XIEGU G90

THE BAOFENG UVR5 OF HF, BUY ONCE CRY ONCE

last updated: 06.15.24

After four years of use without any issues, I recently had my Xiegu G90 die the death of intermittent / no output as shown in the video below. (not my video)

While a fellow HAM (KD9SUV) sent me a link to have it repaired / replaced for $183.00 (CSI - Xiegu G90, X5105 and X6100 - Repair), I’m likely going to give it away to a new HAM and let them repair it.

The reasoning is the same that made me sell my favorite EDC pistol (H&K P7) that I had dumped $1200.00 into before the back plate broke and made a brick out of it.

Just like the Xiegu G90, I did lots of research on that gun before making it my final answer and never saw anything negative until it broke then was told by forum members on a HK P7 forum that “that happens sometimes” like it was acceptable.

I just can’t have something unreliable when it comes to gear that my life might depend on. If you think that is dramatic, let put it this way in a question.

If you had to call 911 to save a life, would you want a phone that worked most of the time but was known to fail out of the blue at any given moment, or something known for its reliability?

In the previous case of the HK P7, I went to a Glock G17 and never looked back.

For me, it’s the same with an HF radio that might be my only link to the QRT in the town 20 miles away in times of need. I want it to work ALL of the time.

In light of this, I cannot really recommend it even as a beginner radio like one would the UV5R, because unlike the cheap UV5R, we are talking $400.00 for the G90.

It hits all the points of a great QRP radio, especially for digital modes, but reliability is just not there. I’d rather stick with my very old FT-817 (not ND) that is running in the shack now until the G90 is replaced, even at 5W max.

That’s the beauty of JS8Call, I’m making the same contacts at 2.5W as I was with 15W from the G90!

For an all-around rig though, you need power for voice comms.

That means a 100W rig (it can always be turned down) and something reliable and I will stick with Japanese radios of the “Big 3” (Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood) in the future.

In particular, I will be replacing the Xiegu G90 with the Yaesu FT-891 for my “base” radio that is still very portable.

When it comes down to reliability, the difference between the $400 G90 and $680 FT-891, it’s worth the wait and extra $280.00!

Do your own research but consider this post.

I wish I had seen something similar BEFORE I went cheap with the G90 because everyone said it was “Awesome”!

EDIT: 06.15.24

Another fail for the G90