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• 
  @eriphoorКүн бұрын

  Oh you have a Flex. Not short on cash anyway Mick.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUKКүн бұрын

  It took me a long time to save up enough to buy that! Worked hard, put in the overtime, put aside whatever I could into the savings account each month & roughly 5 years later I get to enjoy the reward.

• 
  @eriphoorКүн бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK Unfortunately I have the low end stuff. Good on you for saving up the dough. Excellent radios!

• 
  @AmateurRadioUKКүн бұрын

  @eriphoor Yeah, the Flex is really nice. I try not to rub it in other people's faces (I hope it doesn't come across that way). I consider myself lucky to have a little disposable income. I realise that a lot of people aren't so lucky. I guess it depends how people choose to spend their disposable income (however much or little that might be). Some have a nice house, some have an expensive car, some people plough all of their money into their annual holiday, some spend it on other hobbies or social activities. I don't have kids, which certainly helps! I don't have a particularly big house (I live in a mid-terrace on a housing estate). I haven't been away on holiday for around 5-6 years. I don't drive a luxury car and I might have a special night out in a restaurant or theatre with my partner maybe once a month. Radio is my escape/relaxation time, so I put virtually all of my disposable income into radio. Each to their own I guess.

• 
  @eriphoor22 сағат бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK No Mate, not at all. If there is something in this world that you are passionate about, money is just a sideline to reach your goals. Cheers. P.S. I enjoy the channel as well.

• 
  @jstoltenburg4 күн бұрын

  I'm sorry you paid the full price for this radio. People should spend more money on antennas and forget about the latest radio. You say you're a little bit torn, but you're not if you listen to yourself. You said you wouldn't buy it again, knowing what you know. You are not the first person who has said there are problems with 6 meters.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK2 күн бұрын

  The problem for me is the price. If it was £400-£500 would be praising Xiegu for making a great budget radio. At that price I could forgive its imperfections. At £800 we shouldn't be seeing these flaws.

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  @jstoltenburg2 күн бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK i wholeheartedly agree.

• 
  @brian.79664 күн бұрын

  always good to watch your films, honest and interesting well done.

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  @AmateurRadioUK4 күн бұрын

  Thanks Brian.

• 
  @4X4-RADIO5 күн бұрын

  I have not seen anything to justify the price over a 6100 It looks like extra money for "Eye Candy/Ergonomics" Refreshing to see an Honest Review & Opinions

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  @AmateurRadioUK4 күн бұрын

  That pretty much sums it up! As for an honest review, the bottom line is that I'm a small channel with no sponsors to upset! Everything on the channel is paid for out of my own pocket, meaning that I can pretty much say what I want (within reason) & not worry about what my sponsors will think!

• 
  @brianfields44795 күн бұрын

  Not sure, don't bother. Ts480hx is and always was for the dosh the best, 5 -200w. Mobile, portable, even bicycle here, detachable head, built like a rock. Great price, no Brainer.

• 
  @snaggitfishing28276 күн бұрын

  The deal breaker, for me, is the price. I have the X6100, which I feel was decent value at just over £500, so I wouldn't be looking at the X6200 as an alternative with the same form factor. For portable ops, as well as the X6100, I have FT817nd, FT818 and when I feel energetic, FT857D. I think the next rig for portable I'd be looking at FX4-CR (tiny with 20W available) or the G90 (good price, 20W and an excellent atu).

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK5 күн бұрын

  I think my first choice would be the FX-4CR, which is a great little radio.

• 
  @IrishHamRadio6 күн бұрын

  Fair play for the honesty man… It seems quite simple to me as an X6100 owner that I bought for ~£600/€700 new… The X6100 is really worth ~£500/€600 new in my view and overpriced by about £100/€120. The X6200 (that from what I can see does nothing new and has 2 less watts), is worth about the same £500/€600 and overpriced by £300/€350 which I believe will stifle its target market outside the likes of ourselves who will buy it to experiment with and review for others. I haven’t used one yet of course, but I would like to hear the defence of its pricing.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK6 күн бұрын

  Yep. I think that pretty much sums it up. Does the X6100 have the FT8 decode capability? I don't think it does but im not sure. The only thing that I can think of that the X6200 does over the X6100 is decode FT8, CW & RTTY (I think). Unfortunately it doesn't transmit FT8 (unless you hook it up to a computer). Might also work over Bluetooth with the app on the phone......I've yet to try that.

• 
  @IrishHamRadio6 күн бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK good question on the X6100 FT8, but I’m sure someone has/can develop a firmware to do it.

• 
  @M0RSF7 күн бұрын

  Good honest review James and looks a nice radio. Quite pricey though. 73 Chris M0RSF

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  @HamRadioWithKE0MAD7 күн бұрын

  Very nice review. It is a little step up from the X6100, but I think they rushed it to the public too quickly. Mine showed up with a non functioning ALC and an uncontrolled AGC. If they can fix those problems, it would be a great little radio.

