Another Crap HF Radio | Xiegu G106 Pushes the Limits
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- How crappy can one radio be?? Let's see how crappy the Xiegu G106 actually is!
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#hamradio #XieguG106 #k8mrd
After this review Radioddity is going to charge me $15 more when I use the code.
This is K8mrd and I approve this message.
Yeah…. And you’re allowed to spend it on anything you want as long as it isn’t a G106 evidently.
All kidding aside, it’s good to see videos like this from people. It just shows that there can be integrity in the review process and that giving a bad review of a bad product is what SHOULD happen. Thank you K8MRD for keeping it real.
I’m sorry. This message wasn’t clear. Is this radio crap?
There is a small chance the crap from this radio smudged your glasses. The crap from the radio that flung on to your glasses makes it hard to see through the crap to get a good look at how crappy this radio is. But I assure you my friend this radio is big wet smelly fart crap.
Still unclear...sounds like Mike needs to send this radio to Josh for a second opinion.
I think it's crap with a huge serving of shite and a faecal mass on the side.
Josh, at least Mike's radio did not sound like a rattle when he moved it around.
Hmm. I purchased this little gem in order to do portable work, using not only SSB but also FT8, SSTV, and Winlink. It functions extremely well in these modes with crisp audio and reasonable power output. So, I could not disagree more with this review and am not sure if it is simply not to be taken seriously or if the moderator here acquired a faulty unit.
I have not read, but there is no need to read. ARRL is not gospel, there are so many variations to consider in a radio. G106 performs well but really well in RX. lack of almost important functions a pity. lack of shift, lack of vox, lack NB, lack of ALC and SWR reading, lack of being able to tighten the filter in ssb, lack of the A=B function. it's a radio you turn on and transmit and have fun with its 7-8 watts. very small I don't remember which other RTX is as small and well made as this one. It's not worth the money that traders ask, a fair price of 200/220 dollars is more than fair for having fun in the open air. Of course there is better, much better but I honestly wouldn't call it rubbish
I noticed that the "spectrum analyzer" display is on an ICOM 7610 transceiver, not a commercial-grade spectrum analyzer. As someone who has been in commercial communications (from a technical and engineering perspective), there's no doubt in my mind that your ICOM transceiver may easily have been creating those spurious signals, NOT the Xiegu G106 transceiver. The spectrum display on an amateur radio transceiver would never have been designed or intended to determine how 'clean' another transmitter is, in the way that you're using it.
Your comments on the X6100 were wrong but the rest of this video was Gold. Gold, Jerry!
I agree! The X6100 is fantastic overall, I love mine, but the rest of the video was on point.
A great follow up to this video would be all the HRCC gang beating up a Xiegu radio Office Space style in the Von Braun center parking deck! Yea I'm bringing a TH-cam gold idea!!
I have a X6100 and it's pretty good. The early versions they sent out for review were crap, they should wait till they fix everything and test properly as you say. But by the time I got mine it was nearly there I did an update of the firmware and it's good now...
To the detractors of the G-106 who consider this transceiver as a bad radio I will respond with factual elements: I have a G-106 and I made a CW contact in QRP from France with 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
From France to New Zealand with only 5W! Awesome! Hope I can do that too.
@@ianyuan5947 I wish it for you. It's an extraordinary experience...
I can do the same thing with a pixie,....it's still a piece of shit.
Well, 20 minutes after I took it out of the box I had a cw contact almost 1,000 miles away using a lousy low hung dipole in my back yard. It's so straight forward you really don't need to read the manual, you can figure it out in about five minutes. The screen is big and uncomplicated. The thing feels really solid and doesn't move around on my desk. The tuning knob has a nice knurled feel and is fun to scan around. Changing bands is easy with the top buttons. Changing tuning steps is also easy with the top buttons. The new firmware adds power level adjustment. I've had far far worse radios, and...better ones as well. The audio could be louder, a dedicated headphone jack would be nice, but it's really not bad. The first reviews may have been a bit harsh. I think this one may become a sleeper that finds its way into a lot of shacks.
