Watch This Before Buying A Xiegu GSOC 

So unfortunate, but your speed in making a declaration illustrates the glaring issues that currently plauge this unit and how much you value your viewers and ham ops. to let us all know. Thanks Josh 73 de N2NLQ

And this is why I won’t buy radio stuff without checking the reviews,that’s a decent wedge of money Thanks for jumping on this as early as you did!

I'm more interested in that little folding keyboard than the GSOC, lol.

Thanks for the demonstrations and discussion of the issues you're experiencing, Josh. Fair criticisms all around and wise advice on waiting.

Hi Josh, Thanks for making the ham community aware of some teething problems with the GSOC. As I mentioned in the live stream, not quite ready for prime time. You and the family stay safe. 73 WJ3U

Good info, I am looking at mine now and will see what else I might notice, and if I can replicate some of these issues you mention

I am doing the beginning of the research into the ham radio world, so I 'm lost in every thing that you just explained. Happy to know, what not to buy, at this time. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to seeing you and the others whom have shared knowledge with all of us. I can see I've got a lot seat time ahead of me to get going in this new to me ham operating world.

thanks for doing God's work on this one, Josh! I will throw my 2 cents in. I had problems with the PAX100 amplifier from Radioddity (who also sell the GSOC) and they replaced my amplifier through a series of emails no sweat. great customer service!

Thank you for the honest review. I was put off by the price of the unit, but now that I’ve seen this video, I think I’ll wait a long while and hope they get the firmware right. Thanks es 73!

Glad I canceled my order. I was all excited day of launch, then after 2 shipping delays I saw the writing on the wall and canceled the order. I'll wait it out and maybe a few upgrades later it will be worth looking at again.

Thank you for the heads up.

I get the impression that Xiegu had some success with the Radios, but then rushed this out prematurely. Hopefully just growing pains.

K8MRD and I had the same concerns when we were playing with it. The touch targets suck, there's no touch calibration, the Notch filter was non-op, and there was a constant carrier no matter what freq (LO maybe?). I'd stear clear of this for a while unless until someone cracks one open and we can see how it works and some firmware updates come out.

Thank you man. Appreciate the video.

Thanks Josh. Very concise and accurate information. I also showed the GSOC to the club last night and told them do not buy it. I am going to keep mine and hope for better firmware. Or even more fun, for someone to figure out how to hack it. I really believe that someone (maybe even me) will figure out hot to crash it to the OS. But again, no one should buy this for now.

Hello.I really appreciate your video.I also bought this unit and I'm not very happy but at least I'm not the only one with these issues. So once again thank you. Ron. Z. Pgh. Pa.

Hi (from Poland), I've a G90. I'm not complaining. But I don't think I will decide on GSOC soon. Just thank you. Well done.

yes, random crashes and all the problems you mentioned. Pity. Thought I might put some ferrites round the interconnects to see what effect that has on the random noise

The notch filter on ANY radio is not for removing “a piece of a sideband signal” as you out it. Rather, it’s for tuning out a single tone - e.g. one continuous audio frequency - as when somebody is throwing a dead key carrier (like when tuning an antenna or just trying to deliberately QRM). More commonly, a notch filter is used when working CW to tune out a nearby QRM’ing CW station.

Thank you, Josh, for informing the community about these issues with the GSOC. My GSOC is going back for a refund. Unfortunately, Xiegu has tarnished their brand and hams are going to look more critically at their products and updates from this point on and rightfully so. What was Xiegu thinking?

Good, honest information. That’s why I became a Patreon sub 👍.

Thanks for the work you do...and for all info ..speciel for a yellowjacket like me.... stay safe and have fun....

I am gladI cancelled my recent order, waiting for it to be available at the end of the month. After your livestream I was convinced to do this. Thanks to Sid at Radiooddity canceling my order and refund with polite handing of it. W2CH

Thanks for sharing 👍

such vibrant colors

I'm interested in a G90, because i want to get into remote field operations, and I like the idea of the extra wattage available with the G90 for those type of setups. The larger GSOC screen would be nice, but also more weight, cables, and setup hassle for SOTA-type operations. For a shack setup, the price of the G90 and GSOC has you at or very near the price of an ICOM IC-7300 or similar, which would likely be a much better all-around performer. I'll still be getting a G90 for field work, but thanks for confirming the GSOC isn't for me, unless there's a lot of de-bugging and a significant price drop to justify the purchase. Thanks for the info!

