Firmware · 2024-02-29
R1CBU alternative firmware for X6100 v0.20.0
Verified — manufacturer file
Download zip (159.4 MB) Manufacturer's page ↗
The last full release by R1CBU (Oleg Belousov) himself, from his site r1cbu.ru, published with his announcement that he was suspending X6100 development. Adds waterfall/spectrum auto level, FT8/FT4 transmit (5 W limit), voice-assistant options, callsign settings and tuning acceleration.
Read before installing. Runs from the card; remove it to return to Xiegu's firmware. The image is 1.11 GB uncompressed (169 MB zipped). Source LGPL-2.1 (strijar/x6100_gui); the r1cbu.ru listing says "License: None". Update to 0.20.1 with the separate patch entry. Older R1CBU versions (0.16.0, 0.17.1, 0.19.0) survive only in the Wayback Machine; recorded in PROVENANCE.md.
Contents
| File | Size | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|
| x6100_r1cbu_v0.20.0_sdcard.zip | 161.1 MB | e04dad953165921279f6ca0b85f3ccc96c8fa4d1b4fa6c5cc528c549c21d5d82 |
| README.txt | These instructions | |
| SHA256SUMS | Checksums of the files above | |
Instructions
The complete README.txt included in the zip:
R1CBU alternative firmware for the X6100, v0.20.0
===============================================
WHAT THIS IS
------------
Version 0.20.0 of the open-source alternative firmware for the Xiegu X6100
by Oleg Belousov, R1CBU, published on his own site r1cbu.ru on
2024-02-29 ("Full image for SD card", 161.09 MB). It is the last full
release by the original author. His release post announced that he was
suspending X6100 firmware development, citing dissatisfaction with the
transceiver and with developing for a device based on closed code, in
order to build a transceiver of his own.
Development continued from this code on GitHub as gdyuldin/x6100_gui
(v0.24.0 onwards; v0.34.2 is also in this archive). R1CBU's own patch
v0.20.1 (2024-03-17) updates this image and is a separate entry.
Changes in 0.20.0, from the release post:
Fixed: feedback when playing audio; bugs in the QTH window.
Added: auto level for waterfall and spectrum; speaker mode settings
(Vol:2 menu page); acceleration of frequency change (None/Lite/Strong);
callsign settings; FT8/FT4 transmit (limited to 5 W); voice-assistant
quick settings (Vol:4 page); a less intrusive voice assistant; custom
actions for switching voice mode (default long DNF) and speaking the
battery voltage (default long DFL); spoken direct frequency entry from
the hand microphone.
It is a microSD-card system image (x6100_r1cbu_v0.20.0_sdcard.img,
1,108,344,832 bytes uncompressed; 168,911,477 bytes as distributed). The
radio boots it from the card; the internal Xiegu firmware is unchanged.
APPLIES TO
----------
Xiegu X6100. Not for other radios.
BEFORE STARTING
---------------
- A microSD card larger than the 1.11 GB image (a 2 GB card is the
smallest that can hold it; the exact minimum was not published).
Everything on it is erased.
- An image writer: balenaEtcher (used in KE2YK's guide to the R1CBU
firmware) or Rufus on Windows; dd on Linux (KD3EE: "sudo dd
if=x6100_r1cbu_v0.20.0_sdcard.img bs=1M of=/dev/sdX status=progress",
with the correct device in place of sdX).
- Keep Xiegu's own update card separate.
CONTENTS OF THIS ZIP
--------------------
The zip published on fubsypoly.com wraps the vendor file(s)
byte-for-byte, unmodified.
x6100_r1cbu_v0.20.0_sdcard.zip
168,911,477 bytes
SHA-256 e04dad953165921279f6ca0b85f3ccc96c8fa4d1b4fa6c5cc528c549c21d5d82
Contains x6100_r1cbu_v0.20.0_sdcard.img (1,108,344,832 bytes, dated
2024-02-25); the image's program identifies itself as
"X6100 de R1CBU v0.20.0".
README.txt
This file.
SHA256SUMS
SHA-256 checksums of the files above.
INSTALLATION
------------
1. Write the image to the card: in balenaEtcher, "Select image" (the zip
can be selected directly, per KE2YK's guide), select the card, then
"Flash". On Linux, unzip and use dd as above.
2. With the radio off, insert the card and switch on. The radio boots the
R1CBU firmware from the card.
3. Optional: apply the v0.20.1 patch (separate entry in this archive) by
copying its file to the card's DATA partition.
The user manual written for R1CBU by KD1XI (on r1cbu.ru, "User manual",
written for v0.16) describes the menus and controls.
VERIFYING
---------
The program identifies itself as "X6100 de R1CBU v0.20.0" (after the
v0.20.1 patch: "v0.20.1").
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------
- To return to Xiegu's own firmware: switch off and remove the card.
KE2YK: "Once the SD Card is removed, your transceiver reverts back to
the factory firmware."
- The card does not boot: re-write it; check the zip's SHA-256 above; use
a card large enough for the 1.11 GB image.
- Windows does not show the card's DATA partition (needed for the
v0.20.1 patch): R1CBU's patch page quotes K6ANI - Windows File Explorer
shows only partitions that have a drive letter; in Disk Management the
card shows three partitions, and assigning a letter to DATA makes it
visible.
- The software carries no warranty; R1CBU's manual page states that the
developer is not liable for problems.
DOWNGRADING
-----------
The firmware runs from the card, so any version can be used by writing
its image to a card. Of the earlier R1CBU releases, only 0.20.0 and the
0.20.1 patch are still offered on r1cbu.ru; 0.16.0, 0.17.1 and 0.19.0
survive as Wayback Machine captures of r1cbu.ru (recorded in
PROVENANCE.md, not hosted here).
PROVENANCE
----------
- File: x6100_r1cbu_v0.20.0_sdcard.zip
- Retrieved from:
https://www.r1cbu.ru/index.php/home/files?task=download.send&id=19&catid=3&m=0
(filename as listed on
https://r1cbu.ru/index.php/home/files/summary/3-x6100/19-x6100-r1cbu-0-20-0)
- Date retrieved: 2026-09-18
- Official page: https://r1cbu.ru/index.php/home/files/category/3-x6100
Release post:
https://www.r1cbu.ru/index.php/home/radio-software/x6100/16-formware-v0-20-0
- Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301151555/https://www.r1cbu.ru/index.php/home/files?task=download.send&id=19&catid=3&m=0
- Status: verified (from the author's own site)
- Licence: the source (github.com/strijar/x6100_gui) is LGPL-2.1. The
r1cbu.ru download listing shows "License: None", and the KD1XI manual
on r1cbu.ru describes the software as GPL-covered and "beerware". The
image is redistributed as the author distributes it.
MORE INFORMATION
----------------
- https://radios.fubsypoly.com/xiegu-x6100/vol-3/
- R1CBU X6100 pages: https://r1cbu.ru/index.php/home/radio-software/x6100
- Source: https://github.com/strijar/x6100_gui
- Continuation: https://github.com/gdyuldin/x6100_gui
Other versions of R1CBU alternative firmware (X6100)
- 0.34.2 · 2026-08-17Recommended
- 0.20.1 (patch) · 2024-03-17