I hope you’re right and I’m glad you’re enjoying the radio. I do love everything about it aesthetically. It’s a solid radio for sure. I really hope Xiegu keeps improving on it. From your experience, it seems like they are.
The crappy lead in leads me to believe this is a crazy, non-serious, biased "review".
On a budget, you can't really beat this little rig. It has its place.
I don't know. If I were in the market for an entry level HF radio I would save up another ~$100 and get a G90. Way more radio for not much more money.
It’s crazy how bad these are, because I feel like my G90 is a brilliant little radio. Only thing missing is built in sound card. Plus, the G90 can tune a wet noodle!
@Mark Herman I’m pretty sure you knew what I meant, as in it simply has an excellent tuner. I almost always use a resonant antenna with this one as well as my QCX Mini.
Have you never played a game of “will it antenna?” and tried to tune up random things? Believe it or not, ham radio can also be fun and experimental.
@Mark Herman the reason for Kenwood leaving the amateur market will be JVC the parent company. They are used to selling commodity high volume products and their profit margin. They were purchased by JVC for their audio line and the amateur products came along for the ride. I would feel safe placing a large bet that Kenwood will be exiting the amateur market within 5 years. It is a shame as during the seventies Kenwood was one of the best rigs to buy. Audio quality was fantastic. Everyone has their day in the sun and today that would be Icom. I will agree that the Chinese sell a lot of product, but do you ever hear it on the air or people using it? You do see a lot of it for sale at hamfests. There are only a handful of Chinese made rigs that are worth buying. The Xiegu G90 being notably one.
So, aside from that Mrs. Lincoln, how'd you like the play...
haha
This is a Great little Ham Radio.
Mike, I am not sure, are you saying the radio isn`t any good? Thanks for another great honest video. 73, AA4EZ
The Internet :"To be successful on TH-cam, you need to have a point of view." K8MRD: "Hold my beer"
The g-90 is fine.
England, France, Germany, and Poland right out of the box. So, in my opinion, if you want a ham Radio to talk with other Hams you mightwam\bt to consider this Little Ham Radio. KD$QEN 73
You had fun with making this video!!! =) Thanks for the review Mike!
Thank you for the honesty it is much appreciated, most reviewers have been bought and never give a bad review, a few of them are your friends on YT👍👍
love mine, i live in Kentucky and have talked the world with it.
I checked my thesaurus listing for "excrement." Not to my surprised the only synonym was "Chinese transceiver."
haha!
There's a lot to like in this review, but my favorite is the guy in your one and only SSB contact telling you how garbage your audio was. He actually sounded mad! hahahaha!
I wish more people were this honest about product reviews ! Ham or non Ham
This also a crappy review!
That audio sounded like you smoked a carton of unfiltered Camels before getting on the air 😆
That intro is amazing. Poor dog must have felt that one coming out!
Hmmm, square peg round hole?
The ham community should demand all new radios be given to Mike, K8MRD, before they are ever allowed out in the wild!
The video was fraught with humor - but tasteless. Something like an 8th grade version of Henny Youngman. The dog crap gag was really juvenile. C’mon man, surely you can do better than that. I believe your take on the X6100 has been overtaken by better analyses. I will keep an open mind on your technical position on this radio. No crap!
Thx for the video - you talked me into buying one of these! 😁 Could it be a defective unit? I have a 5105 and it works just fine...
Mike, I have seen quite a number of TH-cam reviews for ham radio related products. This has to be, hands down... the best one I have seen to date. Thanks
🤣🤣🤣
"Let me tell you what I like about it" *crickets*
Great video, awesome intro. Wow, so disappointing..I have a G90 and I absolutely love it. Always get comments on how good my audio is. Sounds like they've really dropped the ball here. 73 Dan VK3NDG
I don't understand. What are you trying to say?
