FX-4CR 20 Watt Mini Ham Radio Transceiver: Should You Buy It? 

Well Bob, I bought one direct from Yu before your enthusiastic and thorough reviews, and I can truthfully say that this radio is a little gem! The fact that you put your stamp of approval on it really confirms my purchase. I have had occasion to email Yu with questions and received immediate responses to my inquiries. He truly backs up his product! I am blown away by the operation of the FX-4CR and look forward to more of your videos about it. 73

Thank you Bob for sharing this video on the FX-4CR. You and I both love small things. That is one attaction I have to this radio and it has good reviews. I am studying for the Extra right now and then moving on the CW. I am setting a goal for myself that when I get to the point of learning CW where I can be on the radio, I am going to treat myself to the FX-4CR. Thank you again Bob.

Bob excellent walk through of the FX-4CR. Great point that if you are willing to work through some software / hardware updates this is the radio for you. If not just wait until they get worked out.

First of all, great video Bob! I received a first production run of this rig. I can tell you from experience that Yu very much stands by his product. About a month into using it, I started having issues with power output. Yu responded very quickly to my situation when I contacted him by email. After doing some tests he asked me to do, he believed my FX-4CR had a bad PA board. He told me he would send a replacement radio out after the latest firmware update was ready. True to his word, he shipped another rig in a case with all accessories. This rig had the new motherboard and latest firmware update that was released earlier this month. He shipped it last Sunday, at his expense, and I received it on Tuesday! He uses International FedEx Priority and insisted on paying for the shipping himself. Mind you I still had the original radio and I finally did convince him to let me pay for the return shipping of that one. This not only shows his character as a person, but also his commitment to those who purchase his radios! Sorry for such a long comment, but one other thing I wanted to mention is how easy it is to get into digital modes with the FX-4CR. If you have an Android phone or tablet, the FT8CN Android app works great with this transceiver. Bluetooth CAT control works so you don't even have to connect with a cable. It's as simple as connecting your Android device to the FX-4CR with Bluetooth and selecting the rig in the app. Then select Bluetooth CAT control in the app and the band you want to use for FT8. The frequencies are already in the app and I didn't need to change any of the default settings. Started making QSOs on 10m in no time. No computer needed! Please keep the videos coming sir! I've learned a lot from your channel. 73, Tim KW4TIM

I feel the same way as you did. I am fascinated by form factor, design and functionality. And at the same time willing to accept there might be issues to contend with because it is not a mass-produced item. Looking forward to receiving my order this summer. 73

From my perspective, you strain to clearly articulate your use case and preferences for a product so as to be very transparent to the viewer how yiu arrive at your evaluation of a product. I like this approach very much, Bob. I ordered the FX-4CR just before I saw your unboxing video. John AE5X’s video made me pause a bit. But the decision by Yu to release the firmware as open source gave me a green light. I have an IC-705 too but this one has my enthusiasm much the same way that you have: there’s craftsmanship and the Fahrvergnugen factor. The G90 clearly has the latter. The FX-4CR likely will, too. Keep posting your experiences with this rig. Mine is scheduled to ship in the June batch. I’ll put an ATU-100 in my bag to go with it. 73, Frank K4FMH

Thanks for the info. I believe this could be for me - it “checks a lot of boxes” for me. New house in an HOA neighborhood so no external antenna and attic has radiant barrier so no attic antenna. I’m planning on doing “POTA at home” - by setting up a temporary antenna of some kind in the back yard of an evening, operating HF from my back patio, then packing it all away before daylight reveals my creative interpretation of the rules. I’m interested in SSB, and as a computer guy eventually maybe some digital modes. As an engineer (mechanical and software) the hand crafted machinery aspects of this appeal to me. Finally, the low power levels work for me, from a safety/peace of mind aspect, as well as the challenge. I’m not looking to make long range contacts, just fool around with it some. If I can make a few contacts around the states, great.

Thanks for the video! Keep them coming!

