| W8IJN |
Rating:  |
2024-11-03 | |
| Four stars and a nudge: New firmware makes it great. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Up front, I have been through two of these puppies. The first one with the earliest firmware with all its annoying features was pretty much a lost cause. Yeah, I sold it. But since then, and since blowing up a G90, I have gone back to this inexpensive little box for a bare-bones, basic QRP rig.
No, it doesn't have RIT or SWR metering but it does have digital modes selection in the firmware and it does put out at least 5W or better on all the bands between 3.5MHz and 29.9MHz. It's fairly easy to hook up for basic CW and SSB. It's a radio not much different in capability from a HW101, except it's smaller and solid state & QRP.
There are things about the G106 that are really, well, unnecessary. Like FM broadcast receive. And 160m, a band that it won't transmit on but which is in the firmware as a receiver. The first, FM broadcast, is just plain stupid. Who needs it? That entire patch of firmware could have been put to better use with, oh, let's say, RIT. The 160m band is unnecessary because, well, it won't transmit there so why have it on the box anyway.
And then there's the headphone hole that's at the base of the handmic, which is another point of contention. First off, the mic connects with a RJ9 connector. There is no other headphone hole. So either you suffer trying to plug a headset into the mic or you get an adaptor off Amazon (there are a couple that work) and access the headphone function that way. Oh, and the mic needs a serious Xacto knife mod to clear the little hole that should reveal the mic element.
But all that said, it's not a bad QRP radio, at least with the latest firmware. So yeah, it works, it puts out a signal and you can make contacts with it. You can even package it up in a sling bag or Apache 2800 case and go all POTA/SOTA with it. Toss in a cheapo eBay auto ATU like the ATU-10 and you have a pretty simple set up for such outdoors activities.
This'n I'm keeping. So far it's been very nice doing FT8 and FT4 QSOs. I've hunted half a dozen parks on it on CW with decent signal reports from the POTA activators. It's even done a good job on 10m between the regularly appearing solar flares and CMEs. And since I do more CW than phone -- SSB QRP is kinda dicey anyway -- I don't really worry about the mic connector. I got a couple adaptors off Amazon for the headphone thing.
So yeah, four stars. If I could get a schematic, it'd be five. Decent radio for the price, really. Better 'n the first one for sure. Four stars and a nudge. |
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| WA6MOW |
Rating: |
2024-08-31 | |
| A fun inexpensive rig. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I own a bunch of QRP rigs including a KX2. No, this little radio isn't in the same league as the KX2 but you can buy four or five them instead of one KX2.(lol) I cleared my desk of my other rigs and used this as my only rig for the last two weeks. It runs off a small battery with an LDG Z817 antenna tuner and a doublet My radio is new so it came with the latest firmware updates. This rig is built like a tank. The scope is handy. I have made numerous CW contacts all over the world during awful band conditions. I purchased a mono conversion plug so I could hear out of both sides of my earbuds. I also use a tiny memory keyer as I am very lazy and want the radio to send CQ for me. At the current pricing, it is an excellent value. I may buy another one to keep in my vehicle for spontaneous outdoor operations. |
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| M0NYW |
Rating: |
2024-08-07 | |
| Impressed with this QRP radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I read on a the G-QRP IO group that a UK dealer had dropped the price of the G106 to 175GBP from their RRP 349GBP. I did a search online to find some reviews and found plenty of the Youtuber's that were either not impressed or just giving it an OK and these reviews where over a year ago.
K4SWL did a good review and operation of the G106.
Didn't like the look of the rig and never really took to the Xiegu brand but due to the low price decided to push the button. Many of these Youtuber's who gave it bad reviews are not CW ops and seemed like they turned there nose's up at it as its basic.
When the radio arrived, it came with the PC (firmware) cable which I was suprised at and lucky it did as the firmware was still V1.0, so before even trying it I found a decent video on Youtube by KM9G on how to update the firmware to V1.3 (Worked a treat!)
Within minutes of powering the rig up after the update I was pushing buttons and pretty much worked out all the menus/functions.
First tried it on 40M CW calling CQ, after the first QSO had two other UK stations call me. Three stations worked with 10mins good reports both ways for QRP. I then tuned to SSB portion of the band and heard GX4WAB calling CQ. A few reply to them but didn't beat the pile up, so undone the screws to the mic housing looked where the insert was and noticed it didnt align with the front grill so then drilled a hole where it was. Putting back together first reply to GX4WAB and straight in 5/5 report. Later on found a clear frequency called CQ after a few minutes EI station called me (Over 200 miles away and we exchanged reports and gave me 5/6. Didn't complain about audio after a few overs but the band was changing so we went QRT.
Don't have test gear but looking at the scope on my IC-7300 I can't see an nasties on the carrier.
Testing it on CW, keyed down on my power meter, I get:
6watts HI
3watts MED
800mW LO
Choice of three CW filters setting:
50Hz
250Hz
500Hz
Things I would like in new firmware. Remove FM broadcast receive and use that button in the menu for CW side tone adjust as I've not found a control for that yet.
Admittedly I've only had it less than 12hours so time will tell but If you looking for a QRP transceiver with no frills, no ATU and happy to mod the microphone and add a external speaker connector don't think you can wrong.
I was expecting to be disappointed but the G106 has made a great impression on me and I like it. More than happy to take this out portable than my IC-705.
