SELF-BUILD RADIO KIT

 TECSUN 2P3 AM TRANSISTOR RADIO KIT

Since it's approaching Xmas time, I thought it might be an idea to repost this little gem which is a nice stocking filler. 

My lovely wife bought me a little transistor radio kit for my birthday and I was really chuffed with it. It's the sort of gift I would have treasured when I was a child, but back then all I got was a couple of tin cans and a piece of string 😂

Back in the 60's I was a little 

obsessed with transistor radios and I still have a great fondness for them when I see them on the internet. There were some fantastic designs (I'm talking aesthetics now) and I'd love to collect some of them, but the price of them is just plain ridiculous!

So, some 50 years later, here I am with my dream boyhood birthday present. The kit is well packed and hopefully contains everything needed to complete the build. The instruction sheet was in Chinese 😦 so that would have been fun 😂. Fortunately, I found a PDF file which contains an English translation. It can be downloaded HERE.

I started the kit in the morning and expected to complete it by lunchtime but it actually took me all day, lol. It was very pleasurable and I would love to do something similar again. The kit only cost £27 - you can't complain at that!

The build requires very little in the way of tools - a soldering iron, multi-meter, pliers, cutters, a blade and small screwdrivers. I also found it beneficial to have a pair of tweezers and a round file. 

The first thing I did was lay it all out and then put the relevant bits together, like resistors, capacitors, etc, to aid identification and determine values.

Identifying the resistors was a simple case of measuring them with the multi-meter. You could of course use a colour-wheel or an app like the one on Digikey.co.uk

After sorting out all the components, I cut off a part of the PCB which is later used for the Volume control...

Then it's a case of installing the AUDIO SECTION components - a few resistors, capacitors, an IC and a headphone socket.

Following that simple job, it's onto the DETECTOR SECTION which involves fitting some diodes - and this apparently, is where mistakes can easily be made. Personally, I thought it was pretty straight forward. You just have to take your time and double-check the orientation of the diodes.

With that bit done, it was time to fit more capacitors, resistors, transformers and transistors...

When that job's done, it's time to fit the volume control, complete with its 90 degree PCB section. Once it's slotted in properly, it's a simple case of soldering all the contacts and making doubly sure that the unit is perfectly square.

With the IF SECTIONS complete, it was time to install the Capacitor Gang. Quite a simple task but care had to be taken not to cause any heat damage during soldering.

The most awkward bit of the whole project was installing the ferrite bar and soldering those (6) TINY antenna wires to the PCB. After I'd finished the job, I used a hot-glue gun to stop the coils sliding up and down the bar. 

That's the end of the hard bit - now it's just a case of putting the case together. Needless to say, it's best to see if it actually works before putting it all together, so I fitted some batteries, connected the speaker and switched it on. It was fine!!

After a little "fine tuning" of the transformers and gang-capacitor, I was happy with the radio and then tried it with my TECSUN AN200 loop. That made a big difference to weaker stations, but overall, the radio worked very well without.

VIDEO - Internal Antenna

VIDEO - External AN200 Antenna

For £27, I got a great day's entertainment and a great little transistor radio. Absolutely recommended. It's incredibly easy to build and despite me having very little experience, I got through it with no hiccups and no problems. 

There were no missing components and everything seemed to be of good quality. I found that I had to file part of the case to make sure the tuning dial turned smoothly, but that was the one and only departure from standard.

You are recommended to run tests and take measurements throughout the build but I did none! I just didn't feel that I'd done anything wrong and it turns out I was right, lol.

Good fun!!

HERE'S A COPY OF THE INSTRUCTIONS...

Thanks for visiting - please take a minute to leave a comment below 

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

HANDY BATTERY CASE

 I recently purchased a light, tough little case to carry a radio around in, but then found another use for it.  Like many hams, I’m a little addicted to cases and boxes 😂 so when I saw this one for £17, I just had to have it.

It looked like it was tailor-made for my Zippy FlightMax batteries! Both the 4200 & 8400mAh LifePO’s sat side by side inside the mesh covered base, leaving ample space in the lid for my Accucell 6 Balance Charger (complete with leads and even a battery tester). 

So I now have everything neatly stored in one convenient location. The case can be left in the back of my truck, always ready for action. I just hope the batteries never go rogue or it could be a very expensive storage decision 😂

ELECRAFT AX1 & XIEGU X6100

There seems to be some interest (or curiosity) about pairing the Xiegu X6100 with the Elecraft AX1 multi-band telescopic antenna, so I thought I'd give it a go, since I own both items.

