Yard Sale Radio

November 2022 in Central Florida was heavenly. The humidity was low, and all thoughts of the hot humid summer were gone. Thanksgiving is merely days away, and those folks eager to get a jump on Christmas have deployed lights and yard decorations. On this late autumn day, I passed a large multi-family yard sale in Haines City. I was on my way to activate a local park but decided to check out the wares these intrepid entrepreneurs were selling. I weeded through all the stained Fisher Price children’s toys, “Seen Better Days” toasters, and great-great Grandpa’s wooden golf clubs. My attention was piqued by a crimper that I could use for electrical connectors. The man in the well-worn Washington Redskins jersey wanted $30 for it but happily took $20. I was happy with my new-to-me tool but continued to rummage through the pile of someone else’s treasures.

I enjoy meeting new people. So, I was quickly in a conversation with all three families. I learned they were all related and were originally from Puerto Rico. The gentleman with the Washington Redskins jersey lived in Maryland for 10 years and was happy to be back with his family. His wife was originally from South Florida, and she had just made some café Cubano. She offered me a cup. It reminded me of the strong Italian espresso that I used to drink in my home state of New Jersey. After getting to know my new friends, I did a final check of the tables that took up most of the real estate in the driveway. I did a double take when I noticed a familiar-looking black chassis that was surrounded by children’s toys. It was an Xeigu G90 transceiver! I immediately asked Mr. Redskin whether anyone in the family was a ham radio operator. They said in unison, “What’s a ham radio operator?” I asked them how they came across this radio. One of the family members won a bid on a storage unit that fell into arrears and the G90 was in the unit. In fact, many of the items in the driveway were from the same storage unit.

Their G90 did not have a microphone, nor did I have a way to test it on the spot. It did come with the optional cooling fan/stand that was still in the box. They were asking $70. Not knowing whether it was operational, I offered $50. Deal done. After saying goodbye, I put the G90 in my car and drove to the park. When I got home, I put the G90 in “the crypt of forgotten ham radio equipment” that I keep in my garage. There it remained hidden until the other day when I was looking for an extension cord. I guess it was time to find out whether the $50 I spent was for a bargain transceiver or an expensive paperweight. The next day I took the G90 and drove to Beker – South Fork State Park, K-3656 to finish a Kilo Award[1]. I’m predominantly a CW operator, but when going for a Kilo I will work phone to make more contacts. Since I did not have the original Xeigu microphone, I borrowed the microphone from my IC-7100. It shared the same wiring characteristics as the Xeigu, so I was confident it would work.

I hooked the G90 up to a Bionneo battery and pressed the power button. The rig came alive! I scanned the bands and performed an SWR sweep. It was ready to put on the air. I began the activation on 10m CW. The internal keyer was rather clunky, but it worked. The Icom microphone also did the job. I netted 69 total contacts in 60 minutes on 10 and 12 meters. 35 contacts were CW and 34 were sideband. It started to rain rather hard, so I called an end to the activation. I was able to finish the Kilo, which happened to be my 40^th Kilo Award in the POTA program.

The Xeigu G90 is a nice little radio. It packs a lot of features in a small package. It works well as a field radio. Even brand new it doesn’t take an enormous investment. Unfortunately, it’s probably going back into the plastic bin. It will take a lot more than a yard sale coup to replace my Kenwood TS-480SAT and Elecraft KX2.

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[1] A “Kilo Award” is earned by making 1000 contacts at a single park reference.