Category Ham Radio Software

Sep 15 2020

How to Update the Xiegu G90 Firmware and Comments

Xiegu G90 SDR Transceiver

Reviews seem to suggest that the Xiegu G90 is a fairly good Chinese HF transceiver. The G90 received an impressive 4.6 out of 5 rating from 33 reviews posted at eham.net.

With an SDR structure, internal antenna tuner, flexible transceiver settings, highly configurable bandwidth filters and 20 watts of power, the Xiegu G90 is attractive at its price point.

My thinking is that the G90 might be suitable for my Parks on the Air operations, Field Day and other events. My primary concern would be the 15 second FT8 duty cycle and how the finals would hold up. I’d like to hear from you if you have used the G90 with FT8.

The Xiegu GSOC Controller / Panadapter

Just for the sake of mentioning it here, the new Xiegu GSOC external controller / panadapter is, in IMHO out of the question. I am not sure if the GSOC has been released in the U.S. yet but the suggested $500 list price sure scared me off. Here’s a link to a YouTube video with a quick view of the GSOC display.

Coupling the GSOC with the G90 would lead me right back to ordering a second ICOM IC-7300 for my portable operations. When comes to the GSOC, judge it for yourself.

Updating the G90 firmware is not exactly straightforward. The firmware has to be updated separately in the display head and main body. The firmware can be downloaded from various places.

I found the firmware, terminal program (yes… a terminal program) and necessary drivers on Xiegu.eu site in zip format. Some of the sites have downloads in the .rar format which requires 7Zip software on Windows. As of this post, the latest G90 firmware version is 1.74.

Here’s a video of the procedure to follow from YouTube. The video covers firmware version 1.73 but the procedure is exactly the same.

73 de KE2YK
Vintage Morse Code
Sep 4 2020

The Long Island CW Club Revisited

The Long Island CW Club
W2LCW – The Long Island CW Club

The Long Island CW Club (LICW) has come a long way since my first post about the club in January 2018.

I recently visited their Web site and found that the Club now has about 800 members in all 50 states and 18 countries!

As one of the original lifetime members, it’s great to see that their idea of bringing tradition to Amateur Radio has really caught on!

Among the 48 classes on their schedule, LICW now offers classes for kids and ladies. What a perfect idea to bring people together into one of the best aspects of the Amateur Radio hobby and service.

Morse Code, The Original Digital Mode

Unlike FM and SSB modes, Morse code or CW (continuous wave) only needs a narrow bandwidth to operate. Less bandwidth means space for more operators. CW transmissions can be received when band conditions are poor. Morse code was, is and always will be the original form of digital transmissions.

Are you interested in learning the most efficient, original form of digital communications?

Visit the Long Island CW Club. Check out their web site, photo gallery, videos and class schedules today!

73 de KE2YK
Apr 21 2017

How To Take Your SharkRF OpenSpot Portable!

Take Your Openspot Portable

Take Your Openspot Portable

I recently grabbed a SharkRF OpenSpot from Grapevine Amateur Radio. As of this post, Jason KC5HWB sells the units shipped for $215. What’s better than buying Ham Gear from a Ham! Jason does a video series on “What’s New In Ham Radio”. Be sure to check out his HamRadio 2.0 site for the latest and greatest goodies!

Since I already have a DVMega / Bluespot for the Ham Shack my plan was to set up the OpenSpot for portable operation.

Installed my Gatcepot 24000mAh 5.5A Universal 3-Port Ultra-High Capacity Power Bank , TPLink Nano Router and the SharkRF OpenSpot into the Pelican 1150 case and now go 100% portable by tethering the router to my iPhone 7.

With inspiration from Rob AK7RM’s how to (thanks Rob), I threw my How To version together with some extra info to help with the setup process. I also wanted to specifically cover the problem that hung me up for a bit. Check the note about the SSID value.

This how to is written specifically for use with the the TPLink Nano Router and an iPhone7 in Hotspot mode. However you can probably adapt it to any similar setup.

Get your copy of my OpenSpot Portable Ops document.

Enjoy! Hope To Catch you on DMR 73 – Gary KE2YK