Hi Bob, love your videos. Please keep them coming. I just purchased the fx4cr from you and was wondering how long it took for it to arrive. Thanks 73 Roger w8rlp

YU did an amazing job. I have just rec'vd mine and it is amazing. It is a work of art.

I purchased mine from YU as well. I have no complaints. Definitely does the job (SSB & CW)

A couple corrections I'd like to make about this rig that were not mentioned in the comments: 1) there are no remaining hardware issues with the FX4CR; only a certain subset of preorders had that issues -and Yu offered to pay for roundtrip shipping to fix it personally if users are not comfortable doing so themselves 2) Yu plans on making the code to his radio open-source this year, so as not to mirror the Xiegu approach of 'perpetual patches'. His customer service is great and very responsive; two others helped design the radio (one being an American ham by the name of K6ARK)

Just received my own FX-4CR yesterday. I am anxious to get it on the air. I need to make some power adapters and wonder what is the designation for the power plug, and where does one find them? I sure enjoy your videos on this neat little radio. Thanks. 73.

I ordered mine.. looking forward to June delivery.

Great review!!

Can you use the full 20w power to do Winlink? Thanks!!!

I love mine and also I love my ic705.

I find this radio beautiful and I think one of the big radio makers will copy it soon. Imagine an icon in this form factor, with the quality of the 705. Along with an app you can download an app that you could use to control it (like the sdr-control). The small screen would exist for basic configuration, specially so you configure the wifi. As a software engineer I know it’s possible and easy to do. These features with this form factor would be sooo good 73

What is the service and repair process going to look like since it is only one man? Just one factor to conceal. It is a beautiful little radio.

Hi Bob It works extremely well on 0.1 watts I have had heaps of contacts on it I must say it’s impressive and great support from Yu !

Anyone tried digital modes with this radio? Can the band/frequency be set and audio in/out work over USB? Bluetooth?

This radio has no built in tuner, no built in battery, no cw decoder, but has 20 watts out. When you pair it with a battery, CW decoder, and an auto tuner you lose the small footprint and you sort of kick yourself for not spending the same amount on a xiegu x6100 which has everything I mentioned in one unit, plus a much larger screen, a lot less connections since tuner is built in and FT8 can be done over a single USB C plug and a legit VFO knob.

Hello, can the FX-4CR put out 20W CW if you want to or is the firmware preventing that? Gust ON6KE

It was a little disconcerting to see the sensitivity at -121 dBmW. If that is correct, the receiver will be pretty deaf above about 15 MHz. A good test is to listen as the antenna is connected. If the noise level comes up, the receiver is atmospheric noise limited, and can hear anything that any other receiver can hear on that frequency. I already have an older QRP transceiver with a -119 dBmW noise floor, and it is extremely frustrating to use in the upper part of the HF spectrum. It simply won't copy many of the weak signals that other receivers can hear on the higher bands. So how about a follow up with a simple test? Connect/disconnect a full size antenna on 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters, and let us know if the noise level comes up.

I like this. W2AEW does a really credible review of it. BTW Elecraft (Elegant Craft) started with two individuals, as did TruSDX. As they say, two is one and one is zero. So I will watch it for a little longer.

Great radio

Did you have to update yours or was it gtg?

Whats the best Tuner to run with FX-4CR? size and power wise? Bob Scott KF0HRF

I have had good results from Anker products. Not the cheapest, but they have longevity.

Yaesu ft 891 is much better quality and power for me Japan radios is fantastic thanks for the video

For a FX-4CR custom case: ru-vid.comfVVuTzmysbg?feature=shared

The chinese know how to built attractive hardware, they use backlit keys. An not only in expensive gear but also the in the cheap. I wish, the IC-705 had it too!

"Power" from any low power HF rig is a 40 Watt amp away, built from an $18 eBay kit. There are relatively inexpensive kits available for any power output you want, from 10 W to 1500 W. Power output is simply a plug-in attachment. So power output from a rig means pretty much nothing to me.

Not at US$580... never.