Chinese HF transceiver X1M initial impressions

Just arrived in the shack is a very compact 4.5W all band SSB HF transceiver of Chinese origin. With a price of US$350 + shipping and an all surface mount (except the final) construction it was hard to resist. Here it is next to my trusty Yaesu FT-817:

While construction is a little "home brew" by comparison to the Yaesu, the X1M has a very informative display that is easier to read than the '817. The buttons are pretty flimsy but ok and the volume and tuning knob are basic but will do the job. Here's the top view:

This is a very solid feeling, compact rig that runs on 9.6 - 14.5 Volts DC and will be terrific for portable QRP operation drawing 500mA on receive. The receiver is quoted as being better than 0.45uV and the pre-amp seems to make a huge difference.

Received audio is strong (the Elecraft KX3 could learn from this rig!) but bandwidth is fixed.

Receive: 0.1 - 30MHz continuous.

Transmit:

Band 1 3.5 – 4.0 MHz (80 Meters)
Band 2 7.0 – 7.3 MHz (40 Meters)
Band 3 14.0 – 14.35 MHz (20 Meters)
Band 4 21.0 – 21.45 MHz (15 Meters)
Band 5 28.0 – 29.7 MHz (10 Meters)

There is a DB9 serial connector on the back and the rig can be controlled as if it was an FT-817 (ah the irony). I'd love to see something like this with a USB cable for both control and audio - that would make a terrific digital modes transceiver.

F1 and F5 increase or decrease the tuning rate while F2-F4 operate soft buttons which show on screen.

I'll report back next weekend when I've had some contacts, but my feeling so far is that this is a pretty good little short wave radio that covers 0.1 - 30MHz continuous and as a bonus transmits too.

The user manual pdf is here.

Here's a contact with Mal, VK2BMS.

Thanks Mal.