| KT8DX |
Rating:  |
2022-09-29 | |
| Holds its own in the ARRL CW DX Contest |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Ordered it on a Tuesday from Radioddity and got it on Saturday. Unboxed it and started contacting stations in the DX contest without reading the manual.
Yes, there is a little receiver desens but nowhere near what I expected. I've certainly used worse over the years.
Yes, its $500 but frankly the most impressive $500 rig I've used in quite a while. I owned an 817 for a long time, but the small display and poor ergonomics were annoying. I also have an 857d, which is perhaps a better radio but again, the form factor for portable and current drain is a problem.
There are lot of great reviews here, and I won't duplicate them. I'm just one rather picky old ham here who is very pleasantly surprised with this rig. I think it is the beginning of a beautiful relationship...
Bob KT8DX |
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| W4TU |
Rating: |
2022-02-26 | |
| Excellent QRP rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought my X5105 a little over three years ago. It covers 6 -160 meters at 0.5 - 5W (your choice), The built in 3800mAH battery lasts a very long time. The automatic antenna tuner has successfully tuned anything I've thrown at it. Really, really nice little QRP portable radio. I've had no problems at all.
It does have DSP bandwidth filters which you can adjust to your needs but they are buried in a menu so you probably won't be doing it on the fly. There is also very decent DSP noise reduction, a notch filter (probably also DSP), and a really decent receiver. I had a Yaesu FT-817ND until recently and in terms of receiver performance the Xiegu is worlds better. If someone has found this radio to be "deaf" or lacking sensiivity then theirs needs repair.
The only reason I may move on from this radio is the X6100 once Xiegu works out the bugs. It's an excellent QRP rig that I do recommend. |
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| M3VXJ |
Rating:  |
2022-02-21 | |
| Could be a lot better |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had my X5105 for more than 12 months, also owning Yaesu and Elecraft products I feel well placed to comment:
Pros:
Great package supplied with power cable, USB cable, and remote control microphone
Neat transceiver in a solid feeling case with low profile controls - handy in the rucksack.
Long battery life
Feels really good quality
Covers top band to 6m
Regular easy to install firmware updates (so far)
Internal ATU seems to tune anything including the fence around my house!
Cons:
Suffers from awful RF feedback into radio. Necessary to fit ferrites to USB cable if you are planning any digital work.
Earphone socket useless. The radio is fitted with a stereo socket and documentation advises you that only stereo phones should be used. Persistent RF into the headphones is coming from somewhere. Apparently (Xiegu say) socket is not designed for headphone use and recommendation from other users is to use bluetooth wireless headphones or to use the socket to feed into an amplifier. Very poor.
Charging takes an age.
The receiver on mine is mediocre at best. Although other people have not reported this.
Supplied manual is pointless.
Comparisons:
I compared this in the field with a very old FT-817ND recently using a tuned dipole. The FT-817nd far outperformed it with a better receiver and better reports from other stations on transmit. The Yaesu benefits from 2m and 70cm too.
There is no real comparison to KX line. The X5105 has 6m band which the KX2 doesn't have, but when it comes to usability, both KX2 and KX3 outperform this rig on the airwaves. The X5105 is no cheap KX alternative but then it doesn't pretend to be.
If I were spending the money again I wouldn't bother with it but invest a bit more in the FT-818nd or FT-891 - or better still save up for a KX3.
Overall - disappointing so far.
