The RGO One V6 - first impression after week of usage

The RGO One V6 is simply an amazing State of the Art.

I have V6 v1.02 firmware revision and here is my impression after week of usage...

Audio filter (AF) option is a small board located on IF/AF board.

Spec: Digital signal processing (DSP) architecture based on ADI Sigma studio chip. 12 low pass and 7 high pass high order (6th order) filters automatically selected by the software. Audio filter bandwidth follows current IF bandwidth and pitch on CW. If narrow filter Jones – 4 pole is engaged and in line firmware adjusts LPF and HPF frequencies accordingly. (BW position B01 – B10 and OFF)

 

My impression:
Turning ON the AF filter is very effective. It significantly reduces local interference and noise that VBF alone is not enough to deal with. I really like the pure analogue receiver filtering but AF filter is amazing weapon for local man-made noise.

 

Audio peak filter (APF) feature 

Spec: This is high Q parametric filter resonating at pitch frequency (±30Hz). It boosts up received signal with three adjustable levels – 8db 10db and 12db. Can be switched off and on. APF makes faint signals popping up well on the noise level.

 

My impression:
It is very effective feature even at 8dB gain level setting. In fact, I never used higher gain and it dramatically helps with weak signals. Several times I was able to pulling up weak signal from the noise and make it readable on CW. I definitely like it. 
 
Noise reduction (NR) function 

Spec: Based on ADI noise removal digital algorithm. Adjustable level of action.

 

My impression:
I tested the NR for several days on different bands. I noticed that 0-15dB level has no such big effect  here in my location. At 20dB level setting is the NR very useful and reduces band noise significantly.

 

NOTCH/AUTONOTCH function

Spec: Works according to the bandwidth in use. AUTONOTCH works only for BW<1200Hz. Manual NOTCH frequency is adjusted by rotating ENC.3 RIT/XIT. AUTONOTCH feature is activated by long press of ENC.3 button.

 

My impression:
I tried to test the Notch filter in SSB on crowded 20m band a bit. I have repeatedly been able to easily remove nearby carrier or interference using this feature. I will try the Autonotch more, but it is a good tool on a crowded band.

 

CW TUNE / AUTOTUNE feature 

Spec: This is useful CW aid function for ZERO beat or CW pitch match tuning. RIT/XIT LED glows/flickers in green when the pitch frequency locks. Short click on ENC.3 (RIT/XIT) initiates auto tune procedure which takes a second to tune the frequency to received CW signal. Auto tune won’t work if the signal is more than ±100Hz away from current VFO frequency. Weak signals bellow -121dBm won’t trigger CW autotune.

 

My impression:
The automatic frequency tuning on CW works very well. I have repeatedly tuned in even weaker stations this way. The feature on RGO One is a bit different from other radios. Tuning a station during autotune is not heard in the audio output and the frequency change is not visible like on other rigs. Just silence then the audio and frequency jump to the ZERO beat spot. It looks interesting but it works very good. I had time to time problem to get ZERO beat on disturbed frequency but repeating Autotune solved it. 

 

Short video with Autotune is here:

https://youtu.be/PKqrvopExjI?si=SW4KC5p8ioFHST7z

Short video with APF in action is here:

https://youtu.be/AcmmUukOnT0?si=B1vXTFl51Wb24QvA

73 - Petr, OK1RP

The RGO ONE is getting positive points in the world

Hi all,

Many people are asking me whether RGO has been tested in real-world conditions, such as on DX-peditions.

Here are a few examples...

The RGO ONE is getting step by step positive points in the world.

As guys reported on FB the RGO ONE worked quite well on the ZK3A DX-pedition to Tokelau Isl. where the RGO ONE was one of the sponsors...
https://tokelau2019.com/station-setup-1

Another DX-pedition used successfully RGO ONE...

Stan, LZ1GC used the RGO ONE on T30GC, West Kiribati:

http://lz2jr.com/blog/index.php/t30gc-dx-pedition-warming-up/


73 - Petr, OK1RP

RGO One V6 operating manual is ready

New RGO ONE V6 operating manual is ready for now and it can be downloaded from here:

RGO ONE V6 manual ver. 1.01 dec 2025 ->

RGO ONE V6 Flash update procedure

RGO ONE V6 Flash update procedure

With this procedure your transceiver will self-boot/extract/flash the software for both main board (MB) and front panel (FP) micro controllers. Needed are only PC and USB cable (type A at one side; type B at other side). When turned in flash mode (menu 37) RGO ONE USB adapter works as a Mass storage device and would appear on your computer as a hard disk (removable hard drive with 256kByte of memory). This way your RGO would store needed dfu files and after checking them would self-update its FP/MB micro controllers. No other SW tools are needed!

VERY IMPORTANT: Use stable and reliable power source 13.8V. During flash update power supply must not be interrupted. If power supply dropped microprocessors would die and can be revived again only with dev programmer via system JTAG connectors located on FP and MB boards.

Here are the steps to perform FW flash update:

1. Save on your Personal Computer (PC) new FW files from Downloads section of www.lz2jr.com.

2. Create a folder RGO ONE on your desktop. Extract archive file in a folder RGO ONE on your PC. You will see two dfu files.

3. Connect USB cable between transceiver and your PC.

4. Enter menu 38 FLASh and set menu parameter to YES.

5. Exit the menu with long press of MTR MNU button.

6. Green LEDs TX/ALC and RIT/XIT will start blinking. UPLOAD label is shown on LCD! At this point you can go on with next step or if you decide not to perform flash update – just switch off the radio. Then switch on and it will start in normal mode.

7. On the screen of your PC – a new removable hard drive called RGO ONE will appear. If the window RGO ONE does not pop up check the disk in “My computer” icon on your PC. When you find RGO ONE disk – it must be blank with no files on it. If there are old files on it already written – delete them.

