Galaxy radios is dead

[SuperLid]

This is truly the end of an era, we all knew this day would come. The QX made radios with the noise reduction feature are really on the next level, its a shame Galaxy didn't step it up like Stryker and President did. Might not be too hard to buy the Galaxy name and have QX make a radio similar to the Stryker 955?

The Galaxy radios with through hole parts really attracted the electronics tinkerer. Learning to do the modifications was a ton of fun, and was the main thing that attracted me from my car stereo installation background. Car audio is fun too, and putting together a great sounding system is not hard to do now days. But I would never think of modifying an audio amplifier or head unit, it just isn't a thing. I believe the Cobra 29 LTD Classic is still through hole, are there any others?

The QX made radios (Anytone, Radiodity, CRT, Stryker, President) are all surface mount, and use the smallest parts available. This makes them really hard to work on, so I guess it is a good thing that they don't need anything changed or added, the audio on these new radios is top notch. The swing mod is about the only thing I can think of, aside from changing / adding the microphone element.

The end of Galaxy will also bring about the end of a lot of CB shops. What better way to make money than to have the radios that people want, and be able to sell modifications to make them better? People bash Galaxy quality, but it has worked out very well for the shops business model.

The great part about this hobby is that there are several different parts of it to keep my interest. If I got bored modifying radios, I would start thinking about my antennas. If I got bored with antennas, I would start thinking about amplifiers. Now there is one less thing to capture my imagination. It has been reduced to finding the right buttons for the secret menu...

Yep.....Galaxy should have parted company with Ranger a long time ago. I am certain, that Galaxy could have had a competitive product, in today's CB/10m market, had they tried to get out from under the RCI cost cutting quality, with the outrageous price tags and moved on to an OEM like QX.

It's a pity. He ran a good business, for a long time.

 

[SuperLid]

I never did learn to hear and send code on a key, but I did time with another radio enthusiasts and we ended up on opposite sides of the block getting out at different times. We both cut a circle and a dash out of our neon canteen books and started flashing dits and dahs in front of our windows. By the end of the first day, the dits and dahs were flying across the glass so fast that people were starting to wonder WTF we were up to. It only took a few hours to not need to look at the paper or write things as we saw them.

People learn things out of necessity, and the fact that something is no longer a necessity does not mean they are incapable of it. If its not something you see yourself using on a regular basis, why dedicate resources to it? Learning code is a smart thing to do if you have the time and expect to need it, but I won't go around trying to convince people to learn smith charts ~ even though I very much want to.

That said, if I was required to learn something to earn a certain privilege, I would feel the same way as SL. I totally get it and I 100% agree that it's just too easy to get a ticket now. But I don't think code has to be the thing that filters out the lids. They just need to make the tests a little harder and not post the answers to the entire pool online. Make people do their homework.

This may just be the coolest thing, I have heard all day.

 

[SuperLid]

The FCC needs to give US 10 meters!!!!!

I love 10m and would not want that to happen. BUT......they SHOULD give us the freeband and metal antennas!

 

[BC Coyote]

they SHOULD give us the freeband

They might as well. In several places including Brazil, Germany and Russia the "freeband" is already part of those countries legal CB spectrum. Brazil & Germany both have 80 channels from 26.965 to 27.855 & Russia has 160 channels.
Then there are places like New Zealand, India & the UK where there are legacy CB bands that are also in what we consider the "freeband".

Really what needs to happen is that worldwide, 26 to 28 MHz needs to be declared a de-facto license free CB band seeing as it pretty much is that already and has been for decades!

 

[Cable Guy]

The Advanced class exam, was not for the timid. It was way more difficult than the Extra written. I would love to see some of these egotistical, hotshot, new age extra's pass it, or even HALF of it. This was the LID filter. The 20 WPM Morse exam, was the supreme LID filter.

Yeah, it required work and knowledge.

Now, we have the 1-1-1-1-1 guys, the babies, the whale c!@k weirdo, the mud duck in the desert (I haven't heard him much of late), the recordings from Long Island regarding the Viking CB Club......

