Xiegu G90 Spectral Purity Test - Shocking Results!

[@briansauk6837]

A couple things. You had the internal attenuator set to 20 dB - which is ok, but not really needed with your 50 dB external. Your noise floor would drop and you could see if there were any really small harmonics. Not a big deal since you did confirm compliance. Also, a smaller RBW would drop the floor and show more detail. Finally, it’s worthwhile trying a much smaller span around the fundamental. A 1 MHz span with a small RBW would allow you to see any non harmonic spurs hiding by the fundamental. Unlikely a problem for a CW test, but you don’t know until you try. Nice vid!

[@TheSmokinApe]

That’s all stuff I agree with but given that the radio easily pass the FCC requirements, O didn’t feel it was necessary to make the video longer doing those adjustments 👍

[@briansauk6837]

@@TheSmokinApe All good. Just offered for anyone looking to do some testing of their own. Thanks again!

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@briansauk6837 no worries bro, I appreciate the comments / feedback 👍

[@mcmichaeltube]

I own a G90 and love it. Glad to see the signal is so clean,

[@TheSmokinApe]

Being candid, I was pretty surprised 😮

[@bobcatskrieman3384]

Same here. Nice to know how clean it is.

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@bobcatskrieman3384 thanks for watching Bob

[@JT-py9lv]

I've had my G90 for almost a year. Absolutely a *GREAT RADIO!*

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@JT-py9lv This is my second one and I am excited to have it 👍

[@richm2835]

Always get great audio reports when using this little radio . It's a nice solid radio for taking out on SOTA and general portable ops and was my only HF radio for a year or so . The only weakness I've seen is on a friend's g90 who lives within half a mile of an AM broadcast transmitter which wipes out his ham bands , but I live about a mile and a half from the same transmitter and it only slightly affects the 15m band . He's set up a filter which has apparently solved the issue to a greater extent .

[@TheSmokinApe]

The AM towers can do that 😡

[@45auto]

Glad it was clean. You fooled me with the title. I feared spurs everywhere.

[@johnwest7993]

No problem, the ferrite and capacitors for an outboard low-pass filter are less than $5 a band for any offending band. Or you can just pull the lid on the rig and tweak the windings of the toroid low-pass filters on the board until it's clean and legal. But the ARRL labs tests indicate that the G90's are very clean, so if you have a band that's out of spec then it's probably one of the capacitors in that filter or a bad solder connection, and an easy fix.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I was shocked it was that clean 😮

[@haxwithaxe]

It says something about the state of commercially made radios that we were expecting the thumbnail to be true.

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@haxwithaxe it does and it was, I was shocked it was clean 😮

[@johnwest7993]

@@TheSmokinApe I pulled the lids, checked the layout and the components used in mine and decided that the hardware was well done. My only real concern has been with the firmware since I'm not great at code. But others have been pleased with it in the last few years, and there are ongoing firmware upgrades, so I'm no longer concerned about that either. It's a good rig, and I built a cheap amp for it that easily puts out 50 or 60 Watts if I need it, and I built low-pass filters for the bands of interest, so the G90 is turning out to be compact, light and handy when I'm not in the shack.

[@HOAHamRadio]

...I'm relieved; I didn't want to cope with guilt while using my G90 if it wasn't clean. Always appreciate your doing this testing for us.

[@TheSmokinApe]

lol, Bob. You make the best comments. I would have bet 100$ that it was going to fail this test.

[@chiufookhon4309]

After connecting with RF attenuator to bring down correct RF signal level input to the spectrum analyser, the G90 transmitter display correct frequency and level without spurious radiation. Good radio .

[@TheSmokinApe]

It passed at full power

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Nicely done. Glad it is clean!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Josh 👍

[@johnwest7993]