It is sounding from the promo stuff that the FM features are coming in a future update, but also the GSOC only can transmit where the attached radio can transmit. In the case of the model G90 radio core HF only and no 6 or 2 meter. So FM will be on 10m only. There is some suggestions that other radios are coming to add 6m, 2m, and other UHF and maybe SHF frequencies. Digital is performed using a gross open uncased interface that connects the radio to data, amp etc. That interface looks likr an after thought.

yep, i took one for the team and ordered in August... received it, hooked it up, did some testing... it works OK for receiving and some ssb, but i have noticed the same issues... i made my recommendation on my g90 FB group to not buy...basically we were sold a bill of goods and got a half-baked prototype... EU folks can most likely get a return, but this side of the pond, a CFPB complaint may have to be used if the dealer won't take a return...

Thank You very match!!!

I've seen persistent noise like this in cheap SDR dongles as well usually with little to no filtering on them. Based on watching all the videos on this unit, I think this is simply taking the IF from the G90 and running it against it's own SDR inside the GSOC. Additionally it passes through the head interface which it uses to control the unit and do the mic functions. Having said that I would think you could build your own using something like an RSP1a and a cheap android tablet and get better results most likely.

Hey Josh, Has there been any software updates to improve this thing?

I would like to see you do an overview of w10 software, what you like and don't like. If SWR changes is there something on the radio that can be used to adjust to it?

Not many videos on this since last year; has there software updates fixed any of these issues?

My mother taught me that if I had nothing good to say I should say nothing at all. I have nothing to say about this radio. LOL.

Josh, first let me say I love the channel! I was out of the hobby for a while a

This is why I went with ic-7300

Josh, the noise with nothing connected is typical for SDR's sampling at baseband (previous Flex generations 1000/1500/3000/5000, Elecraft KX3, most popular homebrew designs from 10-15 years ago like the Avala, Genesis, Softrock etc). They use a zero-beat mixer that is producing I & Q signals and sampling that with audio ADC's to get +/- 96kHz (or less) of bandwidth around the center local oscillator frequency (translated by the mixer ot 0Hz). Because of this, low frequency noise (mains and its harmonics, internal regulators, sometimes even detected AM from very strong nearby stations etc) makes its way into the receiver and appears as trace/s around the center of the spectrum. Very hard to avoid, especially since audio ADCs are considerably more sensitive than RF ADCs used in direct-sampling SDRs like the IC-7300 (we are talking 24bit vs 14/16bit depth). There are software methods to clean up those traces based on measuring noise with nothing connected and compensating in software, that works to some effect; KX3 uses a 8kHz shift for receive to specifically avoid this.

I think i will keep my Icom, at least the headquarters are just 20 min drive from home and any time i nees something they are amazing and nice.

Josh, (just in case this hasnt already been asked) have you possibly tried to wrap a toroid core or a ferrite bead around the power connector (or other cables) to fix the rfi while on the dummy load? 73 Kj7ocp

I thought that this interface will correct the way you move in the frequency, so that you do not have to check the value that changes (units, tens, hundreds kHz). I think it's more welcome to connect the base station to a PC.

I have watched your videos and I was concerned about purchasing this unit. But I just found out that CAT control is accomplished by using a Bluetooth dongle on the gsoc side and configuring Bluetooth through your computer to FLRIG. Haven’t tried it but this may actually work

Makes you wonder if the G90 has noise that you can't see without the GSOC. Are you confident it's only a GSOC issue?

03:00 The magic beard hair appears lower left. 09:52 It hung on the whole show.

Yes, the term is: "not ready for prime time!" On the rfi hash issue, have you tried just disconnecting it from the radio & see if the hash goes away? And... when you see this hash, does it also appear on the G90 waterfall? Waaaaay over priced! Thanks for your candid review.

I seem to be one of the few people trying to get GSOC working with the X5105. I may be missing something, but I'm not getting any sound from the GSOC speakers, only from the radio. Thanks for the link to the GSOC forums....I'll check there to compare notes.

