Xiegu G106 - not what you think!

This week Gary and Steve debunk some of the ‘myths’ that surround the brand new Xiegu G106 Transceiver. They test the unit thoroughly and give their own opinions on who this radio is for!
For more information about the unit click here:
www.hamradio.c...
Ham Radio Store: www.hamradio.co...
Like us on Facebook: / hamradiouk
Follow us on Twitter: @HamRadioUK / hamradiouk

[@f5nfb446]

Finally an objective video with supporting evidence. Finally a video that doesn't start with "This device is crap" and then tries to prove it by saying anything and everything. After 6 months of experience I confirm your comments: It is a very good portable radio. Personally I only do CW but even at the shack I use it more often than my IC-7300 because I have trouble telling the difference in reception between the two transceivers... 73. Jo - F5NFB

[@adam-g7crq]

That's a great way to show case a new radio with a bench test especially one that has at the moment got some doubting Thomas's following it on the usual social media platforms .

[@m0aze611]

Good to see perspective and common sense. This radio really puts it in reach for many, especially those that want to do a little portable QRP. Thanks for demystifying some of the criticisms this radio as attracted. 👍🏻 73 Mike

[@richardevans5921]

Great to see proper tests rather than the you tube haters slating kit off, as said a great priced qrp bit of kit, if you want close to perfection then spend a grand on an Elad thanks guys, 73 de G0VCW

[@RSwrightMD]

Wonderful demonstration. MLS has mastered the ideal use of KZbin. Your demonstration videos are the best!

[@terrymccrarey]

Thank You for the video! I think it is a great beginner and POTA radio. Keep in mind how much it cost as compared to other brands or even higher end models of Xeigu. For the most part also is the fact that this radio is very small in size and would be great in an emergency and working solar power. In this day and age when conflicts are many, this radio would be great to pull out after a tornado or conflict and a end fed wire antenna. I bought a Mini Automatic Antenna Tuner that has a built in battery. The combo of this radio and the Tuner $65 which has a SWR and Power meter built into the tuner, makes the whole system very effective and fun and small. I like the system so well I bought a 106 and auto tuner for my girlfriend for Christmas. She just got her license I believe this radio is exactly what she needs to have fun with and is not complicated like other brands and Xiegu models. I have had my radio on the bench and checked its output purity and power and receive signal input level and found it was every bit as good as more expensive radio models. I am totally happy with mine! I just wish this radio had a CW reader as other radios have but here again, a person sending CW should be able to receive in their mind to operate CW in the first place. I don't always believe all the C*R*A*P that Trolls have to say bad about items they don't like or work for!

[@petermccarthy5794]

People bashing this rig are just spoiled brats, don't worry about them, 35+ years ago all or most rigs had scale drifting vfo's that had to be tunes 5-10 times pr qso. This is a $200 radio that beat all the old rigs you can pick up. Loved the review guys!

[@lewistasso8866]

I just bought one as my first HF radio. Do you have one?

[@f5nfb446]

The G-106 is a good radio and I will be factual in my comments: I have a G-106 and I made a CW contact in QRP from France to New Zealand this summer. ZL2IFB received me 459... My traffic conditions were not exceptional: G-106 + G5RV with 5W but neither were Gary's: Only 100W with a 2 X 2 element antenna.

[@brianve7jyd943]

I borrowed one to try and i love it - for what it is and costs it gets the job done well -- no bells no whistles and easy to use - i do mostly CW and ive used it round the world conditions permitting -- if u want sumthing fancier then spend 1500 - darn fine evealuation Sirs thankyou and 73 dit dit

[@DD5LP]

The digital interface (DE-19) referred to was released by Xiegu at the same time as the G106 and works well with both the new G106 and the existing G90 radio. It is the usual, load the drivers on your windows PC - plug in the cables and turn on and audio in and out and the 19200 bps serial ports simply appear in the device manager and whatever program you are using.

[@Martin_Lynch]

Thank you very much Ed, much appreciated.

[@Randrew]

I don't understand why Xiegu hasn't been able to just implement USB (comms port, not mode) based audio streams and Cat control rather than require those silly external interfaces. Hans' at QRP-Labs implements that in his "QDX Digital Transceiver" just as added software in its STM32 microcontroller.

[@Davidm-M0TPT]

This radio looks awesome when you are on a budget or new to the hobby out in a field it will get you on the air and making contacts awesome :) Great Video guys

[@Martin_Lynch]

Thank you David, all comments very much appreciated.

[@hunt555fish]

Thanks you for review of the G106.Yes I have a G90 and a X5105 and they are very nice radios for what they cost.They also have nice build quality.I think this radio has taken a bad rap considering what it has for the cost.I may try one also.