I picked up a G90 for its small size and low price. I haven't done any transmitting on it as yet, though I have tested the autotuner into dummy loads of various impedances. I will test mine before I put it on the air, as I do all my gear. - The rant: The primary thing that separates ham radio from CB radio, FRS,GMRS, the Marine band, the Aircraft band and other radio services is that our authority to design, and build, or even just operate at high-power or low comes with it the responsibility to ensure that we have verified the clean output of all our gear at all times, even when it's commercially built gear and brand new. It is not the manufacturer's responsibility. The FCC says it's ours. This is very different from any other radio service except commercial broadcasters. Simply put, hams are required to know what they're doing, at least to that extent. Unlike many YT channels, yours both points that out and shows hams how to do what they are required to do, keep thrir signals in the ham bands. That's an absolutely essential service to the community, especially since the FCC licensing procedures allow those who aren't already knowledgeable RF techs access to the hobby. The license is merely an acceptance into the school of radio, a ticket to learn. It doesn't make any of us RF gurus. The hobby has always had Elmers, respected people who are both teachers and friends, and it will always need to have them. They are the cornerstone of the hobby. The FCC doesn't mandate them, but Elmers are what makes Amateur Radio work. These people don't have to be RF engineers. They just have to be people who are willing to learn about something and then patiently share what they have learned, raising the knowledge of all of us. You are one of those Elmers and I enjoy your channel. Thank you. I've found that my Tiny SA, when properly calibrated, measures within a dB of both my Anritsu SA and my HP power meter, meaning it is good enough for any ham to use for making the measurement you made here, a measurement that must be made by any ham in an ongoing manner for them to ensure their gear is running clean and legal. TinySA.org has links to approved vendors for those who want to buy one to test their gear. Their AliExpress link takes you to a vendor who sells them for as little as $45, though a suitable high-power attenuator to use with it might well cost more than that. Or one can find another ham or a club with the gear and just verify their own gear is clean through them. It's a responsibility, the details of which are not made clear to new Tech Class licensees, but one that is nonetheless real. A ham has to be certain that their gear doesn't interfere with any other radio service. Our harmonics at some frequencies, such as in the aircraft band could be life-threatening, They could be worse than flying a drone around an airport, or pointing lasers at aircraft. Such harmonics appearing on critical bands like the aircraft band are a sure way to have the FCC come out immediately to find the source of the signal, and they will, and it will likely be costly. It's all part of the hobby, and we need to understand it and deal with it. I find it all fascinating. As a ham, playing with RF is what I do. Chatting on the air doesn't interest me much. But even if you just like to chat on the radio through a repeater or around the world, and don't even want to learn Ohm's Law, your signal purity is a legal obligation that comes with the license.

[@nachocopter6408]

My eyes will never be the same. Thanks.

[@marksisson7468]

Thanks for the info. I definitely didn’t pay enough attention to this when I was studying for my licenses.

[@johnwest7993]

@@marksisson7468, that's the gripe I have with both the FCC and the ARRL. It serves the purpose of neither of them to clearly explain just what ham radio actually is, and why it exists. The FCC published Part 97 (which actually explains in the first few paragraphs the reason they created the Amateur Radio Service,) and said, "There's your rules," and they never bothered to require anyone taking the tests to actually read those rules. They just have to follow them. The ARRL, (and a lot of ham KZbinrs,) for their part said, "How do we avoid turning off anyone who thinks they might want to become a ham?" So neither group sets anyone straight. That only leaves what some of the newbies call 'Sad Hams' and 'Gatekeepers', crotchety old hams, frustrated with the ignorance of the new hams to try to explain the hobby to them. Unfortunately, plenty of those old-timers are far from diplomatic. I too am an Old Timer, but I much prefer to be called an 'Elmer' than a 'Sad Ham', so I try to earn that Elmer title. But I shudder when I hear the responses that new hams give to the Old Timers who ask them if they've checked the harmonics on their brand new $17 Chinese HT's. Responses like, "No, why?" Or, "It's brand new and it seems to work just fine!" Especially since ham radio, at least in the USA has been set up as a self-policing hobby. Even the people giving you your exams are just General and Extra Class hams who are volunteering to show up and run the tests, and then sign the document that gets sent to the FCC certifying that you passed the test. The FCC doesn't have the time or funding to supervise the hobby. As for the hams doing all the work, it's not worth doing unless the hobby actually matters to them, but fortunately it does. That's why it pleases my to see @The Smoking Ape clearly explain the fundamentals, and show how to do things that are essential, (and kinda fun,) to do. He's an Elmer, and as far as I'm concerned, that's one Hell of a compliment.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey John, thanks for the kind words about the channel. Glad to hear you like it... As far as the rant goes, I couldn't have said it better myself. Preach on!

[@johnwest7993]

@@TheSmokinApe, if there were a better place to post such comments, I wouldn't wear out your comment section. But the sort of hams who will watch your channel are the sort who need the info, and will appreciate it. So thanks for having your channel. It improves ham radio.

