What many people don't realize, is that code is very rarely 'ready', it gets patched, refactored, etc. If we waited until the code was perfect, it would probably never get released. The advantage of beta testing, is real users are feeding back into the design.
I absolutely love mine. I got the side rails but I’ve not managed to get the fan to come on yet. (SSB only) Today I spoke to Sydney Australia from England on 25m - 16,972 kilometers with only 20W using 3x 18650 batteries madness - I absolutely love this radio easily the best portable radio available in 2023.
Thank you for my first big smile of the day! I'm not the first to review a radio, but I try to give a more in-depth look at it. Don't want to waste anyone's time with fluff.
Great video, Bob. Your voice is back to full strength! I really like my FX-4CR. I’ve also added a heat sink fully along the top. But I look forward to the handle/fan upgrade being offered as a separate purchase on Yu’s website. I bought RFDan’s amp cable and buffer relay for this radio to use with my Elecraft kxpa-100 amplifier when I need it. It’s a good, solid product!
Yup, I'm in a period where my voice is working...for now. I added a transistor buffer inside the mini plug housing (just fit!) to drive the amp. New firmware is coming soon too.
Thanks for talking about the CW filters. So often the CZcams reviewers dont talk about this for obvious reasons. Good luck and have fun with the rig! 73
Seems to be A slightly improved malachite receiver with an added on transmitter. It's not in the same league as an IC-705 but it costs less than half as much.
It may appear that way from the display, but this is a MUCH more sophisticated device. It has tight receive bandpass filters for each ham band and has to provide another full set on the way out as low-pass filters for the TX. From the performance I estimate that it is a 14 bit device throughout. The Malachite is 12 bits or less for sure. Then there is Bluetooth and built-in audio cards...electronic keyer and a bevy of other user features. It's still a bargain at $550
Can't go wrong with the G90. Outstanding radio! An advantage of the FX-4CR is size and portability. If am working with a lightweight resonant antenna in one of the local parks, the FX-4CR seems like a very good choice.
Hee hee hee.. Well, don't feel too bad. In the last year I've had the TS-990s, IC-7851 and FTdx-101D here for months. ALL of them are gone except for the 7610. News FLASH: Icom is just releasing a firmware update to include Pre-Distortion to the 7610. Holy crap! Only Anan has been able to pull this off so far...Flex?...nope... It cleans up Transmit distortion products to create an ultra-clean TX signal. I think I'm literally going to buy another/fresh 7610 as my next rig.
I am very intrigued about the 20 watts. We've seen a bunch of the qrp versions of this bit I've never seen one that gets to the 5 watts they claim. 20 watts is absolutely interesting
Very nice video, Bob. I immediately ordered one and received it after 4 days. Are the heat sinks glued on or fixed with screws? From where got you the stands? Are you from Hungary? Nagy means large in English😊. Best 73 KC3CVR, Dietmar, Pittsburgh PA
I just used carpet double sticky tape at each end and conductive paste in-between. Adding ANY heat sink material conducts enough heat away so it stays OK in any mode of operation. The stands are on Amazon...there are several types- choose what you like. I'm a NY'er living in Arkansas... yes Nagy means BIG. I'm BIG BOB.
Nice case, but I got a (tr)uSDX kit, (designed by PE1NNZ and DL2MAN,) for $100, and added a $17 40W amp kit in case I needed to run power. That saved me $500 to buy other things, and I can buy a lot of other things for $500.
Many thanks for the video, Robert. Perhaps you can help me solve a problem I have with the FX-4CR. The radio skips over the 20-m band. IOW ... I get no 14 MHz frequencies on the dial.
In version 1.6 NB is now implemented. Hold M.V. Button down. Yu has built a cooling solution as well, $35 takes some soldering to install. Also, do you have the part number and brand for the elegant stands you use. I was not able to find them. Excellent review! I was looking for info on how to use/adjust the waterfall display functions. You have any insights?
Yup...had a piece of heat sink material and cut it in half. Just put conductive paste under the center and double sticky 3M foam tape at the ends. Absolutely adequate to keep it cool... doesn't take much.
I use Panasonic 18650BD LiPo cells (used in Tesla cars < 2015). I build them in little "bricks":. 15 of them is enough to power this radio for several days. Check Google for "18650 battery pack".