Oh AM broadcast band isn't great but I didn't buy it for that. |
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| W5APL |
Rating: |
2023-08-15 | |
| XIEGU G106 |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I now have the latest XIEGU G106 with Firmware 1.2 on it. This version has the following on it: Mike Gain Option, Better Audio, Power adjustment of low, mid, high. And now the retail price is under $300. I got my from Radioddity in March 2023. Just check to see if it has latest Firmware. You can always load the Firmware from Radioddity.
08-14-2023
Here is a post that i put on QRZ today about the G106
The Xiegu G106 is not that bad. What do you want for $297 to $319. With the last two firmware updates from Xiegu the little guy is almost a real ham radio. I have 2 of the G106. One for the shack which is only a small room and the other for my small to-go-box to take to the park. I use it with my old MP-1 antenna and a LDG Z817 tuner. I'm only on 10 meters and when things go right with MR. SUN i 'm able to work 10 meters fine.
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|
| LNXAUTHOR |
Rating: |
2023-07-15 | |
| just OK, same G1M mistakes |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Amazon recently blew out the 106 for $250 several days ago (still available at this price), so i popped for one, knowing full well what i was getting into as i had previously been burned on the G1M w/its bad audio and faulty PCB-soldered 3.5mm jacks. I thought i'd take a chance on the 106, especially in light of its recent (May 9, 2023, V1.3) firmware release. Ordered the rig, got one with v1.2 installed, then updated w/no problem. The box included the mic, USB cable, and power (not fused) cable.
The rig worked out of the box, and after the update i ran it through the bands to check output on its low/mid/high RF settings. Results indicated QRPp and QRP output w/a low of 250mW and a high of 7W output. Here are my results, as measured into a dummy load at constant carrier into my WM2 (low/mid/high):
80M, 700mW, 3W, 7W
60M, 400mW, 2W, 5W
40M, 500mW, 2W, 5W
30M, 350mW, 1.5W, 4W
20M, 400mW, 2W, 6W
17M, 300mW, 1.5W, 5W
15M, 275mW, 1.25W, 5.5W
12M, 250mW, 1W, 7W
10M, 250mW, 1W, 7W
I then took the rig out for a spin the next day using an old Alexloop w/an LED SWR hack (wrap a 12" patch cord around one end of the main loop by the tuning box and straddle a LED; emit a carrier and the LED will flash brightly at resonance). I snagged a nice CW contact on 40M FL->AL (W4ARB - good dude). The next day, got a CO contact using CW on 20M in poor band condx. Since the Xiegu engineers failed to implement SWR or voltage indication in the rig's hardware and firmware, i relied on signal reception as indicated by audio output and bandscope display, which is a nice feature - certainly helps when tuning with an MFLA.
The 106 does not have a headphone jack, so either you must use the speaker, the speaker on its mic, or earbuds/headphones plugged into the speaker mic. And wouldn't you know it, there is only one channel on the plug on the mic, so you need to use a stereo->mono plug adapter! It's no wonder most CW ops ditch the 106 mic and craft an rj9->trs adapter (i have an rj9 cable on order - can't find a flippin' one anywhere in local thrift stores - no one uses landline phones anymore, and the ones you do find only use the two center connectors!)
As expected, Xeigu again did not implement the ability to copy a 'memory channel' frequency and mode to a VFO. This renders the memory channels only useful for WWV, SWL, and FT8 freqs, in my opinion. What were the engineers thinking? Obviously not QRP ops or ones familiar with transceiver design. Who manufactures, markets and sells a transceiver without this very basic feature? This shows a lack of programming skill and the ability to encapsulate memory slots in a coding structure to retain frequency, mode, power, filter, etc.
But here's a tip: set the BSM menu setting to enable full bands, and you'll be able to use the band up/down buttons to QSY between bands; otherwise you're stuck with having to navigate using the stupid long-press to move the Hz cursor on the freq display (why the fools didn't make this function a press of the VFO knob i'll never know). This is the same insipid behavior of the G1M firmware.
Anyhow, the rig works. It has AM BCB and WFM BCB receive. And output, from my limited testing ability, seems pretty clean - I have received good reports on CW (i also recorded output using my 705 and watched CW keying on the 705's bandscope). W4ARB recorded our QSO on Youtube, and it sounded pretty good. No pin diodes (unlike WA3RNC's or LNR rigs), so relays are used - don't know how long the rig will last.
But i won't shed a tear if i drop the rig on a concrete driveway or off the dock while /p. |
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| W3FIS |
Rating: |
2023-02-16 | |
| Excellent radio for its type and cost |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Killer digital radio, excellent on CW -- multiple filters. Good keyer, easy-to-use memory system. Looks like it will be good for field use as well as home QTH. Accessory digital interface - DE-19 available. Radio's CAT commands are subset of ICOM7000.
A few more comments. ONLY problem I can find is that you cannot do a MEM ==> VFO, which decreases the usefulness of the VFO memory feature. However, if you really need a keyer memory system, the inexpensive Chinese keyer does the trick.
I bought two G106s, one for field use, the other for home. Had one fail under warranty. Radioditty promptly send me a replacement. Can't beat that for service.
As to the lack of a headphone jack, it is worth re-fitting the Heil boom mic for the Baofeng. This gives you a nice headphone, PPT, and microphone with essentially "hands free." Just crimp on an RJ9 plug.
I have now had time to wring out CW, digital, and SSB with excellent results. With their DE-19 interface, both upgrading the firmware (some nice features, like power level), and digital modes like FT9 and JS8Call are a "no brainer."
The menu and controls are quite intuitive -- I don't need to drag a manual into the field to use the radio. I have used both a "straight" key and a paddle. The Putikeeg paddles and keys are a perfect match in size, appearance, and wiring for the radio. |
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