[@jackK5FIT]

I've had a couple of G-90's and still have one. Hard to beat for a portable radio. It's sometimes amazing what 20w will get you.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Agreed, I am a fan

[@melvance7281]

I just want to say. These results are WAY better than ANY Chinese radios I've seen. Respect to the manufacturers......

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@melvance7281 I was pretty surprised 👍

[@DonJones-ui2cn]

I'm an EMC Engineer, you're using an OK(?) I MHz RBW for assessing harmonic spurs. It would be nice to see a 2 tone SSB measurement of the true Spurious Emissions using SSB and 100Hz RBW with 5kHz span. 73, de Don KO7i

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Don, I’ll do one at some point. I need a good way to inject the tones 👍

[@hamradiobasics]

Solid test Ape. Great to see that the signal is clean. Well done !

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks 👍

[@mikeZL3XD7029]

Top marks on the CW Morse keyer, Ape. I bought the same keyer a few months ago, I love the heavy base and the fact that it just does what it is meant to. Nice review!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Yeah man, the base on that thing is awesome 👍

[@DominicMazoch]

Keeping my 703 for QRP! Sips power on receive

[@mrradio2187]

I sold my DX10 and 7300, spent the money on antenna wire for my beautiful little G90!

[@TheSmokinApe]

I hope you got plenty of wire

[@ehsnils]

I'd also like to see the reception selectivity, that's the other factor that's important to decide if it's a good radio.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Agreed, I plan on doing that video at some point 👍

[@manuelmigues8542]

Bravo pour ce test ! pas d'harmoniques sale ! vu le prix je vais l'acheter. Merci pour cette essais concluant. 👍👍👍 Salutations de France 🗼

[@TheSmokinApe]

Merci, contente que la vidéo vous plaise !

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

I was pleased to see this Ape. I have a G90 in a box waiting for me to stop work and have time to play. Xiegu seem to be one of the few Chinese companies who are really interested in amateur radio rather than knocking a product out to make money. I wish they wouldn't use their customers as software beta testers though.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Ace, I do feel like some of their stuff is rushed to market and they keep churning over new models and I worry about legacy support. That said, they did pretty good with this radio 👍

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

@@TheSmokinApe Agreed, Ape. You state it well.

[@godarklight]

Looks nice, it's amazing what 5 components worth of filtering can do. If you want to play silly buggers, I believe the G90 is also quite good on its IMD3/intermod measurements, or at least the one I saw running 400W of power, it didn't "splatter". If you want to go head to head with another radio and have access to one, try it against the FT-DX101 or FT-DX10, you might be surprised.

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@godarklight I’m somewhat planning the IMD test now. Thanks for watching GDL 👍

[@DerekHatfield-se7kl]

Superb thank you G4 WBP

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Derek 👍

[@jamesknotts1546]

I didn’t find the thumbnail as misleading. I read it as see for yourself. Thanks for the great video as always PAL

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Country James, thanks for watching 👍

[@user-si2mc2iz3x]

Had two of my elmers present me with a new G90 a year and a half ago when I passed my general. Man Is it a great radio. Would buy another one if it were to break tomorrow. Thanks for the video! Gary KO4LGM

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@user-si2mc2iz3x hey Gary, sounds like they hooked you up 👍

[@L-36]

Your test is pretty simple and to me not surprising that the radio looks good. It likely has filters to keep anything out of band down. What you might want to do is test in SSB or FT8 and look and see if there are spurious signals within the HAM band, perhaps in the next channel. It is pretty simple for a manufacturer to put a filter to kill harmonics but if the transmitter is a pos, there will be spurious intermods. For example, if you have a 3KHz tone and a 2KHz tone, does the radio put put 4, 5, 6, 7... Khz and smear over the next channel.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Allen, most radios do have filter for out of band harmonics. That said I have tested many radios and amps from China that fail, I expected this one to fail as well. That’s the test I was doing in this video. You are talking about an IMD 2-tone test that will be in a separate video.