Yu’s website shows this rig’s power output as up to 10 watts yet I see others saying it will do 20 watts. Which is correct? Thanks. Looks like a really neat rig.
Great presentation, peaked my interest for sure. The one thing I cannot find when I look at the information I gathered on the internet is: There is an internal mic on the face. I cannot seem to locate the ptt function in menu or is it an external ptt button plugged into the side.
Yes, the internal mic is between the two rotory controls and actually sounds good. Indeed you can PTT it without the mic...forgot how- its in the manual.
Question: comparing this to a G90. Ignoring the G90's antenna tuner, and when used in the shack v/s portable, which radio would you prefer to use, and why? Thanks for a great video!
That is a very difficult question. OK, If I had to choose, I'd choose the G90. Why? The receiver is better. Sure, the larger screen on the FX-4C is nice, but the G90 is more combed-out engineering-wise. The RX is very similar to my IC-7610 in performance. Audio TX quality is about the same on both. the G90 is heavy too... ouch. Cool-factor? It's the FX4.
Oh my Bob! :D Nice interesting rig! Any radio with a given power will give the same results; difference is in consumption, portability and ergonomy which has a cost. I do have an 891, but it sure is not that portable, after all it's meant to be a mobile rig. There's always some trade-off somewhere; with all that said, I tried the Chinese x108g but it had its drawbacks, so other than some HT rigs (Retevis, Radtel) I stay away from the made in China radios (lack of support, quality is not on par with japanese radios and they are more prone to failure, functionalities need improvement).
I have been looking at Yu's website for months, and he's been out-of-stock the whole time. I wonder if any of the clones are any good? Anyone have experience with buying one of the clones?
@@bobnagy9084 Not currently in my budget, as I've been saving for my first HF rig, after getting General 9 months ago. Thought I'd decided on a Xiegu G90, but the Yeusu FT-891 is catching my eye as of late, due to it's higher power.
Makes no sense to me. Portable radio needs to support 2m , 1.25m and 70cm bands. No need for anything else than that in a portable radio. Am I going to talk to someone in Australia while hiking and dragging behind an antenna?
Sorry Bob ,but its just a glorified MCHF!. more chinese junk no service plan for it , over heats !! , can you do a drop test and take it out on a rainy day ! then see what happens ,price $500 - $800, and how many senior operators will have the patience to fath about with all that menu I recoomend you stick to stick to Elecraft ,Yaesu , Icom, they have been around for years and years FTdx10 offers amazing value for money
Overpriced clunky square box with too many multi-function buttons to remember is what I see. For not much more you can get a real radio as Yaesu FT-891, FT-710 or ICOM IC-7300. I purchased a quirky Radoddity G90, never again. I'll continue watching development for sleak design and more actual buttons and switches, analog meter, mixture of old and new with steam punk vibe ; )
I have two 891s and I love them but they have a ton of menus so if u can operate a 891 a bunch of multi function buttons on the FX-4CR should not a problem for you.
Well, my next radio review is for you. There are no menus, gorgeous amber analog meter...made in USA by a Ham. It ain't cheap, but it is SO much fun to use. (TR-45L)
@@W-733_KWX Yeah, I'm almost entirely CW, so that certainly helps. It's definitely difficult to do QRP SSB. I've done my fair share of it, so I know how hard it can be.
Not really. This is 6dB up from QRP and with a wire antenna with gain, you are totally heard on SSB. I use resonant folded dipoles. Got a 5/7 out of Russia when camping.
@@bobnagy9084 Oh, for sure. I've done lots of it too. If you use a good antenna, and propagation is decent, you can absolutely work all kinds of DX on SSB with 10w. It's definitely easier on CW though. It's kinda like cheating lol
So many SDR transceivers out there, so little money in the bank account. It does seem like we are beta testers for almost all of these SDR radios.
What many people don't realize, is that code is very rarely 'ready', it gets patched, refactored, etc. If we waited until the code was perfect, it would probably never get released. The advantage of beta testing, is real users are feeding back into the design.
Pretty cool little radio, thanks for the review
I absolutely love mine. I got the side rails but I’ve not managed to get the fan to come on yet. (SSB only)
Today I spoke to Sydney Australia from England on 25m - 16,972 kilometers with only 20W using 3x 18650 batteries madness - I absolutely love this radio easily the best portable radio available in 2023.