The AX1 is a fabulous little telescopic antenna with a loading coil at its base and a BNC connector so that it can sit directly onto a radio's side-mounted antenna socket with a 90 degree elbow. It was obviously designed to fit onto an Elecraft KX2/3 and there's a small accessory available to support it in the form of two adjustable legs. Use of the AX1 does require an ATU.

From the box, the antenna will cover 17M and 20M but with a wide-ranging ATU (which is built into the X6100), you should be able to get a usable match on 15, 12 and 10M! With the optional 40M coil, you can get on the 40 and 30M bands too.

Needless to say, this is very much a compromise antenna and you shouldn't expect too much from it - that would be silly. But there's nothing else out there quite as versatile as this little package which breaks down into 6" sections for storage. There are plenty of closed-minded keyboard warriors out there who will tell you that it's just a dummy load, but those same people have never actually put their hand in their wallet and tried one - it's so annoying, but I guess that's social media for you.

Despite the compromised nature of this tiny antenna, you will be delighted at how well it can work, given the chance. If the band conditions are right and you put a little extra effort into it, it will surprise you. You should bear in mind that this antenna (without or without the 40M extender) is very narrow banded, so you will need to retune more often than usual, especially as you move from one end of a band to the other.

The first and most important thing to do to improve your chances of success is to choose a good take-off location. This isn't a base-station antenna - it's designed for portable ops.

The next best thing is to add some radials. You get a single radial with each coil, but there's nothing stopping you from adding more - and you should!! Grounding the radio using a spike into the soil can help too.

If you don't want the antenna to be connected directly to the radio, you can buy a tripod accessory called an AXT1 and this will give you more options in terms of placement. You can move the antenna to the side of your table-top or you can move it further away on top of a full-size tripod.

AX1 with IC-705

Using the aforementioned legs, the AX1 will sit comfortably on the X6100 although normally I prefer to use a mini tripod myself, to get some physical separation between me and the antenna to avoid any body capacitance issues. I also have an aversion to placing loads on bnc connectors. But for this test I wanted ‘worse case scenario’.

The AX1 can manage up to 20W using SSB, but I've only ever used it at 10W max and never tried it in any digital modes (and probably wouldn't unless it was at 5W or less (which would be fine for FT8)). 

So, with the antenna connected to the X6100 I started looking for contacts on 20M. I was working from my porch at my static caravan in the Forest Of Bowland with the little AX1 perched on the side of the radio - so the antenna didn’t have any height or placement advantages - quite the opposite - it was very poorly sited.

Within a few minutes of setting up, I managed to get the first contact : OH5TS from Finland, almost 2,000 kilometres away 😮 and received a ‘contest’ 59 from him. I pushed on for a while with 20M and bagged a few more contacts (but none further away) before moving onto 40M. Who’s the dummy now??

If video doesn’t show, CLICK HERE

Then I tried 17, 15 and 10M before calling it a day. I was pretty pleased with my success and it proves that these so called 'Dummy Loads' are absolutely capable of producing good results.

Yes, I would probably have made more contacts with a dipole or a wire thrown up into a tree, but that's not always an option. Sometimes you just want to carry something light and trouble-free. Something that will sit in a small bag, ready for quick deployment at a moments notice.

My AX1 with KX2 in tiny case.

The Elecraft AX1 is not a cheap antenna - it costs around £120 in the UK (if you can get one). And then you have to pay more if you want the 40M coil and the tripod adapter. But with it, you can get some pretty amazing contacts using low, low power and a super compact, super portable kit, easily capable of around 400km/Watt. Below shows a previous 1000km contact which I made using an FT-818 and 2.5W from a terrible take off point.  

So would I recommend the Elecraft AX1? Absolutely!! It can form part of a supremely compact go-bag which doesn't weigh you down as you climb up a hill to bag some new contacts. 

FINALLY, if you're a bit of an experimenter, you could always look at modifying the basic AX1 like Rob Ramsey did in this post.

73, Tom, M7MCQ

XIEGU X6100 MINI-REVIEW

XIEGU X6100  V1.1.7

Given a couple of minutes thinking time, I can justify any of my crazy purchases and in the case of the X6100, this is how it goes...

Every weekend I go to our static caravan near the Trough of Bowland and every weekend I pack a radio and load it into the truck. So I bought a beautiful used Yaesu FT-818 to permanently leave there - makes sense! And then I started to miss having a panadapter, so I thought I'd swap the 818 for a Xiegu. 