[@jerseyjeeper1575]

@@TheSmokinApeit would be great to see a IMD. Thanks

[@ben31tube]

Thanks for the detailed information.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bassangler73]

I must say, it surprises me that it's clean. These radios are getting very popular. What's your take on build quality? Or is that a future vid? :)

[@TheSmokinApe]

I’m sure there will be more videos, just going through various tests. Right now I haven’t used it enough to have an opinion on build quality 👍

[@hughpatterson1480]

Nice to know! Thanks for another great video. The Xeigu G90 is a great radio. As far as the testing goes, you were spot on. You were trying to determine if the G90 was within in FCC specs and did a test set that was appropriate for the task at hand. All I wanted to know was if the radio was compliant. I'll leave all the other stuff up to the rocket scientists. What I really like about your channel is that you explain things in a clear manner rather than pontificating about the hard mechanics in a way that goes over everyone's heads. There's an art to teaching (I've been a teacher for over 20 years), making complicated ideas easy to understand, and you have that skill...73...Hugh...KN6KNB

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Hugh, glad you liked the video and thanks for watching 👍

[@BrokenSignal]

Another great video! Also, again, thanks for the awesome presentation for YCARS last night!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Had a great time, thanks for having me 👍

[@heinerrambold8889]

You could have included the warc bands. Thanks for the video!

[@TheSmokinApe]

I’ve tested them and they are clean, I was trying to keep the videos short 👍

[@W6IWN_Radio]

I ❤️ my G90 even more now! Ape, you need a virtual passed stamp! Ape approved 👌

[@TheSmokinApe]

Haha, glad you liked the video 👍

[@W6IWN_Radio]

@TheSmokinApe I appreciate the time and efforts you put towards making your videos. Legit tests,on legit equipment from a legit guy 👍

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@W6IWN_Radio thanks man 👍

[@Tommy_Boy.]

Thanks for your time doing the work and making this video Ape! 👍📻⚡🍺Love the G90! Cheers, WA7FLY

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for watching Tommy, glad you liked it 👍

[@macgyver5108]

Awww MAN! I've got one of these radios and I think your video title is "off"?! Xiegu G90 Spectral Purity Test - -Shocking- (NAW!) AMAZING Results! Great results regardless, I'll have to test mine now!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Mac, thanks for watching. Here's the thing, when you have tested as many Chinese radios and amps as I have, you are shocked when one is clean.

[@macgyver5108]

@@TheSmokinApe ya, know what you mean... I've got 7 Baofengs, two QYT's and a TYT, all pure as yellow snow!😆

[@TheSmokinApe]

LOL

[@KS0JD]

That radio ain't no cowboy! nice and clean and no spurs. Great video Ape! 73

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for watching Jeff 👍

[@williamkizer3445]

I’m impressed. Good video as always

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks William 👍

[@MikeN2MAK]

I miss the G90 I sold too and think about picking up another one.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Yeah, I couldn’t take it anymore. Thanks for watching Mike 👍

[@robertmeyer4744]

Great testing ! not many test a HF radio. You could give that G90 the CB shop tune up and it won't be so clean. LOL 73

[@TheSmokinApe]

Once they hit it with the golden screwdriver all bets are off 👍

[@thuff3207]

You have a very nice spectrum analyzers. I need to get one and the test was nice.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for watching Thuff 👍

[@phillyedhrj]

They should market that as the Big Ass Attenuator.

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@phillyedhrj they really should 👍

[@exj6257]

Great video. It would be helpful to hear why 50db attenuation was used vs something else (or no attenuation). Also would be cool to see a bad radio example. I enjoy these videos - short and to the point with good explanations. Thanks

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey EXJ, the Spectrum Analyzer has a very sensitive reciever and as a result it can only handle very low power signals without being damaged. The SA is rated at +20dBm at the most. A 20w signal is about 43dBm so with 50dB of attenuation the input power was about -7dBm which is safe for the SA. Hope that helps...

[@exj6257]

​@@TheSmokinApe Thank you for the explanation -that now makes sense

[@TheSmokinApe]

Awesome!

[@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures]

I like that G90 , interesting not many make a small radio that will do 20 watts

[@TheSmokinApe]

I wish it did 50w 😮

[@Thump2030]

I love my G90, Great video

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Thump 👍

[@av3510]

Great vid, Smoke-arino!

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@av3510 thanks AV 👍

[@VAAv8or]

I've read where some have accused the G90 of having "key clicks" on CW. I'd be curious to see if this is true, and to see how this is tested for.

[@miltonlejeune5738]

Just to make sure I understand. If FCC is 15B and the signal is clean, it is legal for use?