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  @AmateurRadioUK7 күн бұрын

  Yep. A few little bugs that need sorting (typical Xiegu) and an excessive price tag.

• 
  @eriphoor7 күн бұрын

  See those DJI mics everywhere now.

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  @JoeG249918 күн бұрын

  I’ve a G90 and it’s a great radio, get great audio reports and it’s at a good price. The 6200 is just overpriced I think. It does make you wonder how much of that is Uk radio shops pricing or what xeigu are actually selling it at. Is the price tag just what the shops think they should sell. Let’s face it if they were a lot cheaper then the 6200 competitors radio would the others sell?

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK8 күн бұрын

  You're right. It is overpriced. I think the problem Xiegu have is that the X6200 is basically an X6100 with a bit of a face-lift. If they sold the X6200 at a sensible price it would kill off X6100 sales.

• 
  @jsplaud9 күн бұрын

  Great honest video, I had the X6100 until recently and fixed the problems with heat with an external fan etc , it was a great little QRP radio and I was undecided whether to wait and have the X6200 or pay a bit more and have the Icom 705 and for the reason of lack of support and problems I went for the 705 and don't regret it.....Great Video keep up the good work.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK9 күн бұрын

  Love the 705.....great radio.

• 
  @tonym7cvk4309 күн бұрын

  Good morning James nice honest review, was tempted but my Ft818nd is still like new so one will hold on to that. My FT710 has taken its place in the shack and as my portable station. M7CVK Tony

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  @N4GW9 күн бұрын

  Great review

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  @ammocraft10 күн бұрын

  After their near abandonment of the 6100 with all the remaining issues some people have largely unfixed, and no firmware updates for an age, Xiegu wouldn’t be a company I’d spend money with any more.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK9 күн бұрын

  I don't see myself buying anything else from them if I'm totally honest.

• 
  @philipwells279310 күн бұрын

  Great to see a balanced review

• 
  @2E0LMI10 күн бұрын

  Good honest review, I like that. How do the dual knob encoders feel? When I watched vids by other people of the prototypes the inner and outer knobs were sticking together... I would find that annoying. As others have said, think the G90 is their best radio to date, though the cheap encoders in mine started to fail after just over a year of use (it did have a lot of use).

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  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  I can't say I've noticed the inner & outer knobs sticking together. I very occasionally notice that I have to go two clicks on the multi function knob to move one position in the menu on the screen. Again, fine on a budget radio but this is priced more towards the mid-range of the radio market.

• 
  @digitalanalogueham10 күн бұрын

  Great honest review it’s basically overpriced a lot

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  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  Precisely. As I've said to others, I would forgive its shortcomings if it was priced as a budget radio. At £800, you're getting towards what I would consider "mid-range" in the radio market, so I would expect better.

• 
  @m1sdh10 күн бұрын

  Beautiful location. Interesting conclusion. I feel like Xiegu have yet to really top their G90 in terms of striking price/quality/performance balance. In fact, I think G90 with battery 20W and at about half the price has to be better buy; if you don't mind the comparatively tiny screen.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  Not played with the G90 but that's probably a fair conclusion. As I think I think i said in the video......the FX-4CR costs around £500-£550. Slightly more than a G90 but significantly smaller & lighter for portable (SOTA/POTA/hiking) ops. That would probably be my first choice if I had to choose a radio for that application.

• 
  @timg5tm94110 күн бұрын

  The G90 is 60% of the price of the 6200. I still think that’s their best radio. The 891 is a lot more radio for less money too maybe.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  Not played with a G90 but heard some good things about it. The X6200 is around the same price as the FT-891 & FT-710 (after factoring in Yaesu's cashback scheme) but I don't think it's quite in the same league. I would forgive its shortcomings if it was a budget radio at around £500 or so but at £800 I would expect better. The bottom line is I think the X6200 is overpriced.

• 
  @jason2e1hko5910 күн бұрын

  A good honest review 👍

• 
  @m7trsradio10 күн бұрын

  Great video James. Yes I agree with you all the way and I don't own one. Quite high priced for the quality not to be there. I would rather take something else and carry a battery. Time will tell u guess. Let's hope it brings the price of the x6100 down now 👍🏽 73

• 
  @brianwilliams862010 күн бұрын

  I waited for reviews and price for the x6200 and went for the yeasu ft710

• 
  @gerardosullivan164210 күн бұрын

  A good review the price is not a budget radio.

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  @fotografm10 күн бұрын

  What about the overheating issues ?