Ive learned more from Nagy’s videos than studying for any ham license test.
Thank you for my first big smile of the day! I'm not the first to review a radio, but I try to give a more in-depth look at it. Don't want to waste anyone's time with fluff.
Great video, Bob. Your voice is back to full strength! I really like my FX-4CR. I’ve also added a heat sink fully along the top. But I look forward to the handle/fan upgrade being offered as a separate purchase on Yu’s website. I bought RFDan’s amp cable and buffer relay for this radio to use with my Elecraft kxpa-100 amplifier when I need it. It’s a good, solid product!
Yup, I'm in a period where my voice is working...for now. I added a transistor buffer inside the mini plug housing (just fit!) to drive the amp. New firmware is coming soon too.
How does it go with let's say 5-10W instead of the full 20W, calling CQ on SOTA, does it tend to overheat without the sinks?
Well, not on SSB…don’t do cw and haven’t done sota.
Fine. You can run up to 12W on CW if the outside temp is under 80F (without any heasinks) You can order it with the heatsink handles for full power
I’m waiting in Yu to offer the handles/fan upgrade for existing owners…it will come!
Your cellphone kickstand idea is brilliant. I’ve got two coming this Wednesday.
In Bob we trust!
Thanks for the comprehensive review Bob! Will probably treat myself with this radio early next year.
73 de Kevin, VK4KK
Yeah, most of the warts have been worked out in the 1.5 Firmware... it's a GO as of now.
Thanks for talking about the CW filters. So often the CZcams reviewers dont talk about this for obvious reasons. Good luck and have fun with the rig! 73
What reason? Because CW sucks?
Always a joy to hear from you, Bob. (W5USB)
Thank you! I've got a few more radios coming in quick succession now... Been on a QRP roll.....
Way to go Bob. Fun to learn from your reviews. Great to run into you at Texas City ham fest just in passing. 73 George KK3R Houston
Absolutely. I snagged a FT-857 down there for $325.... totally worth the trip.
Thanks for video 👍 Interesting radio and it sounded very nice on CW and SSB.
It's been sold old for a while now. Been wanting one for a very long time now.
Good to wait till now. He does them in batches, so you have to wait. Now the firmware is mature enough to take the leap.
Seems to be A slightly improved malachite receiver with an added on transmitter. It's not in the same league as an IC-705 but it costs less than half as much.
It may appear that way from the display, but this is a MUCH more sophisticated device. It has tight receive bandpass filters for each ham band and has to provide another full set on the way out as low-pass filters for the TX. From the performance I estimate that it is a 14 bit device throughout. The Malachite is 12 bits or less for sure. Then there is Bluetooth and built-in audio cards...electronic keyer and a bevy of other user features. It's still a bargain at $550
Great video! This little radio is awesome. Please, please, please drop us a link to the legs you showed us.
Amazing radio! Good job on summarizing this radio, Bob!
Leaning towards the G90 with built in tuner. Nice revew.
Can't go wrong with the G90. Outstanding radio! An advantage of the FX-4CR is size and portability. If am working with a lightweight resonant antenna in one of the local parks, the FX-4CR seems like a very good choice.
Great review, thanks Bob 👍🏻
So much packed in such a small space!👍
I love my FX-4CR!
Wow amazing little radio great review my friend 73 from kb2uew
Thank you for a very useful review.
Could you add a link for the back legs and the heat sinks please.
I have the FX-4CR and love it. I wish mine was blue
Your recommendation for the IC 7610 cost me thousands 😊 this one is a little cheaper.
Hee hee hee.. Well, don't feel too bad. In the last year I've had the TS-990s, IC-7851 and FTdx-101D here for months. ALL of them are gone except for the 7610. News FLASH: Icom is just releasing a firmware update to include Pre-Distortion to the 7610. Holy crap! Only Anan has been able to pull this off so far...Flex?...nope... It cleans up Transmit distortion products to create an ultra-clean TX signal. I think I'm literally going to buy another/fresh 7610 as my next rig.
Very nice review, I hope to get one of these soon !