[@fotografm]

You only looked at close in spurious emissions. How about the second and third harmonic ? Thanks for the great video series !

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Foto, that span was big enough to cover up to the 5th harmonic except on 15 and 10 👍

[@fotografm]

@@TheSmokinApe OK. Then it looks great !

[@NeedleBender785]

I really was hoping to see an IMD test on SSB. Was looking for a good bench radio that can generate a pure 2 tone signal as I test IMD of amps on my bench.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I plan on doing an IMD test at some point 👍

[@firewaterforgeofarizona4304]

Can you do a test like this with the g106?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Sorry man, I don’t have the 106

[@richysradioroom]

That's crazy clean.

[@TheSmokinApe]

For sure, I was very surprised 😮

[@ChrisKD9YSW]

I am very happy to see this.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for watching Chris 👍

[@ChrisKD9YSW]

@@TheSmokinApe thank you for proving the G90 is clean as a whistle

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@ChrisKD9YSW it was shocking to see 😮

[@ChrisKD9YSW]

@@TheSmokinApe yes it was

[@HamRadioDX]

Top work Ape!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Hayden 🍻

[@rfburns3472]

Excellent demo!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks RFB 👍

[@phillyedhrj]

Great job, sir!

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@phillyedhrj Thank you Philly Ed 👍

[@clivewi9103]

If you want to test for linearity you need to do a two tone test on SSB mode. Carrier transmission doesn't reveal very much information.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Clive. It wasn't a test for linearity, it was a test for harmonics and spurious transmissions outside the transmitted signal. It's actually an important test of the output filters, it's quite common. Here is the FCC regulation I was testing for: www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/97.307#:~:text=If%20any%20spurious%20emission%2C%20including,accordance%20with%20good%20engineering%20practice.

[@clivewiddus3953]

@@TheSmokinApe The requirement for suppressing out of band harmonics is not in dispute, and I know it is a legal requirement. What is in dispute is that this radio uses a not totally linear Push-pull final amplifier (Look in the service manual) which has to be operating in class A/B and will be producing second and third harmonics as the signal crosses over from one transistor to the other, one would hope that the harmonics are in the range of -50dmb, and -70dbm respectively but they may not be. Your test video didn't show these harmonics which have to be present, and you can't change the laws of physics and have a radio that doesn't produce any. You missed the point that harmonics are produced when you pass a signal through a non-linear amplifier.

[@TheSmokinApe]

He Clive, this test was for out of band harmonics. I understand what you are saying but that is a different test.

[@charlieoscar09]

Thankyou for the video

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@charlieoscar09 thanks for watching CO 👍

[@GamingKing545]

it seems like a good radio i just wish it would push more than 20w

[@TheSmokinApe]

Agreed, 50w would be sweet 👍

[@LarryAllenTonar]

Why not also zoom in to freq +- 500 kHz and +- 25 kHz. Your huge sample & display interval doesn't show any problems close to the center freq.

[@NightFlier999]

Is avalaible a purity test on a xiegu MARS mod?

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@NightFlier999 no idea, this one isn’t modded 👍

[@kb5miqbigboy]

Cool video!!!! thanks!!73!!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for checking it out 👍

[@chestercorpus1392]

Do try to also measure 3rd order intermodulation distortion, since you already have a professional grade spectrum analyzer. Only then can you claim that the G90's emmissions are clean. Xiegu does no mention of such parameter on their product page, unlike icom, yaesu and kenwood.

[@MrTimeuMorin]

thanks !

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@MrTimeuMorin thanks for watching TM 👍

[@mewrongwayKOCXF]

I'm going to have to look to see if you have done this test on the G106? 👍👍👍

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@mewrongwayKOCXF I haven’t

[@ulliBG]

Nice! 👍

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks! 👍

[@mcdonald1743]

Does it work and can I communicate with it is all I care about.

[@TheSmokinApe]

That’s awesome, some folks do however care about how well something works 👍

[@mcdonald1743]

@@TheSmokinApe I'm not smart enough to notice any difference

[@Chris_KI4WCO]

What audio mixer is that in the background on the set up image?