The tests today are rigged in your favor, with the answers given everywhere, it's easy to memorize them. But cheating like that doesn't stick it to the man as much as sticking it to yourself. I could easily graduate but until I learn it, and actually understand completely, I won't cheat myself out of the knowledge and THAT is what it's all about.

 

[SuperLid]

The tests today are rigged in your favor, with the answers given everywhere, it's easy to memorize them. But cheating like that doesn't stick it to the man as much as sticking it to yourself. I could easily graduate but until I learn it, and actually understand completely, I won't cheat myself out of the knowledge and THAT is what it's all about.

And then there are the people, that buy their ticket, because they can. Remote VE sessions? LOL $300 for a General, $300 more for the Extra. I HAD friends that did this. I lost respect for them. Needless to say, they are no longer my friends.

 

[AudioShockwav]

Yes ..

A couple years ago FCC opened public comments for several cb radio changes, when they dropped the 155 limit on comms was one of them.
Higher output and expansion was also on the table and honestly the response was dismal from the CB radio community.
Plenty of naysayers complained in public comments about interference potential and already lax enforcement, but not much on the side of why it would be beneficial to the actual users of the service.
As much as I can see a expanded cbrs service as useful I don't see it happening unless the users get some effort together to get some FCC attention.
I can see advantages to users if they allowed 40+/40-
And give you 100 watts.
It's clear now, even to the FCC, that cbrs is no longer the short range service it was meant to be and a significant number of users are hobbiest.
You do have to remember that there are some legitimate users in the spectrum around CB, even if they don't get used very often.
I know that in 2011 FEMA used frequencies outside of 10 meters for e comms around NY after the towers fell, they might not use the spectrum much but it's there if they need it.
But unless users get motivated and write, call, petion, and explain good reasons why the changes "could" be beneficial, it's just another day at the office.


73
Jeff

 

[nomadradio]

I'm so old I remember when 10 meters was dead as a post, and some folks were agitating to expand the overcrowded CB allocation up above 28 MHz. Argument was that the hams aren't using it. CB WAS overcrowded, even without skip traffic.
And then the sunspots came back. The "give some of it to CB" discussion scared enough hams to bring the "10-10" club back to life for a while.

So now the shoe's on the other foot. 11 meters is largely vacant again. That's how the hams lost it in 1959, after all.

The only constant is change.

73

 

[CbRadiosPRONTO]

I’m just curious if the discontinuation of Galaxy radios is official, or if it’s essentially a foregone conclusion at this point. A lot of us received that email from the unidentified distributor (which was hilarious because it openly displayed EVERYONE’S email addresses ), but is there anything even semi-official out there?

I guess it doesn’t have to be official. If zero radios are being shipped to Galaxy, then it’s over regardless. I know the latest shipments of 959Bs were manufactured back in 2023—they’re basically out of warranty before they even hit the dealers’ shelves.

I’m not here to argue against the common complaints about quality and performance, from EL noise to sideband drifting, but let’s face it, the CB radio market is shrinking overall. Ranger seems to be stepping in to fill the gap left by many Galaxy models. Meanwhile, QX is exploding in popularity, especially for SSB users. I hooked up a QT40 today (a bit crude compared to the rest of their lineup), and it was spot-on and rock-stable. The receive was even better than my Icom—a signal below -130 dB registered -12 dB on SINAD, and it was noticeably clearer to the ear.

That said, 95% of my customers are truck drivers. Radios that are overly menu-driven—like those from President, Anytone, or Radioddity—or ones that are too small to read easily or squeeze your fingers between the knobs to adjust a simple squelch (think Quad6 or QT80) just aren’t practical for them. They need to keep their eyes on the road, and SSB is usually unnecessary. So, there’s still a solid place in the market for straightforward radios like the Galaxies, Connex models, and the classic Cobra 29. At least for now, the Cobra LTD models have solder through boards, are still most reliable, and have kept their pricing low.

But I digress (I’ve always wanted to say that)

I’ll miss the Galaxy line, even with all their quirks.

 

[nomadradio]

The ability to find a knob in the dark without taking eyes off the road will continue to be a selling point to drivers. Too bad the marketing departments haven't heard.