To follow on from yesterday, I have fitted a ferrite bead to each end of the I/Q lead and low and behold the mirrored ghost RFI has gone on all bands between the G90 and HDSDR. Could you maybe give this a shot Josh to see if it also rectifies the issue on the GSOC. I have used snap on type beads gripping to the last rib of the plug lead tail (the flexi rubber bit protecting the lead going into the plug) for repeatability by others. Hopefully there are many other simple user fixes out there that any ham worth their licence can fix. As all of us Xiegu owners know, there are more 'hidden' features than the manual tells us about and I do think this is a key part of the discovery experience. Finally; as new firmware comes out we get a few new toys added to the box. Yes you could get an IC-7300 for the cost of the G-90, GSOC and the 100w linear, but the G-90 gets you on the air, then the linear gives you extra power as you progress (in the UK we have 10w, 50w and 400w limits per licence- foundation, intermediate and full) and not the GSOC gives you a nice front end to this wonderful HF rig. I wonder if there are any 'hidden' functions within long key presses. 73 de 2M0FUP

Josh, thanks for this frank but fair review, it's now March 22 and I'm going to look on your channel to see if there is any update. I'm wondering how it turned out for you and others who bought this item. I have a brand new G90 waiting to be fired up and wonder if, nearly two years on, it's worth buying a GSOC. I would welcome a personal opinion.

Does the G90 exhibit the same noise floor with the GSOC disconnected? I'd be interested to see if the I/Q is clean viewed via a tablet or PC waterfall.

I have a G90 and have had a blast with it. But throw in a GSOC and you're getting into IC-7300 territory cost-wise, and that's just an entirely different league of radio.

Hello. Also when you tap on. Level. Nothing happens at all. Hopefully a firmware update will work these issues out. Alot of money to waste. Not very happy with xiegu and what we also should have for the money is at least a good manuel

I have a G90 and was interested in this new box, but I will probably wait or not get it at all. Its too expensive for its current state of development. Xiegu should do a complete redesign and combine the radio with the GSOC and make it weather proof. Being digital friendly would be a plus. WTF with USBs with no connectivity? Good luck getting a return back to China without spending big bucks for shipping.

Hello my friend, Today is March the 3rd 2021 ,I wanted to ask you if the problems that the GSOC had are still a problem or have they been addressed. Please let me know thank you. From KG5ZLO 73'S

Im looking into using a scanner for the purpose of listening to EMS/Fire/Police radios. Dispatch and live radios. Im using my Bearcat bc350c. Im looking to get into more frequencies. I can use 0-500k frequencies, blocked from 502-850k. Then i able to hear from 850+. I have heard i need p25 and phase 2. I just really want to just listen. Dont want to be able to talk...any recommendations on which one to use? No too exspensive. I have been watching your videos. I believe i have found one, but I just dont want to risk speaking or "chatting" by accident.

Thanks Josh. I will not be spending out for this display unit now but I was considering it before. With the unit being this poor it’s a wonder how they can justify the price.

Those appear to be USB 1.0 ports (white) so they will have limited use and low bandwidth.

Josh, can you please give this a whirl with the X5105? It seems this is the long-promised "panadaptor" for the X5105, but I want to SEE it working, and understand the interface requirements. Also, that's a nifty folding keyboard....... got a link for the source?

Hi Josh, would you be interested in reviewing our Spectrum DSP for the G90 and other rigs?

As of Dec 2021 have the issues been resolved that you are aware of?

What version for firmware is/was installed.

Bom dia. Sou do Brasil e gostaria de tirar uma dúvida sobre o xiegu gsoc. E possível sintonizar as emissoras normais de rádio AM/FM e OC nele,igual a rádios tipo( tecsun,Degen etc) ou e somente para sintonia de frequência de rádio amador Queria comprar um,mas tenho essa dúvida.

Can I connect the GSOC X1505 and XPA 125b at the same time

Well, I appreciate your videos on this unit. When I saw your first video, my curiosity was piqued. But I think I'm going to pass on this.

its time for radio manufactors to build service centers in NA to address issues.ITS good bussiness sense..ie Lab599 tx500 did so in Nevada, can be done ..should be done my 2 cents worth 7 3

Had one on order, was due to be shipped end of month. /Canceled and charge refunded. I'll be reordering when the unit is "Ready for Prime Time".