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  It certainly gets warm. I had it plugged in and turned on for most of the day before filming this while I messed around with it. Admittedly that was mainly on RX. I didn't do a lot of transmitting. I took it out on a POTA yesterday. About 1 hour in direct sunlight with a much heavier TX cycle & it did get hot, although it didn't overheat. It will be interesting to see how it copes with FT8.

• 
  @gtretroworld10 күн бұрын

  Looking at your facial expression you don’t seem convinced, i am also on the fence with this radio, Thanks for the video.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  I took it out to a POTA activation yesterday and I am slowly warming to it. The fact that it's slightly off frequency on 6m is a big concern. Apart from that it's fine. As you heard, the transmit audio isn't fantastic, but it's OK for a budget radio. The thing is this costs £800, which is a lot for a budget radio. I just feel it's overpriced for what it is.

• 
  @N4GW10 күн бұрын

  To me, the receiver audio is not so good. For a QRP Radio, I would think the transmit audio would have more of a DX sound to it

• 
  @gtretroworld10 күн бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK The off frequency issue should be a easy fix for them. As for that muffled audio that is big annoyance, again maybe that can be tailored in settings or a future firmware update.

• 
  @IrishHamRadio11 күн бұрын

  Thanks James… nice to see it in the hands of someone not getting paid to talk about it! What I’m trying to figure out is what does it do that the X6100 doesn’t?

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  Not having played with the X6100, I'm not completely sure! Looking at the features on the website, there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference apart from a slight face lift & the price!

• 
  @IrishHamRadio10 күн бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK yep that’s what I can only surmise too.

• 
  @m1sdh11 күн бұрын

  Good to see a "down and dirty" review. Looking forward to the field review.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  You won't have to wait long. I anticipate releasing that video either later this evening or sometime tomorrow. It's already been filmed & is in the final stages of editing/uploading!

• 
  @m1sdh10 күн бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK Great. Was this at Fyfield Down? On my todo list to activate with The Ridgeway. I heard you on 40m at my home, but I don't have 40m antenna.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  Yep, that was the one!

• 
  @Andy2e0ree11 күн бұрын

  It is a great radio for the price

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK10 күн бұрын

  I'm a bit on the fence with that one to be honest. If it was priced around the £500-£600 region I would probably agree with you. This currently sells for £800, which puts you in the same price bracket as a Yaesu FT-891 & The FT-710 (the 710 is currently £815 if you take into account Yaesu's cashback scheme). I know they're 100 watt radios & not quite comparable but ignoring the form factor I don't feel like they are (or should be) in the same price bracket. I just don't think the performance justifies that price bracket. The FX-4CR which I featured on the channel a while back has similar performance & can be purchased for around £500.....which is the price bracket that I feel this radio should slot into. Unfortunately that would kill sales of the X6100, which is why I think they had to up the price.

• 
  @hamradiomobile20 күн бұрын

  Well done James 🎉

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK20 күн бұрын

  Thanks Duncan. Went on FT8 after ending the livestream. Got a total of 120 in the log so far.

• 
  @migalito195529 күн бұрын

  Interesting, essentially a 2 meter except much higher hz. repeater up there in the sky somewhere. Too bad here in the States its well below the horizon thus not in our toy box. Have fun.....

• 
  @AmateurRadioUK29 күн бұрын

  Yep, when all is said & done it's basically a cross-band repeater. Anything going in on 2.4ghz gets spat back out on 10ghz. Would be nice to see another one launched to cover USA and/or Australia. I don't know how likely that is to happen but we live in hope!

• 
  @brianfields4479Ай бұрын

  Wow your noise is terrible James, and bit surprised with that much pwr I expected you to get further.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUKАй бұрын

  Yeah, the noise level is very high here. Also 40m is a very busy band so you often get clobbered by adjacent stations setting up a little too close. With regards to distance vs power, I don't think power has that much to do with it. It was the wrong time of day for DX on 40m. What little DX there was would have been drowned out by the noise and QRM from adjacent stations. This time of year 40m basically becomes an NVIS band at that time of the evening. Really good for inter-g and EU up to around 1000 miles. Later into the evening 40m starts to go long. The EU stations become quieter and DX starts to creep in.......if I'd stayed on a bit longer I probably would have started to get DX.

• 
  @1201alarmАй бұрын

  What battery did you use?

• 
  @AmateurRadioUKАй бұрын

  I use a 22ah UltraMax battery for my 100 watt radios when portable. Possibly a bit overkill for a quick 30 minute activation with this radio, but it's what I had to hand at the time.

• 
  @brianfields4479Ай бұрын

  Thanks for sharing James. Very interesting to hear a pile up without a dx stn at the centre of attention hi. 73.

