Hello Operators. Many of you have eagerly awaited the release of the x6100 from Xiegu. I thought this update received on 18th December would be interesting to a global audience. Don’t forget to check my notes at the bottom of this message.
Dear oh8stn,
X6100 CE Certified and Batch 2 in Production
Xiegu has informed us that the new and exiting X6100 finally has been CE Certified and now can be delivered to the EU. Production is at full steam and we aim be to deliver all current pre-orders (up til now) in early January. With courier delivery you should have your CE certified X6100 in mid January.
As the holiday is getting close we will start collecting payments for pre-orders now. If you have a pre-order you can also go to you order (see confirmation email for order number) and pay for the order right away. Pre-orders not paid for on Dec 30 will be bumped to the next possible delivery without notice.
As you might have noticed there are reports online that some dealers (internet dealers from China?) have been delivering X6100 units to customers. These are units from the first limited production batch, delivered before there was CE certification available. We are delivering units only from the second CE certified batch. This means you will get units with the latest software and hardware.
To get more information or purchase your X6100, check out Xiegu EU https://oh8stn.net/3paZS3I
Pileup AB
Box 38071, 100 64 Stockholm, Sweden
info@pileupdx.com
Firstly huge thanks to Pileup for keeping us updated about this radio. It was a short update, but very informative. Here’s what I’m thinking, and why it might be important outside of Europe as well.
Pre-certification models
The fact that pre-certification models were sent out from Chinese Distributors early on, I wonder if the current YouTube reviews and blog posts should be taken with a grain of salt!? From our experience with the G90 and the x5105, we know these radios get better with time. I love my x5105 and G90, so there’s no doubt Xiegu will get the x6100 squared away. The CE certification says much about the work going on in the background. Hardware, software and firmware updates are quietly being done to meet certification requirements. This is great news!
Like some of the other YouTube ham radio channels, I was also offered one from a Chinese distributor early on. I passed on that offer, which now seems like a good decision! It also seems like being “First” on YouTube or blogs doesn’t necessarily guarantee the best information about the final production model of the x6100. I have no desire to be first. Providing the best information is a much nicer reward.
If you are tempted (as I was) to be an early adopter consider this. When we buy from eBay, Alibaba or any of these places where the early models are being sold by Chinese distributors, we may not be getting a CE certified version. As mentioned in the update, there are significant hardware and software differences between the CE Certified version and the ones being sold by Chinese sellers. Take the risk if you want to, or not. With this kind of investment, a better choice could be waiting for the CE or FCC certified versions, with the latest hardware, software and firmware updates.
Why I pre-ordered the x6100
My x6100 is on pre-order and has been for some time. As a potential low-cost alternative to the Icom IC-705, I believe there’s going to be huge interest in this radio. Many operators are willing to sacrifice 2 meters and 70 cm, for a much more attractive HF/6M only price point. I get that and don’t see any flaw in the strategy.
CE Certification & FCC Certification
It’s refreshing to see Xiegu working hard to get through CE Cert- getting the production version of the x6100 ready for the world. I’m quite stoked about it. The early CE Certification will provide a very welcome push for Xiegu who seems to be targeting potential Lab599 TX500 and Icom IC-705 customers. Xiegu might also be poking its finger straight in the eye of Elecraft as the KX2 and KX3 get long in the tooth. With that said, I do wonder about FCC certification for North America. I have not found any FCC applications yet. I imagine Xiegu is quietly strategizing the FCC cert- in the background. Have any of you heard anything?
You can expect a full series on x6100 on the channel.
For distributors Xiegu.eu & Pileupdx.com for EU. As soon as there are friendly and reliable distributors for North America and other regions, I’ll add them.
If you’d like to help keep this channels/blogs objectivity intact, share this post and/or add something to the Rootbeer kitty.
73
Julian oh8stn
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/c/oh8stn
Buy me a rootbeer: https://paypal.me/oh8stn/2usd
Hey Julian,
Looks like there are quite a few issues with the radio. Temporary Offline Harm Radio has done some deep dives into the Linux Kernel and identified some issues. The most concerning being No Wifi or Bluetooth on the first production models. I am sure this will be sorted out with a firmware update or two. He is mostly positive about the potential for the radio. There are also some content creators absolutely shredding the radio by dissecting things they would never do on an Icom or other radio. The radio is not an Icom 705 or KX2/3 qrp rig and this constant comparison is not helpful at all. I feel that Xeigu have been pushed to get the radio out without sorting out a few bugs before production which given the negative content on youtube will result in quite a few radios being returned. Waters and Stanton have just been awarded distributor status in the UK so I am going to hang of for a few months before ordering.
Keep up the great content and will hopefully catch you on JS8 or Winlink again
Cheers
Garry
MM0XET
Hello Julian, first off great work on all your videos and blog post and I loved your podcast on QSO Today. I’m an early adopter of the X6100. I can tell you that as a CW op, the rig is not ready for use. The keyer is a mess and very difficult to use, when NR engaged the CW tone is very distorted and finally the CW Memory keyer does not function at all! I do believe these will get fixed via firmware but one thing I don’t think can be address is the receiver’s susceptibility to BCI. I live near a major metro area w Kilowatt am stations nearby. Without a BCI filter the receiver is overloaded and most signals covered up by the intereference. Though getting old, my Elecraft rigs do lot show any of this susceptibility. I hope Xiegu can fix the firmware issues, but I will always have to use an external BCI filter to make the rig usable.
73 Rich
DE KQ9L
Outstanding feedback Rich.
Yeah the Elecraft shines in strong signal environments. I would say that’s even its signature feature. It’s definitely a benchmark other manufacturer should try to adopt. Excellent point on Elecraft.
It’s really a shame to hear about the issues with the x6100. I wonder if they bit off more than they can chew with all the new capabilities. This was a huge undertaking and at least for the 705, took Icom devs quite a few man years to get it ready for release.
Ultimately most of us probably only care about getting good portable rigs on the market. Hopefully with some patience, this will be one of them. Thanks for the comment and feedback, it was very helpful.
73
Julian oh8stn
Looks very good but I would be concerned that, like the X5105, this new model is reasonably good hardware that doesn’t reach its full potential because of sloppy firmware. X5105 V3.08 has been around some time now yet still has bugs and omissions (from earlier releases) that should have been dealt with. Early adopters of the X5105 flagship model have been left hanging in the wind as focus switched too early to this ‘shiny new bauble’…..this disappointing firmware story could well repeat with the X6100.
Xiegu have it within their grasp to be giant slayers but to do that they need to focus more on detail and responding to customer feedback. Finish the X5105 please !
Well said Brian and 100% agreed
Xiegu is in a great position to differentiate themselves by open sourcing / crowd sourcing on the 5105 and 6100 firmware.
X5105 is locked down. If they open source the 6100 firmware, it’ll be a game changer
I got mine from Ham Radio Outllet.
I hope that Xiegu X6100 will get OpenSource firmware. that will make this rig last many years on market. Another site is that as a producer they want to sell not to give this rtx endless life. I cross my finger for opening firmware that can kick forward radio and market position of Xiegu.
The manufacturer might not actually need to open up the firmware. It seems like the community is doing a pretty good job of tearing the Linux operating system apart already. There may be an open source movement growing behind this radio. I completely agree with you though.