| SNIDY13 |
Rating:  |
2024-01-08 | |
| Is someone have the same problem just like me. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My X-108G_OLED has no display at all.
But I found that there is an original OLED replacement for Xiegu X-108G_OLED on Ali.
I wonder if replacing it with a new OLED can solve it?
Lots of people saying that the OLED dimming problem was finally solved by replacing the OLED. |
|
| N8YA |
Rating: |
2019-12-26 | |
| Excellent for what it is... it is a portable rig, NOT a main rig |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I would not recommend it as your main rig, BUT if you want a small versatile portable HF rig this maybe one for you.
I would recommend you program all your frequently used frequencies (ie FT-8, PSK, etc.. all bands) because in memory mode you can NOT adjust your frequency with the VFO, you are stuck on your memory frequency. This is kind of a pain at times, but you can jump the freq to VFO mode with a push of a button. This is my chief complaint with this rig. |
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| AI4HO |
Rating: |
2018-05-19 | |
| SWEET!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just received MY X108G Outdoor Version rig a week ago....today, today being 19 May 2018. First off let me say this is NOT my 1st QRP rig, if in fact it can be called QRP. Low power it is but not the 10 W SSB or 5 W CW power level although it can be dialed down to very minimal output. I have had 2 maybe 3 FT-817ND rigs as well as an Icom IC-3+ I believe so am not a newbie by any stretch.
Now then this is not my Kenwood TS-590SG nor is it any kind of 100 watt rig, it is unlike anything I have had the pleasure of operating before. That said, only having this rig a week definitely puts me into the realm of having not quite enough experience with THIS rig but not QRP. I did powwer the rig up to make sure it works for 1, another to familiarize myself at least some with the menu and mic buttons. What I do like is that the microphone is back lit, and it is definitely bright enough to read the buttons in total pitch black, which is what I did just to see. The menu is definitely easy peasy, no surprises there.
What I like about this rig, besides it being a small, well rounded rig that has a lot of potential to be just a great overall low power rig. The received audio is crisp & clear no issues listening to that the screen is small, but my 61 year old eyes and bifocal glasses can read it just fine, I thought that was gonna be a problem because with the FT-817ND's screen was tiny, really tiny much smaller than the X108G's screen. Maybe they are the same size I dunno but the screen on the X108 is laid out differently maybe that is why,the human brain detects things and transfers it into something else either good or bad for the user....who knows I am not a brain expert. Actually I have been accused of not having a brain at all by certain peoples who shall remain nameless for my own well being,(yes dear...I'm playing nice)
Any way enough tom foolery, I haven't really tried transmitting yet just used it as a receiver, I am anxious to give it a real workout here just as soon as I find a place to mount this rig. I do agree with some of the other post, number 1 being....yup no fuses on the power cable, easily remedied but again we shouldn't have had to. Also another post mentioned needing a mount or a bail of some sort, that would be a fantastic addition to this already imho phenomenal rig. Maybe in the next iteration of this rig they may have fused power leads,(how about a bit heavier gauge wire this stuff I have is really thin) again easily fixed, and some type of a mounting bracket or bail that can be attached/removed when needed. Any way there are a lot of different things we can say that can be construed as a negative against this rig, I prefer to say that it will be added in the next series of this fantastic...thus far little rig. I;m loving it just the form factor is great & well put together. With that I will close by saying I will come back in a few months to redo my review but until such time I'm gonna be having some fun with my Xeigu X108G 1-20 watt rig! Be well, stay safe, God bless, happy haming! |
|
| HA7WX |
Rating: |
2018-01-14 | |
| Follow-up review |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my follow-up review.
Actually I am having lots of fun with this rig, last time i set up my 9 feet military whip on a MFJ coil and jaw mount + 15 feet of RG174 coax while portable, I could reach as far as Sweden and Switzerland on SSB 40m.
On holiday back in September, I had a nice QSO into Spain from Croatia on 20W, 14m mhz SSB, on the same coil and a MFJ telescopic whip of 10 feet long, and 1 radial at our vacation mobile home rental.
In summer I had a 59+20 report on a portable (hamstick whip and wire radials) 20m band QSO on a E layer daytime short skip of 260 km with Croatia, I even have been recorded.
This radio has lots of info on its screen and i just need an antenna analyzer, the antenna system and my 8.4 A/h LiFePo4 battery.
