Thanks for the review and detailed information on tweaking the radio for CW. I am an old Extra Class operator (NG5W), who has been off the air for several years. I taught Amateur Radio classes for a Texas' school district for 7 years. My first cw/ssb was a Heathkit HW 101 that I built in 1978. I switched to a Kenwood 440AT. This looks like a good rig for getting back on the air.
Thanks so much for teaching HR! I met my best friend at Newton NJ HS, in 1969, and got my Novice. Went to college, at Bradley U, because they had great EET program and BU ARC Ham Radio club. My rich roommate had the Kenwood R599/T599 Twins, and I now have several, modified for Wideband audio. Last year, I bought 2 Kenwood TS-440S/AT's, because the first one won't transmit. I bought every Filter, Voice Synthesizer, RS232 and did the White LED upgrade. Wonderful sound and 200W input. Now to parallel your path of great Radios, I just saw a video from "Coastal Waves and Wireless" guy on YT, and immediately ordered one from Radioddity, at the $399.99 price, plus the highly recommended Fan/Tilt Holder. It came in 2 days later from China, perfectly packaged/free shipping via DHL. I made my first contact on 20m to a fellow in Delaware from GA tonight, in SSB. I fully admire all the CW and noise optimizing suggestions, where I agree the AGC is annoying, but the worst is the first syllable overload of the otherwise excellent Tecsun PL-880. The controls and especially Filters selection are VERY confusing, and I am not sure if the Sideband modes USB and U-D, are for Digital modes or not. Definitely sounds more mellow, likely it changes the Carrier Point/Offset. The G90/S manual is in good English, explains the button functions, but not clearly listing the keypress & knob sequences. At least it tells you the /S model is the China marketed version. Still trying to change the BW. Instead the multi knob on the lower left, keeps changing the coarse 100KHz frequency step, and Function/F-L and F-H don,t affect the Filter. Again, why I love the Kenwood TS-440S/AT which you mentioned, is it is the latest model that has REAL Knobs, Switches, and Controls which had ZERO Menus! Also it is excellent in Receive, better than the similar packaged R-5000, which my first one with no TX is fine as RX only. But I bought ALL the boards and transistors to replace the entire PA, also on ebay, readily available as ovrt 600,000 were sold. Thanks - a very inspiring video... Hilary W4HDL
Thanks a lot for the review! Coming back to life after the war in Ukraine, I’m trying to find myself again here in Europe starting my life from total zero. And amateur radio is like a medicine for my soul and for my mind. Yaesu and Kenwood are too expensive brands in my situation so I need to find a cheaper alternative like Xiegu, and as far as I see G90 has actually no alternative for €300-350 used or €500 new. And it is really universal to use in the mountains or somewhere else. And I find this radio really good, especially after so good explanation 👍 Thanks a lot one more time!
The G90 was my first radio. I was eager for a 7300 and got one. Now I have a radio dedicated doe portable use. Woo hoo! Thanks for these tips. I still am learning how to use the filters. I just got my radio and General last June 2022.
Just acquired a G90, this is great info! Thank you for creating this. I have not been active in CW in nearly 40 years and getting back into it. I am kicking the rust off so to speak. 73, ka9mic
I rarely hear CW Ops talk about how crucial good spacing is between words but hearing those that jamb the letters in a sentence all together is quickly nonsensical not too mention how hard your brain strains to decode. Glad you emphasize this point because bad habits are so difficult to unlearn and repair. Also, good advice for those of us who never had an Elmer(s) to demonstrate the various ways to adjust audio. I didn't know that "fast" or no AGC was better for CW. Many thanks!
What's even worse are fools that use a bug...and send absolutely garbage for code with atrocious letter formation. In the old days, they were proud of the way they made them sound unique. But it is what it is: poorly sent CW. If I call CQ and a bug op returns, I ignore and move on. I won't gratify their choice to send rubbish.
lol I've seen people respond to comments and replies who type with no capital letters, no commas, no periods, etc no spaces between words and failing to make complete sentences. Some CW OPs do the same thing. I like to be able to copy whoever I hear, but often I have to just move on to someone else. In my prime I could copy 35 WPM conversational CW. Now I'm down to 10 WPM because I was off the key for 10 or 15 years. These days I hear OPs sending at a character rate of maybe 30 WPM. And IF they leave good spacing between letters I can copy half what they say until I miss a character and focus too much on trying to discipher that letter. Oh well. Maybe it'll come back to me.
@@MARRANCA2I think that a problem is either a poorly adjusted bug, or that the operator may be too slow. I suspect that the original bug keys may have been intended for professional operators, maybe marine radio operators and the like.
I went back and forth between my 940S, 430S and the Xiegu during a QSO. Without running compression on any of the rigs, the G90 won the audio battle. I will take the reciever audio on a 940s any day. Love the waterfall on the Xiegu.
I have a G90 that has been collecting dust since I bought some fancier rigs, but I was always amazed at what this little thing could do. You have inspired me to put it back into the rotation! The antenna tuner is amazing. It took me awhile to figure out the ACG and RF gain control on my own, so I am sure this video will help somebody. The manual that comes with the radio is useless. 73 KD7LX
Thanks for this. I have owned one for about 6 months. Brilliant radio. Also got it for CW and had to make adjustments. So far had few qsos. Mainly for portable use, but the weather has been poor. Now decided to install it into a corner of my lounge with a separate antenna to get some used out of it. Manual found confusing, but ytube provided the answers at the time. It's very simple once you know like all things.. But I forget if not used often. Tested on data modes with good results. Annoyingly, all those I know with these rigs only use it for FT8 when portable. What a waste I feel. Years ago psk or RTTY was my main stay with CW and had many good qsos on the keys. We actually talked Hi. Then fT8 appeared and my life was turned upside down. Glad plenty of CW exists. De gw4gja
Thanks for the video! I took a break from ham radio shortly after I got mine. I wasn't sure how appropriate it would be or not as I re-figure out CW. Your video gives me confidence around the settings and that it is a suitable rig for this purpose. Without the experience in CW, I didn't have anything to compare it to. Thanks again! 73s
I have been pondering on this radio for a while now especially for portable but now completely sold it to me because of the CW. it sounds awesome. Thanks for the tip regarding word spacing will keep that in mind. Thanks, 2E0LVG.
