New Superstar SS88HL (Galaxy DX88HL)

[Truck]

Once again I feel like there's still a shipping container sitting with leftovers from the early days that randomly gets put together.
I wonder if the chassis will show signs of sitting in storage?
And how long have the through hole electrolytic caps been around, the 3600-14 board variant is old.
I have questions.....

73
Jeff

Hey Jeff, we brought them in so i can answer any questiosn you may have. Although the posted video explains 99% of it. No they werent assembled radios sitting in a container. The boards were shelved and upon production new Electrolytics were installed, updated eb-2015 echo board, and of course irf520's as the old school bipolars are non-existent. any more questions fee free to email me through the website truckscbsales.com thank you!

 

[Truck]

Kind of like putting lipstick on a pig, but without the lipstick........

sorry were not in to Beastiality HAHA

 

[Truck]

A little nostalgia and kind of cool but nah.... They were cool in their time but we didn't have what we have today. Especially for that kind of money. They drift like a sailboat and really old school technology.

I'm sure they'll have a following though

your not wrong, they do drift, cause they are a Galaxy 88. But some like the old school audio. Just wanted to bring it back for a little throw back. Trust me it wasnt cheap

 

[Truck]

this is the same thing that happened with the Jackson years back right?

some of the boards had mold on them and some green component legs as well.

if these boards were in some shipping container or unconditioned warehouse/storage facility then they are probably very fragile.

these boards were prone to cracking even back when they were "fresh".

if they were being sold for 200 bucks or so, i might grab one just to play with it, but paying 400 dollars for known problems combined with completely unknown problems is a terrible idea.

if anyone does buy one and wants it worked on/aligned, id be happy to do it just to be able to give a full review to the forum.

im gonna go make some popcorn.
L

we have em in stock loose cannon if you wanna have a buddy spend their money on one. Down to double digits on them now though. and as far as the pricing structure, that is out of our hands, by the time they were brought over. any less and profit would have been out the door other than service mods. thx for the comment though. Truck wavin

 

[Recon]

this is the same thing that happened with the Jackson years back right?

some of the boards had mold on them and some green component legs as well.

if these boards were in some shipping container or unconditioned warehouse/storage facility then they are probably very fragile.

these boards were prone to cracking even back when they were "fresh".

if they were being sold for 200 bucks or so, i might grab one just to play with it, but paying 400 dollars for known problems combined with completely unknown problems is a terrible idea.

if anyone does buy one and wants it worked on/aligned, id be happy to do it just to be able to give a full review to the forum.

im gonna go make some popcorn.
LC

Truck's has taken a risk because there is no way to confirm what the condition and age of the internal parts and components.

 

[Truck]

The moldy re-named Jackson radios had decades-old date codes on the chips inside. They really had been built in the 90s and stashed somewhere.

The serial number on the outside of the carton is visible, "V250200022". The way I understand their serial-numer protocol, the letter "V" indicates the Vietnam factory. The "25" is the year, 2025. The "02" should be February. Pretty sure the last 5 digits are sequential. Guess they don't contemplate more than 10000 units a month. What i want to know is where did they obtain enough TA7222P audio chips to build them? The post-lead free "15" boards use the LM2003-type audio amp, but the video clearly shows the TA7222P.

Puzzling.

People just like what they already have. Henry Ford was quoted as saying "If I asked people what they wanted they would have said a faster horse".

73

hey Chris, its brian aka Truck. The TA7222P chips were prepopulated from back then. these are the 360014B boards. and we only had 200 pcs produced. That was what was left of those boards, Just wanted a throw back for the old school guys. Hope all is well.

 

[Truck]

if you watch Truck's video, you can see that there is a 2sc2166 driver in that 88.

pretty tell-tale sign that the parts have been on the boards for a long time.
LC

yes as stated in the video, they are original boards aside from the electrolytics, the 2 520s

 

[Truck]

I really think they had the boards assembled and tucked away, now they are dragging them out, stuffing them in a new enclosure.
No 2312's so they use a couple 520's in them.
Seriously that's a jaw dropping mark up on a decades old radio, and I agree, who knows what problems are going to emerge when put into service.
More questions......

73
Jeff

your correct on assembled boards aside from the finals and electrolytics, and Ranger may have had a "jaw dropping" mark up but we dont. Trust me. Its brutal.