Update
Feb 2022. Okay. Time has moved on. I regret this has now become a 5* paperweight on my desk. As a HF/6m portable it is pointless. Deaf on the airwaves, poor RF output. Xiegu seem to have abandoned any firmware updates in favour of newer models. Lack of circuit diagrams and manuals mean investigating performance further is nigh on impossible. I doubt I will spend any more money on Xiegu hardware unless something changes or improves with the company. |
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| RW9OA |
Rating: |
2021-04-29 | |
| Requires revision by the manufacturer. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I changed RS918 to X5105 for the sake of the prospect of working at 50 MHz. Controlling the transceiver is much easier, but that is where the benefits end. It is also possible to note the excellent protection of the transmitter output from load mismatch. I work most often in FT8 and it turned out that the transceiver-interface-computer bundle is very sensitive to interference from the antenna, moreover, from the magnetic component of the field most of all. Under the same conditions, there were no failures in the operation of the RS918. This is upsetting. I had to abandon the CAT system, perhaps this is useful as prevention of dementia! |
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| WA4GKQ |
Rating: |
2021-01-19 | |
| Great Ergonomics Compared to Elecraft KX2/KX3 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
There are already many excellent reviews here of the Xiegu X5105 and I mostly agree with them. It is simply a great little QRP radio, especially after the Version 3 firmware upgrade.
I also own and use an Elecraft KX2, which is probably the closest competitor to the X5105. My observations here relate more to the X5105's comparison to the KX2, not so much technically but more related to user ergonomics and usability.
My comments are based on several years of experience with electronics products from USA companies such as Elecraft, MFJ, and others, versus Chinese products such as the X5105.
For reasons I don't pretend to understand, products such as the KX2 and MFJ's products that are designed electronically and mechanically by US companies, tend to be less well designed from an esthetic, ergonomic, and user's point of view --- very basic, unattractive, square corners, complex menu systems, confusing multi-function buttons, controls and connectors in the wrong place, and displays that are often non-intuitive.
Asian products, even cheap ones, seem to have been more carefully designed and engineered with the user in mind. The Xiegu X5105 is a good example. It has somewhat inferior electronics specs, compared to the KX2, but it "looks" better, it "feels" better, has more "useful" user features, and it is simply "better" to use. Everything about it seems to have been well thought out, whereas the KX2 seems to be a "just make it work" and "basic box" product, although somewhat technically superior.
I could mention numerous examples but I'll just point out one here. The X5105 has the mic jack on the right side of the unit. Most people are right-handed, so the cord from the mic will not cross over the rig while using. The KX2's mic jack is on the left side. Why??? Same with the key jack. ???
Based on my years of experience with not only radio products but several other categories of products, including automobiles, Asian companies are creating products that, in my opinion, are significantly superior in terms of user features and user interface (UI) when compared to US-designed products. Apple might be the only exception.
Why is this? Is there some kind of cultural thing in China that says users are just as important, or more important, than technical specs, or cost, or expediency? As a former engineer myself, there was (is) an old saying that "engineers design products for other engineers, not users."
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| K2GK |
Rating: |
2020-12-30 | |
| Like it a lot. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Price Drop: I've seen it for as little as $550.
For QRP I was a devoted FT-817\818 user.
I bought one of the X5105 radios from MFJ several months ago.
Very impressed with it and no problems at all with anything. It has a couple of features the Yaesu do not have like an auto tuner and SWR analyzer. Shame it does not have the VHF/UHF that the Yaesu FT-817\818 do. For me the VHF is used often.
Any how... You will not be disappointed with the Xiegu X5105. For the money ($550) gets you a quite nice little QRP package.
The Built in battery sells the radio. Charges off any 13v source and at full 5 watts out lasts for hours.
Great built in tuner.
BTW, get the hub ($25) at the same time if you are interested in digital communications with your computer. 73 de k2gk
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|
| G7IDJ |
Rating: |
2020-10-23 | |
| Ideal QRP rig |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I bought the radio in the middle of the COVID lockdown so I had a bit of time to play with it.
Being back at work I use the radio during my lunch breaks with a portable HF screwdriver antenna. The beauty of the radio is that everything is contained into a small package the size of a small brick.
Having used the FT-817 for years this has been quite a step up with not having to worry about ATUs or plenty of wires. Just the antenna coax and that's.
The radio has an integrated microphone which eliminates the need for an external microphone even though it comes with one. There is a PTT on the "brick" itself.
The internal battery is ok and lasts for a good couple of hours of operating time which is to be expected.