73

 

[Smokinone]

Cb is pretty much done for. The FCC needs to give it back to the hams

From my listening experience, the HAMS are already saturating the CB Band.

 

[BC Coyote]

From my listening experience, the HAMS are already saturating the CB Band.

Ain't that the truth!
I hear hams on 11 meters all the time, both in the regular 40 and even more often on the freeband frequencies.
Talking about their contacts on various ham bands etc. From time to time they even forget what band they're on and give out their callsigns!

 

[BayouRadioAmplifier]

Back in the day, a ham ticket opened doors for people, myself included. I worked at a batwing shop when I was 19, going to school at night. I had my call on my business card back then, so did many colleagues. After the early 90's, my call was no longer on my card or my resume. In fact, it was, and still is, a negative. The last guy I worked for at batwing corp, hated hams and non ex military. I had superiors, that were hams, that hated hams.

been following this thread, since I like working on these older
Galaxy / RCI radios.

found some posts on here from a few people that I can relate to,
about knowing Morse Code, and all this FCC "paper."

back when I was 18, (1977) I had an Advanced, or Extra Class by then.
it opened doors for me. these licenses were recognized back then,
since I had no college, and I was so young.
I was able to get Electronics Technician jobs there in southern California
because of it. at Hughes, Ford Aeronutronic, Raytheon, etc.
usually, you had to also pass an electronics test before a job interview.
Many of the engineers and technicians at these companies were into
ham / cb radio also.

I also got a General Radio Telephone License during these years,
"just for fun" since maybe I could use it someday. The other Hams
were doing this also. so we could brag about our "FCC Paper" we have.

then I got a job (1982) in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbour area as a Marine Electronics Technician, working out on boats and ships, as they needed someone
that knows about VHF-FM and HF-SSB radios, antenna tuners, plus that Radio Telephone license. I worked at this place a while, got my Ship radar Endorsement added, and I also got an instant pay raise.

While working on a radar on a U.S. flagged ship in the harbor, a guy
approached me and asked if I was also a Ham knowing Morse Code.
He was a union representative. He said they need younger guys
to become Merchant Marine Radio Officers, that were also
experienced as a technician on the equipment. So we kept in touch,
very often, and we worked on me getting the requirements to go to sea.
I had to get a Telegraph license. plus other things. We knew that
they were going to get rid of this Radio Officer job in several years,
but it was worth it to pursue. So months later I told the owner of the
shop I was working at that now I got a telegraph license, and he said
I get a few more dollars raise to my pay instantly. And He made a
comment that now I can go instantly over to Mackay Marine
(the big boys at this time in maritime telegraph stuff)
and make even bigger money,
or go to sea. I told him that was my plan.

after I had all my FCC and Coast Guard papers ready, that the union
knew about, one morning the union guy called and told me to quit my
technician job, and I have a ship to catch in a few days, so I
do my 6 months apprenticeship as required by the FCC and USCG.

(he also told me - "your going to have the time of your life!
a girlfriend in every port!")
(he should of told me this months before. I would of worked
more quickly on getting all my papers!)

yes, so way back then that FCC "paper" opened doors for me. got me many
jobs. so, knowing Morse Code and having FCC licenses did me good.
Traveling around the world, making big money, woman, food, beer,
partying in Buenos Aires, Rio, Yokohama, Bremen, etc.

later in life if I needed a job, I could always go to a "batwing"
place and work a while. show them all my "big papers." a few years
ago I went to a batwing joint to work. They got bought by that BearCom.

 

[loosecannon]

Has anyone considered that it might be the current state of global commerce and specifically importing things into the USA that ultimately crushes Galaxy's ability to generate a profit?

We all know how and why "export radios" make it to us in the first place.

Things have changed recently (can anyone say 'Tariff'?) and i would imagine that a CB wholesaler being asked to take on whatever percentage of an increase in the cost of the radios pretty much put the kibosh on any future deals.

LC

 

[BC Coyote]

BayouRadioAmplifier..​

What a great story! Thanks for that! It was a whole different world back then........... I remember as an 11 or 12 year old hunching over my shortwave radio with headphones clamped to my head listening to the merchant marine guys working CW..... Their sending speed amazed me then and still does to this day. Just WOW!