Simple and minimalist, yet has a great receiver which is much better than the 817 Yaesu.
Not easy to perform, but i could replace the memory battery.
For the price, you have a very decent radio with a very decent receiver.
It is just fun to carry around a 1 kg radio so small yet so capable.
Sometimes the difference between 5W and 20W just makes it (i have had the 817).
I can only recommend this radio for those who like to go portable, it's light, has low consumption, it's small and has plenty of useful info on its screen, just like the big ones. |
|
| N3PM |
Rating: |
2017-09-29 | |
| OK, but not great. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Going a year of ownership. Seems to be several versions of this radio, my manual didn't cover the radio accurately, or thoroughly.
Have the 5khz offset problem in AM mode that seems unfixable.
The front panel buttons have become intermittent.
Can't find many sales/service/parts places for these.
The price (then) would have netted a decent FT-817.
Mike N3PM |
|
| G7IDJ |
Rating: |
2017-09-03 | |
| good but not 100% |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have got an FT817 for portable operation but I wanted to built a "GoBox" with seperate VHF/UHF and HF capabilities and run a bit more than QRP power. Hence I was looking at the X108G.
My first impression were good. On RX it has a nice warm sound and the filters seem to work very well on AM as well as SSB.
Before I slate it here some good points in summary:
- nice menu
- intuitive menu choices
- 2xVFOs
- Memory Channels which I never use but are good
- about the same size as the FT817
- solid casing
- Menu displays voltage, RX, TX, Pre amp, attenuator, type of AGC used, modulation, SWR, Power and S signal,
- it has an inbuilt compressor which can be modified in 10 steps
Now the amazing stuff about the radio:
- the microphone.........
I havn't read about it anywhere in any review so far but all important menu items can be controlled with the microphone which is actually very helpful. The F keys are only necessary to select the frequency steps.
On a downside the voice sounds a bit odd which I read somewhere in a review and I can confirm. It sounds a little bit robotic and synthetic but intelligible. I am not sure whether it is the stock microphone or the radio itself.
- the radio has a high SWR protection. In high SWR scenarios the power is dragged right down protecting the output transistors which is a big bonus
- The current draw on RX is quite low which is good for QRP mobile operations
Now the bad points:
1. no TX on 29MHz
Why????
Why cut it off at 28.8MHz? To me it is a real downer. At least give us all of the bands we are allowed to use. Again I didn't read this in any review.
2. No inline fuse in the power leads
Again why?
Still not a major problem to fix but I didn't pay £150 for the radio but £399 which is close to other top products from Yeasu in the same class. So why not go the extra mile and ensure that tiny things like that are sorted at the company.
3. Whenever I key up there is a short blip of spurious audio for about 200-400ms so less than half a second and it then goes silent and normal modulation is getting through. I am not sure whether it is the RX/TX relais that is causing it but again for a £399 radio I have slightly different expectations. Surely some filtering could have eliminated the unwanted audio on AM as well as on SSB.
Once the voltage drops below 10V it's over and the radio switches off. I think most 12V radios only operate down to 10V which is to be expected but good to know if you want to use it as a battery operated outdoor radio.
4. On AM the carrier hits the full 18W which I measured but as you modulate the power goes down rapidly distorting the signal somewhat. It is not the end of the world since I have only used AM to tune antennas or for testing purposes into a dummy load most of the time. I can't remember my last QSO on AM but there are some green nets using old army radios which operate on AM in the 29MHz section which I would love to get involved with but alas no 29MHz and AM which is not working too well.
Saying all that it is audible and intelligible when you use it just not crystal clear.
I am a little bit disappointed and I would have expected a little more from the radio considering the price.
I can live with the flaws but am sure disappointed.
Still AM reception is good, full power rating at more than 15W, built SWR meter, intuitive menu most of which is accessible from the microphone, SWR protection and meter, Compressor, is ok and are bonus points for the radio.
I would say it is ok for a GoBox as a second radio but if you are looking to get into the hobby with your first radio spent about 15 to 20% more a get a decent radio.
It certainly doesn't replace the good old FT817.
Michael G7IDJ/DL6MS
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|
| W4IA |
Rating: |
2017-06-07 | |
| Review Update |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After almost 3 months of use the radio has proven to be great. Not Elecraft, but good selectivity and operating features for a low power radio.