THANK YOU !!! for this great tutorial ! I am an old Ham with hearing problems, just now learning CW . I am about to purchase a G90 and believe that it's fine tuning you have demonstrated will allow me to work CW better . 73 a Tennessee Ham .
Glad to hear you've decided to give CW a go. I'm 76 and have been a 99% CW op since I passed my first test some 48 years ago. A very fun mode once you get the hang of it! GL W6FG
I finally found this video again that I watched at the beginning of this year in preparation to my 15 day trip to Washington DC. I subbed & Liked at that time but didn’t leave a comment until today. To me, this is the best video that I’ve found about the G90 even though their is some other great videos but not like your video as far as details. I don’t do CW yet but I ❤ doing HF on SSB in USB/LSB only. I use two different vertical telescopic antennas, one @ 18.6 feet for all HF bands and one @ 2.5 meters for 10,11 and 12 meters mounted on a coil with a ground spike and 4 ground radials cut from two 15’ 22ga awg wire and two 15’ 18ga awg wires connected to the ground spike using Anderson PL connectors for operating @ one watt only. RF Gain is probably the most important function on this radio. When band conditions are good, I set it to 30% and when band conditions are bad or not favorable, I set at 78% @ 4 watts thanks to this video. My G90 works best @ 13.2v because the G90 requires 2.63 amps whether you are operating at 1 watt or 20, it’s still operates at 2.63 amps. I hope this is enough details for your trip to Iceland, which I was stationed at in the US Marine Corps for a time during the Cold War. This set up is perfect in the fact that I can fit everything including battery w/ 60w folding solar panel, which on a sunny day, I don’t really need a battery except for long QSO’s but for just listening in for intelligence gathering, the solar panel is all that is needed here in Hawaii. It really does work that well. I watched this video again today and learned a few more things that I missed the first time earlier this year. I’ve owned my G90 about 3 1/2 years now and did the MARS mod for 11 meters, which is active no matter what the band conditions are at the time including during Geomagnetic storms also. I saw a buddy of mine use the Chameleon MPAS without any ground radials two years ago when the HF bands were horrible and he made like 5 contacts around country so easy but when I saw how much $$$ that antenna was, like $699 not counting shipping & tax to Hawaii, I got on eBay, bought all the parts I needed under $80 and only cried once.😂 I would like to request that you do a follow up video for SSB only to see how you might change the settings on the G90 and also for difference portable antennas. FEP Labs and Chuck from Ham Radio Adventures made me an awesome 9:1 end fed random wire antenna that didn’t need any tuning at all, SWR 1.0 right out of the small shipping box it came in. I ❤ it! I have a few trips I’m planning for 2024 including Phuket, Thailand to surprise the YL, which is very easy to get a Thai call sign online for 300 Baht. I look forward to more of your videos about the G90, I want to learn all that I can about this rig. Aloha and 73- WH6DWF🇺🇸
Hi. Just got my license, well .. just acting on my new license lol. Can I reach Europe from MD USA on 10m using CW? looking for my first rig. thanksKC3TDE
I too find it to be an amazing little radio. I run a non-resonant wire with 9:1 unun or hamstick dipoles. This baby will tune up anything I think. I checked into a 75M ssb net in Idaho from Seattle on 5 watts, tuning a 20M hamstick dipole on 3.975 mHz. The antenna was only 8 feet above the earth. 73, N7RLV
Thank you - thank you !! Your video is done so well, I can follow what you are doing. Most videos move too quickly for the viewer to understand what was done.
The last 3 minutes of your video is what I was looking for: How to drive the rig to pull in and clean up an incoming signal. My g90 is on the way currently. I just subscribed to your channel. Thanks and 73
We've developed a 3.2" spectrum set-top touch LCD unit with full DSP so the noise is removed and the spectrum doubled to 100khz and higher. Fully integrated into the G90 so the encoders can be protected from over-use. 73 Rob, GW8RDI
Thank you for the comment on spacing the code properly.. I am a former morse intercept op of many years past, an amateur since 1958.. as you have likely guessed, I am old, and my hearing isn't what it once was.. it is the lack of proper spacing between characters and words that is most difficult to conquer these days.. Please folks, whatever key you are using, space properly .. you will find you will get more QSOs
For me, this was a fantastic show and tell video. I have a seperate tunable audio CW filter that I built for my single frequency CW transceivers. It works quite well but it's an added power draw and an extra piece to carry around when doing portable ops. I just recently picked up a G90 and with this video instruction, I can now leave the extra filter at home. Thank you so much for showing me how to adjust the CW output sound. It's so much easier to understand operations when you actually show how rather than try to decipher translated Chinese. 73 de KA9TII
OK I took and applied your sittings to my G90 and WOW, thanks for your help. I still am using my FT817ND together with the G90; now I'm conflicted when deciding which one to take out to use.
Good video, thnx! I also love the G90. The same experience occurs operating SSB, I get the best results with AGC turned off and controlling RF-Gain manually. Everything is getting a bit loud then and can‘t be lowered to a comfortable level with the AF-Gain-Knob. But headphones with level control units help.