• 
  @taylorlavata2837Ай бұрын

  Thank you that was a interesting watch

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  @alteriaautomation6867Ай бұрын

  Don't use a mercator map for directional study. Use a gnomic protection based in the UK

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  @AmateurRadioUKАй бұрын

  🤦‍♂️

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  @redjohn20001Ай бұрын

  Did you try the loop verticaly orientated. Most of the mag loops ive seen on KZread were vertical. You would them have to rotate as the nulls would be on each side of the loop of course. Thanks for the video.

• 
  @AmateurRadioUKАй бұрын

  Wow, I'd forgotten about this video. This is one of my very early videos when I first started KZread.....a bit of a blast from the past! I did do a video testing how directional the MFJ loop is. That would have been released shortly after this video if you want to take a look. While not particularly scientific and probably flawed in my methodology, I think I came to the conclusion that a mag loop wasn't particularly directional. Several years down the line (with more experience) I would probably amend that to say that the loop isn't particularly directional unless you are in the nulls. The nulls are very deep, but only about 15 degrees wide on either side. In other words, you have around 30 degrees of deep attenuation but around 330 degrees where the gain doesn't change all that significantly. There will be a change in gain but not enough for it to be particularly noticeable......thus giving the impression of being fairly omnidirectional.

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  @mabo4848Ай бұрын

  Thanks .. great vidoe

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  @m7trsradioАй бұрын

  Mind blown 🤯 💥 way to advanced for me, next you will be building a space ship to fly to the moon . Great video mate. 73

• 
  @AmateurRadioUKАй бұрын

  Thanks Motters. It seems a lot at first but once you get your head around what's actually happening it's not too bad.

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  @hedgerowpeteАй бұрын

  brilliant video

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  @AmateurRadioUKАй бұрын

  Thanks

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  @m7trsradioАй бұрын

  Lol James, 30-45mins no chance there looks how that got out of control. Good work mate. 73

• 
  @AmateurRadioUKАй бұрын

  Yep. Much busier than expected. I won't complain though. It was a really good session & I had a lot of fun on this one.

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  @brian.7966Ай бұрын

  you and I will be the only ones left when they pull the plug. well done keep going.

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  @brian.79662 ай бұрын

  first :)

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  @IrishHamRadio2 ай бұрын

  Really nice video James... Well covered and answers some of the questions I had before heading down the rabbit hole of this bird! Thanks man, genuinely this has my mind spinning on getting onto this!

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  @AmateurRadioUK2 ай бұрын

  Hi Dave. Glad it gave you a few ideas. I believe Fraser now has his QO-100 setup running, so get your setup sorted & we'll have a "KZreadrs QO-100 Session"

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  @IrishHamRadio2 ай бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK yes definitely cool!

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  @SimonBlandford2 ай бұрын

  I live in an apartment with no balcony but I can access QO-100 by aiming a portable 80cm dish through the window in my living room, which just happens to open in just the right direction. Also using the DX Patrol II with the Knoll ice cream cone. Works great portable too running off a 7AH lead acid battery. I usually listen on the QO-100 WebSDR to check how I am sounding.

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  @AmateurRadioUK2 ай бұрын

  Great stuff. I've always thought QO-100 could be a good for people with limited antenna options.

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  @alzeNL2 ай бұрын

  Starting to watch this video and I have tried several times to get QO-100. I really hope I can watch your video and get on it. If I can watch and learn from anyone, its yourself ! :D 73 2E0FWE

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  @Sean.murdoch2 ай бұрын

  Ground station not worth the money. And bad after sales.

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  @AmateurRadioUK2 ай бұрын

  There are most definitely cheaper ways of doing it. This is (in my opinion) the quickest, easiest, most "plug and play" way of doing it for people who don't want to do too much faffing around. I ordered online and it arrived within a few days. I haven't had to use their after sales support, so I can't comment on that!

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  @maartenc6099Ай бұрын

  @@AmateurRadioUK I ordered the dx-patrol helix antenna. The same one you have in your video. And there was a problem with the sending. So he decided to send me two times the same antenna. After receiving both the antennas I phoned him to tell him that I received not one but two antennas and could make a very nice deal with him. Don't know about after sales, but my contact was very positive. BTW I have a 3d printer and have made an STL-file for the cone of the antenna and can make a better one that is not so flimsy I hope to be active on qo100 soon, I have also the DX-patrol two andhave ordered a 9700 so hope to work you soon. (PA5MC)

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  @user-wd1tp7gt9r2 ай бұрын

  Great thank you indeed for the detailed explanation From 7Z1FA/ST2KI 73

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  @LawriesCameras2 ай бұрын

  That's where I trained. De M3UHQ

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  @M0RSF2 ай бұрын

  Well done James. Looks a nice spot to activate from the car. If there is a repeat of this event hopefully I can get the day off work and join in. 73 Chris M0RSF

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  @AmateurRadioUK2 ай бұрын

  Watch this space!!! Yet to be decided but a suggestion of doing this again on 6m FM has been uttered!