| KB0TTL |
Rating:   |
2023-04-02 | |
| Not nearly as reliable as my Yaesu. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Used it for a few POTA activations and it provided mediocre performance. If you live within 5 miles of an AM station, you can forget using this radio as the signal will bleed through on all bands. Ok for POTA use in remote state parks, however, you should never use this radio in a field day competition near other HAMS. Any strong signal close by can and will DESTROY the input stage of your receiver. I can use my Yaesu FT-891 all day near other operators without issue, but the X6100 got its receive stage smoked when an operator near me keyed up his rig on a 100W FT8 transmission. There are no repair centers or parts currently available for Xiegu radios, so it is now a paperweight. Will stick with "big 3" radios from now on. The Xiegus are impressive out of the box, but soon become nice paperweights.
Pros:
Compact size
Waterfall display
Built in antenna tuner
Internal battery
10W output all modes
Cons:
Keys stick on microphone causing the band to change mid-conversation.
No front end rejection, nearby AM stations bleed through on all bands.
Weak IF stage fails if someone keys up close by, destroying the radio.
No repair centers or parts available for these radios. They are a throw-away if (when) something goes wrong. |
|
| G8FXC |
Rating:     |
2023-03-20 | |
| It has some rough edges, but it just makes me smile! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
An SK friend left me some cash in his will and I was wondering what to do with it. I read the reviews of the X6100 and decided to take a chance on it - I have not been disappointed... Lets start by saying that this is not a polished rig like the IC-705, but it is also less than half the price. The X6100 packs a great deal of functionality into a small space for around £600 - including a decent ATU unlike the IC705.
It does have its rough edges - I've had it crash a couple of times and it does run quite hot if you push it on FT8 at 10W - but it really does work. Running it at just 5W yesterday, I was making contacts at ranges of up to 1000 miles on FT8 and CW. I dropped it to just 2W on WSPR and was getting good reports at ranges of more than 1,500 miles.
I would not buy one as my only rig and I would not recommend one to a newcomer to the hobby, but if you understand the limitations of QRP and are willing to work around the bugs (which are not as numerous as some will say), then this is a little box you can take anywhere and which has real potential to make you smile!
Martin (G8FXC) |
|
| VE3EGA |
Rating:     |
2023-02-06 | |
| X6100- A Linux computer with a radio attached! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Well, there are lots of folks here that will give you their personal experience on this product.
You, the buyer are usually motivated by several factors:
1. Price, 2 Features, 3. Portability, 4. Adaptability.
So, lets briefly examine each:
1. The price is very fair
2. The features are evolving - this is a Linux computer with a radio attached!
3. A good Battery Life for /P but dont abuse it!
4. Choose your operational reason for buying it!
Seven Key Points:
1. Does it Work? - Yes!
2. Is it supported? - Yes!
3. Does it get WARM? - Yes! (but its not alone!)
4. Does it have an ATU? - Yes!
5. Will I have fun with it? - Yes!
6.Will it do Digital Modes? Yes! (but overheats quickly!)
7. Will the XYL forgive me for buying it? - "Tell Her You Won it in a Raffle" (She thinks I'm VERY Lucky!
Do as I did - check out ALL the (YouTube) Reviews and READ UP - groups.io (X6100):
See: Google KM9G's X6100 teardown - The X6100 has a lot of electronics packed into a very small space - no room for resonant-cavities - so trade off advantage of portability against nice to have (base station) front-end selectivity and dynamic-range!
Don't get side-tracked against comparisons with other radios, each has pros and cons - If you are unconvinced - BUY BOTH - You can always 'sell the one you like least' after a period of evaluation!
Other Reviews: Look, I see one 'fool' complaining about front end overload - using A 75FT EFW !!! 'c'mon', give your head a shake, its a SMALL RADIO have you learned nothing? - Make up your own mind - go see one up front - try it, compare!
So, (tongue-in-cheek) to reiterate:
Here is a newbie's guide to buying a ham-radio for portable operation - "If your Kid can carry it on a hike" along with he/her backpack and not whine about the weight - and it has a "YouTube" (QRP) Review by 'Thomas' its a probably going to be a good choice!
Here is a newbie's (and oldies - you know who you are!) guide to buying a ham-radio - If its going to sit next to your arm-chair and plug into your 3 ele beam or 75ft EFLW to rag chew-across Town - the X6100 is NOT FOR YOU - You need a NEW 1KW Linear!
The X6100 is made off-shore - and I usually discourage hams buying such, however, I see a lot of evolvement and Community Support by both users and dealers in NA (like "Radioddity") and EU that suggest that the X6100 has a long-life ahead of it!