Great video! Just what I needed. I’m a new CW Op/ham and usually fall in on radio as is. So I adjust to the radio setting out the box. I wish I had an Elmer who can sit next to me whilst setting up my G90. I’m a lone wolf here in an area space of Hams never mind CW operators. I hope to make a QSO with sometime! 72 MM7BFL
Excellent video. Hope you enjoyed Iceland. Went last year on a photography expedition, no radio. The G90 will be my first HF radio, and although I only did a bit of CW at the club, it’s something that really appeals to me and hope to learn. Subscribed ❤
Old one this, but great quality. Was a little on the fence about this rig since I have heard so many on youtube that clearly has not adjusted it as well as you demonstrated here. Great work, 72 LB8VA
tnx Are for this video. I just bought a G90 and I'm fiddling with the filters. What software version is running on your G90? Even my buit in keyer is bad. I first thought my cw skills are poor, but it seems to be the keyer of the G90.... So I use an external keyer to detour the original one. 73!
Interesting video, thanks! I think CW pitch is a personal thing, our hearing differs. For me 550hz is way too low it does not "pop" from the background noise especially at higher speeds with weak signals. I have been running 700hz for the last 30+ years so anything else feels wrong even to my now aging ears. I have also found that turning the AGC off is fine if you are replying to a station and you can set RF gain and volume to taste but when I am on the calling side of a pileup it is terrible, then the AGC fast option is the way to go with RF gain set just high enough to hear the weaker stations. I enjoyed the video, thanks! 73, Rudi de ZS6DX/ZS2M/ZS1BT/V51VE
I only operate Cw and I’m looking for a quiet receiver for my garage where I just put a dipole in my attic. I wanted an inexpensive rig with exceptional CW receive. Watching you manipulate these settings is similar to what I’ve done with some other rigs. For the price and offering you’ve convinced me to snag a G90! SUBBED & Cheers de KI7QCF
I have been very ill the past few months. My plan is to get out and take pictures, "play radio" and experiment with antenna settings. I have a Baofeng for local 2m/70cm use, but I am thinking about POTA with the Xiegu G90. This is going to be a rebirth of life for me.
I haven't been on HF since a kid, mostly working CW down in the Extra 25 kHz slices, especially on 40M, but am starting to think about it again. Radios have sure changed, mine a couple of Heathkits I built ;-)
I love CW too, been a amateur radio operator since 2020, subscribed! 72/73 de AI5DD p.s. my favorite pitch is 640hz, I'll try 550hz it sounds warm and nice.
Hi. Just got my license, well .. just acting on my new license lol. Can I reach Europe from MD USA on 10m using CW? looking for my first rig. thanks KC3TDE
Nice video! Although I don't have a Xiegu G90, most of the techniques shown here can be used with the rig I DO have, a 20-year old Icom 706 Mk2G. As the video was playing, I tried several of them and it's a great help. Thank you! 7 3 EARL / KD5XB DM84 E E
Thank you for the very informative video. I’m learning CW currently & want to get in to HF…Eventually, I’d like to do CW QRP exclusively. I know it’s more challenging but just want to take it step at a time. I’m thinking G90 might be great radio for me to get for this!
Yes, The receiver is super quiet till you enable AGC. Xiegu G90 introduces to much harsh noise. Hope xiegu fix AGC software issues in future releases of firmware.
Debating between a used KX3 or a new G90. I’ll be looking forward to your motorcycle ride. I just subscribed! Did you create a cheat sheet for this radio? Setup settings for CW would be great. Setup for SSB would be nice. I usually operate CW QRP.
Hi, thanks for the very helpful explanation! It would be very nice if you could make a similar video about running split mode and how to manage pileups, well more how to queue in a pileup. 73
Roger ! I prefers rf gain 1 to 20% maximum and audio filter 50 to 150 Hz and agc off vy 73! Matt SP3FYI Xiegu g 90 has an amazing receiver for the price !
The receivers based on the MSi001 chip with HDSDR reception program achieve an extreme narrowness of the signal captured in CW, practically without noise. Logically, ideally, there should be no electrical noise in the environment and the antenna should be very directional and only capture a signal above the horizon.
I have owned 2of these. I never liked the way they sounded so I sold them. In the beginning of this video you mentioned adjusting the sound for SSB. Could you please explain how to make it quiet for SSB?
Hello! You just answered one thing I’ve always wondered, which is how this rig does cw. Cw is important to me too and I know that people who own this radio are normally happy, but no one talks about cw
I also have a G90 and initially I had the same impression, of a noisy receiver, then I discovered that with a few small adjustments you can enjoy CW. Very very useful this video for beginners and an extremely pleasant speaker... tnx! References to pitch, RF Gain, AGC... However, what firmware version do you have? I don't see any reference to version 1.79 which brings major changes compared to version 1.78 in terms of digital filters, respectively the combination of 2 BPFs, how do you play with them?
Great video 👍I have the Xiegu X6100, lovely little radio, i am just learning CW, not good enough yet for a proper QSO, but maybe sone day we will chat on the bands 73s 2M0LDT
Great little radio. Beware though, I used mine a lot using similar methods (as I mostly used SSB) by keeping the AGC off and using the volume control and RF gain controls to pull in the weak signals, but after just over one year of use the encoders started to get flakey. It will not be long before they have to be replaced and being such a small radio that is going to be a fiddly job!
@@rentheseus Factory reset didn't help sadly. The volume controller encoder has got so bad that I had to connect up an external speaker with a volume control on it. I am using a different radio for my main radio now, I'll try replacing the encoders at some point but will be a fiddly job with my poor eyesight.
Hello Shaun (Sean) not very nice comment to leave. CW is not a joke, it takes skill to learn CW and be proficient to send it correctly. As for AM and SSB there is no skill required to talk. I've been a CW Op for well over 40+ years now and really enjoy a good CW QSO. 73 & Vive le CW
I got myself a new original yaesu mic for one of my rigs now, i belived it was from Japan....but hey...made in China 🙄 so alot of Chinese stuff is actualy starting to be ok now days, even some of the "bad cheap" stuff starts to be ok.
@@Tamlin73 I had a Yaesu radio many years ago and the RJ11 microphone jack plug failed! It was not due to excessive use but was just weak. I have since switched to Motorola radios and have commercial grade mics and plugs and never looked back!
