After weeks of anticipation, the new HamGeek 6699 arrived here this week. On paper it looks interesting with transmit covering 21 - 30Mhz and a full HF receive 1 - 30Mhz. It's an all mode, multi-band radio with around 25 watts of power out the back, a colour screen, front facing speaker and a fully loaded microphone with keypad and other functions. The price is good too, so what's not to like?
Well, here we go.....
This is what I found on my radio and the comments reflect how I feel about the radio (These issues may or may not be present on other peoples radios):
Poor quality microphone - It feels very light and cheap, I don't think it will last very long
Bracket screws - Two out of the four wouldn't go in, holes not drilled properly perhaps?
Menu Button does not work... And yes I tried it in Channel Mode and VFO Mode, it did not work in either mode so no way of getting into the menu
S-Meter - Works ok on FM but often doesn't work at all on AM/SSB and when it does work on these modes it only shows a very low signal.
Hi/Med/Low Power - This made very little difference, the power meter on the screen never shows more than a couple of watts no matter what level the radio was on. Current drain from the power supply only increased very slightly going from Low to High.
Receive Audio - The audio was actually quite good, signals sounded crisp and clear, however I need to have my radio on FULL volume, anything less and I could not hear what people were saying, and that was operating in a quiet room at home. There would be no chance of using this in a moving vehicle.
Squelch - Only works on FM and I need mine almost fully up just to stop the background noise
Fan - The fan was quite noisy, not terrible, but certainly too loud for easy listening.
Scan Function - Did not work in channel or VFO mode
Missing Features - No RF Gain, No Clarifier, No branding or serial number, No external speaker jack (although there is a hole on the back)
Condition - The radio has several scratches and marks on the case which has me wondering if this radio was actually brand new or maybe it had already been used and returned?
A look around the radio:
Front
Back
Top
Look! - A place for a SIM Card, but there's nothing inside
And a USB connector.... But once again, there's nothing inside
So definitely could do better, maybe after some time they will iron out all of these issues and a decent radio may appear, but for now it's a big THUMBS DOWN from me!