If you are looking to use it heavily for FT8 - Look for 'another' radio with BIG Heatsink and Fan!
Would I buy it instead of say a KX2 (and I own one) and knowing what I know now - A RESOUNDING YES!
73
|
|
| KN4ZVJ |
Rating:     |
2023-01-13 | |
| Very good little rig |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| My main motivation for buying this radio was that I wanted a built-in battery to simplify portable or mobile operation, a built-in antenna tuner, and of course the price. I've been using this radio as a mobile rig and also at my home QTH off and on for a few months now, on SSB almost all the time. The radio runs 5 watts with the internal battery or 10 watts with an external, but all of my use has been at 5 watts. By my power meter the output is around 5 watts and that has been enough for plenty of contacts. Reports on the transmitted audio are excellent. The radio is fairly easy to use since the common items are on buttons instead of a touch screen, which for me is easier to use when mobile or portable. The manual, though small, is pretty good at explaining the menus and I've had no issue so far. The internal tuner works very well. I like the display, even though it is small it is easy to see everything on it. I haven't needed to update firmware so I can't comment on that. So far I'm happy with this radio. I can't give it a 5, though, because the receiver does not seem to be as sensitive as some other inexpensive SSB rigs I have, and the tuning knob is too sensitive for my taste. Overall, a good addition to my equipment |
|
| WB8DD |
Rating:     |
2022-12-15 | |
| It works for me. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I picked one up this past Summer from a major vendor with a year warranty. I'm a CW only op and for me it works great and is a lot of fun to operate. Being a SDR radio, it does have its quirks but the Pros far outweigh the Cons. It has a LOT of features for the money. The screen is bright, crisp, informative and for me the biggest selling point is NO touch screen !
I did upgrade to 1.1.6 firmware but didn't care for the added mini windows which used up too much screen real estate for no good reason, IMHO. Also, the sensitivity of the waterfall seemed reduced. I reverted to 1.1.5 firmware and I'm a happy camper. Speaking of which, firmware upgrades are really easy and they work. No need to have Van Helsing standing behind you. I don't use the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth functions and only use it in
the shack and not portable.
Xiegu has been criticized for several issues, some of which are well deserved. Lack of technical documentation is a criticism of mine, but then again, can I really repair this radio? No. Being a SDR, it does operate differently. Most notable is the strong link between RF gain and AGC. They work together to set overall receiver gain.
No, it's not a 705 nor is it meant for everyone. But of all the QRP radios I own (too many), the X6100 really is a bag of chips and all that. |
|
| N2DTS |
Rating:     |
2022-12-14 | |
| getting better....how good can it get? |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Latest firmware is out, 1.1.6 so I ordered another one, Amazon has them for 1 day delivery now...
12-13-2022
I do not see a lot of flaws with this radio, audio is good, filters are good, 160 to 6 meters, good antenna tuner built in, built in battery and charger, 10 watts output, small, seems rugged.
The audio sounds very nice in headphones.
The wifi and bluetooth now work if you use that, although there are some glitches with it maybe.
The display is very nice and has a lot of info on it.
Its a bit hard to jump around modes and options on a small radio, but you do have plenty of buttons for the major things.
The microphone does not sound great, but its got a lot of nice back lit buttons on it which makes changing bands and other things quick and easy.
AM mode transmit is not great, it works and sounds ok, but its not as good as other sdr radios.
AM rx is mostly good, but there is a background tone on weak signals, some sort of feed through of something.
None of the smaller SDR radios do AM well except the Elad fdm duo which did very good.
Tuning in AM dead center seems to null the carrier and turn the signal into DSB, tune slightly off center for best results, for some reason....
SSB and CW seem fine. I would like a wider filter on CW, say 800 Hz, Xiegu gives 500 as the widest filter.
Its from China so there are some odd things, in CW mode, the hand microphone is still active and modulates the CW if you leave it connected!
You can just unplug it, or turn the mic gain all the way down.
This radio has been out for years ? and is still getting firmware updates!
I suspect it needs more updates, there are things they can add or do better, but that is true of most SDR radios.
No need to look at the manual, most stuff is very easy to figure out.
The menu's are not large and are broken into 3 major groups, radio settings, display settings, and firmware stuff.
Seems like an ok radio to take portable, 5 watts on the built in battery, toss a wire, hit the tune button and go.
Bring a small 12 volt battery and double the output power.
Took it to work and hooked it up to a wire tossed in a tree, heard signals on most bands, the tuner got a match somehow on the bands I tried it on, even 6 meters.
The radio has some background noise which comes up when you turn the gain down or do not use the preamp on the higher bands, that is likely due to the design, which I think is a sound card chip doing the A/D conversion.