Seems like the unit is poorly shielded hence the noise.

Ive expierenced the random shutdowns, one comment on here about putting a ferrite on the iq cable worked. It all but eliminated the birdies on the scope. I only do voice so i find the gsoc adaquite in performance. Is it worth 550 dollars, not really. Now the g90 rig itself is darn good especially portable. I found some switching power supplies created some scope hash as well. The notching works on the knob on the top left when you push it in, but, you have to narrow it up just a scosh to get it to work correctly on mine.... i have no scope issues without the ferrite on 40, 80, and 20, but upwards in freq, there are issues...now with the gsoc, i cant use my boom mic and w2ihy gear, i can with the radio alone thru the accessory port in the back of the radio, with the audio set to line in audio versus mic in, but the gsoc wont allow it. there is no setting to differenciate mic in or line in as on the original g90. And btw, the boom mic and w2ihy sounds fantastic on just the g90 , But the ptt works with the gsoc, so it does work the als 600 with the gsoc......all n all, it needs work. Id buy a ic 7300 for the money before id buy the g90 and the gsoc, but for portable qrp, the g90 stand alone is the way to go in that reguard..... 73, KC3OBQ

i think that xiegu went out of their client base with thia unit. to be a base station it is lacking, one can buy a monitor, raspberry, keyboard mouse and 3 sound cards to do the same

That baseline noise is the internal soundcard noise floor...

If the connection between the G90 and GSOC is an I/Q feed, then it's a digital feed, and the GSOC wouldn't be creating the hash, the hash would be from the G90 in the analog section before the ADC. It is possible that the GSOC is generating the RF and it's being picked up and digitized by the G90. But what if the spurs and the extraneous RF are just problems with the G90 that you don't see until you've got a big screen like the GSOC? Also: I could be totally wrong.

I know this is an old video but thought it was worth the mention that the noise your seeing on the dummy load is in fact coming from the I/Q output of the radio. Not sure why the hell they chose to feed the GSOC that way when the original faceplate doesn't use it but is able to supply waterfall function. Anyways there are tons of complaints on the X90 user groups of people trying to use the I/Q output for PC injection to SDR#, CubicSDR, etc only to discover the output is very weak and has lots of noise in it. Actually I don't even think it's an isolated output. Seriously, plug in a 3.5mm cable and tap the tip end on the other end while looking at the stock display. You'll see all kinds of spikes in the waterfall. If this were an isolated output this would not happen as there would be no "return path" to the I/Q. ---UPDATE--- I just received email from the support department of radioddity, they did in fact confirm there is no isolation or amplifier on the IQ output so if you plan on hooking anything to it use an isolator or risk killing your radios IQ circuit! They also recommended a low noise amplifier to increase the signal.

I have had NOTHING but problems with Chinese radios. I don't care that they are cheap or that some hams have good luck with them, I will stick with radio brands that publish repair info, have replacement parts, and have real service departments. Stick with the big boys, Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu. Paul, W6PMR.

josh, ferrite the iq cable.

As a long time xeigu user for both the 5105 and the G 90. it is my understanding that xeibu regards its user base as beta testers. Unfortunately this unit should not have been released since it is marginally functional. Icom on the other hand releases fully tested units and they still require updates. For those who like beta testing Xeigu is a valid choice all others should be cautious

I watched them trying to come out with this a long time. What stopped me was the price, it costing more than the radio. Perhaps they tied to do too much... But not having easy USB digital is a non starter. Totally spoiled by the IC-7300...

Going to wait digital mode it has problems by itself tnxs 73

So much easier to control with a mouse!

I figured this thing wasn't going to be ready ... and too expensive ... from the official talk on the FB forums. Asking very specific questions wouldn't get you a good answer.