I sold the 818 and made £125 profit 😲 and bought an X6100 to replace it. Buying an X6100 makes even more sense when you consider that I recently got my hands on an XPA125B for an absolute song!! 

I've previously owned a Xiegu G90 and I thought it was a fabulous little radio, offering great value for money (although I paid £165 less than the usual price and the deal included extras), so would the X6100 impress as much as the G90?

In the UK, the X6100 costs around £580 new from reputable dealers, although you could probably make some savings by purchasing from Eastern outlets. I didn't fancy risking that, so I went with Nevada. 

So what is the Xiegu X6100? Well basically it's a portable HF/50MHz, MultiMode SDR transceiver with a 4" full colour display screen and up to 10W output. The radio has a host of useful features...

• Built-In Batteries
• Built-In CW Keyer
• Built-In Modem
• Built-In BlueTooth
• Built-In WiFi
• Built-In ATU
• SD Card Slot
• USB-C Sockets
• Noise Blanker
• Digital Noise Reduction
• High Stability TCXO (1ppm)

The parcel arrived promptly from Nevada with the L4001 Interface Lead for the XPA125B which I’d ordered separately. According to the information I've read, this interface makes the radio 100% compatible with the amplifier in terms of control functions like tracking the radio's mode, band, alc, etc. We'll see.

In the box you get the radio, an Icom style microphone (with a backlit keypad), a power lead, a charger lead and a computer interface lead. I know from past experience that the microphone is really quite good and it's certainly a step above some of the bargain basement mics that the big manufacturers ship with their radios.

First impressions when you remove the radio from the box are very good. Now bear in mind that I own an IC-705 and have owned a couple of Elecrafts, so I was half expecting to be disappointed by the Xiegu. But I needn't have worried because it's all metal construction and weight (880g) provide a quality feel and the buttons and printing seem to be of a high standard too. The large VFO dial looks good, but the friction provided by a felt-washer below it needed adjustment so that it rotated more freely.

 

The screen has no touch capability but the menu system is quite intuitive and you very quickly get to know your way around the radio. I like it!  By the way, I strongly recommend the book by Andrew Barron - I got it on Kindle and it was a bargain!

 

The "LOCK" button has a handy secondary feature whereby it reduces the brightness of the screen in five steps, going from maximum brightness to barely visible (for those times when you wish to leave it switched on for hours and don't want any screen-burn).

I was pleased to see that the radio was installed with the very latest FirmWare as advertised on Nevada's website 👍. The battery was showing a 7.8V charge level and I've read in the manual that you need to fully charge and fully discharge the radio FOUR times for the accuracy of the reading to be reliable. 

I was pretty surprised to find that the supplied 600mA mains charger came with a 13A fuse in it, LOL. Surely the UK importers should address that before shipping on to the retailers? 😵 Someone pointed out that many small chargers don't even have fuses and that's true, but here in the UK, if you supply a Mains Plug, you should follow best practice and insert the appropriate fuse.

CHANGE THAT FUSE 😅

The X6100 comes pre-installed with a couple of handy peg-legs to stand the radio at a viewable angle on a desktop. I was pleased to see that, but they do seem a little flimsy so I fitted some laptop stands that  I've used on some of my other radios and they help to keep the radio in place as you push the fascia buttons.

First thing to do was to attach a dummy load and scan the bands for unwanted noises and artifacts. Sadly, the X6100 has more birdies than an aviary!! Many of them are LOUD and in places which wouldn't really effect my listening, but some are definitely in the way! I don't know if we're stuck with that or if firmware updates will be able to resolve the problem. (I'm currently on V1.1.7).

Birdies may differ from radio to radio

After connecting a 66ft EFHW, the radio sprung into life and the built-in ATU managed to find a good match on all bands. Within a few moments I was picking up strong, clear signals and got my first taste of the radio's audio - it wasn't bad, but if you wanted to do some extended listening, you'd probably want to connect a good external speaker. I tried a small BOSE SoundLink Mini II and it sounded great, but if you wanted something much smaller and cheaper, then the LeadSound is highly recommended!

I was impressed with the performance of the radio on its first outing. I was connected to a 40-10M End Fed Half Wave and the X6100's internal tuner found a usable match on 80M! And then using the internal batteries and 5W I managed to get a great contact with Graham G4FNL. See video below...