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@Chris_KI4WCO Mackie ProFX10 👍

[@KQ4MDH-Daniel]

Thank you for showing this, as I don't (yet) have the test equipment to do it myself. I appreciate all you do for the Ham community. Daniel - KQ4MDH

[@TheSmokinApe]

Glad you liked the video Daniel, thanks for watching 👍

[@Syomiti]

"Xiegu": in Chinese it's pronounced like "Shieeguu" (for English readers) 👍🙂

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@Syomiti nice, so I nailed it 👍

[@Syomiti]

It's like with "Xiaomi" (🗣️ "shaohmee"): nobody knows how to pronounce it ... 😂

[@multilecful]

Hey, with the amount of lids on the bands running 1kw plus and sprawling 10kcs each side, i have no or had any issues with the Joe 90. PS. Are you competent to use that test equipment? I see some issues with the methodology. 😮

[@TheSmokinApe]

Not qualified at all…

[@multilecful]

Not a worry, at least you are honest. Throw a piece of complicated test equipment at someone sort of makes them an expert right. The results you got were good. For the g90 owners. I challenge you to do the same tests on yaesu and icom. The results will be the same. They all pass the the first base which is whats required by FCC or CE. But if you read the specs they all fudge the figures in their favor. Its not a level playing field for all. Good video to point out some basic facts. Ofcourse the manufacturer's but their best case samples for submission, once approved there is no retesting unless some significant change has been made. Since most japanese radios are made in China or Taiwan that is the kink in the chain. Employees are sent to site to oversee the manufacturer's facility and standards drop, little.by little. Having said all that, we have some of the best offerings in amateur radio we have ever seen in 50 years. Think about those old CB American offerings with jelly bean parts changing spec when they run out of parts. No FCC involved there. Shhhhhh

[@kellingc]

I'm assuming 17 and 12 would give the same results, as all the other bands look good, too.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Correct, clean on both of them 👍

[@daveengstrom9250]

Whats all the squiggly stuff on the bottom?

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@daveengstrom9250 Is the noise floor

[@M0MBN]

what happend to 12m 24mhz band ?

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@M0MBN they didn’t get testing on video but I tested them and they are as clean 👍

[@BusDriverRFI]

You have that resolution set to 300kHz, there son. It gives us a really fast view of what's going on, but if you reduce that bandwidth to 10kHz or something lower, we can see a lot more definition. Of course it takes longer but I'm not sure we will not miss a deadline. I mean, it looks good. It appears that it passes. But with a lower bandwidth, we can look at what the harmonics actually are because I'm sure there are harmonics. Maybe they are 70 or 80 dB down, which is really great, but it's hidden in noise. Again, I repeat, it looks like it passes now to me. Also, you can zoom in and make your span width 500kHz or so centered on your carrier and look for some real non-harmonic spurious. Make sure you aren't trying to transmit any tones or have other artifacts which can confuse the issue of spurious with a modulated signal which would be desired to be there. It's not desirable to find any amount of non harmonic spurious at all. But it's something you can do to add value to your presentation and to assure it looks good for those of us wanting to look at these radios. Usually the non-harmonic related spurious will be within a few MHz of the carrier. With a small resolution bandwidth, you can drop the noise floor away. Your sweeptime really increases though. Good job though, son.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Jerry, hope you are doing well OM. Totally agree with tightening the RBW for more resolution but I didn't feel it was necessary giving the results I was seeing. I'm planning an IMD test to see the actually quality of the transmitted signal and test for linearity. I believe that's what you are getting at... Anyway, thanks for watching 👍

[@BusDriverRFI]

@@TheSmokinApe No. Intermod would be something else. All these radios have crystal oscillators and voltage controlled oscillators where the non-harmonic spurious responses are created. I'm talking about non-harmonic related spurious emissions. There should be none whatsoever. That being said, I've seen some people chasing their tails receiving signals from elsewhere getting into the test measurement system. Like, "Lookie there. It's a non harmonic response on 90.3 MHz! Isn't that weird that it's on the same frequency as a local broadcast radio station?" Jim in California had a Tidradio which had some horrible non-harmonic spurious radiation. He correctly called them out for that mess. I thought it was LG, but I'm not finding the video right now. I see the one where he had one that had high harmonics. Yawn. It's far more important than a few dB too high harmonics in my books. Some oscillators are overdriven. They will have artifacts in the spectrum that appear on the spectrum analyzer. That translates to possible out of band transmissions. I see @briansauk6837 has also mentioned this. Good on him. Everything RF has an article. www.everythingrf.com/community/what-are-spurious-and-harmonics-signals They call harmonics a subset of spurious. Harmonics are usually generated in the output stage. The non-harmonic are usually started earlier. There are so many cool tests. If you are able to look at oscillator startup, you can see the likelihood of the oscillator starting up in the wrong mode, rendering it essentially useless. It may work fine today but if it's too cold or too hot, there's a possibility it won't work right. 73.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Jerry, I did see Jim's test that showed that. He was doing an air gap test where he didn't have the radio directly connected to the SA if I recall. Maybe I am incorrect but I suspect it's the shotty direct conversion front end vs super heyt overloading the front end.