The 5105 sounds good with a decent speaker attached. The built in one is so small and sounds terrible. It just doesn't have room for anything bigger than a cell phone speaker.
Seems like they nerfed the filtering in some of the later firmware releases, why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Who knows? There's no longer a "C" Centre Filter option, only a "B" Bandwidth, however, it seems the bandwidth is now a 2 in 1 (doing both Bandwidth and centre), but it's not as intuitive, as you cannot see the centre frequency number.
Hi, i have had alot of radios, one of them was a Yaesu ft 897d i sold that one and got myself a Xiegu G90 i like this one better that the Yaesu, im trying to learn CW and that is so much easyer on the G90 than on the old Yaesu :) i also got a Mchf clone, i love that one to, its actualy not bad for the money, and is great for cw. 73,s from LA-M160560
I just bought the g90. Im a new ham and very interested in learning morse code. Thats why I bought the radio. I have two questions 1, how do you recommend learning CW? Should I listen to it at 5 wpm until I learn or just go 15 or higher and work through the insanity? Also can you recommend an affordable key? I saw some for like 20 bucks which would be great except IDK if that would hurt my ability to learn. Im not really sure how important a good key is. Im planning on going atraight key until I get to 15 wpm so I will have the skill even if I never use it again. Thanks I appreciate your video.
I'm finding mine is very quiet if I just listen to simple Shortwave stations, do you know how to make it louder, and what filter setting would you use for SW listening? Thanks in advance.
What version of firmware are you using for this demonstration? I am on 1.79, which TOTALLY changed how to adjust the filters, among other things. (1.79 disabled the two Filter buttons).
I too use single lever CW key and found your information helpful. However, several software types exist. Which one are you using and have you tried others?
Greetings Techstuff. I am reaching out to find out if my new g90 is working properly. It has what sounds like a quiet birdie, a 1khz tone with a one second pulsing quality. It can be heard connected to a dummy load and a battery. It also can't be tuned, showing up on all bands in the center regardless of frequency. It is harder to hear connected to an antenna, but I still would like to know whether or not my rig is defective. Thank you for your time! 73, Russ
You could try reloading the firmware just to be sure there is no software problem. Then put a shorting link across the antenna socket and check for the problem. If it still exists get professional help from Xiegu. I have a G90 and have no problems thankfully.
@EI6DP Thank you for your input! I have loaded fresh firmware and used dummy load with no improvement in the problem. I have requested a return of the rig to Radioddity.
My first radio. I bought two because I liked it so much. Learned cw in about 6months. After 3 years I am holding at 32 wpm. Started at 15. Practiced with the decoder
@goinghomesomeday1 I have some recordings I listen to. 67 recordings that are at 28 wpm. I can copy at least that. If it is a typical Pota, sota or a contest I can copy much higher but if it is a rag chew it depends. The hard part is remembering the spelling in my head if I don’t recognize the patterns. I can’t write it at that speed so it all depends. I used a decoder to learn how to mainly learn how to send. I try not to use it to receive but sometimes will use it to reinforce my learning of the patterns.
@goinghomesomeday1 i use iambic paddles. Several different ones. I have a kent bolted down on a board that I put in my lap. Then I have a puttikeg Chinese paddle I have mounted on a 1 inch diameter dowel. I bolt a steel plate to the dowel and the key has a magnetic bottom that sticks to the plate
What is that flashing yellow LED at top right on the face? Is it a peak incoming signal indicator? I find it really annoying. Can it be disabled? Thank you.
Thanks for the review and detailed information on tweaking the radio for CW. I am an old Extra Class operator (NG5W), who has been off the air for several years. I taught Amateur Radio classes for a Texas' school district for 7 years. My first cw/ssb was a Heathkit HW 101 that I built in 1978. I switched to a Kenwood 440AT. This looks like a good rig for getting back on the air.
Thanks so much for teaching HR! I met my best friend at Newton NJ HS, in 1969, and got my Novice. Went to college, at Bradley U, because they had great EET program and BU ARC Ham Radio club. My rich roommate had the Kenwood R599/T599 Twins, and I now have several, modified for Wideband audio. Last year, I bought 2 Kenwood TS-440S/AT's, because the first one won't transmit. I bought every Filter, Voice Synthesizer, RS232 and did the White LED upgrade. Wonderful sound and 200W input. Now to parallel your path of great Radios, I just saw a video from "Coastal Waves and Wireless" guy on YT, and immediately ordered one from Radioddity, at the $399.99 price, plus the highly recommended Fan/Tilt Holder. It came in 2 days later from China, perfectly packaged/free shipping via DHL. I made my first contact on 20m to a fellow in Delaware from GA tonight, in SSB.
I fully admire all the CW and noise optimizing suggestions, where I agree the AGC is annoying, but the worst is the first syllable overload of the otherwise excellent Tecsun PL-880.
The controls and especially Filters selection are VERY confusing, and I am not sure if the Sideband modes USB and U-D, are for Digital modes or not. Definitely sounds more mellow, likely it changes the Carrier Point/Offset.
The G90/S manual is in good English, explains the button functions, but not clearly listing the keypress & knob sequences. At least it tells you the /S model is the China marketed version. Still trying to change the BW. Instead the multi knob on the lower left, keeps changing the coarse 100KHz frequency step, and Function/F-L and F-H don,t affect the Filter.
Again, why I love the Kenwood TS-440S/AT which you mentioned, is it is the latest model that has REAL Knobs, Switches, and Controls which had ZERO Menus! Also it is excellent in Receive, better than the similar packaged R-5000, which my first one with no TX is fine as RX only. But I bought ALL the boards and transistors to replace the entire PA, also on ebay, readily available as ovrt 600,000 were sold. Thanks - a very inspiring video... Hilary W4HDL
Thanks a lot for the review! Coming back to life after the war in Ukraine, I’m trying to find myself again here in Europe starting my life from total zero. And amateur radio is like a medicine for my soul and for my mind. Yaesu and Kenwood are too expensive brands in my situation so I need to find a cheaper alternative like Xiegu, and as far as I see G90 has actually no alternative for €300-350 used or €500 new. And it is really universal to use in the mountains or somewhere else. And I find this radio really good, especially after so good explanation 👍
Thanks a lot one more time!
