HRO Ham Radio Outlet has these on promo for $399.95. I know there are pros and cons to any radio and I’m not suggesting this is the one you need but if you were considering it this might be the time.
Xiegu G90
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I definitely love mine! They can be pretty finicky but overall I think they’re great radios and $400 is a pretty cheap date to get into HF (and especially the digital modes)
You will see a decrease in performance over a 100w radio. However, for a portable radio it is more than enough, depending on band conditions, solar cycle and the type of antenna used. Also they regularly go on sale for $399 so it isn’t some crazy deal. I know several that have them and like them. I consider them the baofeng of hf radios. If something goes wrong with it, trash it and buy another, no service center to send it into. Unless the seller is offering some kind of warranty. I had a hankering to buy one but talked myself out of it, as what I have is a better radio just minus the built in atu.
I’ve been happy with the perfomance on mine. No it’s not a 100w setup but I can run it for several hours off a $40 rechargeable 12V6A LiFePO4 battery and make good contacts using homemade dipoles or one of K6ARK’s 20w end fed random wire kits. Yes you can get much more radio, but it will cost you much more.
" I consider them the baofeng of hf radios."
Indeed.
Besides the very real moral conundrum of buying Chinese radios with the intention to communicate with other Americans after an 'event' likely initiated by the Chinese, directly or by proxy....
... each purchase of these is the loss of a sale of an ostensibly nicer or more capable radio supplied by vendors who otherwise will cease to exist, especially given the current demographics of amateur radio.
The radio in question reaches the price point it does in part by making a series of performance compromises.
I fully understand the draw and appeal of ultra low cost electronics. I'm very fortunate to not have to make that choice. Not trying to be a snob here, just an objective comment based on decades of experience.
Indeed.
Besides the very real moral conundrum of buying Chinese radios with the intention to communicate with other Americans after an 'event' likely initiated by the Chinese, directly or by proxy....
... each purchase of these is the loss of a sale of an ostensibly nicer or more capable radio supplied by vendors who otherwise will cease to exist, especially given the current demographics of amateur radio.
The radio in question reaches the price point it does in part by making a series of performance compromises.
I fully understand the draw and appeal of ultra low cost electronics. I'm very fortunate to not have to make that choice. Not trying to be a snob here, just an objective comment based on decades of experience.
If it’s going to be a “throw in box for the end of the world” radio, they are great. If you use the radio on a regular basis and dive into all the radio hobby offers, I personally, rather a better quality radio. Quality radio gear = not cheap. But, that’s my opinion, like an butthole we all have one.
I wholeheartedly agree that I would prefer not to support the Chinese market (although I would point out that likely every of us are communicating on this forum via a China built device) but the reality is that low cost devices are, in my opinion of course, revitalizing what was a dying amateur radio community. What was once a cost prohibitive hobby is now extremely accessible. For $25 anyone can try out VHF/UHF and for 3-400 you can get your hands on relatively user friendly HF rigs. To me that’s pretty cool. Moreover, it helps the community grow. Sure, a lot of folks will try out their Baofeng once and never pick it up again, but there are also quite a few who will want to grow and expand their capabilities, and at that point they start looking into Yaesu, icom, etc.
I look at this a lot like the firearms market. Does PSA make the best guns? No. But they make decent guns that most people can afford and in doing so they grow the 2A community.
Any electronic you handle today is manufactured with Chinese components. I wasn’t inferring the “China” part when I said it was the baofeng of hf. I meant it was the cheapest way in and that if you got serious about radio, eventually you would want better. I could care less bout the made in China part, because all electronics have Chinese components.