe it's not really mic gain, but somewhere later in the Tx path.

[@3asyrider75]

Meh I will skip this and go G90. I am sure in time this will become a great radio after revisions and firmware updates. Apparently G90 was not very good during its inception

[@thogevoll]

If your mic gets in your way and you feel that you have to move it around get yourself a lapel mic. I think KZbinrs look ridiculous with boom mics especially if they handle them too much. If you want a boom mic for ham radio then fine but it just gets in the way with video.

[@alexblinoff5241]

То же такой купил, вот. На смену G1M. Кот красивый. 73!

[@rafaelgcpp]

You can't deny they're trying hard...

[@seanfoley7097]

The only complaint I have with mine is the audio is too low

[@denelson83]

Hopefully they got rid of the momoey and put some memory in its place.

[@pieterdutoit9642]

Hi Mike, you must just be and ICOM guy like me do not get any of this other stuff only Icon, Pieter

[@royarchibald6392]

Mike you're wasting your time testing this junk.

[@Randrew]

Wasting? He's got a KZbin channel and he's publishing KZbin videos on it. Perhaps it's you wasting your time watching videos about testing this junk?

[@royarchibald6392]

@@Randrew No. It's never a waste of time to see how many morons reply to posts.

[@thogevoll]

"2900 kHz? 😖😁😂🤣 ROTFLMAO. .... .. .... .. .... .. 2900 kHz is wider than every one of the HF ham bands. 😉

[@denelson83]

Yeah, 2.9 MHz.

[@n9kwc1]

Im not into computers so no sdr rigs for me. Too much bs.

[@scopehitmyeye2019]

Don't get in to a technoligical hobby...

[@kd8opi]

Interesting, but man what a bunch of nonsense to resuscitate an iffy product. It’s just not cheap enough to justify its not-so-great performance. Horrible splatter like you point out. Probably awful for ft8. I’d stop reviewing this product Mike. 3x and 2 firmware updates is enough. Don’t feel bad calling it a piece of crap. I don’t want this garbage radio splattering on the bands. It deserves a bad review.

[@ivandubinsky1857]

Others have given it much more favourable reviews.

[@kd8opi]

@@ivandubinsky1857 If they’re selling it, you can’t believe them. I believe this review, because frankly it’s rare to find hams with the stones to say something blows. Most just suck-up for the free gear. Props to Mike. Instant street cred achieved.

[@Tommyr]

Piece of junk. I'll pass.