The G90 was my first radio. I was eager for a 7300 and got one. Now I have a radio dedicated doe portable use. Woo hoo! Thanks for these tips. I still am learning how to use the filters. I just got my radio and General last June 2022.
Nice rig
Just acquired a G90, this is great info! Thank you for creating this. I have not been active in CW in nearly 40 years and getting back into it. I am kicking the rust off so to speak. 73, ka9mic
Thank you so much for this video! I just bought this radio. I am 100% deaf in my left ear! This will help me tremendously!!! Much appreciated!
I rarely hear CW Ops talk about how crucial good spacing is between words but hearing those that jamb the letters in a sentence all together is quickly nonsensical not too mention how hard your brain strains to decode. Glad you emphasize this point because bad habits are so difficult to unlearn and repair. Also, good advice for those of us who never had an Elmer(s) to demonstrate the various ways to adjust audio. I didn't know that "fast" or no AGC was better for CW. Many thanks!
What's even worse are fools that use a bug...and send absolutely garbage for code with atrocious letter formation. In the old days, they were proud of the way they made them sound unique. But it is what it is: poorly sent CW. If I call CQ and a bug op returns, I ignore and move on. I won't gratify their choice to send rubbish.
lol I've seen people respond to comments and replies who type with no capital letters, no commas, no periods, etc no spaces between words and failing to make complete sentences.
Some CW OPs do the same thing. I like to be able to copy whoever I hear, but often I have to just move on to someone else. In my prime I could copy 35 WPM conversational CW. Now I'm down to 10 WPM because I was off the key for 10 or 15 years.
These days I hear OPs sending at a character rate of maybe 30 WPM. And IF they leave good spacing between letters I can copy half what they say until I miss a character and focus too much on trying to discipher that letter. Oh well. Maybe it'll come back to me.
Cw spacing is the only thing I do correctly, it makes rx much easier for others. Zl3xdj
@@MARRANCA2I think that a problem is either a poorly adjusted bug, or that the operator may be too slow. I suspect that the original bug keys may have been intended for professional operators, maybe marine radio operators and the like.
I went back and forth between my 940S, 430S and the Xiegu during a QSO. Without running compression on any of the rigs, the G90 won the audio battle. I will take the reciever audio on a 940s any day. Love the waterfall on the Xiegu.
I have a G90 that has been collecting dust since I bought some fancier rigs, but I was always amazed at what this little thing could do. You have inspired me to put it back into the rotation! The antenna tuner is amazing. It took me awhile to figure out the ACG and RF gain control on my own, so I am sure this video will help somebody. The manual that comes with the radio is useless. 73 KD7LX
Thanks for this. I have owned one for about 6 months. Brilliant radio. Also got it for CW and had to make adjustments. So far had few qsos. Mainly for portable use, but the weather has been poor. Now decided to install it into a corner of my lounge with a separate antenna to get some used out of it. Manual found confusing, but ytube provided the answers at the time. It's very simple once you know like all things.. But I forget if not used often. Tested on data modes with good results. Annoyingly, all those I know with these rigs only use it for FT8 when portable. What a waste I feel. Years ago psk or RTTY was my main stay with CW and had many good qsos on the keys. We actually talked Hi. Then fT8 appeared and my life was turned upside down. Glad plenty of CW exists. De gw4gja
you get what you pay for, you buy cheap it is cheap.
None of my radios collect dust… I use all 4…
I love my G90. Great for POTA stuff, though I am still getting my chops up with CW.
Thanks for the video! I took a break from ham radio shortly after I got mine. I wasn't sure how appropriate it would be or not as I re-figure out CW. Your video gives me confidence around the settings and that it is a suitable rig for this purpose. Without the experience in CW, I didn't have anything to compare it to. Thanks again! 73s
I have been pondering on this radio for a while now especially for portable but now completely sold it to me because of the CW. it sounds awesome. Thanks for the tip regarding word spacing will keep that in mind. Thanks, 2E0LVG.
THANK YOU !!! for this great tutorial ! I am an old Ham with hearing problems, just now learning CW . I am about to purchase a G90 and believe that it's fine tuning you have demonstrated will allow me to work CW better . 73 a Tennessee Ham .
Glad to hear you've decided to give CW a go. I'm 76 and have been a 99% CW op since I passed my first test some 48 years ago. A very fun mode once you get the hang of it! GL W6FG
I finally found this video again that I watched at the beginning of this year in preparation to my 15 day trip to Washington DC.
I subbed & Liked at that time but didn’t leave a comment until today. To me, this is the best video that I’ve found about the G90 even though their is some other great videos but not like your video as far as details.
I don’t do CW yet but I ❤ doing HF on SSB in USB/LSB only.
I use two different vertical telescopic antennas, one @ 18.6 feet for all HF bands and one @ 2.5 meters for 10,11 and 12 meters mounted on a coil with a ground spike and 4 ground radials cut from two 15’ 22ga awg wire and two 15’ 18ga awg wires connected to the ground spike using Anderson PL connectors for operating @ one watt only.
RF Gain is probably the most important function on this radio. When band conditions are good, I set it to 30% and when band conditions are bad or not favorable, I set at 78% @ 4 watts thanks to this video.
My G90 works best @ 13.2v because the G90 requires 2.63 amps whether you are operating at 1 watt or 20, it’s still operates at 2.63 amps. I hope this is enough details for your trip to Iceland, which I was stationed at in the US Marine Corps for a time during the Cold War.