This radio is the Coke 2 of ham radio. This radio is the movie Battlestar Earth of ham radio. This radio is the Build back better of ham radio 😂
LOL Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel. Hey thanks for honest reviews!
You bet!
Thanks Mike! I sold my X6100 and my G90 to help pay for my IC-705. Both of my Xiegu radios were good but other than possibly getting a 5105 someday, I am done with Xiegu. As my son says, "Buy once, Cry once" and from now on I'm buying quality not cheap junk.
Well, THIS makes me feel better!!! 😃😃😃😃 WB8YOJ
@@markmitz2871 I think it was partly the luck of the draw and I lucked out with both of my Xiegus. I bought them to keep from from spending too much money on the 705 and lost money when I told them. I would have been better off jut buying the 705 and skipping the other radios. Live and learn
For God’s sake stop beatin’ around the bush and just tell us what you really think!!! 🙈🙈🙈
You totally destroyed yourself as a competent reviewer.
I want to be watching any of your reviews anymore ….
Hahaha you're funny. See you later.
Stop holding back and tell us the way it is! LOL. I admire your honesty and the integrity of of Radioddity for sending a sample for an unbiased review. Please keep your no nonsense approach.
It's high time Xiegu stopped using their customers as their R&D testers... particularly when they never fix the problem, GSOC and G90 software issues to name just two.
Nice to see a review thats honest
You really need to stop sugar coating your radio reviews. I mean if a radio is crap why can't you say it at least 100 times... Oh wait a minute... LOL
I'll try harder next time 🤣
I'm half way through the video and I have no idea how you feel, can you be a little more open with your feelings? lmao.
"Ford Pinto" :) Love It! Thanks Mike for this honest and FUNNY review.🤣
My pleasure!
Thanks for this review and saving money - I thought about buying - but definitely not anymore ;) I own g90 and i'm absolutely happy with it.
So..... HF for 350 bucks? Sounds great! Glad you liked it. Are you doing a giveaway? Lol
Holy cow that intro is so 10 out of 10
Thank you for your honest review. I'll stick with the G90 and the X5105. They work pretty well.
How bout Xiegu actually just fix the X5105! The firmware’s been half finished since release!
Love the honest review Mike. Looks like it was as fun to make as it was to watch :) I’ve been curious to see how this video would turn out after you told me you were running that new Xiegu during our QSO… Mike - N7CCD
are you sure about what you reviewed? it has been subjected to professional instrumentation and the radio has given excellent results. the only flaw it doesn't have a swr reader, but if I have to be honest as an owner of ft817, kx2, elad fdm duo, this little guy doesn't make a bad impression. maybe you don't have a good CW ear
You should read the ARRL review in QST about this radio I’d you don’t believe me.
My time has NOT been wasted. I enjoyed this video a whole lot!!! Thank you so very much!!
That's a shame as I was quite excited to see the G106 but I was also excited to see the 6100.....maybe xiegu should focus on an updated G90 with a bigger screen rather than rushing out crap radios. Thanks Mike, you saved me £300!
The Afrikaans have a phrase for that "goedkoop is duurkoop". Translates to - buying cheap is expensive
Wow, Xeigu dropped the ball on this one eh. I have two a G-90 and a G1M great radios. Thanks brother, I would have bit on this one.
We still love the crap you put out for us.
Golf clap my good sir.
I have a X6100 and an IC-705. I much prefer the X6100 for MANY reasons. In case anyone thinks all Xiegu radios are crap, that's not the case. You can have your opinion on the X6100, but many strongly disagree with you on that one...
Having said that, this G106 is a strange rig, and pretty terrible at this point. I'll allow you to call it crap 😁 What were Xiegu thinking???