It needs a stand or bail of some kind, and a decent internal speaker to make it perfect. This is a keeper. |
|
| N9PUZ |
Rating: |
2017-01-25 | |
| Great Portable HF Transceiver |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have owned this radio about 6 weeks now. I use it on both CW and SSB. Included filters work well. With just a little speech compression I get good unsolicited audio reports. I had one question about the radio and Xiegu support answered by email promptly. I would buy this radio again. Good value for the price.
PRO:
- Good Receive audio.
- Light weight
- Clear, crisp LCD
- 20W Output provides good SSB "punch"
- Menu is intuitive and easy to operate
- Nice remote control features on supplied microphone
THINGS THAT COULD BE IMPROVED (NOT SHOW STOPPERS):
- Supplied power cord has no inline fuse
- Case has no provisions for mounting |
|
| W5GCX |
Rating: |
2016-09-13 | |
| Great for the Price ($460) delivered |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I ordered this little radio from www.radioddity.com. I ordered two including one for another ham. I ordered them on a Friday afternoon and paid with paypal. The box with the two radios arrived the following Thursday afternoon at my doorstop from UPS. Very Fast delivery time from China/Hong Kong and LAX !!
I have used this radio on 20 and 15 with a shortened 3 element beam. Just about anyone I call comes right back to me and when I tell them I'm only running 20 watts they cannot believe it. Signal reports are down 2-3 s units from using 600 watt amplifier but I generally get through all ok. I am using the compressor on position 3 and get good audio reports. An Icom microphone with modular connector also works fine.
Pluses: 1. Small package
2. More than 'qrp' output
3. Sensitive receiver
4. Inclusion of 6.0/ 2.4 & 0.5 khz filters
5. Good display (note that some of the functions are a bit small)
6. Built-in speech compressor
7. Built-in keyer
8. Included multi-function microphone
9. General Coverage Receive
10. Good, intelligible audio via internal speaker
Minuses: 1. The function F1 plastic button popped out. I was able to put it back in with small needle nose pliers.
2. The noise blanker in position NB1, 2 or 3, does very little with the local power company noise
3. The Accessory port connections have limited use.
a) I tried to wire up to the PTT out connection to key my solid state amplifier but it does not provide "normal" amplifier connections, i.e. 'normally open' and 'closed to ground' when the radio is in transmit.
b) Im not sure the ALC connection is functional.
I give it a 4.6
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|
| ZL1NAY |
Rating: |
2016-07-04 | |
| From humble beginings |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is the 3rd product i own from this company. 2 X1M's and now the X108G.
Xiegu have really come a long way from their X1M model.
Why, because they have listened to their users.
This model is polished. Custom case, OLED display and easy interface.
The functions are almost identical to its sister, the X1M. Small form factor slightly smaller than the FT817 but much better display.
What were optional add ons on the first production run all now seem to be standard, which is great to see.
Im not going to start comparing it to another brand because simply there is nothing to compare it with. The closest i would suspect would be the FT817.
Filtering is excellent with all the "got to have" filters as stock.
Receive is quiet and quite hot for a single conversion design. There are no discernable birdies on my model. Any i can hear are way down and appear to be actual external carriers.
Good audio out from the speaker but much better through a larger one just like any other portable rig. I always use phones except at home.
15W out published, closer to over 20w in reality. Good audio reports. Compression is in the form of presets. Great for new starters.
I really have nothing bad to say. As a portable rig, ideal for sota or throw it in the car.
As a new starter rig, it is ideal and the output power is right on the button. The ability to wind down the power to a watt or so is great for the qrp purists.
Niggles?
The power connector cord is a little light in my opinion and comes without a fuse. The connector itself is adequate for use but again i would like to see something a bit beefier. Dont forget we are only drawing 7 amps here.
The wings as i call them on the front and rear of the case i didnt like when i first saw this model, but now i kind of like them.They do protect the knobs in a sacrificial way and are also handy to attach a strap to.
I would like to see the 2 function buttons on the right of the vfo knob moved to the left only because with the wing on its hard to push with big digits.
Also like to see a rubber gasket behind the vfo knob to keep dust and moisture out. Something i recommend you do if you buy one.
Other than that, a well polished 20w version of its baby sister the X1M.
Would i buy another? yes in a flash.
A no fuss, no confusing menus easy to use rig. What else do you need in a portable rig? |
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