You just have to wait till they fix things, the G90 itself was BAD when it first came out. I think they put stuff out there and get feedback/complaints and fix issues. Flex radio still has plenty of stuff that does not work on their radios after YEARS... And I thought a notch filter was to filter out a tone, like a carrier on ssb... Or maybe its just not working yet. And RJ45 IS an ethernet term, but people use it for any 8 pin jack it seems.... It seems like they have just the basic functions working so far...

the noise on the spectroscooe is from the iq cable

I mean, the radioddty site clearly lists it as "PRESALE". I read that as the hardware is finalized but the software isn't.

the G90 is an excellent radio for what you pay for, but adding the GSOC and an amplifier brings the price well above the cost of a 7300, which is indeed a way better radio. It just doesn't make any sense...

6:50 That's just a persistent noise floor

Sounds like save your pennies and get a 705, tx500, FtDx10. Glad I've got the 705...

Any new updates on this unit as of 2024? New thoughts?

Made him do that

This thing is more expensive than the transceiver by itself!

Sadly broken mic on firmware

OhMyGosh, you actually pronounced the company name correctly!

Any updates on this Josh?

550+450 you get a icom g man we had fun 30 years ego end now we have tablets acting like a cb

GSUC

I don't see what the advantage that this has over 817 by the time you buy a G90 you only save 100 bucks ... if you buy a X5105 from a reputable dealer you got 700 plus almost 500 for this junk remote head ... 1200 is a lot for a Chinese radio that you will never be able to get fixed later on down the road . You could buy a good new name brand base radio at that price .. An icom 7300 on sale for under 900.... or if you had to have a QRP rig for back packing the ft 818 is a heck of a lot cheaper, $649, and i believe you can hook it to one of your devices you already own instead of that nasty control head shown here plus more extra bands 6, 2, 440 .. I do think the G1M would be a nice qrp rig at only $230, for a 4 band hf that's reasonable and if it craps out on you , then you won't cry as much while you throw it in the trash can .....Just my thoughts

FIRST TOM

Xiegu quality (and that of their distributor MFJ), isn't the same as Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom, Flex- or any other quality. We all know what MFJ stands for.

My RTL-SDR dongle receives signals in a far better way.

G90 + GSOC + XPA125B = ￥? , X5105 + GSOC + XPA125B ＝ ￥? , IC-7300 ＝ ￥? , FT-991A ＝ ￥？

I'm quite sure I piss people off when I comment on Chinese radios. Yes, I know the video is not about the politics but about the hardware. That being said. I will complain anyhow because I think it is such an important issue. I am much more adamant regarding Chinese goods than I am about Japanese. Why? Solely because we are allies with Japan. And, we have as far as I now a somewhat balanced trade agreement with Japan. I would still prefer folks buy American. Elecraft, Flex, TenTec, etc. Those three might be it and I haven't even checked to make sure Flex is American. Why American? Well, I have worked since the age of sixteen years old, full time, in the manufacturing industry. When Clinton was ushering in NAFTA, I screamed bloody murder because the writing was on the wall. Many said I was nuts, but I unfortunately was correct. A huge amount of American manufacturing went to other countries. My job of 26 years disappeared. I floated from one shop to another for ten years, then finally settled into my latest 7 year long job. It WAS doing very well. If Biden actually makes it into the White House this job too may disappear on me. We make parts mostly for a sector Biden recently said he would phase out. I don't want to hear it. I watched him say it with my own eyes. Anyhow China. Folks, please. Look into China. They are hard core communists. Their human rights are horrific. Just look into the Uyghurs. They are a Muslim sect that are being force sterilized. Forced abortions, forced re education camps, and many say they are being executed as well. That's only a small part of Chinese horrors. So even if you forget American manufacturing, which you wouldn't if you or some one you loved was employed in this way, at least think of the Horrid Communist activities of the People's Republic of China. I thought ham radio was supposed to be as American as apple pie. If so... .Supporting a communist regime guys? Come on. And look up the Uyghurs. Google may not tell you both sides. Try DuckDuck Go . Bing MIGHT be OK.

A display that costs 25% more than the radio it supports *and* is buggy AF? This is literally the first time in my life I *didn't* pull the trigger too soon and buy a piece of crap! Hooray ME!!!

Love the G90 but this unit is sadly even below normal Chinese quality! 73

Well to put it all under perspective Chinese people have a higher intellect