Lots of noise from the included wall wart when its in use.
They have added a filter and scope display which I would rather not have on the screen, it may be useful for digital modes but should only come up in digital modes I think...
Its not an Elecraft or IC705 but it works well enough to use.
Seems like a good portable or manpack rig.
Maybe it will get even better... |
|
| K6BSR |
Rating:     |
2022-12-12 | |
| fun toy for budget minded |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased a flaky one whenthey first came out about a year ago, but sent it back and crossed my fingers for better firmware. 1.1.6 came out within two weeks of receiving my latest unit and it did great running QRP Portable in ARRL 10 meter contest this weekend!
I got the QRP Bug in 1999 and won't be selling my FT-817 anytime soon, but also looking forward to further refinement from Xiegu! |
|
| G8LXI |
Rating:   |
2022-11-27 | |
| Worked three or four times! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought my Xiegu X1600, new, just five days ago, and have used it three maybe four times on TX. Yes, I had good reports, on 20 meters running 10 watts to my horizontal Delta Loop. Today I turned it on, gave a few CQ calls, but no takers, went for some lunch, came back around three hours later, turned on the X1600, and nothing. This is what happens, it powers up the screen then flashes over by the lock button, the logo appears, then the screen goes blank, the cursor flashes between 9 and 15 times, and that is it dead, apart from the backlights on the buttons and the LED on the microphone, on battery or a PSU, it is the same. So it is going back, do I want another one? I am not sure. I should have kept my IC 705, yes not in the same league but reliable.....
Len, G8LXI. |
|
| KO6WL |
Rating:      |
2022-10-01 | |
| A remarkable, portable, SDR XCVR: It's a very capable rig. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
My Xiegu X6100 is the first ham radio that I did not build from a kit. My first ham radio was a Heathkit HW-16, which I replaced with an HW-100. Years later, many years later (!), I built an Elecraft K2-100, which has provided with me with hundreds of hours of good service. For the last 7 years I have enjoyed using an Elecraft KX-1 in the great outdoors. After obsessing about finding a newer, more featured radio, I nearly chose a Xiegu G90; however, my "mature" eyes were drawn to the larger color screen on the X6100. Why didn't I just buy another Elecraft, eg the KX-2? I would have, but they are back ordered and... no colorful screen!
I've made about 75 contacts so far on CW and 30 on SSB and I have learned many of the features on this radio. Watching YouTube videos has helped a lot. I even purchased a ground loop noise filter, as suggested on a video tutorial, this smoothed out the audio in my headphones quite a bit. The sensitivity and selectivity of this unit's receiver are very good. Using an external battery, the transmitter puts out 10 watts. The antenna tuner works silently and it's excellent. The receiver is sensitive and selective. My antennas are Pars end feds, light and portable.
I am happy with my decision to buy this rig.
You can hold a X6100 in one hand and it feels solid. I find that using the buttons and multiple screen images to make selections, is well thought out. There's a learning curve, for sure. It's like an old stick-shift VW Beatle advertisement once said: "After a few days, the stick shift becomes automatic!" Support from Radioddity has been excellent. |
|
| DL4QB |
Rating:    |
2022-05-18 | |
| Hm... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
What should i say?
Looks great but it has his disadvantages.
Pro:
- Compact size what i really like! The 705 is to "unhandy" or real protable in a dusty filed etc.
- Price
- Soundcard on board, it´s a mini 7300 if you like
- Hackable, so there is potential for new own Software
- Tuner inside, it helps here and there of course, but i prefer resonant Antennas if portable
Cons:
- The Screen looks nice but to compare it with an Icom 705 Waterfall, it´s like kind of blind (6100) and cristal clear with the 705
- Spures on waterfall that is NOT a signal on Hf!
- On 40m you often get not the full output power with 10 or 5W. Depens on kind of Antenna, even SWR is 1.2
- Digital modes with the 6100 keeps the Microfon on
- The Phone and Key jack ar just solderd with tiny solderpoints! Be careful. My Key jack was already broken with solderpoints included :-( Again be careful!
- CW Keyer just repeat one time the loop...or to say, there is no loop, just a one time keyer, why the hell......
- Lifetime of Batterie is little bit to short, so i have to take an additional Batterie with me
If that would be an Icom in that size, but with the quality of Icom, i would say: "Take my money..."
Would i buy it again...hmm..i don´t think so.
You get a good device that can handle everything for a really good price except the points above.
But...if i´m really in the field, i don´t need to take so extremly attention to get a scratch on at the aluminium case. An Icom 705 i never would take it in a filed like i do with the 6100.
So, your choice :-)
73!
|
|