I read some comments here about the charging time and the battery just cutting out after some time. I can confirm both. The charging time is quite long. On a good note it may be easier on the battery and aid longevity to charge it up using a lower current. Also the radio cuts out once the battery drops below a certain level. But the operating time to me is close to what can be expected.
I would suggest to have another spare battery or PSU when out on the field operating.
The menu is intuitive and provides all info you may need such as SWR, Power levels etc.
The sound is okish since the speaker is very small and it certainly is an area for improvement. Still you can use headphones or an external speaker. I feed the sound through the car stereo.
The radio is not cheap but it has a very innovative design and is certainly good fun to use.
The ATU needs something that is not too far off to work with otherwise it will not tune the antenna, but it is certainly a great aid when working outside with a less than optimum antenna.
Pros:
Everything is contained in one small unit
Integrated ATU is a big plus
integrated microphone is a big bonus and ideal for portable operation
Battery is fit for purpose allowing several hours of operation
Good display
Intuitive menu
Good Filtering on RX
50Mhz band available
solid casing
Cons:
no VHF/UHF as FT817/818
battery does take a lot of time to charge up
Speaker too small and tinny
still a bit pricey in comparison to other Far East radios
5MHz band not available on TX
But all in all a good radio. I would buy it again!
73 de Michael G7IDJ/DL6MS
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|
| KG9H |
Rating: |
2020-09-04 | |
| Compact radio has very good performance |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have had 4 of these over the past few years. The latest firmware has me keeping this one. Seeing power output and SWR at the same time on the same screen is a big plus. You can watch your SWR as you tune the antenna (in my case an AlexLoop)! Battery lasts a long time, receiver is very good and sensitive, selectivity is adjustable. Variable bandwidth on receive is a plus but you would assume that it has that capability in this day and age. NO filters to purchase! Transmit sounds very good as well. (It has transmit EQ adjustments but they were not necessary.) Scanning the band is nice, especially when your frequency is quiet. Built-in microphone for true portable operation with just a key and an antenna! The only negative is that there is no schematic but have not had to repair any of these yet. Of course it is a great portable rig, the 5105 is also at home running on 75 SSB into my HLA and 80 meter loop. de KG9H |
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| KI2H |
Rating: |
2020-07-14 | |
| A perfect QRP rig for me |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased the Xiegu X5105 to complete my HAM travel kit. It is small, light, and durable. I have used it with and without the hand mic. I've made contacts using random wires, telescoping antennae, and a homemade dipole. The built-in antenna tuner works great. When using a manual external tuner, I'm able to switch to the X5105's SWR monitor and quickly see how the adjustments affect SWR.
I was a bit disappointed at first after opening the box and not finding a power supply. Using the supplied power adapters, I was able to converted an old laptop 15v power supply to meet the X5105's needs. In addition, I was able to use a 2nd power adapter to convert my solar panels plug to be able to power/charge the X5105. The solar panels produce more than enough power for the X5105. The internal battery is more than sufficient for my needs. But I am confident if I need to hook up an external battery it will work fine also.
I am looking forward to working on PSK31 and other digital modes as well. Receiving and decoding PSK31 has been fun. I have purchased accessories so that I can transmit on PSK31 without a computer. I will be writing more on the X5105 on my blog as I gain more experience with it.
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After almost 2 years, my X5105 is still going strong. I now have the XPA-125B amplifier and use it infrequently; preferring to use the X5105 in the field portable. |
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| GM3RQQ |
Rating: |
2020-02-03 | |
| Easy to use |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The X5105 is very easy to control with all knobs easy to access and a very nice display. It all feels right. The ATU is terrific. Just press the button and it tunes the X5105 to most antennas, as simple as that. It can also do a SWR scan displaying the swr as a graph. Only con is the mini din and some sockets are recessed and some plugs dont make good contact.
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no problems. ATU impressive. Just updated firmware. Much better user interface. |
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