This set up is perfect in the fact that I can fit everything including battery w/ 60w folding solar panel, which on a sunny day, I don’t really need a battery except for long QSO’s but for just listening in for intelligence gathering, the solar panel is all that is needed here in Hawaii. It really does work that well.
I watched this video again today and learned a few more things that I missed the first time earlier this year.
I’ve owned my G90 about 3 1/2 years now and did the MARS mod for 11 meters, which is active no matter what the band conditions are at the time including during Geomagnetic storms also.
I saw a buddy of mine use the Chameleon MPAS without any ground radials two years ago when the HF bands were horrible and he made like 5 contacts around country so easy but when I saw how much $$$ that antenna was, like $699 not counting shipping & tax to Hawaii, I got on eBay, bought all the parts I needed under $80 and only cried once.😂
I would like to request that you do a follow up video for SSB only to see how you might change the settings on the G90 and also for difference portable antennas.
FEP Labs and Chuck from Ham Radio Adventures made me an awesome 9:1 end fed random wire antenna that didn’t need any tuning at all, SWR 1.0 right out of the small shipping box it came in. I ❤ it!
I have a few trips I’m planning for 2024 including Phuket, Thailand to surprise the YL, which is very easy to get a Thai call sign online for 300 Baht.
I look forward to more of your videos about the G90, I want to learn all that I can about this rig.
Aloha and 73- WH6DWF🇺🇸
Thanks for the setup tips. I have a G90 and Im starting to learn CW and this demo is very helpful. Enjoy your trip.
Thanks!
Hi. Just got my license, well .. just acting on my new license lol. Can I reach Europe from MD USA on 10m using CW? looking for my first rig. thanksKC3TDE
I too find it to be an amazing little radio. I run a non-resonant wire with 9:1 unun or hamstick dipoles. This baby will tune up anything I think. I checked into a 75M ssb net in Idaho from Seattle on 5 watts, tuning a 20M hamstick dipole on 3.975 mHz. The antenna was only 8 feet above the earth. 73, N7RLV
Thank you - thank you !! Your video is done so well, I can follow what you are doing. Most videos move too quickly for the viewer to understand what was done.
The last 3 minutes of your video is what I was looking for: How to drive the rig to pull in and clean up an incoming signal. My g90 is on the way currently. I just subscribed to your channel. Thanks and 73
We've developed a 3.2" spectrum set-top touch LCD unit with full DSP so the noise is removed and the spectrum doubled to 100khz and higher. Fully integrated into the G90 so the encoders can be protected from over-use. 73 Rob, GW8RDI
Please bring it to market for some of us! :-}
Thank you for the comment on spacing the code properly.. I am a former morse intercept op of many years past, an amateur since 1958.. as you have likely guessed, I am old, and my hearing isn't what it once was.. it is the lack of proper spacing between characters and words that is most difficult to conquer these days..
Please folks, whatever key you are using, space properly .. you will find you will get more QSOs
For me, this was a fantastic show and tell video. I have a seperate tunable audio CW filter that I built for my single frequency CW transceivers. It works quite well but it's an added power draw and an extra piece to carry around when doing portable ops. I just recently picked up a G90 and with this video instruction, I can now leave the extra filter at home. Thank you so much for showing me how to adjust the CW output sound. It's so much easier to understand operations when you actually show how rather than try to decipher translated Chinese. 73 de KA9TII
OK I took and applied your sittings to my G90 and WOW, thanks for your help. I still am using my FT817ND together with the G90; now I'm conflicted when deciding which one to take out to use.
Great adjustment. Eliminated listener fatigue. Thank you 73, Rob ab8mr
Good video, thnx! I also love the G90. The same experience occurs operating SSB, I get the best results with AGC turned off and controlling RF-Gain manually. Everything is getting a bit loud then and can‘t be lowered to a comfortable level with the AF-Gain-Knob. But headphones with level control units help.
It is like the old tube radios with a BFO. The AGC is disabled when you turn on the BFO, so you have to ride the RF gain instead of the volume.
Great video! Just what I needed. I’m a new CW Op/ham and usually fall in on radio as is. So I adjust to the radio setting out the box. I wish I had an Elmer who can sit next to me whilst setting up my G90. I’m a lone wolf here in an area space of Hams never mind CW operators. I hope to make a QSO with sometime! 72 MM7BFL
Just got my G90 and found this video very helpful. I hope you'll make more. Thanks from N3SC.
Excellent video. Hope you enjoyed Iceland. Went last year on a photography expedition, no radio. The G90 will be my first HF radio, and although I only did a bit of CW at the club, it’s something that really appeals to me and hope to learn. Subscribed ❤
Old one this, but great quality. Was a little on the fence about this rig since I have heard so many on youtube that clearly has not adjusted it as well as you demonstrated here. Great work, 72 LB8VA
tnx Are for this video.
I just bought a G90 and I'm fiddling with the filters.
What software version is running on your G90?
Even my buit in keyer is bad. I first thought my cw skills are poor, but it seems to be the keyer of the G90....
So I use an external keyer to detour the original one.
73!
Interesting video, thanks!
I think CW pitch is a personal thing, our hearing differs. For me 550hz is way too low it does not "pop" from the background noise especially at higher speeds with weak signals. I have been running 700hz for the last 30+ years so anything else feels wrong even to my now aging ears.
I have also found that turning the AGC off is fine if you are replying to a station and you can set RF gain and volume to taste but when I am on the calling side of a pileup it is terrible, then the AGC fast option is the way to go with RF gain set just high enough to hear the weaker stations.
I enjoyed the video, thanks!
73, Rudi de ZS6DX/ZS2M/ZS1BT/V51VE
I only operate Cw and I’m looking for a quiet receiver for my garage where I just put a dipole in my attic. I wanted an inexpensive rig with exceptional CW receive. Watching you manipulate these settings is similar to what I’ve done with some other rigs. For the price and offering you’ve convinced me to snag a G90! SUBBED & Cheers de KI7QCF
Thanks for a excellent tutorial on the G90. I will be implementing these changes in the morning .
