Xiegu
| Xiegu | |
|---|---|
| Trademark owner | Chongqing Xiegu Technology Co., Ltd. |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | China |
| Known for | Compact, low-power HF transceivers such as the G90 and X6100 |
| Status | Active |
Xiegu is a Chinese manufacturer of amateur radio transceivers, best known for small, low-power HF transceivers built for portable operating. Its best-known radios, including the G90 and the X6100, are software-defined radios that pack a color spectrum display and a built-in antenna tuner into a case small enough for a backpack. The radios reach hams mainly through independent importers and dealers.
History
European importers of the brand give 2010 as the year the company was founded. The XIEGU trademark is held by Chongqing Xiegu Technology Co., Ltd., which filed for it in the United States in 2025, and European dealers list the manufacturer's address in Dongguan, in Guangdong province.
Xiegu's early radios included the X1M, a small QRP (low-power) HF transceiver from around 2013, the X108 of 2014 and the X108G of 2015, a 20-watt HF radio. The X5105 of 2017 was an all-in-one portable set. The G90, a 20-watt HF transceiver introduced in the late 2010s, was reviewed in QST in March 2020, at which time Xiegu radios were distributed in the United States by MFJ Enterprises.
The X6100, announced in 2021, marked a new direction for the company, toward self-contained radios with a larger color screen and an internal battery. Its successor, the X6200, followed in 2024, and the G106, a basic low-power radio, was added in 2022.
Amateur radio products
Xiegu's catalog concentrates on portable HF radios and accessories that extend them.
- G90 – A 20-watt transceiver for 160 through 10 meters with a built-in automatic antenna tuner and a small color display showing a spectrum and waterfall. The front panel can be detached and mounted away from the main unit. Its general-coverage receiver tunes continuously from 500 kHz to 30 MHz, so it also hears shortwave broadcast stations.
- X6100 – An HF and 6-meter transceiver with an internal lithium-ion battery, internal tuner and larger display. It puts out about 5 watts on its own battery and 10 watts from an external supply.
- X6200 – The successor to the X6100, covering 160 through 6 meters, with a removable battery pack; it is rated at about 4 watts on the internal battery and 8 watts on external power.
- G106 – A simpler low-power transceiver without a built-in tuner.
- X5105 – An earlier all-in-one portable radio, now out of production.
The company also makes accessories for these radios, including the XPA125B, an amplifier with a built-in antenna tuner, and other add-on amplifiers, batteries and expansion boards.
In the hobby today
Xiegu's emphasis on small portable radios suits outdoor activity programs such as Parks on the Air and Summits on the Air, where a station has to be carried in and set up quickly. The radios use the same approach as larger SDR transceivers, with filtering, demodulation and the spectrum display handled in software rather than in dedicated circuits. Several models run at or near QRP power levels, which is enough for CW and for weak-signal digital modes such as FT8.