[@BusDriverRFI]

@@TheSmokinApe Hey Ape. Keep it boring. Keep it predictable. Keep it the way you are doing it. I'm out.

[@BusDriverRFI]

​@@TheSmokinApe The tests I'm referring to are based on the overdriving of the oscillations in the design. Any schottky diodes would typically help create even order harmonics. You don't need to understand this stuff. I was and others were trying to come up with ideas to help your videos from being so danged boring. Yes, I know the radio passes the harmonics. Not the point. My point was we could try to see how good it is. Maybe it rivals the harmonics of the Japanese rigs. I don't know. We don't know if it has non-harmonic related spurious. This is something I'm more concerned about because I don't want to be transmitting in 30M and the 25M broadcast band at the same time. I'm silly that way. Make fun of me for that all you want. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4OTfqWIhL6Lq8k

[@davidjohnson497]

That is rather shocking, to not see third and fifth harmonic. Maybe those Chinese are pretty good engineers! Take note, Americans! Thanks for your work on this and other interesting videos. 73

[@TheSmokinApe]

Glad you liked it David, thanks for watching 👍

[@scottgarvy]

How about duplicating on an X6100?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Scott, I don’t have a 6100

[@scottgarvy]

@@TheSmokinApe I think you're trying to get me to send you mine! 😉

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@scottgarvy lol

[@kazcat8096]

What about 60m 17m 12m bands

[@TheSmokinApe]

Didn’t test 60, 17 and 12 were good

[@TheArtofEngineering]

EVERYONE can do CW…. CW is continuous wave…. Dropping a carrier … you did it just fine…. You also sent the letter T …. So you are on your way to being a Jedi Morse man!! 😂😂 ❤ 73 de VK2AOE

[@TheSmokinApe]

Haha, thank you for the words of encouragement 👍

[@Tokyo1991.JL1AJE]

Give him time. I reckon he’ll be keying out T O E R O I D by Christmas. Christmas 2031

[@TheArtofEngineering]

@@Tokyo1991.JL1AJE 😆🤣🤣

[@TheSmokinApe]

HAHA

[@technishn]

That's very tidy. If a product is engineered correctly then it should be clean. Was that a random purchase?

[@TheSmokinApe]

No, I have one before and traded it away. I’ve wanted to replace it for some time 👍

[@Super_Sad_Ham]

Why not 17 and 12?

[@TheSmokinApe]

They tested clean, I was trying to keep the video short 👍

[@norrinradd8952]

Affirmative Ghost Rider, the signal is clean.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for watching Norrin 👍

[@don_n5skt]

Now do the 7300 😉😎

[@TheSmokinApe]

Lol

[@EI6DP]

What were the *Shocking Results!*

[@TheSmokinApe]

That a Chinese HF right was clean.

[@IWatchedWhat]

No 17 or 12? Or just not tested?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Tested but didn’t show it, clean there as well 👍

[@DonzLockz]

So SSB would have tested the same? Either way, it looks clinically clean and sterilised. Lol

[@TheSmokinApe]

Yeah, it would have

[@KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4]

So I bought one on Ali express lol

[@TheSmokinApe]

👍

[@holotape]

“Zuy Goo”

[@TheSmokinApe]

That’s what I said, right?

[@holotape]

@@TheSmokinApe Forgive me; I truly appreciate you and your helpful videos. It just makes me chuckle that all ham-tubers have decided on this pronunciation. If you've ever learned how to say "thank you" in Mandarin Chinese (xiexie), you will have a good start at understanding how "xie" is pronounced. 73 from VE3-land

[@TheSmokinApe]

I have a hard enough time with English…

[@RogerWilco486]

Sorry, but these findings are essentially useless. Where's the two-tone test that actually reveals a PA's linearity? Even a $20 CB can produce a clean carrier...