I am very intrigued about the 20 watts. We've seen a bunch of the qrp versions of this bit I've never seen one that gets to the 5 watts they claim. 20 watts is absolutely interesting
It beats 20 watts out on most bands.
Very cool rig, 73
Very nice small rig!
Very nice video, Bob. I immediately ordered one and received it after 4 days.
Are the heat sinks glued on or fixed with screws?
From where got you the stands?
Are you from Hungary? Nagy means large in English😊.
Best 73 KC3CVR, Dietmar, Pittsburgh PA
I just used carpet double sticky tape at each end and conductive paste in-between. Adding ANY heat sink material conducts enough heat away so it stays OK in any mode of operation. The stands are on Amazon...there are several types- choose what you like. I'm a NY'er living in Arkansas... yes Nagy means BIG. I'm BIG BOB.
Has a good sound, clean.
It is an SDR... and that is like Digital Windex. Get's you much closer to the original signal.
Nice case, but I got a (tr)uSDX kit, (designed by PE1NNZ and DL2MAN,) for $100, and added a $17 40W amp kit in case I needed to run power. That saved me $500 to buy other things, and I can buy a lot of other things for $500.
Yes, but the Tr SDR is a super-basic radio. It does work though.
Many thanks for the video, Robert. Perhaps you can help me solve a problem I have with the FX-4CR. The radio skips over the 20-m band. IOW ... I get no 14 MHz frequencies on the dial.
In version 1.6 NB is now implemented. Hold M.V. Button down. Yu has built a cooling solution as well, $35 takes some soldering to install. Also, do you have the part number and brand for the elegant stands you use. I was not able to find them. Excellent review! I was looking for info on how to use/adjust the waterfall display functions. You have any insights?
Also, Yu ships to the USA via FedEx so I got mone in about a week and a half. When they are in stock.
Good review Bob. Please provide info on the kickstand legs…
Curious if Xmit is dirty - produces harmonics like my uBitx Ver. 3.
Nope... Clean. This is a classic mixer SDR like the Yaesu FTdx-10. The Ubitx is an ultra-simple design. This is quite refined.
bob, did you have to add the heatsinks yourself? i looked on the website for these and didnt see them
Yup...had a piece of heat sink material and cut it in half. Just put conductive paste under the center and double sticky 3M foam tape at the ends. Absolutely adequate to keep it cool... doesn't take much.
Great video! What power supply do you use with it?
I use Panasonic 18650BD LiPo cells (used in Tesla cars < 2015). I build them in little "bricks":. 15 of them is enough to power this radio for several days. Check Google for "18650 battery pack".
There are a lot of clones of these on the market now…. So be careful with who and where you buy yours from
Yu’s website shows this rig’s power output as up to 10 watts yet I see others saying it will do 20 watts. Which is correct? Thanks. Looks like a really neat rig.
The original was 10W . This one is 20...actually a little more,
@@bobnagy9084 Thank you for your reply.
So if shipped from China is a negative, be happy to pay for US prices from places like Elecraft. Life is simple and we all have options.
Great presentation, peaked my interest for sure. The one thing I cannot find when I look at the information I gathered on the internet is: There is an internal mic on the face. I cannot seem to locate the ptt function in menu or is it an external ptt button plugged into the side.
Yes, the internal mic is between the two rotory controls and actually sounds good. Indeed you can PTT it without the mic...forgot how- its in the manual.
How much power does it draw keying up at 20w, and in listen mode?
It's just in excess of an amp on transmit and a few hundred Ma on RX. Pretty efficient. Three 18650 cells as a battery is plenty.
Question: comparing this to a G90. Ignoring the G90's antenna tuner, and when used in the shack v/s portable, which radio would you prefer to use, and why? Thanks for a great video!
That is a very difficult question. OK, If I had to choose, I'd choose the G90. Why? The receiver is better. Sure, the larger screen on the FX-4C is nice, but the G90 is more combed-out engineering-wise. The RX is very similar to my IC-7610 in performance. Audio TX quality is about the same on both. the G90 is heavy too... ouch. Cool-factor? It's the FX4.
Thanks! RX is darned important, but the other is SO blasted COOL! @@bobnagy9084
How does one order the handles and cooling accessory?
Oh my Bob! :D
Nice interesting rig!