Could you please review it again in a week I need a Laugh on a regular basis 🤣🤣
Always great reviews. Thanks. I've had a G-90 for a couple of years and with all the firmware upgrades it's a solid little radio now. I recently bought the XPA125B amp for those times you need more than 20w. Had to send the first one back after it stopped working after 4 days but the replacement is going fine. I have to give Radioddity customer service credit. They have handled every issue I've ever had in a timely manner. Thanks for the video. Jack K5FIT
I love it. I love my G90 and XPA125B amplifier (I use the amp all the time for my IC-705 and the G90 I used to use until I got my 705, but now it lives in my Faraday can for emergencies), but this looks/sounds like hell. I would say it's the Baofeng of HF, but at least a Baofeng actually works and you can hear people and they can hear you.
I have to say, I'm left uncertain about how you really feel about this radio. Clearly you should be less wishy-washy on your reviews... lol
(note to other commenters: this is sarcasm)
You can't handle the truth!
@@hamradiotube True. This is because I do depositions where people lie constantly. I'm not sure I'd recognize the truth these days... Great video. It is rare to see someone just tell it straight up...and I loved the "neighbor's dog" thing at the beginning.
The intro is Awesome 🤣🤣🤣 plus that dog must be in pain!!!
Hence why I always tell people, buy once cry once...and stop buying cheap Chinese radios to save a buck!!!! In the end the only one screwed is YOU! Great video! 73
Ain't this the truth
Mike, quit holding back on how you feel about the G106. You really left me hanging as to if the radio was complete crap or not. To be honest when this was first announced I looked into it and decided this was a big no for me.
You had my wife laughing from across the room...and she only overheard a quarter of the ways it sucked!
The most Savage although truthful review on TH-cam of ham radio gear. What were they thinking even shipping this unit? I have a g90 and it is a great little radio for the money. With 20 watts and auto tuner that will tune anything nice little spectrum display and other features why would you buy the g106? Buy the g90 for another hundred and change.
I guess this video in an answer to anyone questioning if your opinions are impacted by your sponsors or by review samples. Great Job Mike it was entertaining as always.
Bro tell us how you really feel!! Best K8MRD episode yet! 🤣🤣🤣 I do have the XPA125B largely due to your review tho…
Thanks Don. The XPA is a good amp. They are sending me another G106 to review so we'll see if this radio can redeem itself.
I have a kit I built OZ QRP ....I just did a DSB QSO 5 watts 1000 km ....audio was awesome. It is only one band but cost me $150 and IT WORKS. Thanks for the heads up.
Not quite the same, but I just finished building a QRP-Labs QDX (FSK digital modes only) at a cost of ~$100 shipped and it is amazing. I'll have to look into the OZ too.
@@Randrew I have the QDX too....lots of fun! Amazing form factor Hans is a genius!
Oh Dayumn Mike! I was really looking forward to checking this radio out. Oh well, I love my G-90
Don't hold back Mike, tell us how you really feel! Sorry I'm Canadian! Sorry......
Lmao you had me dying over here 🤣🤣 if there ever was an uncensored video of this review I'd want to see it 😂😂
Wow, tell us how you really feel about the radio.
I think I'll stick with my FT-817 for QRP.
But wait…a BNC? You could connect the MFJ 1899T and have a tunable lightening diverter for stormy SOTAs.
How did you miss the glaring spelling error on the screen? Go to 4:03 and see "No Valid Momoey".😂
I don't know why you guys keep harping on that. The message is quite obviously true! ;)
That's why I bought the Elecraft KX-2 rather than the 6100. Got burned by the GSOC and learned my lesson. 73 de W3PDW
I'm a little confused. Did you like it or not? Great review, I with every reviewer was this honest.
We can only hope that the Chinese use the same quality control standards of the G106 in the production of their ICBM's.
I watched this video after returning from a psych appointment with the VA. Comparing the Xiegu G106 to Mental Health care from the VA is an insult to Xiegu!!! That radio must truely suck!
And I was feeling bad about buying a (tr)usdx just before the 106 came out. Thanks Mike.
Hey!! Hey!! Back off of the Ford Pinto. I owned one.
