Every radio needs what's in this box eventually. The Xiegu G90 is a great radio, but no piece of electronics is immune to time. Put one through prolonged field use and the buttons wear down, the volume pot gets scratchy, the printed labels rub off, and a speaker takes on water or dust. It might not be this year, but it will happen. That is exactly the problem the Xiegu G90 Spare Parts Kit is built to solve, and it is why I think it is one of the smarter accessory purchases a long-term G90 owner can make.
This is a review of what the kit is, what it includes, and, more importantly, the way of thinking about radio ownership that makes it worth buying, whether or not you ever pick up a soldering iron yourself.
What the Kit Is
The Xiegu G90 Spare Parts Kit is a curated set of original Xiegu replacement parts for the G90, chosen to cover the components that most commonly wear out or get damaged over a radio's life. Because they are genuine Xiegu parts, they fit properly and match the originals, and per Radioddity they are designed to integrate without voiding the radio's warranty. It even ships with a manual that shows which part is which and where each one goes in the radio, which is a genuinely helpful touch for a kit like this.
Importantly, it is a parts kit, not a tool kit. No tools are included, and some of the replacements call for a steady hand and the right skills, which shapes who should think about actually doing the work themselves versus simply owning the parts.
The Real Value: Buy Now, Because You Can't Later
Here is the insight that makes this kit worth the money, and it has almost nothing to do with the individual components. The value is availability. Radios like the G90 have long, loved lives, and the parts that wear out on them do not stay in production forever. Five or ten years from now, when a worn encoder or a scratchy pot finally needs replacing, the hard part is not the repair, it is finding the part at all.
Buying the kit now, while these parts still exist, means that whenever your radio does wear out down the road, the components are already sitting in your drawer waiting. That is invaluable for a radio you intend to keep. You are not really buying an encoder and a speaker; you are buying the certainty that a well-used G90 stays repairable long after the parts bin runs dry.
You Don't Have to Be a Repair Expert
It is easy to look at a bag of connectors and inductors and think this kit is only for people who are comfortable inside a radio. It is not. Even if you would never open the G90 yourself, simply owning these parts changes your options completely.
When something eventually fails, you can hand the radio and the matching parts to a qualified repair technician and have it fixed, instead of having them tell you the part is discontinued and there is nothing they can do. The hardest thing about keeping old radios alive is sourcing components, and this kit removes that obstacle in advance. So the honest answer to "but I'm not an electronics expert" is: that's fine, this kit is still for you. The parts do the waiting; someone qualified can do the work when the day comes.
What's Inside
The kit is a well-chosen spread of the G90's common wear items. Going through it:
- The tuning encoder. A known wear item on radios like this, and one of the most valuable inclusions, since a worn encoder makes tuning feel sloppy.
- Push buttons (3x 3x6x2.5mm patch buttons) and the labeled silicone button set. The labeled buttons are a favorite touch: if you remember 90s car dashboards, you know printed buttons rub down and look tired, and fresh ones instantly restore the look of the radio.
- The speaker (LS50N-R8). Field use invites water and dust, both of which can kill a speaker, so a drop-in replacement is welcome.
- The rear power connector (host-side power socket, with wire) that routes inside to the board, plus 3 power cord fuses. The fuses are arguably something you'd already keep on hand, but no harm having spares here too.
- The antenna base / SO-239 connector and 2 headphone jack holders, both of which see wear from repeated connect and disconnect cycles.
- Knob caps (1 big, 2 small) for the volume and multi-function knobs, nice for freshening up a radio that gets handled a lot.
- 2 IPX signal cables (15cm) and 5 U.FL sockets. These internal RF connections can break, as anyone who has had an SDR antenna cable fail internally knows, so having spares is reassuring.
- 2 common mode inductors. These toroids may not truly wear out, but Xiegu evidently considers them worth including as parts that could cause an issue down the line.
The One Thing Worth a Second Look
If there is a nitpick, it is that a couple of the inclusions blur the line between a spare parts kit and a general parts stash. The fuses, for instance, are the sort of thing many operators already keep in a drawer, and the common mode inductors are components that do not obviously wear out in normal use. Neither is a problem, they cost little and having them cannot hurt, but they are the items that feel more like padding the list than addressing a real failure point. Everything else in the kit maps cleanly to something that genuinely wears or breaks with time.
Why Every Radio Maker Should Do This
Stepping back, the most notable thing about this kit is that it exists at all. In the commercial radio world, this kind of parts availability is normal; you can keep a Motorola in service for years because you can buy nearly any part that wears out. On the consumer amateur side it is rare, and it should not be. We have excellent radios that could last effectively forever if the handful of parts that predictably wear could just be replaced. Xiegu and Radioddity offering this kit is a model the bigger names would do well to copy. If more manufacturers did this, fewer good radios would end up as parts donors.
Xiegu G90 Spare Parts Kit: What You Get
Controls
1x tuning encoder, 3x patch buttons, 1x labeled silicone button set, 1x big knob cap, 2x small knob caps.
Audio and Power
1x speaker (LS50N-R8), 1x host-side power socket with wire, 3x power cord fuses, 2x 3.5mm headphone jack holders.
RF and Internal
1x antenna base (SO-239, M head), 2x IPX signal cables (15cm), 5x U.FL sockets, 2x common mode inductors.
Authenticity
Original Xiegu parts for a proper fit, described as warranty-friendly, with an included manual showing part placement.
Note
Parts only; no tools included. Some replacements are best handled by someone with the right skills.
Price
Around $54.99 through Radioddity, an authorized Xiegu dealer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Xiegu G90 Spare Parts Kit?
A set of original Xiegu replacement parts for the G90 covering common wear items: the tuning encoder, push buttons, labeled silicone button set, speaker, fuses, antenna base, headphone jacks, knob caps, rear power connector, common mode inductors, IPX cables, and U.FL sockets. It includes a placement manual and sells for around $54.99 through Radioddity.
Do I need to be an electronics expert to benefit?
No. Even if you never open the radio, simply owning the parts means a qualified technician can repair it later instead of turning it away because a component is discontinued. The kit does not include tools, and Xiegu recommends professional help for anything beyond your comfort level.
What actually wears out on a G90?
With field use, the encoder wears, pots get scratchy, buttons wear down and their labels rub off, and the speaker can be damaged by water or dust. Jacks and connectors wear from repeated use. The kit targets exactly these items.
Will using the kit void my warranty?
Per Radioddity, these are Xiegu original accessories designed to integrate without voiding the warranty. Confirm current terms with the seller, and note the kit includes parts only, not tools.
Is it worth it?
If you plan to keep your G90 long term, yes. The value is availability insurance: buying wear parts now, while they exist, so the radio stays repairable when parts are discontinued. Cheap peace of mind at around $55.
Conclusion: Cheap Peace of Mind for a Keeper
The Xiegu G90 Spare Parts Kit is not exciting, and that is the point. It does not make your radio do anything new; it makes sure your radio can keep doing what it already does well, for years longer than it otherwise might. The parts are genuine, the selection covers the real wear points, and the included manual takes the guesswork out of what goes where.
The couple of filler-feeling inclusions and the parts-only, no-tools reality are minor caveats, not reasons to skip it. What matters is the core idea: buy the parts now, while you can, and a radio you would hate to lose stays fixable long after those parts vanish from the market. For a long-term G90 owner, that is an easy yes, and honestly, it is the kind of thing every radio manufacturer should be offering.
Not flashy, just smart. If your G90 is a keeper, the spare parts kit is insurance worth having before you need it.