8. Drag and drop (copy) both MB and FP dfu files already prepared on your PC to this removable disk. Wait enough time for the file transfer between your PC to RGO ONE. Then you will see two files written in RGO ONE removable disk named CPU_rgo_one.dfu and MB_rgo_one2.dfu.

9. Cycle OFF and ON the radio.

10. TX/ALC and RIT/XIT LEDs will start glow in red. LCD shows “Flashing”. (If the radio starts without flashing then files are not proper format dfu files or wrong version!). It takes a minute to complete FW upload. Ensure stable power supply and do not turn off the power supply! After successful flash update the radio turns on in normal operation.

11. After successful flash update menu 37 will show new software version. If software version in menu 37 is blinking, then some of the files failed to upload and FLASH procedure must be repeated again.

Instructions for RGO ONE V6 software update here.

RGO ONE V6 Firmware updates - FW ver. 1.03 available

** RGO ONE V6 Firmware release notes **

****************************************

********** FW ver. 1.03 ****************
****************************************


VERSION 6, January 2026

This software update improves performance and fixes bugs in the following:

- TX BFO on SSB now follows only FL1 on TX. 
- EX CAT command implemented.

Instructions for RGO ONE V6 software update here:
FW version 1.03 files
FW release notes v1.03

RGO One V6 DSP audio filter board

Audio filter (AF) option is a small board located on IF/AF board. 

Here are some of the new AF (audio filter) option features available with proper firmware in RGO One V6:

• Digital signal processing (DSP) architecture based on ADI Sigma studio chip.
• 12 low pass and 7 high pass high order (6th order) filters automatically selected by the software. Audio filter bandwidth follows current IF bandwidth and pitch on CW. If narrow filter Jones – 4 pole is engaged and in line firmware adjusts LPF and HPF frequencies accordingly. (BW position B01 – B10 and OFF)
• APF – audio peak filter feature. This is high Q parametric filter resonating at pitch frequency (±30Hz). It boosts up received signal with three adjustable levels – 8db 10db and 12db. Can be switched off and on. APF makes faint signals popping up well on the noise level.
• NR noise reduction function based on ADI noise removal digital algorithm. Adjustable level of action.
• NOTCH/AUTONOTCH function – works according to the bandwidth in use. AUTONOTCH works only for BW<1200Hz. Manual NOTCH frequency is adjusted by rotating ENC.3 RIT/XIT. AUTONOTCH feature is activated by long press of ENC.3 button.
• CW TUNE / AUTOTUNE. This is useful CW aid function for ZERO beat or CW pitch match tuning. RIT/XIT LED glows/flickers in green when the pitch frequency locks. Short click on ENC.3 (RIT/XIT) initiates auto tune procedure which takes a second to tune the frequency to received CW signal. Auto tune won’t work if the signal is more than ±100Hz away from current VFO frequency. Weak signals bellow -121dBm won’t trigger CW autotuner.

RGO ONE V6 new platform change announcement

Dear customers,

after a long development process, we are now on the verge of the realization of new 6th series RGO ONE HF homemade transceiver. The replacement of the existing platform and component base was necessary for many reasons – reaching the edge of the capabilities of old schematic elements, such as speed and workload, end of life for some crucial components and new more effective circuit solutions.

The new 6th series will allow the addition of new modules, such as long anticipated Audio filter DSP option (AF unit), TX speech processor, XVRT and RX antenna option, built-in audio USB card, which will allow the user to work digi Modes and many other options. New modules will not be compatible with older versions 5, 5+ and bellow.

In addition to the new modules and functionalities, the new system has significantly better behavior in terms of stability and speed. For example, the ATU module works significantly faster. New features are added too:

• New CW keying mode – ULTIMATIC mode is already in, and operators will be delighted using it. Of course, CURTIS A and CMOS B modes are available following strict rules and timing. Character auto-spacing for all keying modes is menu settable.
• Dual CAT port – New RGO ONE V6 utilizes dual port for CAT communication. USB 2.0 type A connector and TTL RS-232/UART on Canon DB15 connector (not available for first V6 Main Board PCB batch) for controlling peripheral devices such as power amplifiers, remote antenna tuners, antenna switches, and other.

Software updates will be extremely easy and friendly, with the user’s only task being to copy a set of two files to the radio, which will be read by the computer as a USB mass storage device (Flash drive – RGO ONE). Then radio will flash itself without operator intervention.

The main question that most owners of old RGO ONE series ask themselves is – can I update the software and hardware to the new 6th series. Of course, the answer to this question is YES. There will be a retrofit kit, which will mainly contain the two printed circuit boards (PCB) motherboard and processor (CPU) board on the front panel. All old daughter board modules, such as BPF, LO, SSB GEN, LPF, RF MIXER, IF/AF, VBF, NB, ATU, BPF160/60m and others will be compatible with the new 6th series. Hence, replacing both MB and CPU boards will give full functionality of the 6th series.

Expect the launch of the new 6th series RGO ONE in the period after Q1 of 2026, with requests and pre-orders still being accepted (till 31st December 2025) in the old form in Google Docs at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdN6ZqEZIdhCM6IDoCau3VDWjTtbEyCKlCqWgd2IH1UU6z-pg/viewform

Will keep base and module’s prices unchanged for those filled their pre-orders till December 31st 2025.

New optional modules will be introduced in stages after this period.

Meanwhile, for impatient users we still have some units from 5+ available with delivery within 10-14 days. Last 5+ series RGO ONE transceivers will have the latest IF/AF board, new LDMOS final power amplifier and all hardware mods implemented in.

https://lz2jr.com/