[@jonmcadams5401]

It would be interesting to see how the G106 works with the Xeigu XPA125B 100 watt amplifier (output, spectrum, band switching, etc.) since that amplifier has a very good ATU.

[@waxattakz]

Wow! Affordable HF! Brilliant! Never heard of this rig until watching this video. Thanks and 73 de KI7ONN

[@davidw460]

Awsome stuff ! Thanks for taking the trouble to tech it out :)

[@MrDbone75]

A very good Thursday afternoon to you all from Wellington Somerset

[@geirha75]

Hi there. Have you guys done a similar RX/TX test on G90? This test was fascinating.

[@Sayesh_Ti]

Martin, I never doubted that Scotty takes part of your staff. 😉

[@MyTube4Utoo]

Thanks for the video.

[@mrtechie6810]

I can get a new 106C now for $135! 1. What is the difference between 106 and 106C? 2. Would you recommend it as a spare rig for portable/emergency use? 3. I have a TruSDX on the way. How do they compare?

[@DrRSole]

Racal RA17 1µV RX Xiegu G106 not too shabby...

[@W4BIN]

I was wondering about the VFO's frequency accuracy and the cold to hot drift and the keying waveshape. Ron W4BIN

[@f5nfb446]

Hi dear OM. Having often compared it to my IC-7300, I have never been able to see any even after hours of operation.

[@luigiverdicchio6794]

what i would like to understand the basic characteristics of the radio are with preamplifier ON or Off? Is Off an attenuator? The radio has a very high S/N ratio low noise floor clean signal without (P). compared to my flex, k2, ft817, where's the catch? I ask the owners, when I turn on the g106 radio it starts with the preamplifier active without the (P) appearing on the display, does this happen to you too? Tnx, to understand if is a bug or not

[@W4BIN]

It is a QRP radio rated at five Watts, harmonic radiation will be suppressed with a proper tuned single frequency antenna. (important with QRP operations Ron W4BIN

[@markramsay6399]

Nice video indeed

[@SansNeural]

I'm a novice and a little confused about your spectrum test. If I understand correctly, 5 Watts output should be 37 dBm. You added a 30 dB attenuator (1000x attenuation or / 1000 Watts) to protect the analyser, so I would expect to see about 7 dBm or about 5 mW on the spectrum analyser at the 14 MHz fundamental (5000 mW / 1000). But we saw about -33 dBm, or about 40 dBm lower than I would expect (7 dBm minus -33 dBm). If I add 40 dBm to each harmonic shown, I see about -45 dBm (0.000032 Watts) at 28 MHz and -52 dBm at 42 MHz. Those are still tiny harmonics so I'm not complaining... just wondering if I'm figuring something wrong.

[@Martin_Lynch]

It’s because it’s not an absolute level. Basically, we adjusted the level of the fundamental (1st harmonic) to be at the top of the spectrum analyser (0dB), and this made it easier to read off the levels of the 2nd & 3rd harmonics.

[@SansNeural]

@@Martin_Lynch That makes sense, thank you for explaining. I should have guessed that, having run into similar spectrum view limitations with my own analyser. I have instead made individual, absolute power measurements at each harmonic.

[@tarunnagdive6295]

Hi sir

[@MarkHirstSWL]

Can you connect an audio recorder through the rear socket or is it specific to the speaker Mike?

[@novemberfiveargien3071]

That should be possible but requiring audio out level attenuation/matching. I know the X6100 has a menu option to select Headphone / Speaker level outputs for its audio out port, but I couldn't find anything in the G106 manual about that.

[@RobinPhillips1957]

Third harmonic guys, not second!

[@Martin_Lynch]

Thanks Robin, we dont ever script, what you see is what you get, warts and all :-) Gaz

[@RobinPhillips1957]

@@Martin_Lynch Look forward to every video. G8PVI.

[@richardsierakowski1623]

Excellent review and info thanks. 73 Richard - G6EQJ

[@rn9803]

Please check cw risetime

[@Martin_Lynch]

I'm speaking with Xiegu about a couple of things, if there is something specific I am all ears, help is always appreciated especially when its CW (Im not a CW opp) [e-mail].. all the best, Gaz

[@RSwrightMD]

Best to know if it’s >/= 4 ms.

[@f5nfb446]

@@RSwrightMD @Martin_Lynch It's a good question. I am an information seeker too. I have trouble transmitting in CW with my Vibro-Mors (French Bug).

[@zaunkonig3493]

Thanks for the review. 73 HB9DHH René