I need this radio badly to put next to my Baofeng in the hall of shame.
Loved the intro! Great way to express how you felt about this radio. LOVED the video.
Steve, k7ofg
Xiegu needs to quit relying on consumers to do their QA for them and start releasing more polished products. This seems like a radio that no one was asking for and has no redeeming features whatsoever. Absolutely inexcusable, and I say that as someone who actually likes the X6100 and uses it regularly.
Same here. I absolutely LOVE my X6100. I prefer it over my IC-705.
@@mostlypostie1 Here too. I have an IC-7300 for the bench and a G90 and now an X6100. These days when I grab a rig to head out the door with, it's the X6100.
@@Randrew awesome. Same here!
Why does radiodity and hro sell this crap? I'm pretty pissed off after buying a x6100 and seeing all the self generated signals, and other stuff that just doesn't work like other youtubers say it does in their magical reviews. Too bad for me I found one of your videos with an honest review on the x6100 after i purchased the radio, ...to late though for me. Thanks for keeping it real and being honest.
The hell with Xiegu ! I’m going for the set of Hello Kitty Walkie Talkies... There cheaper, they sound a heck of a lot better than Xiegu, and they have a real honest mirror built right in! I’m sure I could make dozens of QSO’s with these.!
They have a frickin' mirror built in!? How do I get one for review?
@@hamradiotube A mirror! Awesome, I haven't worked the 550 nm band yet!
Thanks Mike. I needed a laugh this morning and you really provided it. THANKS!
Appreciate you, Mike. I'm old enough to get the Morissette reference.
I laughed real hard at this. It's a total minefield for a new ham to buy a budget portable HF radio. I got the G90 and it has been working great. Almost made the error to get the X6100.
G90 is great. Everything Xiegu made after that, not so much.
Great video. Brutally honest assessments backed by fact are the best. Plus you are hilarious. I hope that Xiegu listens loud and clear.
They are sending another unit to review. They think this one was damaged in shipping. Either way, they got the message.
@@hamradiotube Thanks Mike. This radio aside, I hope your Hollywood movie producer watch that video because you have a second career in film comedy. 73
Wow Mike, You need to tell us how you really feel! Almost makes me want to buy one and have it encased in molten lead. If it was cheaper, I'd send a bunch to Demolition Ranch so we can see how many G106's it takes to stop a .50 cal. Loved the video.
Hunted his park around last weekend with it. He had no problem understanding me. lol
Way to go _slaying_ that radio amateur’s code of conduct by being obnoxiously toxic.
Yes, honest reviews are often considered toxic. Thanks for commenting and helping the algorithm!
What can you expect from a CBer that can barely get a radio turned on? lol
China must want us to destroy the ham bands in North America with this rig, holy cow.
So.... Do you like it?
Oh totally, you should buy it lol!!! But really, don't.
Thanks for ur honest review... Enjoy the last radio Radioddity will send you! LOL. You're breaking the mold... This is the second G106 review I've seen on YT. Gotta go back to see who the other was and compare notes. Carry on BRAVE MAN! ;)
I looked at this beast and thought about my first Xiegu experience. The X1M, which was a total dog. The G90 is ok but the X5105 is/was better, despite it being such a glaring spur receiving monster. And don't get me wrong: I like the X5105. The G90 not so much. In all, despite their being inexpensive and somewhat physically impressive, I really don't trust 'em. Which is why I sprung big for the IC705. So yeah: Great review. You obviously had fun doing it. 73 de W8IJN
Thanks for telling it like it is man.
Oh, man. That's harsh. Are you really saying this radio is not as good as a Chinese knock-off uSDX? (I've got one of those.) Surprised to hear you say the X6100 sucks. I thought most of the reviews on TH-cam were pretty favorable. Guess I'd better search your videos to find where you said exactly how it sucks. Anyway, thanks for a really funny and informative video.
Just found your channel, lol! You just got your self a new follower.
Awesome! Thank you!