Just picked up this rig and I appreciate your insight and advice! 73, WX4U
fantastic video !!! best demonstration iv found on they proper adjustment of filters exc.
I have been very ill the past few months. My plan is to get out and take pictures, "play radio" and experiment with antenna settings. I have a Baofeng for local 2m/70cm use, but I am thinking about POTA with the Xiegu G90. This is going to be a rebirth of life for me.
Hope you get well soon!
I haven't been on HF since a kid, mostly working CW down in the Extra 25 kHz slices, especially on 40M, but am starting to think about it again. Radios have sure changed, mine a couple of Heathkits I built ;-)
Excellent review! I had never heard of Xiegu, but it seems to be an nicel lil rig for the CW op ~ getting harder to find these days... 73 W6FG..
I love CW too, been a amateur radio operator since 2020, subscribed! 72/73 de AI5DD p.s. my favorite pitch is 640hz, I'll try 550hz it sounds warm and nice.
Hi. Just got my license, well .. just acting on my new license lol. Can I reach Europe from MD USA on 10m using CW? looking for my first rig. thanks KC3TDE
@@jamescollier3 10 meters is great when it's open, you can get all over the world.
Nice video! Although I don't have a Xiegu G90, most of the techniques shown here can be used with the rig I DO have, a 20-year old Icom 706 Mk2G. As the video was playing, I tried several of them and it's a great help.
Thank you!
7 3
EARL / KD5XB
DM84
E E
Thank you for the very informative video. I’m learning CW currently & want to get in to HF…Eventually, I’d like to do CW QRP exclusively. I know it’s more challenging but just want to take it step at a time. I’m thinking G90 might be great radio for me to get for this!
Yes, The receiver is super quiet till you enable AGC.
Xiegu G90 introduces to much harsh noise.
Hope xiegu fix AGC software issues in future releases of firmware.
I have only used my G90 for digitial so far. I realy enjoyed the video. Could you do a similar video for SSB?
I have the G90 😊 Love it. Its one fabulous 20W rig. I *highly* recommend it.
This video..absolute gold! Thanks!
Great review and help on the settings. This radio is on my wish list. Thanks
Thanks for sharing. I’ve got to get into CW, now.
Debating between a used KX3 or a new G90. I’ll be looking forward to your motorcycle ride. I just subscribed! Did you create a cheat sheet for this radio? Setup settings for CW would be great. Setup for SSB would be nice. I usually operate CW QRP.
Very handy tips! Nicely done! 73.
Excellent, this video should be required for anyone who has a G90 : )
Hi, thanks for the very helpful explanation! It would be very nice if you could make a similar video about running split mode and how to manage pileups, well more how to queue in a pileup. 73
Roger ! I prefers rf gain 1 to 20% maximum and audio filter 50 to 150 Hz and agc off vy 73! Matt SP3FYI Xiegu g 90 has an amazing receiver for the price !
The receivers based on the MSi001 chip with HDSDR reception program achieve an extreme narrowness of the signal captured in CW, practically without noise. Logically, ideally, there should be no electrical noise in the environment and the antenna should be very directional and only capture a signal above the horizon.
I have owned 2of these. I never liked the way they sounded so I sold them. In the beginning of this video you mentioned adjusting the sound for SSB. Could you please explain how to make it quiet for SSB?
For me it helps to use lower pitch Abt 400 hrts with qrq ops to copy cw ,
Push and hold the key button t activate the CW decoder!
Hello! You just answered one thing I’ve always wondered, which is how this rig does cw. Cw is important to me too and I know that people who own this radio are normally happy, but no one talks about cw
I also have a G90 and initially I had the same impression, of a noisy receiver, then I discovered that with a few small adjustments you can enjoy CW. Very very useful this video for beginners and an extremely pleasant speaker... tnx! References to pitch, RF Gain, AGC... However, what firmware version do you have? I don't see any reference to version 1.79 which brings major changes compared to version 1.78 in terms of digital filters, respectively the combination of 2 BPFs, how do you play with them?
Just got mine 6 wks ago. They're now up to V.1.80
EXCELLENT review and instructions. in June of this year we were in Iceland for 4 days , I stick kick myself for not taking a radio with me. 73 ne7ts
Thank you. Yesterday I tried to use my G 90, but got put off by the high noise level. So now I have some techniques to use. Great resource.
Try to disable AGC and decrease RF Gain to 10%. This signifially decreases noise level.
Excellent video, thanks again. What CW paddle would you recommend for a beginner??
Great video 👍I have the Xiegu X6100, lovely little radio, i am just learning CW, not good enough yet for a proper QSO, but maybe sone day we will chat on the bands 73s 2M0LDT
SSB: What about the so-called power spikes measured in SSB PEP. That is, with set 1W or 5W, what is the output power PEP measured?
Hi I'm super impressed with mine I also have the stand and Yaesu 710
Great little radio. Beware though, I used mine a lot using similar methods (as I mostly used SSB) by keeping the AGC off and using the volume control and RF gain controls to pull in the weak signals, but after just over one year of use the encoders started to get flakey. It will not be long before they have to be replaced and being such a small radio that is going to be a fiddly job!
Aren't the encoders software based? If so have you done a factory rest? Just thoughts..
@@rentheseus Factory reset didn't help sadly. The volume controller encoder has got so bad that I had to connect up an external speaker with a volume control on it. I am using a different radio for my main radio now, I'll try replacing the encoders at some point but will be a fiddly job with my poor eyesight.
Hello Shaun (Sean) not very nice comment to leave. CW is not a joke, it takes skill to learn CW and be proficient to send it correctly. As for AM and SSB there is no skill required to talk.
I've been a CW Op for well over 40+ years now and really enjoy a good CW QSO.