Click HERE if video doesn't play

After that, I bagged a few more on 80M before getting into a little net on 40M with a group of guys from Ireland and England. They were all amazed at the quality of the signal from this little 5W radio. 58's and 59's all the way.  So the X6100 receiver works just fine on SSB (although it can get a little overloaded and you definitely wouldn't want to have it around other transceivers on a field day). There's no front-end rejection💥

I noticed that in the CW section of the bands, I could detect some voices behind the Morse signals and when I switched to LSB, it became clear that there was a Chinese broadcast station bleeding through. Strangely enough, I couldn’t hear it if I switched to AM 🤷‍♂️.  This interference was on both 20M and 40M - I didn’t try any other bands. This is quite disappointing.

The ATU is good (just like my previous G90) and for many, that's a big plus! As I mentioned earlier, the audio is not bad, but if you ramp up the volume, it does get pretty crappy, so when you're outdoors with higher ambient noise levels you'll definitely need to plug in that external speaker or a pair of headphones. Don't forget to switch the Speaker/Headphone setting in the menu (to be honest, I tend to prefer the headphone setting even when using a speaker!).

Some people have complained about the Noise Reduction on the X6100 but I don't think it's too bad. If yours doesn't sound good, take the time to go into the menus and make adjustments to the DNF settings - it might make a difference.

Rather handily, the X6100 has a CW Practise Mode which is perfect for me because I just bought a paddle to learn the code. In this practice mode, the radio will play the tone without actually transmitting.

The Wi-Fi abilities of the X6100 are severely limited and currently can only be used to connect to the Linux file system over an SSH or to connect a to connect to an NTP Server to get the correct clock time.

The other rather poor implementation is BlueTooth. If you were hoping that it would permit the use of popular hands-free headsets, you’ll be disappointed - probably. My experience was one of complete frustration. The only thing you might use it for is to install a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse (if you can get it to pair), but there’s even limitations on how you can use a keyboard with the radio. 🤬

The internal battery is nice to have, but in reality, it’s not very useful if you plan to transmit for any length of time and I certainly wouldn’t rely on it for outdoor activations - it doesn’t last long at all. I would always take my 13.2V FlightMax LifePO4 with me. 

You only have to look around YouTube to learn that there's plenty of unresolved issues with the X6100 (bluetooth, wi-fi and no squelch for a start). These are minor annoyances but still very frustrating. Then again, you musn't lose sight of the fact that this is a cheap transceiver. 

If you are looking to buy a cheap QRP radio for outdoor activities such as SOTA & POTA, then this could be the radio for you. Outdoors you'll very likely have a great take off and a good antenna such as a SotaBeams BandHopper. You'll be able to drop the power to conserve the internal batteries and still make a few Transatlantic contacts.

If you fancy buying this radio to be your outdoor and your shack radio, then you might want to look at something else, maybe an IC-705 or a used KX2.  Yes, the 705 is crazy expensive, but it's also crazy good! Unlike the X6100, everything works perfectly including full and proper implementation of the Bluetooth and WiFi. The 705 has lots of 3rd party support and it's a piece of cake to work remotely with it - even with an iPad. Another radio to consider might be a Yaesu FT-891 - there’s plenty available on the secondhand market for around £500. They’re non-sdr but what a fabulous receiver!! And up to 100W for those who are licensed to use it.

On the plus side, the X6100 does have that internal tuner and you can maybe put up with the things that aren't quite right in the hope that it will be updated and improved by firmware (although Xiegu have still to fix things on the G90 and that’s been out a long time). 

There's also a Discord Group which is taking advantage of the fact that the radio's operating system (Linux) is hackable, so some very clever people out there are making changes which could massively improve the rig. There's even completely alternative firmware available and this makes it a dream radio for the more advanced users out there. I tried it myself but think it’s got a long way to go yet.

Apparently, you can configure the X6100 to run WSJT-X from within the radio itself!! Click here to see a video about it. Personally, I know NOTHING about Linux and so I found the process pretty daunting to consider. 

If you don't want to spend a fortune on a new radio and you see yourself as a bit of an experimenter, then the X6100 would be a very sound candidate! It's not an IC-705 or a KX3, but it does have great potential and it's a "likeable" radio.

There’s no denying though, that it’s very annoying to find that a radio from such a big manufacturer which is sold by big ham radio retail outlets across the globe, has so many issues. As far as I’m concerned, all advertised features should work reasonably well. 

X6100 & XPA125B for sale!

Please feel free to add your thoughts on the X6100 in the comments section below.