[@TheSmokinApe]

Not sure how many radios and amps you test but I see plenty that generate harmonics. What you are talking about is a different test that measures a different function in the radio.

[@RogerWilco486]

@@TheSmokinApe I don't understand your response to my comment. At face-value, your test results indicate the G90 has the cleanest PA of any HF transceiver in history...this doesn't raise any red-flags for you?? Injecting a single tone and looking for harmonics may be sufficient for testing simple FM transceivers because the PAs in those do not need to be linear. Unfortunately, this is NOT a valid test for SSB PAs. At the most basic level, properly testing these consists of injecting a pair of tones (700 and 1900 Hz) to verify the IMD of performance of the PA. With all due respect, and I'm not trying to be facetious, I challenge you to find a single ARRL/QST review of an SSB transceiver/amplifier that doesn't use a two-tone test to verify TX purity.

[@TheSmokinApe]

He Rdoger, I think we are talking about two different things. I was test for harmonics that are out of band based off the fundamental transmitted frequency. I think you are talking about IMD / THD at the transmitted frequency.

[@johnnorth9355]

What you been smoking Ape to produce a title like that lol.

[@TheSmokinApe]

When you have tested as many Chinese radios and amps as I have it’s shocking to see one this clean 👍

[@johnnorth9355]

@TheSmokinApe yes I have just got a black brick usdx and I am glad I have no way to test it 😅. It was so cheap second hand I could not refuse it .

[@KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4]

Ali for $259

[@TheSmokinApe]

Wow

[@KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4]

@@TheSmokinApe yeah I'm scared to buy but I wsnt too lol

[@KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4]

@@TheSmokinApe is ali safe

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4 beats me

[@geraldscott4302]

I just don't understand the Chinese radio thing. I am not a snob, and I don't have any expensive radios. But, none of my radios are Chinese. I have 3 HF radios. An Icom IC-718 that I bought new about 5 years ago, an Icom IC-728, from the early '90s, that I bought used about a year ago, and the prize of my collection, a Yaesu FT-DX 560 tube radio (early '70s model) with a D-104 Silver Eagle microphone that I bought shortly after getting my general in 2009. It needed some work, and I enjoyed working on it. To me, working on radios, especially HF radios, is part of the ham radio hobby. And you really can't do that with the newer ones. They are pretty much plug and play, just like commercial radios. I have gotten very good reports on all of these radios

[@AB1Vampire]

nothing shocking here

[@TheSmokinApe]

When you have tested as many Chinese radios and amps as I have it’s shocking to see one this clean 👍

[@Jimbo10250]

Click bait title again

[@TheSmokinApe]

Jimbo, when you have tested as many Chinese radios and amps as I have, you are shocked when one is clean.

[@donalfinn4205]

What’s all this ‘shocking results’ business? Shouldn’t it be ‘terrific results’? Gets more hits I suppose but you don’t need to do that.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Donald, thanks for watching. Being candid, after testing as many Chinese radios and amps as I have I was shocked this one was clean.

[@jamesrobertson9597]

Shameless clickbait.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Not really, I know that with some folks they choose to see the worst in people. Perhaps is just their outlook that is shameless…. I don’t know if you follow the channel or not but I’ve tested MANY Chinese radios and amps and the majority of them fail. Before I tested this one, I would have happily bet you $100 that it would have failed as well. I’m sure you expected it to fail as well…. In this case, I was shocked that it passed.

[@jamesrobertson9597]

@@TheSmokinApe The G90 would not be as popular as it is if it wasn't a reasonably clean radio. The reason your clickbait worked is because people thought you were going to say something you discovered that was terrible about it, but you didn't. That's why I called you out for clickbait, because that's what you did. You promoted a video in a "clickbaity" way. Ain't no rule against it... it just makes you look shady.

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@jamesrobertson9597 lol @ shady. Can you link a video on f someone else who did the same test while explaining the regulations? I couldn’t…. Also, I think people expected it to be non-compliant. The G90 is popular for one reason and one reason only, price.

[@ll-bc7ou]

Misleading title, to say the least, fooled me for sure. Hmmmmm don't loose credibility .

[@TheSmokinApe]

Not trying to loose credibility but when you have tested as many Chinese radios and amps, it’s quite shocking to see one this clean 👍