Xiegu G1M | Is this the least expensive HF Ham Radio in the world?

Baofeng is now an official unit of measurement! Great video!!

I had one of these and it worked well for mobile/portable use, the output was fine for me because I'm a 90% CW ham but moved on to the G90 which is a big step up from this nice little rig.

Looks like a good little rig this and a nice review. Thanks. I have this unit's predecessor, the X1M, and have great fun with it operating QRP too. 73's from South Africa.

Thanks for this useful video. I've just ordered one to keep in the car / take on flights where I shan't be too distraught if it is lost, stolen or broken. I've a number of kit built transceivers but once I've built and cased them I worry about scratching or losing them! Likewise my FT-817 with 2 Collins mechanical filter and after market audio DSP is too precious to put in hold luggage. I really hope I like the G1M because I plan to take it everywhere.

Looks like it would be fun for a low budget backpack SOTA rig

Fantastic review! 😀 If it hasn’t been mentioned the “ flickering “ that one sees in the video is from the camera’s frame rate of recording and not from the radio’s display. Besides a CW freak I’m a street photographer. De N1XV

There are two known issues with this unit which was done a bit on the cheap. firstly all the 3.5mm connectors are SMD and the solder joints to the pCB tend to fracture after a lot of insertions and withdrawals of plugs - esp the microphone socket . THe simple solution is to reflow them but that involves opening the case and that voids the warranty ( to fix a problem created by the factory !! ) . The other issue is the cheap encoder used on the RHS. the following quality encoder is replacement PEC11 R 4015F 50024 this is the type with detent. 4215F for the part with no detent. You can get these from the likes of RS components or MOuser , however it will be impossible to avoid the $15 USD delivery charge in AUS /Nz so it makes it a very expensive four dollar part ($8- surface delivery from Mouser in the US I believe) . With this encoder the radio will tune up band when turning ccw. There is a pin cross over fix for this but this compromises the encoder from a mechanical point of view. This radio is quite popular in Poland and Russia and Hams in one or the other worked out the semi compatible part. The preference is a low bit rate optical encoder (which essentially last forever ) and these can be had from SDR radio in the UK but they are of order $25 USD each. The replacement encoder - It only costs $4 US - you think that Xiegu would do the right thing. Perhaps the later production TCVRS are better in this regard the early model ones had encoders that fell apart with very little use which is a scandal for a USD 270 radio and indicates Shtty QA back in Shenzen or wherever. The US distributor (S) should fix every one of the earlier production for free when it fails and NOT charge freight on moving the radio about because it was a known problem from the get go. The encoder is hard mounted on the digital control board which is a vertical board in the front of the radio. TE Fidler, WRE NzL

Good morning Mike from Malaysia. Probably afternoon at Texas. Nice little rig there and good info. Thanks.

Thanks for the review.👍☘️

You could put a amplified speaker in the back jack in a home base setup or mobile, I've gone total QRP these days, so this one fits the bill for me. I enjoyed your presentation thank you..

It is a really neat looking radio. Thanks for sharing it Mike. 73

I just ordered one to give QRP a try while I'm waiting for the ft891 to come back in stock.

I would love to see you do a POTA activation using the G1M.

Good stuff man

The cpu do dad to make the scope has to be an amperage eater, can the scope be fully disabled to only show s-meter? I noticed they get toasty just recieving after 10 minutes.

Size and weight-wise, how does it compare to the G90? Great videos, Mike. Thanks so much.

Going back and double checking my tertiary HF system. CARRY ON!

I am going to get one of these and try to get my hands on a linear amplifier to make it more usable.

I will say mine never actually shuts off. When you "power it down" there is no audio or button response but the screen is on. I was able to repurpose a power cord so I had anderson power poles on one and rings on another. Might make a third with tinned ends.

All that technical info is good, but did you test the radio on the field? that would tell us much more about its performance than lab results.