73 & Vive le CW
Some of this is applicable to my use of the G90 which is only SSB at this time because I have no CW skills.
I have the G90 sitting next to me. I need help with quieter CW work.
Did you also use it for QSO on your motorcycle?
I'm not a fan of cheap Chinese ham gear but this looks like a real bang for the buck HF rig for $400.00US!!!
I got myself a new original yaesu mic for one of my rigs now, i belived it was from Japan....but hey...made in China 🙄 so alot of Chinese stuff is actualy starting to be ok now days, even some of the "bad cheap" stuff starts to be ok.
@@Tamlin73
I had a Yaesu radio many years ago and the RJ11 microphone jack plug failed! It was not due to excessive use but was just weak. I have since switched to Motorola radios and have commercial grade mics and plugs and never looked back!
The 5105 sounds good with a decent speaker attached. The built in one is so small and sounds terrible. It just doesn't have room for anything bigger than a cell phone speaker.
Seems like they nerfed the filtering in some of the later firmware releases, why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Who knows?
There's no longer a "C" Centre Filter option, only a "B" Bandwidth, however, it seems the bandwidth is now a 2 in 1 (doing both Bandwidth and centre), but it's not as intuitive, as you cannot see the centre frequency number.
So you need to set center frequency same as your tone? Or does that just make a nice match for the ear both send and receive?
Hi, i have had alot of radios, one of them was a Yaesu ft 897d i sold that one and got myself a Xiegu G90 i like this one better that the Yaesu, im trying to learn CW and that is so much easyer on the G90 than on the old Yaesu :) i also got a Mchf clone, i love that one to, its actualy not bad for the money, and is great for cw. 73,s from LA-M160560
I just bought the g90. Im a new ham and very interested in learning morse code. Thats why I bought the radio. I have two questions 1, how do you recommend learning CW? Should I listen to it at 5 wpm until I learn or just go 15 or higher and work through the insanity? Also can you recommend an affordable key? I saw some for like 20 bucks which would be great except IDK if that would hurt my ability to learn. Im not really sure how important a good key is. Im planning on going atraight key until I get to 15 wpm so I will have the skill even if I never use it again. Thanks I appreciate your video.
How would I go about changing these settings with the new firmware? I can’t get it to change to the Center frequency
A very good video spoken with a symmatic voice. Actually the ideal voice for ESSB Audio ;-) 73 Georg - DO5DGH
DO-Bullshit wie immer
Thank you for the video. Very helpful.
Seriously! How much extra cost would 6 backlight LEDs mean? Why are the buttons transparent then?
CW guy as well. FISTS and SKCC. Have FT817 for picnic use or i would get this radio. Nice video OM. 73 Karl WA2KBZ.
I'm finding mine is very quiet if I just listen to simple Shortwave stations, do you know how to make it louder, and what filter setting would you use for SW listening? Thanks in advance.
What version of firmware are you using for this demonstration? I am on 1.79, which TOTALLY changed how to adjust the filters, among other things. (1.79 disabled the two Filter buttons).
Thanks for the info. I just got a G90.
Brilliant vid. Going to do some experimenting tomorrow! Subbed.☘️👍
Can you disable the antenna tuner? I use open feed and use a manual tuner.
Yes you can.
I too use single lever CW key and found your information helpful. However, several software types exist. Which one are you using and have you tried others?
Great video! Thanks for sharing.
Has Xiegu fixed the CW key clicks problem, as identified by the ARRL?
Greetings Techstuff.
I am reaching out to find out if my new g90 is working properly. It has what sounds like a quiet birdie, a 1khz tone with a one second pulsing quality. It can be heard connected to a dummy load and a battery. It also can't be tuned, showing up on all bands in the center regardless of frequency.
It is harder to hear connected to an antenna, but I still would like to know whether or not my rig is defective.
Thank you for your time!
73,
Russ
You could try reloading the firmware just to be sure there is no software problem. Then put a shorting link across the antenna socket and check for the problem. If it still exists get professional help from Xiegu. I have a G90 and have no problems thankfully.
@EI6DP
Thank you for your input! I have loaded fresh firmware and used dummy load with no improvement in the problem. I have requested a return of the rig to Radioddity.
That's the best way/ It might result in a new replacement.
Solid explanation. Thanks
Sure, it's 'quiet' with no antenna hooked up until you turn on the AGC. Do that and the no-antenna noise comes up horribly. So tempted to sell mine.
What about the CW decoder, for the rest of us flawed humanoids ?
Great tips now I just need to learn CW :)
Hi, great advice. What key is that?
Very Interesting many thanks GM4NNC
Hi, what is your cw key on table?
Great Intro to the G90! Best wishes in Iceland. KC3JJH
My first radio. I bought two because I liked it so much. Learned cw in about 6months. After 3 years I am holding at 32 wpm. Started at 15. Practiced with the decoder
@goinghomesomeday1 I have some recordings I listen to. 67 recordings that are at 28 wpm. I can copy at least that. If it is a typical Pota, sota or a contest I can copy much higher but if it is a rag chew it depends. The hard part is remembering the spelling in my head if I don’t recognize the patterns. I can’t write it at that speed so it all depends. I used a decoder to learn how to mainly learn how to send. I try not to use it to receive but sometimes will use it to reinforce my learning of the patterns.
@goinghomesomeday1 i use iambic paddles. Several different ones. I have a kent bolted down on a board that I put in my lap. Then I have a puttikeg Chinese paddle I have mounted on a 1 inch diameter dowel. I bolt a steel plate to the dowel and the key has a magnetic bottom that sticks to the plate
@goinghomesomeday1 it’s actually easier to go faster. I purposely slow myself down because I don’t want to get too far ahead of what I can copy.
Does the magnet on the rig not effect it?
Hi, wath firmware are you on the radio
What is that flashing yellow LED at top right on the face? Is it a peak incoming signal indicator? I find it really annoying. Can it be disabled? Thank you.