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

>>>USEFUL VIDEOS HERE<<<

>>> MORE VIDEOS<<<

>>> See the X6100 with the AX1<<<

SPECIFICATIONS :

Xiegu X6100 Key Features

• • HF/50MHz all mode including data
  • 10 W transmit power with external power source, 5 W with internal battery
  • 4″ high-resolution color screen, 800*480 pixels resolution
  • Built-in rechargable large capacity lithium battery pack, 12V/3,5 Ah
  • Built-in efficient automatic antenna tuner
  • Standing wave scanner
  • Voice memory keyer
  • CW memory keyer
  • Native Bluetooth and WiFi supports wireless audio, keyboard & mouse
  • Onboard USB serial adapter with sound card
  • Second USB host port to support mouse, keyboard and storage device
  • High stability TCXO internal clock source

Xiegu X6100 General Specifications

• • Frequency coverage: 0,5-30+50-54MHz (Transmit in Ham Bands) Shame it doesn’t go down to 0.1MHz
  • Operating modes: USB/LSB (J3E), CW (A1A), FM (F3E)，RTTY (F1B), AM (A3E)
  • Minimum Frequency Step: 1 Hz
  • External power supply voltage: DC9-15V
  • Frequency stability: ±1.5ppm within 10~30min after startup @25°C: 1ppm/hour
  • Antenna Impedance: 50 Ohm
  • Antenna connector type: BNC
  • Operating temperature range: 0C to +50C
  • Current consumption: RX: <330mA, TX: <3A

Xiegu X6100 Receiver Specifications

• • Frequency coverage: 0,5-30+50-54MHz
  • Receive sensitivity (10dBS/N)
    • (PRE=on, ATT=off, NB=off,NR=off, SSB/CW/AM = 10dB S/N, FM = 12dB SINAD)
    • SSB/CW: 0.20 uV
    • FM 28-30, 50-54 MHz 0.22 uV
    • AM 0,55-1,79 MHz: 10 uV
    • AM 1,8-30 MHz: 2 uV
    • AM 50-54 MHz: 2 uV
  • ADC: 24 bit
  • Spectrum display bandwidth: 96 kHz
  • Spectrum refresh rate: 25 frames/a
  • Spectrum background noise: -140 dBm
  • Audio output: 0,4W (4 Ohm ≥10% THD)
  • 2kHz BDR (Critical frequency suppression): ≥110 dB
  • RMDR: ≥85 dB
  • IMD3: ≥95 dB
  • MDS: -138 dBm

Xiegu X6100 Transmitter Specifications

• Frequency range
  • 1.8~2.0 MHz
  • 3.5~3.9 MHz
  • 5.3515~5.3665 MHz
  • 7.0~7.2 MHz
  • 10.1~10.15 MHz
  • 14.0~14.35 MHz
  • 18.068~18.168 MHz
  • 21.0~21.45 MHz
  • 24.89~24.99 MHz
  • 28.0~29.7 MHz
  • 50~54 MHz
• Output Power: 10W (SSB/CW/FM) @13.8VDC
  • 2.5W (AM carrier wave) @13.8VDC
• Output Power, internal battery: 5W
  • 1.5W (AM carrier wave) @ battery
• Spurious suppression: 1.8~29.6MHz: ≥50dB
  • 50-54 MHz ≥60 dB
• Carrier suppression: ≥50dB
• SSB Frequency Response: 300-2700Hz (-6dB)
• FM Modulation Swing; +/- 5kHz
• Mic Impedance: o,2-10k (600 Ohm typical)
• Antenna tuner tuning impedance range: 1:4.5
• Antenna tuner initial tuning time: ≥ 15s
• Antenna tuner memory recall time ≥ 0.2s

Xiegu X6100 Wireless network/Bluetooth

• • Wireless LAN standard: IEEE802.11b/g/n
  • Authentication and encryption: WEP (64/128bit)
  • WPA-PSK(TKIP)
  • WPA2-PSK(AES)
  • Frequency band: 2.4G
  • Bluetooth version: 4.0

Xiegu X6100 General Specifications

• • Dimensions: 180 x 86 x 49 mm
  • Weight: 880 g (radio unit only)

Xiegu X6100 In the Box

• • X6100 radio unit complete with antenna tuner and internal rechargeable battery
  • Microphone with backlit remote control keypad
  • 12 Volt DC power cord
  • English manual

Xiegu X6100 Suggested Accessories

• • XPA125B 100W Solid State Linear Amplifier
  • L4001 amplifier control cable for XPA125B
  • Authentic FTDI USB Serial Cable for Xiegu transceivers
  • UHF to BNC adapter for connecting antennas with UHF connector
  • Portable Antennas