 

[Truck]

I sent this to the shop who sent me the information and I'm waiting for a reply.
Thank you for the information.
New radio with old and dated original parts?

thx for sending me the notice. im on here a lot but didnt see this activity. Im impressed. Truck wavin www.truckscbsales.com thx guys

 

[Truck]

Truck's has taken a risk because there is no way to confirm what the condition and age of the internal parts and components.

its a huge financial risk. One that took lots of thought.

 

[Truck]

I called Brian today to ask about distribution of these as Ranger Communications emailed and said he is the only one with the distribution rights on them. Push come to shove the price point is just much too steep IMO overall. I agree with the many unanswered questions of these boards. 405 per unit if buying in singles and 3653 and some change for a set of 10 with a 10% discount. (Ouch) I could see these being purchased on wholesale around $170 then with conversion tune and alignment out the door for $325-$375. But $500 for a radio after tune with 20-30 year old components just doesn't seem to fit the bill. Seems almost as if someone is trying to capitalize on a large profit margin for operators that want to run a nostalgic rig.

Cool project and dream come alive in modern era, but with current events the tariffs may also be playing a part who truly knows. Just my two cents.

appreciate the call, the price i quoted you on buying 10 was 10% above cost after importing etc. Ranger may have made a killing on them. But not us.. And i agree, if i wanted a ssb radio it wouldn't be this. It would be the at-6666 or 955hpc+ but we gaged interest across 1000 customers before bringing in the 200 units and 40% said they would purchase... Obviously that number is never right. We just thought it would be fun to bring back some old school stuff.

 

[Truck]

Hey, come on now. Selling a product nobody else has is every capitalist's wet dream, right? No worries about pesky competitors undercutting your price and taking away customers.

Brian is in business to make a buck, after all. If he doesn't, the lights get shut off and the landlord files eviction papers. No more business.

I say more power to him. It's a limited run of the product, so he needs to make hay while the sun shines. They'll be sold out soon enough.

73

thx for the kind words Chris. All i wanted to do is rekindle the fire in some old school ops. And i've done that. There have been so many customers that are excited about these. Calling me thanking me for them how they were able to buy the same radio they had as a kid. Yea, the price point wasn't where i wanted to be but after negations, tariffs, ets it is what it is

 

[Truck]

AHHHHH i think i answered everyone questions. Maybe i will win the award for most posts in a day? lol. What about it Goldfinger? lol Got to meet him last year at the break in Portland. What a honor that was. Super humble guy. Ok carry on

 

[Truck]

Though I agree. I still think the margin is too high for a radio of the caliber that it truly is. I am also one that had my mouth drooling when I first saw it but when the push comes to shove to spend $515 all around and done for one of these units as a customer just isn't for me. And I wouldn't want to push that price point onto my own customers doing so for what overall is available to purchase now currently at this price point. I have a lot of respect for Brian overall for making this dream happen and support the project just not the pricing of it lol 73's.

i respected your decision. I totally get that by the time you buy them, bring them in from UPS that the margin wouldn't be there. If i can ever help in any way i will. Were all in this together

 

[Truck]

Ranger builds the radios for Galaxy out here in CA and they distribute them, but they don't manufacturer any radios here.
The boards had to originally be built by ranger and left over from pre-2006 times.
I get the question, if they are shipped in that package with a current serial number, have to figure that the complete radio is being shipped to the retail shop so someone at ranger put them together.
I mean I get the retro thing, lots of old timers cut there teeth on the five star galaxy 99 with echo and the other variants.
He must have been talking to someone at ranger trying to get them to build him some old school style radios and they remembered these leftovers and they cut a deal.
I give him credit for picking a niche in the market, it's good timing, the cycle is up, CB is active because of it and even at that price they will sell I am sure.
But time will tell if they suddenly become a warranty problem for him due to dated components and unobtainable repair parts.
Galaxy is not going to warranty them, and I don't think ranger will either.

That's rolling the dice

73
Jeff

Jeff, sorry missed this post. So let me see if i can give you some clarity.
Yes as video states, the boards have been on the shelf. New electrolytics and of course the 520s.
Serial numbers started at 0001 and go to 200 no more.
I reached out to them about bringing back the 99v but they insisted on the 88hl first. Not sure why. They come DIRECTLY from Malaysia. have the UPS labels and tracking so they are assembled in Malaysia.
Warranty goes through Ranger standard 1 year warranty just like all the other Superstar products. Hope this helps. ty p.s. yes it is rolling the dice for us. Commiting to 200 pcs at over 60k by the time they land is really sickening. Were not a huge company, we move a ton of volume yes, but only 3 employees. We love the hobby just like the rest of you guys and want it to continue. Truck Wavin