Any radio with a given power will give the same results; difference is in consumption, portability and ergonomy which has a cost. I do have an 891, but it sure is not that portable, after all it's meant to be a mobile rig. There's always some trade-off somewhere; with all that said, I tried the Chinese x108g but it had its drawbacks, so other than some HT rigs (Retevis, Radtel) I stay away from the made in China radios (lack of support, quality is not on par with japanese radios and they are more prone to failure, functionalities need improvement).
Where can one order the side rails?
From BG2FX
Where did you get the heatsinks Bob?
My junk box! Almost anything will work.
What is the price point ? And is there a link to purchase ?
Does the FX-4CR have voice/cw memory keyer?
I Enjoy Mine.
Do you have a link for purchasing.
I see these out of stock on his web page.
Ali Express seems to have them, wonder if they are legit? Same-ish price.
Nope.. Clones with no warranty. He makes new batches fast... get in line.
I have been looking at Yu's website for months, and he's been out-of-stock the whole time.
I wonder if any of the clones are any good?
Anyone have experience with buying one of the clones?
Don't do it. He is finishing another batch right now- place your order.
Do you have a purchase link?
Sold out
Where do I find the legs? That’s nice!
Amazon! www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZRZ2S4X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Thanks!
Don't worry Bob, after watching other's youtube channels it's not just you whom I blame for the thinning of my wallet!
Ha! Well, life is short and there is so much to explore in Ham radio... Let's enjoy it.
It's currently out of stock.
He does them in batches. You just order it when he allows it and he makes them up.
@@bobnagy9084 Not currently in my budget, as I've been saving for my first HF rig, after getting General 9 months ago. Thought I'd decided on a Xiegu G90, but the Yeusu FT-891 is catching my eye as of late, due to it's higher power.
Makes no sense to me. Portable radio needs to support 2m , 1.25m and 70cm bands. No need for anything else than that in a portable radio. Am I going to talk to someone in Australia while hiking and dragging behind an antenna?
Yes you are! That's the exact purpose of this radio and the dozens like it.
Bob how u so smart
You know what I tell people when they say that? "I read the manual".
Sorry Bob ,but its just a glorified MCHF!. more chinese junk no service plan for it , over heats !! , can you do a drop test and take it out on a rainy day ! then see what happens ,price $500 - $800, and how many senior operators will have the patience to fath about with all that menu I recoomend you stick to stick to Elecraft ,Yaesu , Icom, they have been around for years and years FTdx10 offers amazing value for money
Well, actually, my fav QRP radio IS the MCHF!
Overpriced clunky square box with too many multi-function buttons to remember is what I see. For not much more you can get a real radio as Yaesu FT-891, FT-710 or ICOM IC-7300. I purchased a quirky Radoddity G90, never again. I'll continue watching development for sleak design and more actual buttons and switches, analog meter, mixture of old and new with steam punk vibe ; )
You forgot to take your medicine today.
I have two 891s and I love them but they have a ton of menus so if u can operate a 891 a bunch of multi function buttons on the FX-4CR should not a problem for you.
Well, my next radio review is for you. There are no menus, gorgeous amber analog meter...made in USA by a Ham. It ain't cheap, but it is SO much fun to use. (TR-45L)
Yeah I am aware of that one, again overpriced. Even Elecraft is overpriced when compared to great ICOM IC-705.@@bobnagy9084
I totally agree with you for the cost of buying this you can get far better value equipment much better made with cast aluminum chassis's
Life is way too shorts for going QRP. next
Meanwhile I make hundreds and hundreds of DX contacts every year on 5w or less
@@EvanK2EJT but you have propagation's help and you use digital or cw
@@W-733_KWX Yeah, I'm almost entirely CW, so that certainly helps. It's definitely difficult to do QRP SSB. I've done my fair share of it, so I know how hard it can be.
Not really. This is 6dB up from QRP and with a wire antenna with gain, you are totally heard on SSB. I use resonant folded dipoles. Got a 5/7 out of Russia when camping.
@@bobnagy9084 Oh, for sure. I've done lots of it too. If you use a good antenna, and propagation is decent, you can absolutely work all kinds of DX on SSB with 10w. It's definitely easier on CW though. It's kinda like cheating lol
Another crappy amateur SDR, I have several and they all are crap